The Power of the Word of God - Conclusion

A more practically applicable verse which describes the incalculable worth of the Bible is Hebrews 4:12.  “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  This verse details the personal relevance and spiritual applicability of the Bible.

It is “living and powerful.”  The Bible travels through human history and provides answers for each generation.  Historians record the fundamental role of the Bible in the English Revolution of 1646, the American Revolution of 1776, the slave uprisings and resistance in the antebellum South, the American Civil War and in the apartheid resistance movement in South Africa.  For the individual, the Bible supplies answers to daily emotional, psychological, physical, relational, vocational and spiritual circumstances.  Its power emerges from the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.  The “living and powerful” Word of God remains the surest and safest haven for the believer.

The image of a double-edged sword brilliantly illustrates the potential of the Word of God to demolish our enemies, internal and external.  Elsewhere, the apostle Paul describes the Word of God as “the sword of the Spirit.”  It is an offensive weapon, which empowers the believer to triumph over the adversities of life.  Moreover, it “pierces the division of soul and spirit.”  In other words, it bridges the chasm between Creator and creature.  Should we find ourselves confused, we find clarity within the Word of God.  More significantly, the Bible assists us in achieving inner healing and wholeness.  The Word of God enables the individual believer to obtain the highest level of existence.

The Bible’s ability to reach to the depths of “joints and marrow” speaks of its usefulness in helping believers determine their motives.  A clear knowledge of one’s motives is necessary to spiritual, moral and ethical integrity.  The commandment to love one’s neighbor as one’s self and the dictate to abide by the Golden Rule requires a lucid appreciation of one’s motives. 

The Bible is replete with verses, which characterize the human heart as the essence of a person’s being.  Accordingly, the Lord Jesus Christ teaches, “Out of the heart flows the issues of life.”  In addition, He says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”  Nonetheless, the Word of God discerns the “thoughts and intents of the heart.”  It aids us in determining whether we have intention and willingness to follow the will of Almighty God.  The human heart either seeks the “good, pleasing and perfect” will of the Lord or it desires self-seeking motives which develop from fear.  To actualize our spiritual dimensions, we need the Word of God to sift through the layers of self-centeredness.

Whereas the Bible is an offensive spiritual weapon for an individual believer, it works just as effectively for a collective body of disciples.  A church must be people of the Book.  The Bible must play a predominant role in a church’s decision-making.  It cannot be subordinated to personal preference regardless of the number of people who may agree.  Instead, the Word of God must be the rule for formulating principles and setting policy.  Combined with the Church Covenant, the Book of Church Order, the By-laws and reason, the Bible holds the most reliable source of wisdom for any community of faith.

Furthermore, the Bible contains a number of varied self-descriptions about itself.  James’ image of mirror particularly stands out in my thinking; he says anyone who hears the Word of God and does not follow it is like a person who looks in the mirror and immediately forgets what he looks like.  Yet, if the man looks purposefully into the “perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”  Essentially, the mirror of the Word of God reflects the image of God which only the disciple can see if he looks intently into the Bible; and endeavors to walk in the path of God’s ways.

Contemporary believers have the best chance of reaping the promises and blessings of the Bible through a daily and vibrant relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  He is the personified Word of God, the Logos of John 1:1 who was present at Genesis 1:1.  Following the example of His sinless life most clearly helps us to be doers of the Word of God.  As we rightly relate to Him, we realize the power of the Word of God.