We can’t hide from God. God is, as theologians like to say, “omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.” He is everywhere. He is all-knowing and He is all-powerful. It was once said that Jesus didn’t have to have anyone tell him about people because He knew what was in every man (See John 2:25). These “omni” traits of God are one of two things. First, they can be extremely frightening. We are afraid of a God who watches our every move and monitors our every thought. On the other hand, if we can understand what Jesus has done for us, God’s “omni” traits are quite comforting. He’s with me wherever I go. He knows everything about me. He’s able to do above and beyond anything we could think or ask. The author of Hebrews seems to be pointing this out to his readers so he can encourage them with the truth of the second approach. He writes in, Hebrews 4:13, “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
You and I do not have any skeletons in our closets with God. He is intimately aware of every act, thought, and even the motives of our hearts. The deepest, darkest parts of our being are all very well known by God. This verse is following up on Hebrews 4:12 which talks about “God’s Word” being able to cut through the bone and joints and marrow to reach into our deepest regions and even discern between our soul and spirit. He is able to discern “the intentions of the heart.” In Matthew 15:19-20, Jesus mentioned what man’s heart was like. He said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” Jesus is identifying himself with the God of Jeremiah 17:9-10. It says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I, the LORD, search the heart and test the mind…”
When I preach on God’s “omniscience” (All knowing) my first point is always, “What God Knows about Me.” Of course the obvious answer to that is “everything!” He surely knows the condition of our hearts. We’re not hiding anything from Him. But the beauty in this reality, and what brings real comfort to me is that yes, God’ knows all about me but He loves me anyway. This truth was declared by Jeremiah several times. He said as is recorded in Jeremiah 31:3, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” God’s love for mankind is the subject of the Old Testament. God’s love finds its ultimate expression on the Cross of Calvary. That’s why Paul says, “But God demonstrated His own love for us in this; while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” The Bible is the expression of God’s love for us all in spite of our crooked hearts. The Cross is the ultimate demonstration of that love. Jesus is God’s Word that cuts deep into us and exposes us and cleanses us at the same time. We’re all equal. The ground at the foot of the cross is level. I’ll never understand why we spend so much time focusing on the unwashed hands of others instead of dealing with own dirty hands.