Hebrews 4:12 The Sword of Truth for Our Lives, Churches and Government

Hebrews 4:12   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.

This election period we have seen an all-out assault against those protecting our freedoms-as well as a media attack that is covering up generations of government corruption. See Corruption.  

Basically truth is cast aside and deception is being dressed up like ‘the prom date’.   If you are like me, you want to scream in frustration-what can we do to bring truth back to center stage and expose the evil so justice can burn bright again, our lighthouse for all America.

Ephesians 5:11   And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

If your eyes are open and you are seeing this spiritual battle, then Hebrews 4:12 is speaking directly to you 🙂    Let’s take a closer look at this verse and see how we can apply His action scripture to successfully fight the battle over sin in our churches, our country and all areas of our lives.

Examining Hebrews 4:12

This Scripture in Context

Since half of the keywords in this scripture are only used once-the  topic of this chapter (scriptures in context)  becomes of greater importance.   Starting in Hebrews 3 and continuing through chapter 4, we find the author exhorting believers to follow the Lord and stop the rebellion.   He gives numerous examples of the disobedience of Israel and their severe consequences given from the Lord.

Hebrews Chapter 3

Hebrews 3:7-19
⁷ the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, ⁸  do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion,     ⁹  where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did.
¹¹  So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ 
¹²  See to it…that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
¹⁵ “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
¹⁷  Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness?
¹⁹  So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

This definitely is not the same line of reasoning the writer teaches in Hebrews 11, commending our forefathers for their great faith!

Chapter 4 Continues with the Same Message

Hebrews 4:1-11 

¹  since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
(Again in the passage above, he says, “They shall never enter my rest. vs. 3:11” )
⁷  “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
¹¹  Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

As we can see, this is not a chapter on love and forgiveness, but a stern warning for those committing ongoing sin.   The Word is full of multitasking-walking in love, forgiving our brother is vital to our Christian walk Matt. 22:37-40, Matt. 6:15, Ecc. 3:1-10.     This next verse however gives us a divine sword so we can attack those who are bent on destroying the plan of God.  This is our weapon against the devil and his workings that are trying to annihilate our families, loved ones, and our country.

An Internal View of Hebrew 4:12

-For the word of God is alive and powerful

There is a living dynamic in God’s Word that is different than any other form of literature.   The eternal Godhead is completely represented in His Word.   The Father Spoke the Word Heb. 1:1-2, Jn. 12:49, Gen. 8:15, the Son manifested the Word Jn. 1:1, 14-15, the Holy Spirit teaches and reveals the Word Jn. 14:26, Eph. 6:17.   His Word is completely alive-no additional life could be added to the Bible.   The Lord spoke creation into existence, thus His Word is more powerful than all things.   See Turning Your World Right Side Up  P 1, P 2, P 3  Note: Only for Truth Seekers 🙂 !  

Genesis 1:3   And God said-spoke, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

The quest for believers then is not to make the Bible more alive, but to make His Holy Word more transferable to these earthly vessels 2 Tim. 2:20-21.   In other words, we are to be vessels of glory by abiding in the Word (Jesus) and having the glorious power of God manifest in our lives  Jn. 15:4, Mk. 11:23-24, Jn. 5:19.

-sharper than any double edge sword

Remember the context in this chapter-we are talking about fighting evil and rebellion.

Eph. 6:17   And take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

In this verse, we receive another confirmation that the Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.   We find however the direction of the fight in Ephesians  is different than in Hebrews

Ephesians 6:12, 13    For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. ¹³  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground,

In Eph. 6 we are attacking an external enemy, namely the powers of the fallen angels (above).   In Hebrews 4, we are ‘dividing’ someone ‘internally’ –which in my opinion, makes this a fascinating verse 🙂 .

-it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit,

The Lord is telling believers to use His Word as a Divine-all powerful- Sword.    The double-edged sword by the Romans was shorter than most-but easier to swing left and right…and most importantly-able to penetrate internally,  as mentioned above.

