The Word of God is Alive! ⚡️⚡️?⚡️⚡️

[Bible Speaks]

12 "For the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of joints from the  marrow, and is able to discern thoughts     and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)

What must we continue to do to please Jehovah?

When you learn from the Bible that you need to make a change in your life, are you ready to obey? Think about this: The Bible says that the people whom Jehovah wants to bring into his organization are “the desirable things of all the nations.” (Haggai 2:7) 

This means that God chooses people who are precious to him because they love what is right. It is true that when we first started studying the Bible, most of us were doing wrong things. 

But because we loved God and his Son and wanted to please God, we were happy to make important changes in the way we thought and acted. 

We asked for Jehovah’s help in prayer and then worked hard to make the necessary changes. Finally, we could get baptized and receive Jehovah’s approval.

What must we continue to do to please Jehovah?

When you learn from the Bible that you need to make a change in your life, are you ready to obey? 

Think about this: The Bible says that the people whom Jehovah wants to bring into his organization are “the desirable things of all the nations.” (Haggai 2:7) 

This means that God chooses people who are precious to him because they love what is right. 

It is true that when we first started studying the Bible, most of us were doing wrong things. But because we loved God and his Son and wanted to please God, we were happy to make important changes in the way we thought and acted. 

We asked for Jehovah’s help in prayer and then worked hard to make the necessary changes. Finally, we could get baptized and receive Jehovah’s approval.

But we are still imperfect. We still need to make changes in our life and to work hard to do what is right. But Jehovah promises to help us if we continue to do our best to please him.

Hebrews 4:12, tells us that the word of God “exerts power.” This means that God’s word has the power to help people to change their lives. His word helped us to make the changes that we needed to make before we got baptized. And it can help us to make changes in our life after our baptism. 

In his letter to the Hebrew Christians, Paul also writes that the word of God “pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit” and that it “is able to discern thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) 

The “soul” here means what we are on the outside, what people can see when they look at us. The “spirit” here means what we really are on the inside, what people cannot see when they look at us. 

So Paul was saying that when we understand what God wants us to do, our actions will show what we are on the inside. Is there sometimes a difference between what other people see and what we really are on the inside?

Paul wrote at Hebrews 4:12: “The word of God is alive,” he was not speaking about the Bible.* The other verses in that chapter show that he was speaking about God’s promises. 

Paul was saying that God’s promises always come true. Jehovah said about his word: “It will not return to me without results.” And he said: “It will have certain success in that for which I have sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11) 

So we must be patient if God does not fulfill his promises when we want him to. We can be sure that Jehovah is working to complete his purpose.—John 5:17.

We know that Jehovah is working to fulfill his purpose for the earth and humans. Because God’s purpose is very important to him, it makes him happy when we show we are faithful and obedient to Him. 

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[b4ucuhear]

Good explanation. When in our publications "The word of God" is used in an extended sense referring to the Bible (as a book which contains promises of God and other information in written form) Word has a capital "W." But when quoting the actual passage referring to God's promises themselves, it has a small "w" - it may be confusing to some to see the difference. 

[Anna]

17 hours ago, Bible Speaks said:

What must we continue to do to please Jehovah........

It's always a good idea to cite your source when quoting from publications ect. for two reason: 1.so people can look it up, and 2.So you are not mistakenly credited as the author.

[Bible Speaks]

16 minutes ago, Anna said:

It's always a good idea to cite your source when quoting from publications ect. for two reason: 1.so people can look it up, and 2.So you are not mistakenly credited as the author.

I use the Bible as the sources, so I'm called "Bible Speaks." I put together myself. I pray for the correct words. If I use a "quote" you will see jw.org. 

Thank you, Bible Speaks ???

@b4ucuhear Yes! Of course, a title should be in capitals I learned in school. Correct? When scriptures have it in caps I see and use it. Hope that is what you are referring to? Bible Speaks ???

[JW Insider]

1 hour ago, Bible Speaks said:

2 hours ago, Anna said:

It's always a good idea to cite your source when quoting from publications ect. for two reason: 1.so people can look it up, and 2.So you are not mistakenly credited as the author.

I use the Bible as the sources, so I'm called "Bible Speaks." I put together myself. I pray for the correct words. If I use a "quote" you will see jw.org. 

Or you could just say that it was taken from here:

http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/402011526

[JW Insider]

4 hours ago, b4ucuhear said:

Good explanation. When in our publications "The word of God" is used in an extended sense referring to the Bible (as a book which contains promises of God and other information in written form) Word has a capital "W." But when quoting the actual passage referring to God's promises themselves, it has a small "w" - it may be confusing to some to see the difference.

I read in some commentary in the Bethel Library that the Bible never speaks of the Bible as the "word of God" or "God's word." This always bothered me a bit because I had always thought of Hebrews 4:12. At the time we always used it this way:

*** w80 3/15 pp. 22-23 pars. 7-8 Living Up to Our Choice ***
7 When the apostles proclaimed the “good news,” whom did God through his Word commend? The people in the synagogue at Beroea, for, the Bible says, “they received the word [of the good news spoken by Paul and Silas] with the greatest eagerness of mind, carefully examining the Scriptures daily as to whether these things [that even the apostle Paul said] were so.” (Acts 17:10, 11) They made these things their own, not merely listening with agreement but also examining the firm Scriptural basis for the things they eagerly received into their minds and hearts.
8 We should follow the course of those sincere Beroeans. Why? Because we may hear the truth preached or taught by human teachers, but when we read it in the Bible it becomes a fully founded, permanent motivating force in our hearts, for “the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of joints and their marrow, and is able to discern thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12) Constant study of the Bible prevents us from remaining spiritual babies. God’s Word infuses his spirit into our hearts, making us strong, mature. The same principle is in operation when we declare the “good news” to others. It has greater force if we let people read it in the Bible than if we use our own words.

It is obvious, even from the Greek and the context of Hebrew 4:12 that this isn't the Bible, specifically, being spoken about, but I was still surprised to see it stated this way in the more recent 2011 Watchtower.  @Bible Speaks is quoting above from the Simplified Edition.

*** w11 7/15 p. 32 par. 20 God’s Rest—Have You Entered Into It? ***
When Paul wrote that “the word of God is alive,” he was not referring specifically to God’s written Word, the Bible.

 

[Bible Speaks]

1 hour ago, JW Insider said:

Or you could just say that it was taken from here:

http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/402011526

@JW Insider: Sometimes I use two- three sources of articles too. My post when I do use wol.jw.org is there also. Thank you ? 

[b4ucuhear]

cuhear Yes! Of course, a title should be in capitals I learned in school. Correct? When scriptures have it in caps I see and use it. Hope that is what you are referring to? Bible Speaks ???

i agreed with everything you wrote. I wasn't making a correction or disagreeing in any way. As explained above, I was simply drawing attention to something that when reading our publications may have confused some people as to why the difference, especially as it relates to our newer understanding of the passage.

To put it another way:  If "the word of God" as expressed in Hebrews 4:12 were referring to a book, (the whole Bible)  - as a noun - "word" would have had a capital "W."  But it doesn't. "word of God" as expressed here is referring to God's promises, yes, as often expressed in the Bible, but not the whole Bible itself. That is different from the way we used to view it as shown in  JW Insider's post.  People may be confused when our publications historically have used that passage to allude to the Bible and using a capital "W" "Word of God" to make the point, when in fact the point made by that passage is to God's promises - an understanding which updates our previous understanding/application.