The sword that pierces to the division of soul and spirit
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12 ESV)
God’s word is described as a sword, which is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces, cuts across, and penetrates its target just as a physical sword does. The verse continues to describe how deep that sword can penetrate to the division of the soul and spirit. Imagine using a little knife to pierce through the white of peeled, boiled egg until it gets to the division of the white and yolk. That is a visual of what this verse is saying.
What is the meaning of the imagery of the Word of God as a sword piercing to this point of division? The answer is given to us in the context of Hebrews 4:12 and the word “discerning” used in the verse. It means God’s Word is able to impart understanding to know or discern the difference between soul and spirit. His Word brings wisdom, discernment and light to clarify questions as troubling as the difference between the soul and the spirit!
MEDITATE
How does God’s Word penetrate a person’s heart? Think of the analogy of a sword and compare it how God’s Word works. The Word you read above just penetrated your heart! How did that occur?
APPLY THE WORD
God’s Word is light. It enlightens any dark areas in our minds. You can feed on the Word and you discover you know things about your job more clearly. His Word is light. I know this from the scriptures and my experience. If the Word can clarify the difference between soul and spirit, it can help you know what to do in your home, marriage, finances, etc. Just feed on it( take it into your heart )as food! It will sometimes pierce your heart and reveal things in your motives, thoughts, and feelings that have been hidden and need to be brought to light for repentance!
PRAY
Ask the Lord for an abundance of light in your life as you feed on His Word.
Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the Lord which sanctify you. (Leviticus 20:7–8, KJV)
As the Great I AM that I AM, God revealed Himself as the Lord who sanctifies His people in the Old Covenant—Jehovah Mekaddishkem. But this was only a shadow of something greater that was coming in the New Testament.
Jehovah Mekaddishkem is the English transliteration of the Hebrew words for “I am the Lord which sanctify you” ( “mekaddish” = sanctify, “kem” = you). Divine names and titles in the Old Testament often reveal an aspect of God in relation to His people.
There are three keywords that underlie the meaning of sanctification: “wash,” “consecrate,” and “separate.” Sanctification essentially means to make something holy. Sinlessness is a core aspect of holiness, but there is more to holiness than sinlessness. It is the very nature of God. However, when used in reference to us humans, it means to be cleaned from sin, set apart for God, and consecrated to Him.
In the passage above, God tells the people first to sanctify themselves and then reveals He is the One who sanctifies them. Thus, He gives us the two sides of sanctification—the God side and the human side. There’s something God does and something His people do for their sanctification.
This truth was only a shadow in the Old Testament. It is in Christ that we see God fully revealed as Jehovah Mekaddishkem to His people through the sanctifying work on the cross. In speaking to the Corinthians, Paul revealed,
“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11, KJV)
This is Jehovah Mekaddishkem fulfilled in Christ: We were washed and sanctified. Note that these are in past tense, describing something God has already done. The day you received Christ, you received the bath of your life, a heavenly bath by the Spirit of God that removed every stain of sin through the precious blood of Christ. And as you continue to live on earth, the Spirit continues to sanctify you daily.
Following the sanctifying work He has already done in us, He commands us,
“For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:” (1 Thessalonians 4:3, KJV)
Now that you are clean, washed, and sanctified, He tells us to put that sanctification to work outwardly. Paul explicit states it is what God wants—His will. He gives us a very specific example of sanctification here: abstain from sexual immorality. Few things defile us, like sexual impurity. But sanctification certainly includes more than abstaining from fornication or adultery. As above, it includes living a consecrated and separated life to God daily in the way we talk, act, think, feel, and handle our bodies.
He is Jehovah Mekaddishkem, the God who has Sanctified you in Christ and continues to sanctify you every day.
Meditate
Is our sanctification completed, ongoing, or both?
Apply the Word
This is the crucial part of this devotional. Until you receive the truth that God has already sanctified you by His Spirit, you will not be empowered to be sanctified practically. Put God’s sanctification power to work in your life daily by faith in the finished work of Christ.
Pray
Ask the Lord to help you in your daily walk of sanctification.
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