PM Home Bible Study Group; February 11, 2015
Hebrews 4:12-13
Theme: The writer of Hebrews highlights the qualities of the word of God and of the God of the word.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
The writer of Hebrews has sought to exhort Jewish believers in Jesus, who were suffering persecution for their faith, not to shrink back from their trust in Him. In the previous section,he reminded them of the experience of their forefathers in the wilderness—those who had rebelled against God’s will for them, who refused to exercise faith in trusting Him, and who thus lost their opportunity to enter into the blessedness of “rest” in the land of promise.
Those Old Testament passages are meant to serve as an example in New Testament faithfulness. In referring to the same Old Testament stories, Paul wrote “Now these things became our examples . . .” (1 Corinthians 10:6). He explained, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (v. 11). The writing down of these stories under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and the divine preservation of those stories for our time, is meant to serve us and exhort us to a faithfulness in Christ. And it’s then that the writer of Hebrews makes this wonderful affirmation about God’s word:
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:12-13).
“The word of God” that is being spoken of in this passage is that which has been written down—under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—and preserved for us as the sixty-six books of the Bible. There are several key passages in the Bible about the Bible; and this evening’s passage deserves to be thought of as one of them. It would be good for us to slow down in our study of the Book of Hebrews, and give concentrated attention to this important passage of God’s word.
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Note how it tells us first about . . .
I. THE WORD OF GOD (v. 12).
A. He points out first that it is living. “For the word of God is living . . .” Theologians sometimes refer to this as the “animation” of Scripture—that is that the Scriptures have a vitality of action from God that is not true of any other writing. There’s a sense in which this can be understood as the independent power of the Scriptures to fulfill the will of God. Isaiah 55:10-11;
“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:10-11).
Similar to this is what it says in Psalm 147:15;
He sends out His command to the earth;
His word runs very swiftly (Psalm 147:15).
The Bible translator J.B. Phillips once wrote, “The present translator . . . is continually struck by the living quality of the material on which he is working. Some will, no doubt, consider it merely superstitious reverence of ‘Holy Writ,’ yet again and again the writer felt rather like an electrician rewiring an ancient house without being able to ‘turn the mains off’” (J.B. Phillips, Letters to Young Churches: A Translation of the New Testament; cited in Charles R. Swindoll and Roy B. Zuck, gen. eds., Understanding Christian Theology [Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003], p. 6).
B. The writer adds further that it is effectual. In addition to the fact that it is living, he affirms “and powerful . . .” It not only lives, but it is active—and powerfully and energetically so. We can see this in some of the passages mentioned above. It thus shows itself to be distinct from the false words of men. As God Himself says in Jeremiah 23:28-29;
“The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream;
And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully.
What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the Lord.
“Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord,
“And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:28-29).
Another respect in which it shows its power is in the fact that it cannot be restrained. As Paul sat in a prison cell, he wrote;
Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained (2 Timothy 2:8-9).
But one of the greatest manifestations of its power is that it is able to bring an unredeemed man or woman to life, and make them into a son or daughter of God. Peter wrote to his readers and referred to them as
having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever (1 Peter 1:23).
C. The writer goes on to show that it is penetrating. He says that it is “sharper than any two-edged sword . . .” The type of sword referred to here is not the large broadsword, but the smaller sword (maksaira) that is used as a precision instrument. This is highlighted by the fact that it is “double-edged”. This is a quality instrument. But we’re told that as sharp as the sharpest double-edged sword may be, the word of God is “sharper” still. It gets into the hardest and most seemingly-impenetrable regions of the human soul. As Psalm 19:8-11;
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward (Psalm 19:8-11).
The word of God truly gets down deep; and no armor that men can put up can prevent it from going where God purposes it to go. It can reach the hardest soul.
D. This is further shown in the fact that it is precise in it’s penetration. The writer describes it as “piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow . . .” The couplet “soul and spirit” should not be taken to mean that there are two components of the inner being—as some have interpreted it. (We wouldn’t necessarily take the other couplet “joints and marrow” to mean that people have two components to their outwardly physical being.) Rather, this is simply saying that to whatever degree the most intimately connected of things can be divided, the Scriptures are precise in doing so. It is surgical in its accuracy. By it, we distinguish truth from error, sin from righteousness, holy from unholy, temporal from eternal. As Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 2:12-13;
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:12-13).
As he also said in 2 Timothy 3:16-17;
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
E. Finally, the writer affirms that it is discerning. “and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” God Himself knows the heart of man. The apostles prayed to Him as “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all . . .” (Acts 1:24). Paul exhorts us,
Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God (1 Corinthians 4:5).
Therefore, the word of this same God is “searching” in its impact on those who are exposed to it. Nothing else in the world so accurately explores and reveals what is in the human heart as God’s word.
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Note also that the writer not only speaks of the word of God, but also . . .
II. THE GOD OF THE WORD (v. 13).
A. The writer affirms that He is all-seeing. “And there is no creature hidden from His sight . . .” The story of the first sin reveals this. Adam and Eve sought to hide themselves from God; but God knew where they were and what they had done. As Psalm 33:13-15 says;
The LORD looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.
From the place of His dwelling He looks
On all the inhabitants of the earth;
He fashions their hearts individually;
He considers all their works (Psalm 33:13-15).
As King David put it;
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You (Psalm 139:7-12).
B. He also affirms of God that He is all-investigating; saying, “but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him . . .” To say “naked” means to be uncovered; and to say “open” refers to the bending of the neck to expose the throat. God truly sees all. As it says in Psalm 90:8;
You have set our iniquities before You,
Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance (Psalm 90:8).
As David also said in Psalm 139;
O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it (Psalm 139:1-6).
C. Finally, he affirms of God that He requires a reckoning. He speaks of Him as the God “to whom we must give account.” Thinking of this, Paul writes;
Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:9-10).
As King David said at the end of Psalm 139—in words that out to be our response to God each time we open His word;
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24).
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Now; to the Jewish Christians for whom the writer penned these words, this becomes an exhortation to allow the word of God—and particularly those Old Testament stories of their forefathers—to rebuke their unbelief and to inspire them to faithfulness to Christ. And we should allow the word of God to do the same for us.
And as we do, let’s keep an important point in mind. In these two verses, the focus is not just on the Scriptures. Nor it it just on God. It is on both; because both go together. The word of God is what it is because of the God of the word; and the God of the word is known to us as He is because of the word of God. Let’s never try to relate to Him apart from His word, nor try to be taught by His word apart from Him.