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The Ability of God’s Word

One of the great themes of the scriptures is “the ability of God’s word.” Consideration of this subject can have many beneficial spiritual effects upon our lives. Our vision of God’s word can be increased. Our faith in His word can be strengthened. Our appetite for the Bible can be intensified. Our capacity to minister the word to others can be enlarged. Furthermore, our interests in the mere words of man can be radically decreased.

The Character of the Scriptures

Hebrews 4:12 indicates that the ability of God’s word is related to it’s character. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” This passage first tells us of the character of the word. Once that is established, it is clear why the word is so capable of doing wondrous things.

Living, Powerful, Sharp

“For the of God is living.” The scriptures are not dead religious literature. They are the words of the living God. For the development of spiritual life and vitality, we want to be feeding on the words of the Lord, not the sayings of Aristotle or Sigmund Freud or Charles Darwin or John Bradshaw or Carl Sagan or Tony Robbins.

“For the word of God is powerful.” The Bible is not a compilation of inactive words lying upon pieces of paper. Rather, it’s words are active, filled with the force of God’s power in every statement. This is unlike the pronouncements of man, which lack any true life-changing dynamic.

“For the word of God is sharp.” Whereas the words of man have a dullness that prevents them from penetrating into the unseen places of the human heart, God’s word can cut like a sword into the deepest recesses of the inner being. 

Dividing Soul and Spirit

“…piercing even to the division of soul and spirit…” Sorting out the difference between soul and spirit is vital. Without this distinction, we will not know whether we are operating by the flesh or by the Spirit. We will not know how necessary it is to draw upon the resources of God for daily Christian living. We will be left with the inadequate capabilities of mere humanity. The word of God alone can provide this distinguishing insight.

Dividing Joints and Marrow

“…(even to the divison) of joints and marrow…” Here is another strategic separation. The marrow and joints of the physical life speak of the inner supplying of life (marrow) and the outward utilizing of life (joints). Without this spiritual clarification, we would mistakenly assume that the Christian life depended upon how hard we tried to word for God (that is, “maintaining active spiritual joints”). Instead, we learn that authentic Christian living hinges upon continually finding Christ as our source of inner life, which we then can work out in daily walk and service. Only the scriptures are able to reveal such truths to us.

Discerning Thoughts and Intents

“…and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart…” Here again, we have a vital evaluation that man needs. How can people discern the true character of thoughts and motivations, whether our own or those to whom we minister? God’s word sharply penetrates deep into the heart and mind of all who hear it. Then, the Spirit of God uses His word to convict or confirm these hidden deliberations inside of man.

Changing Lives

When the scriptures point out aspects of our lives that need to be changed, we can also count on the word of God to work upon us and within us to bring about those required transformations. Psalm 19:7-8 indicates the kind of changes God’s word can effect. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.”

Again, the character of the word is the basis of the ability of the word. God’s word is perfect, sure, right, and pure. Consequently, it is able to change lives by bringing spiritual restoration, giving divine wisdom, producing inner joy, and supplying godly understanding.

Sanctifying and Cleansing Lives

God wants to set our lives apart for Himself, as well as make them pure. He uses His word to accomplish such goals. Ephesians 5:26 declares that Jesus died on the cross “that He might sanctify and cleanse (His redeemed people) with the washing of water by the word.” The Lord desires to pour the living water of His word over our lives through reading and study and proclamation. The results will be the impurities of the world are regularly washed away and our lives are devoted more and more to His purposes and His glory.

Producing Fruitful Lives

Psalm 1:1-3 describes a person who rejects the values and life-style of the ungodly, and instead, “his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” This attention and allegiance to the scriptures causes a life of abundant fruitfulness to develop. “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”

Building Lives of Faith

One of the wonderful abilities of the word of God is that it can build faith into our lives. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). The growth of faith is so important in the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ. Yet, we cannot cause our faith to increase by merely willing it to be so. However, as we spend time listening to what God has to say to us in the Bible, His words will strengthen our faith in Him.

Revealing Christ to Lives

The greatest ability of God’s word is that it reveals the Lord Jesus Christ to those who are willing to seek Him. In John 5:39-40, Jesus told the Bible-searching experts of Israel, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” The scriptures can give to us a clear revelation of Jesus, if we are willing to go there to meet Him. Those who are merely on a quest for religious information will not see Him clearly in His word, nor will they receive the spiritual life that He alone can give.

Conclusion

In this day and age, we are watching the hope of the church shifting away from the word of God to the words of man. We desperately need to reconsider “the ability of God’s word.” If we will go to the word to encounter the Lord Jesus Christ, He will be revealed to us in a life-giving way. Furthermore, in the life that He gives us through His word, we will find the manifold ability of the word of God unleashed toward us in heavenly effectiveness. May we each be vessels of the Lord, shaped by His word to proclaim and to demonstrate what the word of God is able to do!

(This article is an excerpt from the book The Ability of God’s Word, by Bob Hoekstra.)