God is often portrayed as an all-knowing, all-powerful being who loves humanity unconditionally. Yet despite God’s benevolence, there are many mysteries and secrets about God that remain unknown to mankind. This raises an intriguing question – who does God actually share his deepest secrets and hidden knowledge with? In exploring this question, we gain insight into the nature of God’s relationships and how he chooses to unveil truth.
Does God Share Secrets with Angels?
Angels play a prominent role in many religious traditions as divine messengers and agents of God’s will. Their closeness to God and existence outside of earthly constraints suggests they may be privy to secrets unknown to humans. There are references in sacred texts to angels possessing knowledge hidden from mankind. For example, in the Christian Bible angels declare “mysteries” at the end times that provide new understanding of God’s plans.
However, angels are not omniscient – their knowledge is limited by what God chooses to reveal to them. The Book of Matthew states that only the Father knows the timing of the end times, not even Jesus or the angels. There are also examples in the Bible where angels lack awareness of the bigger picture behind God’s commands and question his actions. So while angels may have greater insight into God’s nature and secrets than humans, even they lack complete knowledge of his mysteries.
Are There Exceptions?
There may be exceptions where God grants special access to secrets only to certain angels. In biblical and other traditions, some angels are described as “covering cherubs” that are singularly close to God. The Archangel Michael who leads God’s armies may be one with access to military secrets. The Angel Metatron is said to record God’s thoughts and speech – giving him unique exposure to divine secrets. So there could be a hierarchy where some “high ranking” angels do gain privileged knowledge directly from God.
What About Prophets and Chosen Figures?
God chooses select righteous individuals for special relationships and commissions. By speaking directly to prophets and figures like Noah, Moses, and Elijah, God entrusts them with divine secrets to share with humanity. The prophet Daniel is told by God that he must “shut up the words, and seal the book” containing foretold events, suggesting he gains access to privileged knowledge. Figures like the Virgin Mary are also granted spiritual visions and insight into God’s plans.
However, prophets are still human vessels with limited capacity to hold divine secrets. Their knowledge is filtered and delivered in a way they can understand. The prophet Jeremiah remarks that just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so too are God’s ways beyond human comprehension. Even Moses, who communicates directly with God, is only permitted to glimpse his back and not his full glory. So prophets may get glimpses of hidden things, but not the complete secret knowledge of God.
Criteria for Selecting Prophets
Why are prophets and other biblical figures granted knowledge while most people are not? Access to divine secrets seems connected to devotion and commitment to God’s will. Moses is considered so righteous he speaks to God “face to face”. The Virgin Mary’s purity earns her the right to bear Christ. Figures like Daniel exemplify faith under pressure. So to share his secrets, God chooses those who demonstrate virtue, faithfulness and steadfastness to his commands.
Does God Only Share Secrets with Himself?
Most monotheist traditions posit God is singularly omniscient and the sole keeper of all mysteries. As the infinite creator, there are no limits on God’s knowledge. He requires no counsel, lacks nothing, and does not need to share secrets or seek validation with any being – even one as mighty as an archangel. God shared secrets selectively with prophets in order to guide humanity, not because he required angels or humans to confide in.
Theologically, for an absolute being to have an equal with shared knowledge suggests a relativity or limits on their scope. To maintain God’s supreme position, mystics say that God can only have complete rapport with himself. There can be no “other” with which to share his full secrets. From this view, even angels and prophets only get glimpses of truth that God selectively unveils. The full secret knowledge of God remains with God alone.
God’s Motivations
This theological view raises questions – why would an all-powerful being require connections or shared knowledge? A simpler explanation may be that God chooses to selectively reveal mysteries. By unveiling insights to angels, saints, or prophets, God creates avenues for intimacy with creation. The act of sharing secret knowledge creates relationships between God and those trusted with his truth. So God shares his secrets not because he has to, but because he chooses to extend grace to his creations.
Can Humans Know the Mind of God?
For most people without prophetic stature, the full secrets of God remain a mystery. Human minds cannot comprehend the magnitude of God’s perspective or thoughts. However, many faiths suggest all people can still form personal connections with God. Prayer, revelation and contemplation of sacred texts all provide avenues for contact. While the totality of God’s secrets remains veiled, through spiritual practice individuals can come to know the “mind of God”.
This idea suggests that while God’s full knowledge may be unattainable, he still extends just enough insight as needed for one’s spiritual path. Hidden truths are uncovered according to one’s faith, devotion, and readiness to receive deeper knowledge from the divine source. With an open and receptive heart, spiritual searchers can find their lives infused with meaning from a compassionate God who shares glimpses of his mysteries.
Limits of Knowledge
Attempts to conceptualize how an omniscient divine being shares knowledge quickly hit the limits of human comprehension. Some questions about God’s secrets and relationships seem unsolvable paradoxes and mysteries to finite minds. Human language itself struggles to capture an infinite cosmic truth. Perhaps the very term “secret knowledge” is itself flawed. Can an absolute being with no limits even have “secrets” in a bounded sense? To transcend these conceptual hurdles, mystics call for moving beyond dogma into direct experience of the divine.
Conclusion
In exploring the question of who God shares secrets with, we find that God unveils truth selectively. Angels, saints, prophets and spiritual seekers all may become privy to divine mysteries, but in limited measure. God is strategically revealed through sacred texts, spiritual visions and Scriptures aimed precisely at their intended human audience. Yet their glimpse remains only a candle compared to the sun that is God’s full glory and knowledge. The impenetrable divine secret at the heart of God remains veiled and untouched. To know it may lie beyond conceptual knowledge altogether, requiring a unitive spiritual experience. Ultimately, it is through developing that personal connection with the source that one transcends the question and arrives at the answer – God shares his secrets with those who seek.