The soul of a man is his personality, the mind, will, emotions, and all of his (or her) personality traits.   Our soul interacts with the body and these two dimensions are what we operate with before we become born again-into the kingdom of God Gen. 2:7 KJV, Gen. 12:13 KJV, Gen. 19:20 KJV, Gen. 27:4 KJV, Gen. 42:21 KJV. 

The spirit of a man becomes alive after we receive Jesus as our savior, thus bringing to life our ‘spiritual man’  that is able can hear from God  1 Cor. 2:9-10.    See chart below.

Romans 8:14   For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Romans 8:9 But if God’s Spirit lives in you, you are under the control of your spiritual nature, not your corrupt nature. Whoever doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ doesn’t belong to him.

1 Thessalonians 5:23  And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray to God that your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 What many of us believe the Lord is teaching in this verse 

Make the power of My Word come alive in you Matt. 5:13-16, Gal. 2:20.   The Word is mighty and can do great things-especially against evil.   When My Word goes out in power the  Sword of My Word will penetrate into the heart of man, between his soul and spirit Matt. 26:41.     This light will expose the activities of the soul (the things done by the will of man), and bring light to the things done with My Holy Spirit-placed in the spiritual part of man Rm. 8:14.   If the soul of man is following the commands of God (his mind and will), both the soul and the spirit will be drawn toward the light-His truth Jn. 3:21, Jn. 14:6.   If man is following evil, the Lords light will reveal the disobedience in his soul.   For a Christian who needs repenting-his sins will be exposed.   For a non-believer-their heart will be laid bare-and the Spirit will expose their need for salvation.

1 Corinthians 14:25   The secrets in their hearts will become known, and in this way they will quickly bow with their faces touching the ground, worship God, and confess that God is truly among you.

The rest of this verse and the next verse seem to verify this interpretation.  Vs. 12 the Word…judges the thoughts and attitude of the heart.   Hebrews 4:13   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.

-dividing the joints and marrow

Ok, have to be honest, this part stumped me…longer that what I would like to admit 🙂 

It’s interesting to note however that joints is plural-not singular.   The greek root word for joint is harmos (fitted together) the term for chariot.  In other words, this verse is not looking at a particular ‘joint’ but joints collectively-the chariots…or movements of our lives.

Marrow is the inner most place in our life, our core of who we are.  As most of you know, the bodies blood is produced in the marrow of our bones.   The middle of our bones, the center of our being brings forth ‘who we are’ the most essential substance in our lives.

Using the same principle as the soul and spirit above, the Sword of the Spirit  will be proclaimed and divide our hearts-exposing the truth.   When Gods Word goes forth in power, it’s light will penetrate our innermost ‘root’  or intentions  (who we truly are-the marrow) …and reveal the true purpose for our agendas, our movements (joints) that our outward activities are displaying to others.  Simply, the Lord will put His heavenly light between our secret intentions (the core of who we are- the marrow) and our joints-the ‘public appearances’, what  We Do And Say in public-our movements.  Our innermost intentions versus what we publically say and show will be exposed.  In the Words glorious light, the deceivers will have no place to hide from their darkness or evil intentions John 3:19-21.   Praise God…watch out government leaders, false shepherds Ez. 34.

This part is soo exciting.   The corruption in our government, the false motives in churches-all can be dealt with by using the Word of God-His Holy Sword.

Exposing Government Corruption

When the church unites in the kingdom of God, His glory and Word will radiate within her Eph. 5:27, Matt. 5:14-16.    See first 4 articles on Kingdom of God.   She will march out and use God’s Word to speak truth to cities and nations Mat. 24:14.   Corruption in the government will have to succumb to the power of God’s Word and His illumination will expose the nation’s darkness to those who have eyes that can see Eph. 5:14.

For generations, satan-the illegitimate god of this world 2 Cor. 4:4 -has desired a world government that will force men to worship him  Rev. 13:4, 8.   See Root of Evil.   Christians are going to march into battle.   By the Lords verdict of conquering King, His church body will finish the task to bring satan down-finalizing the purpose for the church Eph. 1:20-23, Rev. 12: 7-11, Matt. 11:12.  See Day of the Lord Rapture, Rev. 3:10.

