Attributes of God
Primary 6 · Social and Religious Studies
Attributes of God
Lesson 3 of 5
12 min
Let's begin
Byiringiro has moved from Nyagatare to a boarding school in Rusizi. On his first night he feels far from home and alone. His mother phones and says, "You are far from me, but you are never far from God."
What did she mean? Today you will learn about two attributes: God is everywhere, and God knows everything.
Omnipresence means being present everywhere at the same time. A person can only be in one place at a time: Byiringiro cannot be in Rusizi and Nyagatare together. But believers teach that there is no place where God is absent.
"Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence? If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. ... If I take the wings of the dawn, and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me." (Psalm 139:7–10)
The writer imagines going to the highest heaven or flying to the far side of the sea, and finds God already there.
"He is with you wheresoever ye may be. And Allah is Seer of what ye do." (Qur'an 57:4)
"Unto Allah belong the East and the West, and whithersoever ye turn, there is Allah's Countenance." (Qur'an 2:115)
"Wheresoever" means "wherever", and "Countenance" means face. Muslim teachers explain that Allah is with every person, wherever they are, through His knowledge, His hearing and seeing, and His power.
Omniscience means knowing everything: what happened in the past, what is happening now, what will happen in the future, and even our secret thoughts.
"LORD, you have searched me, and you know me. You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar. ... For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, LORD, you know it altogether." (Psalm 139:1–2, 4)
"I declare the end from the beginning." (Isaiah 46:10)
God knows our words before we say them, and knows the end of a story from its beginning.
"He is the First and the Last, and the Outward and the Inward; and He is Knower of all things." (Qur'an 57:3)
"We verily created man and We know what his soul whispereth to him, and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein." (Qur'an 50:16)
The jugular vein is the large blood vessel in your neck. The verse means that Allah is closer to you, and knows you better, than anything else. One of His beautiful names is Al-Alim, the All-Knowing.
Worked example
Keza finds 2,000 Frw on the classroom floor. Nobody sees her pick it up. How can belief in God's omnipresence and omniscience guide her?
Step 1 God is present everywhere and knows everything, even what nobody else sees.
Step 2 So being alone is no reason to do wrong.
Answer: Keza gives the money to her teacher so it can go back to its owner.
Tip
WHERE and WHAT
Omnipresent answers where: every place.
Omniscient answers what: every thing, even your thoughts.
Psalm 139 teaches both, so remember it as "the everywhere-and-everything psalm".
What does omnipresence mean?
Answer: being present everywhere at the same time.
Which psalm asks, "Where could I flee from your presence?"
Answer: Psalm 139.
Qur'an 50:16 says Allah is nearer to a person than what?
Answer: his jugular vein.
Mugisha thinks, "Nobody will know if I copy my friend's homework." How would belief in God's omniscience answer him?
Answer: God knows everything, even what no teacher sees, so Mugisha should do his own honest work.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
The practice questions were written by Ganzaa.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick check
Match each word to the question it answers.
Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.
