God’s knowledge

What constitutes the essence of God’s knowledge? And conversely, what constitutes the essence of a human’s knowledge. It is through the similarities and differences between these two kinds of knowledge that we may learn more about ourselves and more about the Godhead.

Let us begin with humans. The first thing to note concerning human knowledge is that our essence is extrinsic, or only partially related, to our knowledge. What I know does not constitute the essence of who I am — it is, however, contributory. This we may say is because we are physical beings who need knowledge in an instrumental sense, not for its own sake (although there is knowledge which is worthy for its own sake). The knowledge that an apple falls down from a tree is an instrumental one extrinsic from our essence. Conversely, the knowledge that my brother is equal to me, and hence worthy and deserving of the love I give myself, is knowledge that is intrinsic to me. The difference between intrinsic knowledge, or knowledge of myself qua myself, versus knowledge of the universe, or extrinsic knowledge, shows a clear separation between the objects of creation. The eternal science of mathematics is an intrinsic knowledge of myself (and hence the universe to some extent).

God’s knowledge, on the other hand, takes the inner essence of everything as its starting point — that is God’s essence and his knowledge are one, an inseparable unity. Imagine an infinite ledger containing the inner mathematical dimensions of things, from the inner essence of a rock, to the soul of a given person. It is this infinite ledger, which may or may not have real existence, that allows God to be the master, transcendental scientist. God knows himself perfectly, and hence he knows the universe perfectly.

We humans partake in a diminished form of this infinity of infinities in that our soul knows itself perfectly. Our soul is a transcendental entity capable of knowing itself perfectly in a way that defies linear calculation.