The Knowledge of God
The Knowledge of God¹
This subject includes discussion of two points: one is our knowledge of God, and the second is the knowledge that belongs to God as one of His attributes—exalted are His attributes…
As for our knowledge of God, it is a limited knowledge, sufficient for believing in Him and glorifying Him, and it calls us to obey Him, keep His commandments, rely on Him, and pray to Him…
God—blessed be His Name—is unlimited in everything, while man is a limited being. He is limited in his intellect and in his knowledge, no matter how learned he may be… And it is natural that the limited cannot comprehend the unlimited. Rather, it suffices for him to enjoy the measure of knowledge of God that grace grants him, and to give thanks for that…
For this reason, we said that our knowledge of God is a limited knowledge.
It has been said that the most knowledgeable of people is the one who—generally—knows something about everything, and in specialization knows everything about something. Even this expression is practically incorrect, because until now there has not existed a single person who knows something about everything, nor a single person who knows everything about something… Rather, our human knowledge is confined to knowing some things about some things… And we strive to complete it in all fields, if we can…
As for God—exalted be His power—He knows everything about everything.
That is, it is an all-encompassing, complete knowledge. And there is no doubt that God’s knowledge of everything is one of His essential attributes by which He alone is distinguished from all His creatures.
Let the dear reader permit me to contemplate a little on the knowledge of God, and on what distinguishes this knowledge by its attributes…
Among the attributes of God’s knowledge is that He knows matters before they come into being; that is, He knows the future and knows the unseen.
And the future is not only in God’s knowledge, but it is also under His authority. It is also under His control, and He is able to change it if He wills.
God’s knowledge of the future is a certain, fixed knowledge, not by way of inference as some humans claim in their knowledge. For example, a teacher may say about some of his students before the exam: this student will fail, and that one will succeed with excellence. And this may indeed happen, but by way of inference, based on prior knowledge of each student’s condition… Meteorologists may speak about the weather in the coming days in terms of temperature or rain, but it is an inferential knowledge based on their observation of wind movements and rain-bearing clouds… Yet their predictions may be correct or may not be correct…
As for God’s knowledge of the future, it does not fall within the realm of inference. It may also be revealed to some of His prophets, who then announce it to the people, and it is called a prophecy. It is merely the transmission of God’s knowledge of the future, even if after distant ages in times that are yet to come…
Among the attributes of God’s knowledge is that He knows matters without intermediary, and also without progression, unlike human knowledge…
How many measures, scales, and devices people have. In the medical world, for example, they do not ascertain the reality of an illness and its diagnosis except based on several intermediaries, such as laboratory analyses, X-ray examinations, MRI, catheterization, thermometers, blood pressure devices, and other such means…
As for God, He knows the nature of the patient and his treatment without any intermediaries… Likewise, humans often exert great effort in discovering areas of petroleum, gold, or precious stones through numerous excavations, many of which may yield no result. But God knows all those areas in which humans exert themselves to know, because He is the One who willed that gold or petroleum exist in those areas, by His divine will and good governance.
Among the attributes of God also is that He knows the natures of all beings or creatures, because He is the One who granted them those natures when He created them…
Humans may infer that a certain substance or a certain herb is suitable for treating a specific disease. But God knows that, because He is the One who placed that property in that substance since its creation, before humans inferred it… Exalted be His power, He knows the nature of matter in general, and He knows the nature of all materials, each one individually. And He knows the nature of the spirit, the mind, and the soul, because He is the One who endowed them with their natures, by divine wisdom from Him.
Some may try to know the nature of the spirit, for example, and its relationship to the body, and its destiny after departing from the body. Scholars of the spirit write books about this, and clergy may disagree with them on many points. Yet the certain, fixed knowledge in all details remains in God’s knowledge, except for what God has already revealed…
God also knows the past, the present, and the future, all at once…
All of this exists before Him at the same time, as a clear image, with none preceding the other, including what was before the creation of the universe, and what will be in the unending eternity and the destiny of each one therein…
God also—in His unlimited knowledge—knows the other worlds…
He knows everything related to planets, stars, suns, galaxies, and meteors, with details far beyond the knowledge of all humans, including space scientists…
He knows the depths of the heavens, the depths of the earth—all the earth—and the depths of the seas—all the seas. He knows the nature of the atmosphere and the air, regardless of the height above the earth’s surface. All of this at once, and nothing is hidden from Him…
God also knows the heavenly realm and the angels, and the nature of each of them…
Time would fail me if I were to continue speaking about the knowledge of God, just as knowledge itself also fails me.
¹ An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper on 8/7/2006.
For better translation support, please contact the center.
