God Knows

Every now and then I come across a devotional that would state something like God took a risk in creating free creatures with the ability to choose otherwise, and the real possibility of rejecting their creator. In the same way, God also took a risk in entrusting free yet whimsical creatures with the entire task of advancing His earthy kingdom through the preaching of the Gospel. The gist of the idea is that God in some way understands our struggles in venturing out into uncertainty.

Does God take risks?

It is important to avoid attributing risk experienced by everyday finite people to an infinite all knowing deity. Risk implies taking action or making a decision wherein the outcome of loss or injury is a real possibility, which is due to the fact that finite creatures have an imperfect knowledge of future events, and they can only guess the outcome. One of the reasons why a free creature might take a risk is that the anticipated benefits outweigh the potential liabilities.1 Risk in this sense really does not apply to God, who has an infinite knowledge of all things.

God is omniscient having perfect knowledge of all things, even the actual and potential activities of His free creatures. There is nothing that can be hidden from God’s eyes. The psalmist sings for joy, acknowledging:

The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; From His dwelling place He looks out On all the inhabitants of the earth, He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works” (Psa. 33:13-15).
David likewise sings,

O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it” (Psa. 139:1-6).
In retrospect to God’s eternal plan for the redemption of both Jews and Gentiles, Paul declares,

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:33-36).
God’s infinite knowledge of all things is far beyond what finite creatures can comprehend. It is this perfect knowledge that allows Him to see beyond what mere finite creatures are simply unable to perceive. God knew that Jesse’s son David would be fit to rule Israel and not the others, which perplexed Nathan the prophet, who could only see the external appearances, height, and statute (1 Sam. 16:6-13). On a certain Passover, Jesus Christ, the God-man who has perfect knowledge of things, did not entrust Himself to certain witnesses to the signs He performed because He knew what was in their hearts (cf. John 2:23-25).

God’s perfect knowledge of all things is actually beneficial to finite creatures. Jeremiah prophesied, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? ‘I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds’ ” (Jer. 17:9-10). God can bring out what is hidden in the heart to the light. The psalmist also prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way” (Psalm 139:23-24).

It is simply incorrect to think that God risks in the same way finite creatures risks, since making decisions in hopes of having a positive outcome in an unforeseeable future does not apply to an omniscient being who has perfect knowledge of all things, even the future.


1. A free creature can also make a risky decision either totally oblivious to any potential liabilities or against all odds of a positive outcome.

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