Abstracts—Does God Really Know?
Part One
“And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” - Hebrews 4:13
Acts 5:1-11 tells the harrowing story of Ananias and Sapphira, two characters in the early church. They sell a property in order to donate the funds to the church, but held back some funds even though they said they were giving it all. One by one, each lied in front of the church and was immediately struck down by God. Here, God knew the intentions of their heart.
In Genesis 50, despite Joseph’s prophets evil intent, we see in verse 20 that, although God knew their intent was evil, he turned it around for good. Here, God knows the acts and is in control of their ultimate outcome.
In Genesis 3, we see the fall of mankind unfold. We see, after Adam and Eve sinned, they both hide from God, because they are ashamed of what they’ve done. God comes searching for them, and although He knows what they’ve done, He still calls out “Where are you?” (v. 8) as if to offer them the first step in mending the relationship. Here, God holds His knowing hand out to help us return to Him and repair the relationships from our own will.
Part Two
The song “God Only Knows” by for KING & COUNTRY has struck me recently. It’s been reminding me that God’s knowledge of us and our lives is deeper than we probably want it to be. There’s no running from God (cf. the Book of Jonah). He knows our every move, our every thought, every inner-working of ourselves (Ps 139).
We all have our private sins (cf. Matt 12:36, Ps 19:12, Ps 32:1-5, Ps 90:8, Jas 1:21). When we settle into these sins and brush them off as no big deal, we once again risk the dangers of showing a sense of self-proclaimed dominion over God.
“You felt secure in your wickedness; you said, ‘No one sees me’; your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’” - Isaiah 47:10
Let God control the nooks and crannies. Let Him guide you and shape you. Quit hiding; it’s merely a waste of time. Embrace Jesus.
“Wide awake while the world is sound asleepin'
Too afraid of what might show up while you're dreamin'
Nobody, nobody, nobody sees you
God only knows what you've been through
God only knows what they say about you
God only knows the real you
There's a kind of love that God only knows”
- for KING & COUNTRY
“Let us adore the ever-living God
and render praise unto Him
who spread out the heavens and established the earth
and whose glory is manifest throughout all the earth.
He is our God there is no one else.”
- Let Us Adore, Julius Chajes