Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Hebrews 4:12
It’s Living and Active
The Word of God is organic in the sense that it is “living and active” (Heb 4:12). That means, it is as alive as God does and has the power of God in the gospel of salvation (Rom 1:16; 1st Cor 1:18), so all we must do is unleash this power upon those who are lost because “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17), “And how are they to hear without someone preaching” (Rom 10:14)?
A Two-Edged Sword
When I prepare sermons for the church, I find that the Word of God cuts them to the quick, but it also cuts me. It is a double-edged sword that cuts both the hearer and the one speaking it, and I think that’s awesome because I need to get cut in order to heal just as much as the church does. I tell them it cuts me before it cuts you, because it is “sharper than any two-edged sword” in existence (Heb 4:12a).
Piercing our Hearts
The Word of God is alive and has God’s power, and His power is shown by the Word’s ability to cut us in order to heal us, and it cuts us to the heart “piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12b). This means that God’s Word penetrates where our thoughts and intents are developed and it cuts right down to our ulterior motives. If you need a surgeon to remove a growth, you’ll understand that cutting is good thing. In fact, it can save a life.
Discerning our Thoughts
As I said before, the Word of God cuts down to where we live as it reveals our thoughts, motives, and intents, but even more than that, it can even discern our thoughts (Heb 4:12). I can’t always discern other people’s thoughts, but God can and does, and think about that; He knows what you’re thinking right now and even why you’re thinking it. If you read the Word of God, you’ll find that the Word of God read you.
Nothing Hidden
Concerning the Word of God, the author of Hebrews tells us that “no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb 4:13). Let me ask you this; what place is there that God cannot see? The psalmist asked a rhetorical question, “If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there” (Psalm 139:8) and “even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you” (Psalm 139:12).
Conclusion
Read God’s Word every day because God’s Word “is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 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” (Heb 4:12-13).
