Hebrew 4:12 For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and
sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and
[is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
I can understand now why no writer would take credit for this part of the New testament. Why would the Christian Church hierarchy keep this and throw away so many other writings.
2007-04-12 13:48:20 · 4 answers · asked by Terry 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Both answers, so for, skirted any answer to the specific question. Perhaps Christians should begin studying the book they hold so dear but seldom truly know about.
2007-04-12 14:12:24 · update #1
I would suppose that the word of God is powerful in terms of longevity. Look how long it has been attacked and persevered through the ages. And maybe piercing is the effect of the words. How it effects you in a sense of maybe hearing it for the first time. It does sometimes have a "Jolting" effect to the person. (It's been said many times.)
( I'm still on Exodus right now. On TOP of that I'm looking into ANOTHER book.)
2007-04-12 16:05:04 · answer #1 · answered by Da Mick 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Man was created in three part. God made his body from the elements of earth, breathed into it his own spirit, and he became a living soul. Each of the three parts operates in a different realm. The body touches the physical, the soul handles the mind, will and emotions. The spirit communicates with God.
The soul receives information from both the body and the spirit, and then it makes the decisions on how to act on the input.
Man has two matures. When the body and the soul work together, it is called "the flesh". When the spirit and the soul work together, it is called "the heart".
Sometimes it is difficult to know if something is coming from your spirit (which gets it ideas from God) or from your own mind. Hebrews 4:12 is simple saying that the Word of God can help you divide between what is your own soul and what is the spirit of God.
It can also help you to tell what things coming from your body are "joint", meaning voluntary actions that you can control (like you control the joints of your limbs) and which are "marrow:, meaning involuntary/necessary actions (like the involuntary/needed creation of blood cells by your body). Such as "hunger" is an involuntary/necessary action while "gluttony" is a voluntary action that you can control.
It also says that the Word is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Again that is the difference between what your thoughts of our soul and what the intents of your reborn spirit. (The two parts of the heart).
The scripture is NOT talking about God slicing the soul and the spirit apart in the sense of destroying them. The word "asunder" has changed in meaning since the KJ translation was made in 1611. Newer translation say "Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit" rather then "dividing asunder".
2007-04-12 14:09:43 · answer #2 · answered by dewcoons 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you study the bible hard, I have found that spirit is defined as the breath of life, and soul means the identity and body of a person. It means that the word of God could kill somebody physically. There are many reasons why the Christian God might need to kill somebody. The most notable would be that (as prophecy tells), when the Kingdom of Heaven comes to earth in the end, God will be forced to kill the wicked, for they shall assail him.
2007-04-12 13:53:41 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's obvious you don't have a clue what this passage is saying.
What it is referring to is the ability of the Word of God to operate within the inner man of every regenerated believer, who has been born of the Spirit, and to distinguish the difference between what arises from the spirit and what is merely from the soul, that is, the non-spiritual part of the inner man.
If you have not been born again, you could not possibly understand this verse.
"These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. "
Jude 19
the word translated as "worldly-minded" is actually the word "soulish" in the Greek.
The New Testament always distinguishes between the spirit (the higher element) and the soul (the baser element) in regenerate man.
2007-04-12 13:58:14 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