Men and women, even children, have searched the Scriptures for various reasons: to know the mind of God, to know the will of God, to find comfort, to become a better person, to explain things, and so on.
If the Bible is a DEAD book as some try to convince us, why then do millions upon millions read it daily, study it diligently, and seek for answers in its pages?
The Scriptures themselves testify to the fact that “the Word of God is LIVING (Greek, zao) and POWERFUL (Greek, energes), and SHARPER (tomoteros) than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division (lit., dividing) of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intent of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Pretty powerful stuff!
Let’s break this all down:
Living = zao = (a primary root) “to live (lit. or fig.), alive”
Powerful = energema = “an effect: operation, working,” from energeo = “to be active, efficient, fervent, mighty,” from energes = “active, operative, effectual, powerful”
Sharper = tomoteros = “to cut; keen”
Piercing = diikneomai = “to reach through, i.e., penetrate”
Division (NKJV) Dividing (KJV) = merismos = “a separation or distribution,” from merizo = “to part, to disunite, divide, part with”
Discerner = kritikos = “decisive (critical), discriminative,” from krites = “a judge, to judge,” from krino = “to distinguish, decide, to try, determine, conclude”
We can see by these Greek definitions that the Word of God is not DEAD LETTER, but Living, Powerful, Sharp, Discerning. What makes the Scriptures ALIVE is because they are God-breathed: “All Scripture is inspired by God(lit. God-breathed)” as 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us. We could rightly translate this verse, “All Scripture inspired by God is useful for…” In this inspired text, referring to “inspiration,” God is its Principal Author, with the writer as the human collaborator (Paul). Thus the Scriptures are the Word of God in human language (see also 2 Peter 1:20-21).
Inspiration (Greek theopneustos), “divinely breathed,” from theos, “a deity, the Supreme Divinity, God”
So…
The Word of God – “Spirit-breathed” – can be read, but at the same time, it READS the reader! The Spirit penetrates our being.
The author of Hebrews uses the body as an example of how a sharp sword can cut and divide deeply. He tells the reader that just as the sword cuts and divides, so does the inspired Word of God, which is “able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart” (The New American Bible). The author wants us to know that as we read the Word, the Word will read us, for “the Word brings judgment as well as salvation.” We know we can be reproved, corrected, instructed, and convicted by God’s Word … for it is ACTIVE AND ALIVE. The Word judges the thoughts/attitudes/actions of the believers.
The Scriptures are the written Source of wisdom, knowledge and understanding. They are the written Source of Divine Revelation, even Spirit Revolution!
As many have pointed out, we can read historical accounts thousands of years old in the Bible. We can read prophecies that were spoken and came true after hundreds of years, even ones spoken in the Old Testament that came true before the fulfillment of the New Testament. We can read about “In the beginning” (Genesis 1:1) and about the Apocalypse in Revelation. We can read about the Creation of the human race (Genesis 1:26-27) and the end of the human race (Revelation 20:11-15). We can read about God’s special people/tribe (Israel) and about His special Spirit people (new Israel). We can read about the blessedness of the first Adam, about Adam’s and Eve’s sin, their fall and the coming of the second Adam (Christ) who opens the door for eternal salvation to all those who call upon His Name through repentance. We can read about the old Jerusalem, which was destroyed, and about the creation of the New Jerusalem … the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and deportation of Israelites in the 6th century BC to the prediction of the destruction of the rebuilt temple in 70 AD.
The Bible is a Living Testimony of the Living God and His Living people as well as dead gods and (spiritually) dead peoples. Paul used the word evangelion to designate the “Message” that he and others proclaimed, the “Gospel of God” (Romans 1:1; 15:16; 2 Corinthians 11:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:2, 8, 9). Paul often referred to the Message as “the Gospel” (Romans 1:16; 10:16; 11:28; etc.), also, because of its content and origin, as “the Gospel of Christ” (Romans 15:19; 1 Corinthians 9:12; 1 Thessalonians 3:2; etc.). Paul also referred to this Message for the “mess age” as “my Gospel” (making it very personal: Romans 2:16; Galatians 1:11; 2:2) and “our Gospel” (2 Corinthians 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 1:5; 2 Thessalonians 2:14). The term “Gospel” meant “telling the story of Jesus.”
So, dear believers, we should love and embrace God’s Word, both written and spoken!
Gen. Jim, POW
