Hebrews 4:12 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.
The Bible is not just a Book and those who revere it are not worshipping a Book. When someone in authority sends us a memo and we obey what they say in it we can hardly say that we are honouring the memo more than the person who sent it. The memo reflects his wishes and to disregard it is to disregard the person himself.
The Bible is the record of God’s communication to us. We hold it dear because it is an accurate account of God’s desires for the world. God is speaking to us and He does it through the Bible primarily. When we disobey what it says we are disobeying God. When we ignore it or change it we are ignoring Him and altering His words.
Hebrews 4:12 is not talking about Jesus as the Word. It is talking about the written record of God to us as preserved in the Bible as the Word of God. The fact that God speaks to us through the Bible should stun us. It is a marvelous truth and it is a great encouragement to the Christian.
Providentially, God orders things in such a way that we find a text that speaks to our situation. He orchestrates events so that we read in the Word the very thing we need for the situation we are in. We memorize it and imbibe its principles and find that it feed our souls even when we cannot open it up and read it. Its own testimony is that it equips us for every good work (II Timothy 3:16-17), strengthens the one who meditates upon it (Psalm 1), keeps us from error (Matthew 22:29), sanctifies (John 17:17), lead us to the truth about salvation in Christ (John 20:31), give us examples as a warning (Romans 15:4), is a more sure testimony than even the transfiguration (II Peter 1:19) and much more.
Psalm 119 is a treasure chest full of the benefits and delights of the Word of God. If the Old Testament Scriptures were such a blessing to the saints of old how much more are the completed Scriptures to us who have the whole completed record of God to us? God uses means and what He uses to save us and correct the saved and sanctify them and direct them and comfort them and rebuke them and help them, is the Word of God. It truly is a treasure of the will and word of God to us. What a work God has done in giving it and preserving it for the faithful and all those who will hear it and be saved.
What a fool a person is who has access to it and yet will not avail himself of the opportunities to read and study what God is saying to him through it. Don’t be such a fool.
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