Christ's Knowledge

Dr. Couch, is it true that Christ is unaware of certain truths, such as the day and hour of His coming, as it seems to be mentioned in Matthew 24:36-37? Many believe He set aside His knowledge of that coming day with only His Father knowing. What do you say? ANSWER:  Christ is very God and His knowledge of the events of His creation is the same as the heavenly Father. He could not "de-know" what the Father knows. If so, He would not be God! The verses before speak about "the summer being near," that is, when "He is near" (vv. 32-33). The generation that sees these things coming "will not pass away until all these things take place" (v. 14). Then Jesus says:    "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. For the coming of the Son of Man will be ..." (v. 36).    The word "to know," is the Greek verb "oida" from the root "eideo." While here it is translated "to know," in the majority of its usage it is translated "to see." In the NT the word is used approximately 627 times. In 66 of those times, it is used as "to know" only 13 times, or 117 times out of the 627 usages. The predominant usage then is to translate the word "to see."    The main point is what God the Father perceives in His office as Ruler and Initiator of His divine plans that will be carried out on earth. The Father is sovereign in regard to the plan of prophecy. It is His prerogative as to what He is "seeing" in regard to the future. It is not the prerogative of the Son, and certainly not of the angels. God the Father "sees" His plans. It will be up to the Son to carry those prophetic plans out on earth.    The timing of Christ's coming is "seen" or "fixed" by the Father. It is determined by the Father and not by the Son. The Son but carries out the purposes and the plans of the Father. The Son is not ignorant of what is going to happen; He will follow through with what the Father has determined to take place!    While we all admit this is a tough passage, I believe this is the best and most feasible explanation of what is happening here.    I hope this helps. Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch (5/10)