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Tag: Attributes of God

  • The God Who Knows All Things: Understanding God’s Omniscience – (Breakout Session overview)

    The God Who Knows All Things: Understanding God’s Omniscience – (Breakout Session overview)

    Have you ever wondered, “Is there anything about me that God does not know?”

    He knows our thoughts before we speak, our struggles that no one else sees, our failures we try to hide, and even the desires deep within our hearts. Nothing is hidden from His sight, nothing escapes His knowledge, and nothing ever surprises Him.

    God’s omniscience means that He knows all things perfectly, eternally, and without limitation. He does not learn, discover, or gain new information. His knowledge is infinite and infallible. As Psalm 139 teaches, God knows our thoughts, words, actions, and hearts completely: “Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether” (Psalm 139:4).

    This is also why the Reformed tradition has always connected God’s perfect knowledge with His sovereign rule over all things. God does not simply look ahead through history and discover what will happen. He knows the end from the beginning because all things stand before Him and unfold according to His eternal wisdom and purpose.

    John Calvin strongly rejected the idea that God merely watches history from a distance. Speaking of divine providence, Calvin wrote that “nothing happens but what he has knowingly and willingly decreed.” For Calvin, God’s knowledge is not the passive observation of a distant spectator. The God who perfectly knows His creation is also the God who wisely and sovereignly governs it.

    This truth reminds us of God’s infinite wisdom and sovereignty, teaching us to trust Him even when we cannot understand our circumstances. What is confusing to us is never confusing to God. What appears unexpected to us has never taken Him by surprise. As creatures, our knowledge is limited, fragmented, and dependent. God’s knowledge is perfect, eternal, and independent.

    This should humble us.

    We cannot hide our sins behind appearances, excuses, or carefully constructed images of ourselves. Hebrews 4:13 reminds us that “nothing in creation is hidden from his sight.” God sees us as we truly are. His omniscience therefore calls us to live with humility, holiness, repentance, and integrity before Him.

    Yet God’s perfect knowledge is not only a reason for reverence. For those who belong to Christ, it is also a profound source of comfort.

    The God who knows all things knows every sorrow we carry, every temptation we face, every prayer we struggle to express, and every burden that others may never see. He knows our weaknesses better than we know them ourselves. And still, according to His grace, He has set His love upon His people.

    The Reformers repeatedly directed troubled consciences away from confidence in themselves and toward the promises of God in Christ. Our comfort does not rest in how well we understand ourselves, how strongly we hold on to God, or how perfectly we can explain His purposes. Our comfort rests in the God who knows His own, keeps His promises, and accomplishes His saving purposes in Jesus Christ.

    Ultimately, God’s omniscience points us to Christ. The God who knows every hidden sin has provided the Savior who bears the guilt of His people. Through Christ, we do not need to flee from the all-knowing God; we may draw near to Him. In Christ, sinners are forgiven, reconciled, and welcomed into the presence of the very God before whom nothing is hidden.

    There is therefore something deeply comforting about being completely known by God.

    He knows the sins we confess.
    He knows the struggles we cannot explain.
    He knows the suffering no one else sees.
    He knows our beginning and our end.
    And He knows perfectly how His purposes will be accomplished.

    Because God knows us completely, we can live honestly before Him, trust His wisdom when we cannot understand His ways, and rest in His sovereign grace.

    The God who knows all things is the God who rules all things and, in Jesus Christ, He is the God in whom His people may confidently rest.

    The reality of God’s omniscience is not merely a theological doctrine to be discussed; it confronts us with profound questions about God’s infinite knowledge, wisdom, sovereignty, and our own lives before Him. What does it mean that God knows all things perfectly and eternally? Does God merely foresee what will happen, or is His perfect knowledge inseparably connected with His sovereign purposes? How should we live knowing that every thought, word, action, and even the deepest intentions of our hearts are fully known to Him? And how can this truth, which should fill us with reverence and humility, also become a source of profound comfort and assurance?

    If this short article has stirred in you a desire to explore more deeply the nature of God’s omniscience, His eternal and exhaustive knowledge of all things, and the relationship between His perfect knowledge, sovereign providence, and our daily lives, continue the journey with us at Reformation Conference Cebu 2026. When selecting your breakout session, choose: DIVINE OMNISCIENCE.

