The Living Message of God is for Us

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 (Hebrews 4:12). The main reason why a person should be diligent and intentional about pursuing God through faithful reading and applying the Bible’s message to life is given in Hebrews 4:12. Its message is the Word of God for you and me. Five words are used to describe the Word of God:

1. Living: The Spirit is within the Word. It’s not just a dead code of laws which tell you what you should or shouldn’t do, but it penetrates deeper than that. It tells us who we are already in relationship to Jesus, and there is no limit on how much we can be like Jesus Christ. God is telling us something through the Word, and we need to discover its message.

2. Active: It isn’t just stagnant like the Dead Sea where everything pours into it, but it never lets anything out. The Dead Sea just sits there and collects water, but it has no outlets to let water flow through it. You’ve probably been to a stagnant body of water where it just sits there and is stinky and not something you would want to swim in or drink from. God’s Word is active and flowing, and it nourishes those who take the time to read and study it.

3. Sharp: Ever try cutting with dull scissors or a dull blade (such as when mowing or cutting a tomato) It doesn’t work so well. There’s a proverb that says, “As iron sharpens iron, so does one person sharpen another.” God’s Word does that for us. It makes us better and smarter, and it helps us to become loving and kind. It gives us insights about the purpose of life and where everything is headed. We are headed toward Heaven, and that message in the Bible gives us hope.

4. Penetrates: …even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. The truths and power of God’s message penetrates a person’s innermost being in totality, getting us to think about things we otherwise could never imagine. In the Bible the soul is the living element of the body. It’s the animation of life. We are spiritual beings in that we are made in God’s image and we desire to live within the boundaries of that image. When we experience discord, it is  because we have gone outside of the godly image in which we are created. When in eighth grade, I really began searching more seriously the truths of God found in the Biblical message as I began wondering where we go after we die. It just didn’t seem like that part of me called the “soul” would stop existing—ever. As it turns out, according to the Bible, we don’t cease existing upon death, but we continue to live in either Heaven or Hell.

5. Judges…the thoughts and attitudes of the heart: Our conscience can only be helpful to us when it is informed by God’s message as contained in Scripture. A lot of times people talk about doing what they do because they “felt it was what they should do,” or something like that. Our ability to discern from a Christian spiritual perspective is only accurate when it is in line with the Bible’s message.
 
How might the Bible’s message need to speak to something you are desiring right now in your life? How you spend your money? Your time? People you associate with? Take time to study God’s Word regarding the particular area you are wondering about, so that your conclusions are grounded in Scripture and a godly perspective. Community Christian offers different Bible studies and discussion groups that can help God’s Word come to life in your soul. Will you join us in one of these opportunities this summer?
 
Here to help you understand God’s Word and how it applies to you,
Tyler