Theological term
Omniscience
42 sermons · All terms
Of God and the Holy Trinity (2LCF 2.1-2)
What does it mean that God is omnipresent, and how does his omniscience differ from all creaturely knowledge? Working through the second chapter of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, this study examines the divine attributes of omnipresence and omniscience with theological precision, drawing on Scripture, the church fathers, the Reformers, and the Reformed orthodox tradition. God's omnipresence is grounded not in his omnipotence or omniscience but in his infinity and immensity — he fills all of heaven and earth repletively, with his whole being, while remaining utterly transcendent and uncircumscribed by creation. God's omniscience is equally distinguished from creaturely knowing: he knows all things not discursively, derivatively, or by foreknowledge acquired through observation, but intuitively, independently, and eternally, in one simple act of self-knowledge.
Of God and the Holy Trinity (2LCF 2.1-3)
What does it mean to confess that the Lord our God is but one only living and true God, infinite in being and perfection? This session opens a multi-week study of 2nd London Baptist Confession chapter 2, introducing the doctrine of God (theology proper) with attention to divine singularity (Christian monotheism against polytheism, monolatry, and tritheism) and the three divine omniperfections, treating omnipotence in particular depth. Five interpretive cautions frame the study: the ontological chasm between Creator and creature, the legitimacy of biblical speculation, the revelatory condescension of God in anthropomorphic language, the necessity of reading any text in light of the whole canon, and the call to sustained mental exertion in theological study.
The Conquering Power of the Davidic Son
Matthew 12:22–30 presents the healing of a demon-possessed, blind, and mute man as the occasion for a decisive confrontation over the identity of Jesus as the Davidic Son. The multitudes ask whether this could be the Son of David; the Pharisees respond by attributing Christ's power to Beelzebub. Jesus refutes this accusation with two arguments — a divided kingdom cannot stand, and the Jewish exorcists the Pharisees approve operate by the same power Christ claims — then draws three implications: the kingdom of God has arrived, the strong man has been bound, and there is no neutral ground. The sermon calls hearers to reckon with the absolute antithesis between the two kingdoms and to flee by faith to the conquering Davidic Son.
The Appointment of the Twelve
Matthew 10:1–4 records the formal appointment of the Twelve as apostles — a commission distinct from their earlier call to discipleship. This exposition examines the authority Christ delegates to the Twelve, the striking ordinariness of the men he selects, and what their diversity, sinfulness, and ultimate faithfulness (or treachery) reveal about the sovereign grace of Christ. The sermon closes with an urgent call to sinners to hear the gospel these apostles were sent to proclaim, and to find in Christ the righteousness that answers condemnation.
True and False Religion: Prayer
True prayer, according to Jesus in Matthew 6:5–8, is defined not by its outward form but by its inward orientation — a point the Lord makes by exposing two distortions: the hypocrite who prays to be seen by men, and the heathen who babbles to manipulate God. The sermon establishes that Jesus assumes Christians will pray, treating prayerlessness as a mark of unregenerate life. Biblical prayer is neither a performance for human approval nor a technique for divine manipulation, but an exercise of faith directed to the Father alone — communing with the unseen God, conforming to His will, and unburdening oneself to the One who cares supremely.
True and False Religion: Almsgiving
Matthew 6:1–4 expounds the general principle governing all acts of Christian piety: deeds of righteousness are corrupted not by their practice but by the motive of seeking human approval. Christ assumes that His redeemed people will give alms, but He warns that charitable deeds performed to secure the praise of men constitute a completed transaction — the hypocrite receives his reward in full and forfeits the approval of God. The positive instruction calls for a secrecy so thorough that the believer guards against self-congratulation, resting in the promise that the Father who sees in secret will reward openly. The sermon grounds the call to cheerful, hidden generosity in the supreme act of almsgiving: Christ leaving the riches of heaven to become poor, that sinners through His poverty might become rich.
A Psalm of Comfort
Psalm 46 presents God as the impenetrable refuge and omnipotent strength of his covenant people — not by promising a trial-free life, but by declaring that the Divine Warrior and God of Jacob remains sovereign over every earthly catastrophe, political upheaval, and spiritual assault. The sermon traces four movements in the psalm: a statement of God's character to comfort, a contrast between earthly chaos and divine sovereignty to instruct, an invitation to behold God's works, and a command to be still and know that he is God. The practical summons is to resist paralysis and fear by cultivating theology proper — studying the character of God — because a revelation of God's character and glory is the best remedy for any trial.
To God Be the Glory
Romans 11:33–36 closes Paul's extended treatment of divine sovereignty and the salvation of sinners in chapters 9–11 with a doxology that demands a response of awe and worship. The sermon moves through three movements in the text: an exclamation concerning God's omniscience and unsearchable judgments (v. 33), a confirmation from Isaiah and Job that God is self-sufficient and owes nothing to any creature (vv. 34–35), and an ascription of glory acknowledging God as the source, sustainer, and goal of all things (v. 36). The doctrines of sovereign election and particular redemption are not presented as intellectual trophies but as the only ground on which genuine doxology is possible — a theology that does not culminate in worship has not been properly understood.
A Little Sinner and a Big Savior
Luke 19:1–10 presents the conversion of Zacchaeus as a concentrated display of sovereign, covenant-keeping grace. The sermon works through Zacchaeus's identity as a chief tax collector, a rich man, and above all a lost sinner, before turning to the mission of Christ: he condescends, calls by name, and saves by grace alone through faith alone, with repentance and good works following as inevitable fruit. The closing application presses both the unconverted to make haste to Christ and the converted to receive him joyfully as they come to the Lord's Supper.
The Vision of One Like the Son of Man
Revelation 1:9–19 presents John's vision of the ascended and glorified Christ, identifying him as the Danielic Son of Man who has received dominion, glory, and an everlasting kingdom. The sermon works through three movements: the content of the vision itself (Christ's high priesthood, sovereign rule, all-seeing knowledge, inexorable judgment, conquering word, and restored pre-incarnate glory), John's prostrate response as the only fitting posture before such majesty, and the threefold comfort Christ speaks over the fallen apostle — his eternality, his resurrection victory, and his sovereign ownership of the keys of Hades and death. The exhortation is to wake and sleep with this exalted Christ consciously held before the heart, and to flee the passing pleasures of sin by bending the knee to the King of Kings.
2LCF Chapter 2 - Of God and of the Holy Trinity
The doctrine of the Trinity — one God eternally existing in three distinct persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the same in substance and equal in power and glory — is not a peripheral curiosity but the beating heart of Christian confession. This sermon defines the doctrine precisely, distinguishes it from the ancient heresies of Arianism, polytheism, and modalism, and then marshals Old and New Testament evidence to demonstrate that the entire canon is Trinitarian to its core. The deity of the Son and the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit receive particular attention, since these are the contested points, and the sermon closes by showing that a right understanding of the Trinity grounds our communion with God, shapes our worship, and patterns our treatment of one another.
The Church at Thyatira
Revelation 2:18–29 records the longest of the seven letters to the churches of Asia Minor, addressed to the smallest city — Thyatira. Christ presents himself to this church as the Son of God with eyes like flame and feet like burnished bronze: omniscient judge and certain executioner of his threats. The church is commended for real growth in works, love, service, faith, and patient endurance, yet condemned for tolerating a false prophetess called Jezebel who seduced believers into sexual immorality and idol-food — the precise sins forbidden by the Jerusalem Council. The letter closes with a call to hold fast until Christ comes and a promise that overcomers will share in his royal rule over the nations, receiving Christ himself as the Morning Star.