How well does God know you?

In Psalm 139:1-6, David says God has “searched” and “known” him completely. In this study, part of a series on God’s attributes, Dr. Toby Holt explores the omniscience, or all-knowing, of God.

God knows our sitting down and our rising up, our thoughts, even our words before we speak them. Dr. Holt explains that God’s knowledge is not gained over time, the way we get to know a friend — He knows all things instantly and perfectly, and is never surprised. Such knowledge, David admits, is “too wonderful” to grasp. The comfort is that the God who knows us fully — sin and all — loves us still, and can be trusted even when we do not understand what He does.

Questions this study answers:

1. How does God’s omniscience bring both conviction and comfort? It convicts us, because He sees everything; it comforts us, because He knows us fully and loves us anyway.

2. Is God ever surprised or learning? No. God knows all things at once and perfectly. He never grows in knowledge or discovers anything new.

3. How should God’s all-knowing reshape how we live? It moves us to honesty before Him and trust in Him. The God who knows everything also knows what is best.

“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.” — Psalm 139:6 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Psalms Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.