The Lord Who Knows the Hearts
“The Lord Who Knows the Hearts”: Christ’s Choosing and God’s Sovereign Will
Introduction
Trinitarian interpreters often appeal to Acts 1 : 24 – 25 to claim that the apostles prayed directly to Jesus as God.
Their reasoning runs as follows: the prayer concerns choosing a replacement for Judas among the twelve, and since Jesus Himself had said that he had chosen the disciples, the “Lord who knows the hearts of all” must be the risen Christ.
From this they infer that Jesus possesses the divine prerogative of omniscience, proving Him to be the LORD of the Old Testament.
Yet when we read the passage within Luke’s context and alongside the wider Scriptural witness, the prayer harmonizes perfectly with the biblical pattern of addressing God the Father, who works through Christ by the Spirit.
Everything Jesus possesses or performs—including the choosing of the apostles—comes from God’s will and authority, not from an independent divine self-determination.
1 · The Lord Who Knows Hearts
Acts 1 : 24–25
“And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship.”
The Apostles’ Prayer Echoes God’s Own Role in Choosing
The language of Acts 1 : 24 follows the Old-Testament pattern of prayer to God who chooses:
1 Kings 8 : 39
“For thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men.”
Deuteronomy 7 : 6 – 7
“The LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself.”
Psalm 65 : 4
“Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee.”
Trinitarian teachers point to this prayer as evidence that Jesus is the “heart-knowing Lord.”
After all, Jesus had said to His disciples:
John 6 : 70
“Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?”
John 15 : 16
“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit.”
John 13 : 18
“I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen.”
Jesus’ Choosing Fulfilled God’s Counsel
Before selecting the twelve, Jesus prayed all night to God:
Luke 6 : 12 – 13
“And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve.”
His prayer shows dependence, not equality of will.
Jesus acts as God’s instrument to fulfill divine purpose:
Acts 4 : 27 – 28
“For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus … were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.”
And He openly acknowledges that those He chose were already the Father’s:
John 17 : 6 – 9
“Thine they were, and thou gavest them me … I pray for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.”
John 17 : 12
“While I was with them … those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition.”
Thus, Jesus’ choice fulfilled what God had purposed.
The disciples belonged to God first and were entrusted to the Son for the work of the kingdom.
Clearly, Jesus chose the twelve during His earthly ministry.
But the Gospels themselves show that His choice was the Father’s choice carried out through Him, not an autonomous act. The disciples were already Gods and they were given to Jesus.
2 · What Belongs to Christ Belongs to God
Everything Christ holds—authority, kingdom, disciples, even knowledge—he possesses as the One to whom the Father gave all things.
Jesus’ Authority Is Given, Not Self-Derived
Every act of Jesus’ authority rests on what the Father gave Him:
Matthew 11 : 27
“All things are delivered unto me of my Father.”
John 5 : 30
“I can of mine own self do nothing … I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”
John 17 : 2
“As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.”
Paul’s calling follows the same order:
2 Corinthians 1 : 1
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.”
The pattern is consistent: God’s will → Christ’s commission → the apostles’ ministry.
Christ mediates, he does not originate, divine authority.
3 · The Angels: Christ’s, Michael’s, and God’s
Scripture refers to the heavenly host under several possessive titles—God’s angels, Christ’s angels, and Michael’s angels—yet it describes one body of servants operating in order under the authority of God.
| Reference | Description |
|---|---|
| Revelation 12 : 7 | “Michael and his angels fought against the dragon.” |
| 2 Thessalonians 1 : 7 | “The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.” |
| 1 Peter 3 : 22 | “Who is gone into heaven … angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.” |
| Luke 12 : 8-9 | “Before the angels of God … before my Father and before his angels.” |
Even while the angels are “his,” Jesus remains subject to God:
1 Corinthians 15 : 27-28
“For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him …”
Therefore, the angels’ submission to Christ reflects the divine order of command, not a division of ownership.
Revelation 22 : 16
“I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.”
Revelation 3 : 5
“I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”
The same angels serve both Father and Son. The son having been given authority even over angels by the father.
hebrews 1:4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Hebrews 1:6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
4 · Servants of God through Christ
Christ’s choice accomplished what God had already determined.
The disciples consistently understood their calling as service to God, carried out through Christ.
Acts 4 : 29-30
“And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, by stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.”
The work is God’s; the power is exercised in the name of Jesus.
When Peter later recalled the Gentile mission, he emphasized that God made the choice:
Acts 15 : 7-8
“God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness …”
Thus, even in matters where Jesus had acted (choosing disciples, sending apostles), the early church traced the decision back to God’s sovereign will.
In Acts 15 : 8:The same statement “which knoweth the hearts” is applied explicitly to God, not Christ.
“And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy
Ghost.”
Jesus did choose the apostles, but as the agent through whom God’s purpose was fulfilled:
5 · The Order of Divine Headship
Paul gives the enduring framework of divine authority:
1 Corinthians 11 : 3
“The head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.”
Christ stands between God and humanity as the appointed mediator:
1 Timothy 2 : 5
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
Christ reigns now, but his reign is temporary and functional until the Father’s plan is complete:
1 Corinthians 15 : 24-25
“Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father … For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.”
This defines a line of harmony, not rivalry: God → Christ → angels → mankind.
Conclusion
When the apostles prayed, “Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all,” they were not identifying Jesus as God but appealing to the same all-knowing God who had always guided Israel.
Jesus’ ministry, his disciples, and his angels all belong to him because they first belong to God.
The Father’s will flows through the Son, who perfectly carries it out until all things are restored and “God may be all in all.”
The Lord who knows hearts is the one God; Christ is His anointed servant through whom that divine knowledge and authority are made known to the world.
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