    Explore how Scripture, understood through the rich theological heritage of the Protestant Reformation, reveals the God whose knowledge is infinite, infallible, eternal, and independent of His creation. Drawing insights from the Scriptures and the reflection of the Reformers, the session will examine how God’s omniscience is inseparably connected with His wisdom, sovereignty, and providence. Discover why nothing surprises God, why nothing escapes His knowledge, and why His people can trust Him even when His purposes remain beyond their understanding. Above all, behold how the God who knows us completely, including our deepest sins and weaknesses, has graciously provided salvation and assurance through Jesus Christ. For those who belong to Christ, being fully known by God is not merely a reason for reverence, but a wonderful assurance of His unfailing love, wisdom, and faithfulness.

    Continue the Journey at Reformation Conference Cebu 2026

    𝐁𝐄𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐆𝐎𝐃 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔

    October 21–23, 2026

    Hosted by: Bradford United Church of Christ, Inc.

    𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘: https://forms.gle/fzGFvqpBn2ceztfs9

    𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗥 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘: Php 1,000.00**

    September 1–October 15, 2026

    *Registration is inclusive of the conference kit only. Food and accommodation are not included.*

    Come and behold the glory of our all-knowing, all-wise, and sovereign God through the faithful proclamation of His Word, Christ-centered worship, and fellowship with His Church. Together, let us marvel at the God from whom nothing is hidden, whose wisdom knows no limits, and whose perfect knowledge assures us that we are never forgotten, never beyond His care, and never outside His sovereign purposes.

  • DECODING THE DIVINE DILEMMA – Part 3 (Breakout session overview)

    DECODING THE DIVINE DILEMMA – Part 3 (Breakout session overview)

    Part 3: What Kind of God Governs History?

    In Part 2, we saw that Joseph could look at one event and say two things at once:

    “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.”
    — Genesis 50:20

    That raises an even deeper question. Before asking how divine sovereignty and human responsibility fit together, perhaps we first need to ask: What kind of God are we talking about? The Reformed tradition begins here, with God Himself.

    The God of Scripture is omniscient. He does not discover our choices as history unfolds.

    He is omnipotent. His purposes are not ultimately frustrated by human actions.

    He is wise and good. His providence is never arbitrary.

    He is holy. Even when sinful actions fall within His sovereign purpose, evil never becomes morally attributable to Him.

    And He is aseitic and transcendent, God does not exist as merely one more cause within the created order, competing with human beings for causal space. That last point is especially important. The Reformers repeatedly insisted on the Creator-creature distinction. God and man are not two agents standing side by side on the same level, each taking a share of control over reality.

    God is God. Creatures are creatures. This is why Reformed theology can speak of God as the primary cause while still affirming genuine secondary causes.

    But the mystery remains. If God perfectly knows, wisely governs, and sovereignly orders history, while remaining perfectly holy, how can sinful human actions truly belong to His providence without making Him the author of sin?

    That is not a small question. It touches the very character of God.

    Perhaps the sovereignty-responsibility dilemma becomes distorted when we imagine divine action and human action as though they were simply two competing forces. If so, we need to think more carefully about causation itself.

    And that is where we turn next.

    Next: Part 4 — Are God and Human Beings Competing Causes?

    —————————————————————————————––
    The relationship between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility is not merely a theological puzzle to be discussed, it touches the very way we understand providence, choice, accountability, suffering, and the unfolding of our lives before God.

    If this short article has stirred in you a desire to explore more deeply how divine sovereignty, human agency, concurrence, and secondary causation may be understood together, continue the journey with us at Reformation Conference Cebu 2026. When selecting your breakout session, choose: DECODING THE DIVINE DILEMMA

    Explore how the Reformed doctrine of providence and divine concurrence provides the theological foundation for thinking about God as the primary cause while human beings remain genuine secondary causes and morally responsible agents. The session will also introduce Theoikophysignosis as an interdisciplinary framework for illuminating this enduring theological tension without reducing mystery to mechanism, or allowing interdisciplinary models to displace the authority and priority of biblical theology.
    Continue the Journey at Reformation Conference Cebu 2026

    𝐁𝐄𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐆𝐎𝐃 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔
    October 21–23, 2026
    Hosted by Bradford United Church of Christ, Inc.

    𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘:
    https://forms.gle/fzGFvqpBn2ceztfs9

    𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗥 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘:
    Php 1,000.00
    September 1–October 15

    Registration is inclusive of the conference kit only. Food and accommodation are not included.

    Come and behold the glory of our ever-present God through the faithful proclamation of His Word, Christ-centered worship, and fellowship with His Church.

