Bavinck in Brief: God's Knowledge vs. Human Knowledge

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Herman Bavinck wrote of God's knowledge:
"Furthermore, God knows things not by observation, but from and of himself. Our knowledge is posterior: it presupposes their existence and is derived from it. Exactly the opposite is true of God's knowledge: he knows everything before it exists. Scripture expresses this very clealry when it states that God knows all things that happens before it happens (Isa. 46:10; Amos 3:7; Dan. 2:22; Ps 139:6, Matt 6:8)."1
Bavinck is discussing the difference between human knowledge and God's knowledge. The fact that we humans know something demands that the thing already exists. For example, I can learn a ton about trees, but that's because trees already exist and there is therefore much to learn by observing them. The tree exists first, then comes my knowledge of trees. By contrast, God knows "from and of himself" which means he does not observe and learn about things and thereby gain knowledge. For example, God knows all about trees, not because he learned from them, but because he thought them up! His knowledge comes first, then the object itself.

Bavinck goes on to quote Augustine who said,
"The world could not be known to us unless it existed; it could not have existed, however, unless it had been known to God."
God is truly above us and beyond us in every conceivable way! How great is His knowledge and wisdom!

“I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose" (Isa 46:9-10).

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1. Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, vol. 2, God and Creation, ed. John Bolt, trans. John Vriend (Grand Rapids: Baker Academics, 2004), 196.

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