Hebrews Wisdom Series
Hebrews 4: Add Bread to the Shopping List
A devotional on Hebrews 4:12–13 and obeying the living word
Introduction
What was the biggest lie you’ve told yourself? For me, it was that I could save myself.
Hebrews 4:12–13 confronts that each of us has truths we keep hidden from ourselves most of all. It confronts the lies our mind tells our soul, such as:
- “I am a bad person”
- “I am a good person”
- or even “I am a Christian.”
And while we may deceive ourselves with lies, there is one truth from which we cannot hide: God.
For the word of God is active, accurate, and most importantly: alive.
Scripture Exploration
The scripture addressed in this devotional is Hebrews 4:12–13.
12 Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
13 And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.
“…the word of God is living and active,”
The book of Hebrews delivers its message from the context of the Logos=Word=Holy Spirit.
The concept of the logos has roots in Hellenistic philosophy to describe divine reason, logic, and the general order seen in the universe.
But we see the apostle John refer to the Word of God as the Logos, viewed as the bridge between God and the world. Let’s think of the Logos as the Holy Spirit.
God’s word, the Logos, is alive in the heart of every believer.
“…sharper than any two-edged sword,”
The truth offered from the wisdom of the Lord cuts from any direction, through all deception.
“…it divides soul from spirit, joints from the marrow;”
The difference between soul (psyche) and spirit (pneuma) is found in the Greek.
It is the difference between the spirit of a person (pneuma), and the mind of a person (psyche).
A detailed exploration of other important Greek words is discussed later in this devotional.
“…it is able to judge thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
The word, referenced as “it”, is the Logos. The living word sees through the deceptions of our mind (pysche) and understands the intent that lies within our spirit (pneuma).
“…all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.”
Jesus is the one to judge our hearts, our intentions, our deceptions.
Nobody hides anything from the judge.
Context and Background
Chapter 4 of Hebrews teaches about entering God’s rest, while versus 12–13 detail the disobedience of ignoring the teaching. And while there will be devotionals specifically on God’s rest, the core message of vv 12–13 is that:
- His word, the Logos is alive and active (detailed in the following section).
- Self-deceptions cannot hide us from Christ’s all knowing Judgment
When we draw on Hebrews 4:12–13 we explore a path opposite of wisdom: disobedience, disfaith, deception.
For by faith we trust in the wisdom of the Spirit; by disfaith we trust in the deceptions of our mind.
Personal Interpretation
Hebrews 4:12–13 does not tell us which church doctrines, denominations, and dogmas are correct: it only tells us that the word of God is alive. It tells us that while yes we have His written word in the Bible, His word is not limited to the written form exclusively.
Therefore fellow believers in Christ, when we close ourselves off from the living word, do we not harden our hearts to His voice as the Israelites did in the wilderness? And were not the Israelites punished for their disobedience as discussed in Hebrews 3?
Hardening our hearts and closing ourselves to His living voice opens us to the influences of the dead words of our minds.
For how can we as believers hear wisdom when we close ourselves to His voice, the only source of wisdom?
Still not convinced by the living word? Don’t take my word for it: let’s check out some Greek!
Application and Implication
For those that say my interpretation of Hebrews 4:12–13 is incorrect because the written word of God is:
- infallible
- immutable.
I urge you to consider the following example of a written word.
The Greek word Zao (ζάω).
Zao means “live,” and is used 118 times in the New Testament to reference being alive, the idea of life itself, or enabling life through things such as food.
Examples of Zao:
- Matthew 4:4
- John 4:10
- and of course, Hebrews 4:12 (along with 115 other examples)
Simply put: Zao is used exactly as expected when referencing a living object, the opposite an inanimate object.
Doubting believers, a question: If the word of God is living, why is the door left unanswered when He knocks to have more words with you?
Answering the door is the wisest thing for us beleivers. More than that, some argue we should already be waiting outside to receive Him so that he doesn’t need to knock at all!
Christ’s New Covenant promises nothing but our salvation through grace, faith, and obedience.
Grace is easy as that’s given to us freely. The last two, faith and obedience, are all on us.
And they come as a package deal: you can’t have faith without obedience.
Explore the idea of obedience without faith in this modern analogy:
- I write a grocery list and pay you to go to the store to buy the items on that list
- I then call you while you are at the store and tell you to add bread to the list
- You answer, “No. Bread isn’t on the list already” and hang up the phone
Of course you won’t tell your boss they cannot add something to their own list! Self-deception is believing you have the power and authority to say anything other than “I will.”
So what makes us believe that we can tell God He is not allowed to update His own list?
Let’s close the loop on the living word and it’s relation to wisdom, faith, and obedience:
Ask yourself: does the nonliving written list in your hand have more importance, authority, and wisdom than the living word of God commanding you directly?
If you answered no, I challenge you to explore the concept further for it leads to the path of obedience.
Conclusion
Self-deception is the opposite of God’s wisdom. Hebrews 4:12–13 tells us that God’s word is living. The word used in Greek to describe living is the same root word (zao) that describes living, breathing life, over 115 times in the New Testament.
When we close ourselves off from hearing the living voice, we deceive only ourselves. The living word is how we live His wisdom, whereas the written word is how to learn about His wisdom.
The living word is how we remain obedient and show our faith, whereas the written word is how we discern disobedience and consequences of disfaith.
The living word retains our life, the written word describes our life.
Brothers and sisters remember to answer when He knocks, for there are living words to hear that breath life into what He has written.
Amen.
Personal Note: Thank you for reading. Please leave a comment and tell me about your faith walk. Let’s uplift each other as the body of Christ.
