If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Hebrews Chapter 4, and we’re just going to look at two simple verses this morning––verses 12 and 13.
It’s not uncommon for half of the first chapter, or sometimes a whole first chapter, is introductory. But for The Book of Hebrews, the whole first three chapters are introductory.
Now, that’s not to say that they’re not important, and I would certainly recommend you read them––might be good homework for you tonight. You can read them pretty quickly. It’s good theology and sets up the divinity of Jesus. This is because, as you can see by the title, this is a New Testament book written to the Hebrews or Jewish people, explaining to them that Jesus is the Messiah they had long awaited for.
The writer, who––unlike any of the other writers of The New Testament––is anonymous, talks about how God has a son and how his son is superior to angels. And when his son came to earth, his son was and is superior to Moses, whom the Hebrews consider their greatest prophet––even to this day. And as the Hebrew people had a temple and priests, they had a high priest, and Jesus is the ultimate high priest. I’m going to save that for next week, but this week, let’s take a look at what the Book of Hebrews Chapter 4, verses 12 and 13 have to say.
Scripture: 12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
I’ve used these verses before, but I don’t think I’ve ever based a whole sermon on them. I know I’ve used them, especially when we discussed The Sword of the Spirit in Ephesians, and we’ll talk about that again today. But let’s take a look at these verses specifically and see how they apply to us today, not just the Hebrew people of the first century.
It’s interesting that the word “today.” After I typed those words, I immediately went to a commentary, and the commentary on these verses had the word “today” in several areas in bold letters. It began with, “The Holy Spirit still speaks Today.” And the word ‘today’ is even capitalized there.
It goes on to say,
The voice speaking in Christ’s Gospel (4:12; cf. 1:2-3; 3:15; 4:2) is God’s Word alive and effective Today. When it comes, who can claim not to hear it? As it comes, it convinces or it convicts, the judgment depending on the heart’s response (cf. Jn 12:47-50)…
If our acts seem godly but our intentions are not, God sees right through our folly. Though one day we shall all give account for ourselves, the eyes from which nothing can remain hidden see the genuineness or falsity of our lives Today (4:13). The Word of God comes to convince us in belief or to convict us in unbelief. As the Gospel meets us, so too does the sifting judgment of God.
And so, “Today,” I want us to consider that sifting and that conviction that comes for our own good. It might hurt, it might sting, it might be like I said before––removing that bullet without anesthesia, but it will save our life in the end.
I want to delve a little bit into the word, ‘Word.’ Verse 12 begins with “For the word of God is alive and active.”
I have to admit; until now, I thought it just spoke about the written word––or the spoken word. I thought that it meant just the scriptures. Well, it does, but it actually means more than that. When I read through the first three and a half chapters of Hebrews, I noticed how––as I mentioned––that it all points to Christ.
The writer here is delivering an account, a case, or an explanation of Jesus as the Messiah and as The Son of God. As I said, next week, we’ll talk about the next set of verses where Jesus is the Great High Priest and what that means and what it means for us Today (capitalized, bold letters).
But I discovered that the writer was explaining to the Hebrew people here that Jesus is also The Word, the same “Word” that John opens his gospel with. John, and the author of Hebrews––perhaps it’s the same writer, no one knows––wanted to get across the same identity of Jesus. And that identity is this: in the Greek, Logos.
And what is the meaning of Logos, translated as “Word” in English? Well, this is pretty lengthy but worth reading.
Logos, according to intothyword.org says:
This is a dynamic, impacting, powerful word that means God’s “true Truth,” as it is as active as God and His living power accomplishing His purpose. It also referred to the eternal and incarnate Jesus. This is a word that refers to a Greek philosophical term used by the Jewish philosopher Philo as the universal, divine spark or force, and power of reason and divinity. Here in context, it means God’s reason and precepts, first received through Moses for the people of God, the early Israelites, and now for anyone who knows the Lord as Savior and LORD.
This is the logos that John used to refer to Christ as penetrating the universe. God’s Word has been given orally, directly to His Prophets and Apostles, and then written down by the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit. It was also communicated orally, for the most part, prior to the first century. Is this the Bible? Yes and no; when these words were penned, the Bible as we have it, would not exist for another three hundred years.
Although the Old Testament was complete, the Gospels and most of the Epistles were penned, but not put together as a cohesive unit. Most Christians were only able to hear the written Word at church and most churches only had a shared copy of a letter and/or a Gospel. Nevertheless, the Bible is the “container” of God’s Word; it holds His plan, precepts, and instructions for life and living out the Christian journey. The Bible is His chosen prime instrument to make Himself known and used by the Holy Spirit to do as this passage testifies.