We are at the gate of the most epic battle for our government.   Today, the US is literally the battleground for all nations.   If we fall, so does the free world.   Trump and other liberty fighters see what is at stake.  They deceptive powers (many of whom are simply blindly following others) ‘have’ to take Trump down, along with the restoration of truth and justice.   If not, tribunal courts will bring about the punishment they deserve-for they have tragically destroyed not only individual lives but entire nations.  See Corruption.

As the body of Christ unites in His glory-we can use the Sword of the Word- Hebrews 4:12 and speak truth to the lies of the media, corrupt government officials, and all the bureaucrats in authority over us.  By the promise of the Word of God, their evil deeds will have to be exposed and brought to light.

The Church

The fight in this scripture is not intended to cast out those who have fallen and need help getting back into His fold.

Matthew 18:15  “If a believer does something wrong, go, confront him when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won back that believer.

This battle is to bring light to those who have become blinded to their sin, or to expose the false shepherds, teachers and apostate members who desire to bring down the work of the Lord.

Pride, deception, impure motives have destroyed countless churches.    The Father  desires true shepherds to lead His flock Jn. 21:15-17.    This verse gives us a powerful solution that deals directly with false motives and intentions.  

Let’s summarize the Biblical principles mentioned above.

-Get holy with Jesus…abide in Him, allow His Word to work powerfully in you Eph. 1:19, Jn. 14:21. 

-Start using the Word that applies to the sin in the church…Pride, sin, laziness, jealousy, social clicks.   Go online and use Biblical references to find the scripture to speak against the sin.   Pray and speak against the sin in the church…as we also speak the Word for God’s true purpose Prov. 19:21.   Quietly speak these verses as you walk around the church before (after) service.  Anointing oil is always a plus Jm. 5:14.

-As the Spirit leads, softly whisper these scriptures in service. The intent is not to disrupt, but to pray for the Lord’s truth to shine, exposing sin and bringing His kingdom light to the body.

-Always walk in love and if you feel a direct correction needs to be made,  be sure to be led by the Holy Spirits direction Eph. 5:2, Matt. 18:15.

-Have others who ‘see’ and are not sleeping…join in 1 Thess. 5:5-6.   The Lord knows the hearts of men, be open to attend the correct church God desires for you  Lk. 16:15, Rev. 3:16.  See Our Road with God Pt. 1, Pt. 2

Our Father promises His Word will expose the darkest  sin and bring it to the light Heb. 4:13, Lk. 8:17.   Praise God we have truths in the Word that will bring back the holy congregations of the Lords saints.

Our Lives

If we are having difficulties in any area, unforgiveness, anger, anxiety, lust, pride, health, jealousy etc. we can apply this scripture to our lives.   Start speaking the Word of holiness to our spiritual man, claiming the Lord has cleansed us from this sin  2 Cor. 5:21.

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Follow through with obedience, working against this sin.   His light and Spirit will increase between your spirit and the sin in your soul.   If needed, have others you trust to join you in this prayer, for this is the basic concept of the deliverance ministry.   We have authority over strongholds,  through the Word we can break the sin and the devils strongholds in our lives.   Satan has to flee from us.  2 Cor. 10:4-6, Jm. 4:7, theme verse Heb. 4:12.  

For Others

We can also speak scripture into the hearts of others, believers and nonbelievers.   Bringing the Holy Spirits Word into the spirit of a Christian and truth to the soul of the lost-so they can see their need to turn to Jesus as the savior for their sin.  See Knowing Jesus, Understanding God.     I also like to include kingdom principles when possible, creating a circle of God around them-in which the devil cannot penetrate Matt. 18:18-20.  See Video, Kingdom of God, The Way.

The church in America is in it’s greatest battle that she has ever faced!   As we abide in Jesus, He is giving us His great Sword to fight with.   WE HAVE TO USE IT!  Only when we join together and fight as an army of God can we see real long lasting change or revival in our society-overcoming not just sinful individuals, but entire territories of evil that satan has illegitimately established.   The more darkness we bring into the light, the more loved ones we will will be able to see the truth and thus turn to the Lord to be saved  2 Cor. 4:4.   Praise God!

May He bless you as you reach out to Him and pursue His truth.