God is omniscient, meaning He has complete knowledge of everything—past, present, and future—including every person's choices.
Les Feldick explains this through the word 'foreknowledge': before the world was created, God knew what every person would do with the gospel. God knows every person on a first-name basis and knows our needs before we ask. While this is mind-boggling, His omniscience is part of His absolute sovereignty and control over everything.
1 Corinthians 8:2-3 — This passage contrasts limited human knowledge with God's personal knowledge of those who love Him.
Acts 17:24-26 — Paul tells the Athenians that God, who made the world, is Lord of heaven and earth and does not need anything from human hands.
In 1 Corinthians 8:2-3, the apostle Paul writes, 'And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the same is known of him.' This shows that human knowledge is limited, while God personally knows those who love Him. In Acts 17:24-26, Paul tells the Athenians that 'God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing...' The Creator of all things is Lord over all and is not dependent on anything from His creation. Together these passages present God as all-knowing and self-sufficient, although the English word 'omniscient' itself is not used in the King James Version.
Les Feldick explains God's omniscience primarily through the word 'foreknowledge.' He says the Bible presents an all-knowing God who knows the end from the beginning—not just the big picture, but every individual, nation, and empire. Even before Adam was created, God knew what every person would do with the gospel, which Les calls mind-boggling. Les also stresses that God's omniscience does not cancel human choice. God did not take away a person's free will; He simply knew what they would do with their choice. This is how Les reconciles the difficult relationship between God's foreknowledge and human responsibility. On a personal level, Les says God knows every believer on a first-name basis—not as one among millions—and knows our needs even before we ask. Because God is sovereign and omniscient, He is absolutely in control of everything, and nothing Israel did—or any other nation does—catches Him by surprise.
Yes. Les Feldick says God's foreknowledge meant He knew before creation what every individual would do with the gospel, including what Israel would do. But this did not take away their choice. In his words, God knew what they were going to do with their choice, and that makes all the difference on the subject of election.
Les Feldick teaches that God knows each believer on a first-name basis. He is not treating us as a number among millions. Using 1 Corinthians 8:3, Les points out that those who love God are known by Him, and God knows our needs even before we ask.
Les admits that it is mind-boggling. He says he cannot fully put together how God can set humanity in motion with free will and yet everything everyone does is bringing everything to the end He has planned. But he concludes that God is able, He is sovereign, and He is omniscient, and absolutely in control of everything.
Paul told the Athenians that God, who made the world and everything in it, is Lord of heaven and earth and is not worshipped with men's hands, as though He needed anything. Les teaches that God is not dependent on anything or anyone for knowledge or help.
Can We Trust God? Understanding His Character & Faith
campfires, as some like to put it. But as Peter says in his little epistle, holy men of God wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. And that wasn't just the Old Testament, that's the New as well. The Apostle Paul, over and over, makes it so understood that everything he wrote was by revelation from the ascended Christ, it was by inspiration.
Foreknowledge Before Creation
Before the world was created, God knew what every individual would do with the gospel, and He knows the end from the beginning for every person, nation, and empire.
God Knows Us Personally
God knows each believer on a first-name basis—not as one of millions—and He knows our needs even before we ask.
Hagar, Ishmael & The Everlasting God: Genesis 21 Bible Study
Now the everlasting God then, as it's used in Genesis, is speaking of more than the God from eternity past. Out here before Genesis 1 even came. And we take eternity past all the way to the end of our timeline to eternity future. Now that's everlasting to everlasting, isn't it? That's the God of creation. He is the everlasting God.
God's Sovereign Secrecy
Because God is sovereign, He has the right to keep things secret until He chooses to reveal them.
Foreknowledge and Human Free Will
God's foreknowledge means nothing Israel did caught Him by surprise; He set human history in motion and is in complete control.
God Does Not Need Anything
Paul tells the Athenians that God, the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth, is not dependent on anything from human hands.
God Knew Our Choices
God knew in advance what every person would do with His offer of salvation, but He did not take away their choice—He knew what they would do with it.
1 Corinthians 8:2-3: And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the same is known of him.
This verse shows the limit of human knowledge and God's personal knowledge of those who love Him.
Acts 17:24-26: God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Paul describes God as the all-sufficient Creator and Lord who lacks nothing.
Les Feldick says God knew from before creation what every individual, nation, and empire would do, including what each person would do with the gospel. He knows the entire course of history in advance.
Yes. Les teaches that God did not take away human choice. His foreknowledge means He knew what you would do with your choice, not that He made the choice for you.
Yes. Les says God knows every believer on a first-name basis, not as a number among millions, and He knows our needs even before we ask, as 1 Corinthians 8:3 indicates.
Les calls it mind-boggling because we cannot completely grasp how God can give humans free will and yet everything they do ultimately fits into His plan. But he concludes that God is able, sovereign, and omniscient.
Watch the Teaching: Can We Trust God? Understanding His Character & Faith