What Does Hebrews 4:12 Mean that the Word of God Is Living and Active?
The word of God is alive and active. What does it mean in Hebrews 4:12? “For the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, it penetrates even to the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and heats the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12)
We know one thing, words have power. The most powerful words written or spoken are from God. The writer of Hebrews gives us a glimpse of the power of God’s word. He informs us that the Word of God is alive and active. For a few moments we will look at what that means and how to apply this fact to our lives.
What does the living and active word of God mean?
The first thing we must do to understand that God’s word is alive and active is to determine what God’s word is. There are three aspects of God’s Word to consider:
The Word of God: Refers to times when God spoke directly to people, such as speaking to the prophets in the Old Testament.
The written word of God: This refers to the Bible, the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God: The Gospel of John describes Jesus as “the Word” who was with God from the beginning and was God (John chapter 1, verse 1).
This particular verse in Hebrews does not directly refer to Jesus as the Word of God. Therefore, we will use the concept of being “alive and active” for both types of God’s Word, the spoken word and the written word.
Being alive and active means that God’s word is the source of life and has great and efficient power to achieve God’s desired goal. This should not be surprising, because God Himself has said this about His Word:
“So is my word that comes out of my mouth. It will not return to me in vain, but it will do what I have planned and it will succeed in the work for which I have sent it. (Isaiah chapter 55, verse 11)
As we see from the book of Isaiah, whenever God speaks a word, he has a purpose and an intention. We know that whatever God says will happen. In Hebrews chapter 4, God’s word acts as a surgeon and a judge. The word of God passes through all the outward defenses that people try to erect and penetrates to the very core of our being. Our motives, attitudes, and goals are all revealed when we place them before the Word of God.
How can you use the power of God’s word in your life?
In our society, there are many discussions about ethics, justice, politics and many other issues. Even Christians often disagree strongly on these issues. Everyone has their own opinion on what should be done. In all these cases we have ignored the power of God’s word. Answers to questions are not personal opinions. The answer to problems is the word of God. His opinion is the only important opinion.
In a way, the church in America today has become like Judah during the reign of Josiah. We have ignored the word of God. We have adapted the Word to our ideas instead of adapting our ideas to the Word. Is it any wonder that there is no conviction and repentance in the hearts of the people?
Because the Word of God is alive and active, it has not lost its power. God’s word continues to tear us apart and reveal our faults. We all (myself included) need to sit before God’s Word and let it do what God has in mind. Let the word of God break us and reveal our faults and lead to repentance and transformation in all our hearts. If we do this honestly, it will solve many of the problems in the church today.
Today in the article : What Does Hebrews 4:12 Mean that the Word of God Is Living and Active? We reviewed useful information about the Bible and the way of Jesus. If you wish, you can view other articles of Ali Vahidi about Christianity
