Double Edged Sword

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.”

Hebrews 4:12 is one of those verses that draws you back to it and has such a depth in context you continually learn and are inspired by what is revealed. It starts off with reiterating what we already know, but do we truly grab ahold of its meaning? The verse I am referring to is, “For the Word of God is alive and active.” 1 Peter 1:23 tells us God’s Word is living and enduring. We know in His Word we find life and not death, but do we think about its power and authority often and consider it enduring or do we see it as fleeting? What I mean by that is in times of trouble or when struggling, is it the first thing we turn to? Isaiah 4:8 states the, “word of our God will stand forever.” Psalm 119:89 confirms, “your word is firmly fixed in heaven.” And 1 Peter 1:25 relays the,” word of the Lord remains forever.” If we know based on scripture the Word of the Lord is constant and never changing, why do we have doubt in circumstances that we may find ourselves in? I believe it ties back to the foundation we have built and continually strengthen within our hearts.

We know from Romans 10:17 our faith comes through the hearing of the Word and from this we can discern the more we hear, the stronger our faith becomes. The revelation of Jesus Christ as found in faith is the cornerstone to eternal life. Romans 10: 9-10 states, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Your faith is what solidifies your connection with Jesus Christ allowing you to live, not only live in wholeness and wellbeing physically, but spiritually. Living in faith allows you to walk out a Peace filled life in His rest, taking hold of all God’s promises through your direct connection with Him through Jesus Christ.

Our strength is from the Lord and is based on two pillars, our hearts as confirmed through faith and our words as spoken from our hearts. Luke 6:45 tells us, “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” If we look back within Hebrews, we see several references to God’s commandments to protect our hearts, the light of our faith. Hebrews 3:8 says, “…do not harden your hearts,” and 3:10 states, “…their hearts are always going astray”. References to the heart tend to infer the heart is the source, the core of how you live out your faith. The key here is how you live out your faith. I heard Tony Evans say something the other day that has stuck with me, when he hears someone cussing, he is not so much worried about the cuss words being said, but the true concern should be placed upon the intent or condition of the heart of the person saying them. When you live openly to the influences of this world, you run the risk of this world feeding and instilling its sinful nature within your heart. Hebrews 3:13 states to encourage one another daily ,”so none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

If you live as instructed within Joshua 1:8 and continually meditate upon the word, your heart will be refreshed and filled with God’s never changing, enduring, life giving and constant Truth. When your heart is filled with God’s Word, your faith remains uplifted in turn allowing you to live an existence within His Peace. Not a fleshly earthly peace based on circumstances, but a heavenly Peace knowing as God’s Word judge’s your thoughts and attitudes of the heart, you will be found righteous under the Blood covering of Jesus Christ! Praise God, in our acceptance of Jesus and through faith, we can live in righteousness with God while continuing to strengthen our faith through the listening of His Word and the fulfilling of our hearts with His Truth and life.

The second part of Roman’s 10 from above that I would like to dig deeper into is, “with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” As we go through our days, do we understand and put relevance to the relationship between our circumstances and the words we speak? I am reading the book by Perry Stone, You Have a Crack in Your Armor and I would highly recommend it, so far it has been very revelational.

Within his book Perry talks about the double edged sword. He states, “In Hebrews 4:12 the word “two-edged” in Greek is distomos and is literally, “two mouthed”; distomos was used to describe a road or river that branched out into two directions. On the believer’s sword, I suggest the one blade was sharpened when God spoke His Word to the prophets, and the second blade is the power released from the written Word of God when you speak it… thus two mouths: God’s and yours.”

What an interesting aspect of the double edged sword. One edge is of God’s Word, surgically removing sin, deceitfulness, selfishness, anger, bitterness and unforgiveness from our lives. While the other sharp edge is our words, the blessings or curses we call down upon ourselves, others or our environments. When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we became one with Him and have been seated with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6), giving us authority over the things of this world in His name (Mark 16:17-18). Knowing we have authority and have been seated in heavenly places, I would encourage you to be mindful of what you say. When you speak, even jokingly as there are verses in regard to kidding around (Proverbs 26:18-19); Ephesians 5:4), be mindful to call down only blessings and favor and guard your heart and words from the negative influences of this world. Do not allow the things of this world to take away from the blessings and favor God has for you as written in His Word.

As we can gleam from these passages, the source to be protected, the source of how we live our lives in reverence to God is through our hearts and words. How do we maintain a pure, clean heart? Through the continual meditation and study of God’s Word. Allowing His Word to divide between soul and spirit, bone and marrow and judging the intent and attitude of the heart. So what does it mean for God’s Word to be a double edged sword, separating soul and spirit, joints and marrow and judging our hearts? It relates to the separation of the carnal from the spiritual. The difference between the physical limitations of this world and the unlimited power and authority we receive through Jesus Christ and God’s Word. God’s Word is the ultimate source and foundation for a life filled with His Peace, blessings, favor and wholeness. A life centered on Jesus and the Word of God is able to give you discernment between the seen and unseen, the natural and the supernatural and the carnal and the spiritual. If you do not already, I would encourage you to be diligent in the reading of God’s Word, not only reading, but through prayer ask God to open His Word that you may receive the wisdom and discernment to fully comprehend and live out His plan for your life.

Be blessed and may your heart be filled with faith and your steps never waver! Shalom!!