Sharper than a two-edged sword--Part 1

Hebrews 4:12 (NASB)

For the Word of God 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.

When Hebrews was written, the New Testament did not exist yet, so the Word of God in this passage (“Logos”) refers both to the Bible (Old Testament) and to Jesus Christ since Jesus is also described as “Logos” in John 1:1 and John 1:14.  The Word of God is described as (1) living, (2) active, (3) sharper than any two-edged sword, and (4) discerning.  What do these descriptors mean?

The word ‘living’ refers to God and the Old Testament.  The Word is not dead, not irrelevant, it is effective and full of life.  The word “active” can also be translated as “energetic”.  In Isaiah 55:11, God declares that His Word that He sends out will not return to Him empty or void.  It will accomplish the goals that God intended.  People who read, study, and act upon the Word of God will be full of life and energetic to accomplish what God intends for them to accomplish. 

The word being sharper than any two-edged sword refers to the Bible and Jesus both hurting and healing.  Swords as weapons can cut, even kill.  The Word as a sword can cut you with respect to pointing out your sin and, if you convicted, can kill that sin via your confession and repentance.  The Word as a sword or knife (scalpel) can also heal by transforming the sinner into a saint.  Recall the claims of II Timothy 3:16 that the Word of God can teach, reprove, correct, and train, all of which can both hurt and heal the person sincere in their desire to learn and grow from reading and acting upon the Word.

The Word as a sword can penetrate, cut through, and divide the human heart.  In fact, it can pierce to divide the soul and spirit.  The soul (mind-emotion-will) of man is very close to his spirit so this ability of the Word to divide soul and spirit is quite penetrating.  Indeed it penetrates our lives so deeply that it can discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  As pointed out by others, it is not simply the words of Scripture on a page that do such spiritual surgery, but the Holy Spirit takes Scripture and uses it to discern the very depth of your motivations and thoughts. 

Think about this the next time you open your Bible and allow it to influence your life.  Keep in mind that it is the quality of your time in the Word that enables the Word to do what it claims to do in this passage.  How is the quality of your time with God in His Word?  Are you giving His Word the chance to penetrate your life, convict you of changes you need to make, and heal you?