So all of that to say, it’s important to know that the same Bible that we read is the embodiment of the truth of God. Embodiment meaning that it represents something in a tangible form. It represents the truth of God. It is the truth of God just as Jesus embodied or was the incarnation of God and the truth of God in a tangible form.
The Bible, the Logos, the “Word of God” singular, is not just the “words of God” plural, but also the Logos Word of God. The representation and expression of God––His character, His truth, His love, His kingdom, His principles and His revelation in a tangible or visible form. It goes much deeper than an account of what happened. It’s much deeper than religion. It’s much deeper than words of wisdom or words of advice or mankind trying to explain God.
I’ve heard people explain that The Bible was written by men trying to convey their concept of God as best as they can but it’s been convoluted by their own personal prejudices, so we need to be discerning and interpret the scriptures with our own enlightenment.
That’s how churches explain how they can be so liberal with God’s word.
But if you’ve experienced the Bible as I have, you’ll know it is alive and active. That’s what Logos means. It involves God in the process of writing and the process of reading. It’s what connects God to mankind. The Holy Spirit lives in these words and acts through these words, and it is for us to live and walk in.
When I was growing up, there was a popular song on Christian radio called “Walk between the lines.” A few weeks ago, I referenced a song called “Shake” it’s by the same artist, and the two songs are one after the other on the same album.
As a young teenager, it was hard to really grasp the meaning of “walking between the lines.” What did that mean? After a while, it might have been the radio announcer who explained it and maybe after really concentrating on the lyrics, it occurred to me that it meant really living in and living out the word of God, not just making a point to read it and try as I might obey it as best as I can. It goes deeper than that.
The lyrics go:
Walk between the lines
Through this life and times
My heart is hitting hard upon the Word
Walk between the lines
Finding deeper finds
My heart is hidden deep between the lines
Walk between the lines
Through this life and times
My heart is hitting hard upon the Word
Walk between the lines
Seeing surer signs
My heart is hidden deep between the lines
Notice that last line: “My heart is hidden deep between the lines.”
Have you ever had your heart hidden deep between the lines? Have you ever had your heart drawn to the word of God? Has it been alive and active in your soul?
Has it done those things that the writer of Hebrews says it does? Remember we talked about the word “witness” a few weeks ago. Can you be a witness or living testimony to these words that say the Word of God is:
Sharper than any double-edged sword? It penetrates even to divide soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart?
This is where God becomes that battlefield surgeon without anesthetic. It hurts, but it will save your life.
Going back to intothyword.org again, it says:
His Word pierces us; and as it does, it may inflict the pain of our will being stripped and our desires being trampled as we are being convicted of sin and misplaced agendas. Such working through one’s hurts brings up more hurts, but this pain is good. It is like the pain of exercising; as our muscles strain, we are fit and healthier for doing so. As it is with true discipleship and spiritual growth, it hurts us deeply. But keep in mind: sin dulls our senses and blinds our minds and leads us to a life of dysfunction and strife, while God seeks to unravel truth for us to partake and live a more triumphant life. A real Christian will be transformed and renewed and live a life of Fruit as well as seeking to rid oneself of sin.
Did you notice how they used the phrase “a real Christian?” I don’t want to get judgemental, but a real Christian humbles himself or herself before God. A real Christian submits themselves to God and the work of The Holy Spirit. A real Christian has the flow of the Spirit within them so that they can be transformed through the living Logos word.
There are people out there who may be saved but aren’t being transformed. Maybe they’re making excuses to live a life of sin or to excuse sinful behavior by arguing with what’s in The Bible as archaic like I mentioned a few minutes ago. For those who do this, they are not submitting themselves to the Logos “active” word of God. They’re not allowing the Bible to be a living word. They’re not in step with The Holy Spirit. They’re in step with themselves and their own interpretation of The Bible.
So, it’s a choice we make. The Bible is not magic. It does not magically transform us; it’s a choice to be transformed and renewed, even if someone is saved. It’s possible that a person can be saved but only go so far in their walk. Maybe they’re walking, but not “between the lines.” Maybe they’ve gotten comfortable and don’t want that pain of transformation.
“No, I think I’ll just go on with this bullet in my leg. I’m okay.”
