Side note: This was an essay that I wrote for a theology class, but had to cut it down because I had too many words. I didn't want to get rid of it though, so I thought I'd post it :-)
One thing that I read in the readings assigned this week that I didn’t recognize the importance of before was in Hebrews 4:12. In this verse, the author writes, “Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.”
At the beginning of the verse the author says, “Indeed, the word of God is living and effective…”. How can a word be living? Only creatures are alive. The word of God is different. We know from John 1:14 that Jesus is the Word of God. (“And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” ) The fact that Christ is the Word of God also makes sense because when one comes to know the Word of God, he or she comes to know Christ. When people do not know the Word of God they cannot know Christ as deeply as He’d like to reveal Himself to them. As St. Jerome once famously said, “Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ.” If Christ is the Word of God, then all of the things that the author of Hebrews uses to describe the Word of God must also apply to Christ.
The author of Hebrews says the Word of God is living and effective. If Jesus is the Word of God, as John said (John 1:1), then He must also be living and effective. This makes sense because although Christ died here on earth and was then resurrected, He never died again. He ascended into Heaven, body, and soul, but He did not die. If someone did not die, we can logically assume that they are not dead, and therefore was and are alive. Christ is effective because His life, death, and resurrection had a tremendous effect on all of the universe and all of human history, and He continues to affect the lives of all in major ways to this very day and will do so for eternity.
The author of Hebrews then goes on to describe the Word as “…sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating between even soul and spirit, joints and marrow…” Does this make sense when applied to Christ as the Word? Absolutely. In Matthew 10:34, Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword.” When we as Christians know the Word of God as it was meant to be interpreted through the help of Christ and the magisterium of the Church, we will be given knowledge of things by the Word of God and Christ which are one and cannot be separated. When this happens we will not be able to help but share them and the one who gave us that knowledge. Both spreading our knowledge of Christ, the Word, and His Church, are highly controversial, and, sadly, are not agreed upon by all Christians. We may be disliked because we know the Truth. Our beliefs may bring division between us and our loved ones. So, as crazy as it seems, the Word of God is divisive, and so is Christ.
The final observation about the Word of God that the author of Hebrews makes in this verse is that it (He) is “able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” Any ordinary word that is spoken cannot do anything even remotely similar to this! This line, along with the text of the next verse when the word is referred to as “He", proves that Jesus is the Word being spoken of. When we pray with the Word of God, we come closer to Christ. He alone can discern our reflections and thoughts, and help us to more deeply understand Him through the things we are reading.
In studying this verse, I have a strong desire to come to know the Lord more deeply through encountering Him as Word made man. I find it very interesting how everything in the Old Testament as well as in the new, points to Christ. This makes sense now after reading this verse, as He is the Word of God! This discovery found in reading the book of Hebrews helps me to further understand Christ’s role in Scripture and to be more excited to soak up the Word of God- Jesus Christ- through the mysteries and stories of the Bible.
That is an awesome blog post.