In the 1970s and 80s especially a new challenge to the traditional understanding arose in the form of free-will theism, or open theism. These folks argue that God does not know the future exhaustively, that he may have mistaken knowledge, and that he in fact grows in knowledge. I penned an introductory piece on this movement some years ago, which includes a helpful bibliography.

Does God know future events?

The questions in my title and sub-title might seem to most Christians to be rather silly questions. ‘Well of course he does!’ they would say to both. He is omniscient and he knows all things. And that is indeed what Scripture seems to clearly teach.

With some exceptions, divine omniscience has long been considered to be one of the key attributes of God. That certainly has included his knowledge of the future, as well as his knowledge of possible or contingent events. But not all have agreed with this, and in the 1970s and 80s especially a new challenge to the traditional understanding arose in the form of free-will theism, or open theism.

These folks argue that God does not know the future exhaustively, that he may have mistaken knowledge, and that he in fact grows in knowledge. I penned an introductory piece on this movement some years ago, which includes a helpful bibliography. See that piece here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2006/12/13/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-free-will-theism/

As can be seen in that article, a sizeable library of volumes – both pro and con – exists on this movement. As with all theological and philosophical discussions, matters can get quite complex and detailed. Not wishing to oversimplify things here, I just want to look at three passages often appealed to by the openness of God theologians in terms of divine foreknowledge.

It will be my view that these three texts – and others like them – can all fit in with the traditional understanding of God and his knowledge, and often texts like these involve the use of rhetorical language and the like. If these passages do appear to be problematic on their own, the old hermeneutical rule of comparing Scripture with Scripture must come to our aid here. That is, we always should assess those passages that might be somewhat less clear in the light of those passages that are much clearer.

So let me look at each passage in turn. In Genesis 3:9 we find God asking Adam this: “Where are you?” I recall some decades ago a friend who was did not believe in divine foreknowledge asking me about this text. I replied instantly (as I would hope most believers would have) that this was obviously a rhetorical question. Of course God knew where he was!

God clearly did not lack knowledge about Adam’s geographical whereabouts. This was more a question for the sake of Adam, asking him about his moral and spiritual condition, having just sinned big time, disobeying God’s clear instructions.

Recall what the previous verse said: “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” They foolishly thought they could hide from God, revealing their seared consciences. As John Frame remarks:

Typically, passages in which God “finds out” something occur in judicial contexts. In Genesis 3:9, God asks Adam, “where are you?” This is not a request for information. In this verse God begins his judicial cross-examination. Adam’s responses will confirm God’s indictment, and God will respond in judgment and grace. But the same judicial context exists in other texts where God “comes down” to “find out” something.” See Genesis 11:5, 18:20-21, 22:12, Deuteronomy 13:3, Psalms 44:21, 139:1, 23-34. When God draws near, He draws near as a judge. He conducts a “finding of fact” by personal observation and interrogation, then renders His verdict and sentence (often, of course, mitigated by His mercy). So none of these passages entail divine ignorance.

And similar passages in Genesis could be raised here, such as:

“Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’ (Genesis 3:13)

“Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” (Genesis 4:9)

Did God really not know these things? Obviously figurative language was being used for the sake of those God was speaking to. As John Peckham puts it in his 2021 volume, Divine Attributes: Knowing the Covenantal God of Scripture:

Do such passages portray God as lacking knowledge, as some suppose? If God knows everything, why would he ask questions? Notably, questions may be posed for many reasons other than to gain information. When I ask my students what the word “omniscience” means, I ask in order to teach. When I see cookie crumbs on my son’s mouth and ask whether he got into the cookies, I already know the answer. In depositions and trials, lawyers often ask questions to which they already know the answers to get a person’s testimony on record. God’s questions seem to function likewise.

While these sorts of passages seem easy enough to address, two others might be a bit more difficult – at least for some Christians.

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