Do you think God really wants us to go around with a bullet in our leg? Of course, I’m speaking metaphorically, but you get the idea. He wants to take care of that thing that needs to get out because he cares for us, but he’ll only do so if we let him.
Going back to intothyword.org, it says that God may… “allow you to do as you please, thinking you are OK, but missing out on so much wondrous, precious provision the mind could never fathom (Psalm 139: 23).”
Peter said: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
But Peter was talking to new Christians, people who were just reborn spiritually. But look
at what Paul says to the Corinthian church––a people who should have matured but didn’t.
He said:
“I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,”
What does Paul mean by that? Bibleref.com puts it this way:
Paul has compared the Corinthian Christians to babies. Despite being saved for some unexplained length of time, they have not matured spiritually. The problem isn’t that they are not Christians, nor have they been denied opportunity to grow. These believers have access to the power of the Holy Spirit. They have simply not participated in the process of abandoning their selfish ways, so they can spiritually grow. They could behave as spiritually-empowered believers, but instead they behave as if they were “merely human” (1 Corinthians 3:3).
And not to get ahead of ourselves, but if we go to the next chapter in Hebrews, we’ll read:
“12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.”
Bibleref.com says that:
The Christians to whom he is writing have more than enough time invested. They should be able to teach others by now, but instead they are still spiritual infants. Why? Because they have been slow-moving and lazy in their approach to the faith: “dull of hearing.” Instead of teaching, they still need to be taught, as if they were only new converts to the faith!
Have you seen some churches or Christians like that? I have. It’s pretty sad, isn’t it?
So it’s important to note that the word of God is only alive and active if we allow it to be. You know, some people read the Bible as if it’s an owner’s manual: “this says to do that.” But if we treat The Bible like an owner’s manual, there’s no relationship with the Word (singular––Logos or living word of God) and the words of God. The “owner’s manual” approach can lead to a lot of misunderstanding and legalism. We need to approach the Word of God with humility and let It transform us through surrendering to Him and letting Him do it through not just his words but his Word, his active Spirit.
I’m not going to spend a whole lot of time on the second verse. In fact, I could keep going on and on with just verse 12. But the next verse seems a little like an abrupt change of subject. We go from the Word of God transforming us to “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
Why is that? Is there a thought process, or is this just an abrupt change?
Well, it does finish the thought of the previous sentence. The end of verse 12 says the Word of God …judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
So the idea is, “Oh, by the way, speaking about judging the attitudes of the heart, nothing gets by God. Just remember that. Don’t think you can skip that step by not reading your Bible or claiming ignorance. You’re not only judged when convicted by the words of The Bible. God still judges the heart no matter what. God still sees and knows all.”
William Barclay explains that “we may be able to wear our outward trappings and disguises; but in the presence of God these things are stripped away and we have to meet Him as we are.”
So it goes back to the idea of allowing the Holy Spirit, through the written word of God, to help us become spiritually mature. That surgery needs to be done. We might as well face it. We might as well allow it. We might as well get it done. Remember, God loves us and wants to perform that surgery. He loves us and wants to get that bullet out of us before it really starts to do more damage.
The British pastor Charles Spurgeon said:
“When a soldier is wounded in battle, it is of little use for him to know that there are those at the hospital who can bind his wounds and medicines there to ease all the pains which he now suffers. What he needs is to be taken there and the remedies applied. It is thus with our souls. To meet this need there is one, the Spirit of truth, who takes the things of Jesus and applies them to us.”
Remember I talked about the word, Today, earlier in bold letters and capitalized. How can this be applied to us today?
Spurgeon’s point is that the Word of God, applied with surgical precision by the Spirit of God, can meet the needs of the human heart.
Warren Wiersbe said: God uses the Word to enable us to see the sin and unbelief in our own hearts. The Word exposes our hearts; and then, if we trust God, the Word enables our hearts to obey God and claim His promises. This is why each believer should be diligent to apply himself to hear and heed God’s Word. In the Word we see God, and we also see how God sees us. We see ourselves as we really are. This experience enables us to be honest with God, to trust His will, and to obey Him.
One last quote before we close:
Holman Bible Commentary says that…
Ending with this solemn thought causes us to ask, “Who can represent guilty sinners before a God who sees everything?” This leads to the next section on the high-priestly work of Christ (He 4:14, 15, 16, etc.) and its provision of mercy and help for wandering sinners.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on First Baptist Church of Watkins Glen
Featured Image by Rod Long on Unsplash
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