A simple synopsis of this argument begins with the knowledge of God (two elements of which most theists hold; the third remaining disputed). Three moments occur in God’s knowing of a thing. These three moments coincide, and are synonymous, with the three types of God’s knowledge: natural, free, and middle. The relationship between these three types, or moments, of God’s knowledge is not temporal, but rather is a “relation of conditionship.” In other words, God only has certain types of knowledge on the basis of having other types as well.
The first type, or moment, of knowledge is God’s natural knowledge, or God’s knowledge of all necessary truths. Such truths include the laws of logic and are true by virtue of the nature of God Himself. These truths, which comprise His natural knowledge, do not depend on His will to be enacted, but rather simply exist. This type of knowledge is fundamental to His being as deity. In regards to Creation, God’s natural knowledge includes all possible individuals and circumstances He could create.
The third type is God’s free knowledge. This type includes God’s knowledge of the actual world He created. By this knowledge, He determines truth and falsehood, since if He had created a different world or set of circumstances there would have been an alternate and corresponding standard of true and false. This knowledge includes His foreknowledge of everything that will occur. Craig summarizes God’s free knowledge, arguing that God must have this kind of knowledge to still be God, but the content of this knowledge could vary based upon which world God initially created.
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