  • DIVINE OMNIPRESENCE – Breakout Session Overview

    DIVINE OMNIPRESENCE – Breakout Session Overview

    The omnipresence of God refers not only to his presence everywhere but also to his infinite and powerful influence over all things in all places. All things in heaven and on earth are subject to him by his power, since he providentially sustains all things. Likewise, such subjection manifests itself in the fact that God knows all things, implying his presence in all places. As Charnock says, “His power reaches all, and his knowledge pierces all.” 

    In the Bible, the doctrine of God’s creation does not mean simply that God made the earth out of nothing but also that he preserves the earth according to his wisdom and power and goodness. To preserve all things according to all his perfections, he must be present everywhere. In sustaining all creatures, he cares for each as if he or she were the only one. Just as all times are a moment in relation to his eternity, all people and places are a point in relation to his being because of his omnipresence. 

    This breakout session explores the biblical and Reformed doctrine of divine omnipresence—the truth that God is present everywhere in His entire being, yet remains distinct from creation. The session is grounded in Psalm 139:7–12, where the psalmist confesses that no place in heaven, on earth, or in the grave lies beyond God’s presence, knowledge, or power.

    The teaching begins with a clear definition of omnipresence from a Reformed perspective. God is not a physical substance spread throughout the universe. He is spirit, infinite, and not limited by space. He is fully present in every place without being contained by that place or divided into parts. At the same time, God is not identical with the universe. Pantheism, which treats God and creation as the same reality, is rejected. Scripture clearly distinguishes between the Creator and His creatures.

    The session examines key biblical texts such as Jeremiah 23:23–24, Acts 17:24–28, and Colossians 1:15–17. These passages show that God fills heaven and earth, sustains all life, and governs all things according to His sovereign will. Colossians 1:15–17 further teaches that all things were created through Christ and are held together in Him. The Westminster Confession of Faith (2.1; 5.1) and the Heidelberg Catechism (Questions 27–28) are used to clarify how God’s omnipresence relates to His spirituality, infinity, and providence.

    A central theme of the session is the distinction between God’s universal presence and His special covenant presence. God is present to all creation as Creator and Sustainer, but He is present to His people in a unique way—as Redeemer, Father, and covenant Lord. This does not mean that God is spatially nearer to His people, but that He is present with them in a special covenantal and gracious way. This distinction guards against both deism, which places God at a distance, and pantheism, which identifies God with creation.

    The session also addresses the practical significance of omnipresence for Christian living. God’s presence exposes secret sin and calls believers to honest repentance. It reminds us that every area of life is lived coram Deo—before the face of God. It comforts those who suffer, strengthens prayer, shapes worship, and encourages the church in its mission.

    Participants will engage in discussion questions that connect doctrine to pastoral ministry, personal holiness, and evangelism. The goal is not merely to understand a theological concept but to live in the light of God’s presence with reverence, humility, and confidence in Christ.

    This session is designed for pastors, Bible teachers, and lay leaders who desire a clear, biblical, and Reformed understanding of divine omnipresence and its application to the life of the church.

     

    Source:

    Mark Jones, God Is: A Devotional Guide to the Attributes of God, Kindle locations 1016–1020.

    Mark Jones, God Is: A Devotional Guide to the Attributes of God (Crossway), Kindle locations 1021–1024.

    ____________________________________________________________________________

    The doctrine of divine omnipresence is not merely a truth to be understood, it is a reality in which every moment of our lives is lived. If this overview has awakened in you a desire to understand more deeply what it means to live coram Deo, before the face of the God who is always present, continue the journey with us at Reformation Conference Cebu 2026.

    When selecting your breakout session, choose:DIVINE OMNIPRESENCE

    Explore the biblical and Reformed teaching that God is wholly present everywhere, yet remains distinct from His creation and discover how this glorious truth shapes our repentance, prayer, worship, suffering, ministry, and daily Christian living.

    Continue the Journey at Reformation Conference Cebu 2026

    𝐁𝐄𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐆𝐎𝐃 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔

    October 21–23, 2026

    Hosted by Bradford United Church of Christ, Inc.

    𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘:
    https://forms.gle/fzGFvqpBn2ceztfs9

    𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗬 𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗗 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘:
    Php 700.00
    June 30–August 31

    𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗥 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘:
    Php 1,000.00
    September 1–October 15

    Registration is inclusive of the conference kit only. Food and accommodation are not included.

    Come and behold the glory of our ever-present God through the faithful proclamation of His Word, Christ-centered worship, and fellowship with His Church.