The purpose of Word filled Wednesday is to share God’s word (no famous quotes or other literature — only the beautiful word of our Father) through
photo’s & a Bible verse!
The Greek word denotes the constant word of God. Here it refers to the word in that is quoted from the Old Testament (as indicated by the word
for at the beginning of this verse). That word is living, operative, and sharper than a two-edged sword.
According to the Bible, man is a tripartite being — spirit, soul, and body (
1 Thes. 5:23). Here, in this verse, are the joints and marrow — which are parts of the body — and the soul and spirit.
The foregoing verses describe the children of Israel as falling away from entering into the rest of the good land. With them there were three places: (1) Egypt, from which they were delivered; (2) the wilderness, in which they wandered; and (3) Canaan, into which they entered. Their history in these three places signifies the three stages of their participation in God's full salvation. This is a type of us, the New Testament believers, in our participation in the full salvation of God. In the first stage we receive Christ and are redeemed and delivered from the world. In the second stage we become wanderers in following the Lord; our wandering always takes place in our soul. In the third stage we partake of and enjoy Christ in a full way; this is experienced in our spirit. When we pursue the pleasures of material and sinful things, we are in the world, typified by Egypt. When we wander in our soul, we are in the wilderness. When we enjoy Christ in our spirit, we are in Canaan. When the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, they were always murmuring, reasoning, and chiding. This surely took place in their soul, not in their spirit. But Caleb and Joshua believed in the word of God, obeyed the Lord, and pressed toward the goal. This surely took place not in their soul but in their spirit. At that time the receivers of this book, the Hebrew believers, were wondering what they should do with their old Hebrew religion. This wondering in their mind was a wandering in their soul, not an experience of Christ in their spirit. So the writer of this book said that the word of God, i.e., what was quoted from the Old Testament, could pierce into their wondering like a sharp two-edged sword and divide their soul from their spirit. As the marrow is concealed deep in the joints, so the spirit is deep in the soul. The dividing of the marrow from the joints requires mainly the breaking of the joints. In the same principle, the dividing of the spirit from the soul requires the breaking of the soul. The Hebrew believers' soul, with its wondering mind, its doubting concerning God's way of salvation, and its considering of its own interests, had to be broken by the living, operative, and piercing word of God that their spirit might be divided from their soul.
Our soul is our very self . In following the Lord we must deny our soul, our very self . Our spirit is the deepest part of our being, a spiritual organ with which we contact God . It is in our spirit that we are regenerated . It is in our spirit that the Holy Spirit dwells and works . It is in our spirit that we enjoy Christ and His grace . Hence, the writer of this book advised the Hebrew believers not to stagger in the wandering of their soul, which soul they had to deny, but to press on into their spirit to partake of and enjoy the heavenly Christ that they might participate in the kingdom rest of His reign in the millennium. If they staggered in the wandering of their soul, they would miss God's goal and suffer the loss of the full enjoyment of Christ and the kingdom rest.
Our spirit is the organ with which we contact God , while our heart is the organ with which we love God . Our spirit contacts, receives, contains, and experiences God. However, this requires that our heart love God first. Our soul is of three parts — mind, will, and emotion; and our spirit too is of three parts — conscience, fellowship, and intuition. Our heart is not separate from our soul and spirit but is a composition of all the parts of our soul, plus the conscience, a part of our spirit. Hence, in our heart is the mind, with the thoughts, and the will, with the intentions. The thoughts affect the intentions, and the intentions carry out the thoughts. The living word of God is able to discern the thoughts in our mind and the intentions in our will. What was quoted from the word of God by the writer in the foregoing verses was able to expose what and where the thoughts and intentions of the Hebrew believers were while they were staggering in the process of their salvation. Amen!
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with Love,
The purpose of Word filled Wednesday is to share God’s word (no famous quotes or other literature — only the beautiful word of our Father) through photo’s & a Bible verse!
