The Living and Active Word of God
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” [(KRV) “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and it discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart.”] (Hebrews 4:12).
These days I have been revising the devotional writings posted on my Naver blog. As one brother suggested to me, I am enlarging the font size from 10pt to 19pt so readers can view the devotional writings more comfortably. Without even thinking how many devotional posts I have on my Naver blog, I simply began revising them—currently I am revising the book of Psalms—and while preparing this sermon yesterday, I realized that there are more than 15,000 devotional posts. ㅠㅎㅎ
In the midst of this, yesterday morning (Monday), I exchanged KakaoTalk messages with Uncle Missionary Changman. He told me that he would be coming to Los Angeles, so I initially tried to schedule lunch with him yesterday, but he suggested we meet today (Tuesday). Therefore, instead of preparing the family-worship sermon this morning, I decided to prepare it yesterday afternoon.
At that moment, what came to mind was the third of the five faith confessions my beloved cousin Sujeong made while battling cancer:
“…as I started studying and reading the Bible, His words came alive. I started to understand what it truly meant that Jesus suffered on the cross to give us eternal life. I learned what it means to have joy.”
And as I meditated on this confession again, I was reminded of today’s passage, Hebrews 4:12 (KRV):
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and it discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Perhaps the reason this Scripture came to mind is that Sujeong said she “felt His words come alive,” while Hebrews 4:12 in the KRV translation says, “the word of God is living and active.” In other words, when I think about the “moving/living” Word of God that Sujeong described, it reminds me of Scripture’s expression that “the word of God is active.”
Thus, together with today’s text, Hebrews 4:12, Sujeong’s third confession of faith, and the passage from Psalm 119 that I was revising yesterday, I wish to receive the lesson the Lord gives through meditating on the Word of God.
First, I would like to meditate on today’s passage, Hebrews 4:12, in connection with the devotional writings on the Psalms that I am currently revising.
At this point I would like to share with you a portion from what I wrote when meditating on Psalm 119:25–32 under the title “I Will Run in the Path of Your Word!”: “I believe in the power of God’s Word. I believe that God’s Word has the power to lift up our discouraged and downcast souls. This is because the Word of God itself is living and active (Heb. 4:12). Even if we grow weary and collapse while serving the Lord’s body, the Church, we must hold fast to the promise given by the Lord in Matthew 16:18: ‘I will… build My church…’ And we must draw strength of heart from that promise. With that promise, the Lord will raise you and me up again so that we may continue to faithfully serve His body, the Church. And we will experience in our lives the truth of Proverbs 24:16: ‘For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again…’ In fact, throughout my Christian life I have fallen countless times, yet each time the Lord raised me again by His living and active Word of promise.”
On December 21, 2021, I wrote a short devotional on my Naver blog titled “I Am James, Who Was Strengthened and Raised Up Again Like a Tumbling Doll by the Mighty Hand of the Lord’s Word.” It reads:
“The man lame from birth who begged from Peter and John began to walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and entering the temple with them, he walked and jumped and praised God, clinging to Peter and John (Acts 3:1–11, Modern Translation). Whenever I was spiritually depressed—so depressed that I could not get myself up—the Lord revived my heart with the promise of the Five Loaves and Two Fish from John 6:1–15 (Isa. 57:15), and He rescued me again (Ps. 119:107, Modern Translation). Being thus upheld by the mighty hand of the Lord’s Word, I gained strength and was raised up again like a ‘tumbling doll,’ and I cannot help but cling to that Word of promise. Moreover, I desire even more to be fully held and led by that Word.”
Because of this, I like to describe my life as an “upright-again life,” a tumbling-doll life. Here are four excerpts where I have used this “tumbling-doll” expression while meditating on the Word:
(1) “For example, one of the words the indwelling Holy Spirit has written deeply and progressively on the tablet of my heart is John 6:1–15. This was the Word the Lord spoke to me through the preacher during a college retreat in my freshman year. The Holy Spirit worked powerfully and wondrously in my heart, inscribing this promise on the tablet of my inner being. Ever since receiving this promise in May 1987, whenever I fell, stumbled, or collapsed, the Holy Spirit would bring this Word to mind and revive my discouraged soul like a tumbling doll, enabling me to stand again until this very day. Psalm 119:49: ‘Remember Your word to Your servant, for You have given me hope.’ (Modern Translation: ‘Remember the promise You made to Your servant, for it has given me hope.’) [‘Let Us Carefully Consider the Lord’s Instructions’ (Psalm 119:15–17)].”
(2) “Look at today’s text, Psalm 119:50: ‘This is my comfort in my affliction…’ When no one can comfort me, and when I can accept no one’s comfort, in the place of loneliness where I struggle and weep in tears seeking only the Lord’s comfort, the Lord comforts me with His Word of promise. The promise of the Five Loaves and Two Fish from John 6:1–15 is the greatest comfort to me. When I am fallen, collapsed, and discouraged—when no one can lift me up and I cannot accept anyone’s consolation—that promise revives me (Ps. 119:50) and raises me up again. That is how I have lived an ‘upright-again’ life to this day. The psalmist relied on the Word of promise for comfort because he had experienced its reviving power. Living a life revived by the Word, obedience to the Word inevitably becomes our possession.” [“My Portion” (Psalm 119:56)].”
(3) “Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again (Prov. 24:16). The reason is that even when we are exhausted and collapsed, the Lord will raise us again. We must rise and move forward. We are like tumbling dolls. Though we fall, the Lord raises us up again to stand firm. Even today and tomorrow, though we may collapse physically from fear and discouragement and wander in loneliness, the Lord will raise us again. Let us go into the wilderness to seek physical rest and to hear the gentle whisper of the Lord, and let us be recharged to give our whole hearts to completing the mission the Lord has given. Victory!” (“The Broken-hearted” book)
(4) “The God who draws near to the broken-hearted and heals their broken hearts is our true hope. Because the Lord is our true hope, we persevere through much pain, suffering, and tears, and by the comfort, hope, and courage He gives, we rise again like a tumbling doll and live each day. Even though we do not know what tomorrow holds, with the comfort and strength He gives each day, we take one step at a time toward our heavenly home.” (Conclusion of “The Broken-hearted” book)
Second and last, I would like to meditate on today’s passage,
Hebrews 4:12, in connection with Sujeong’s third confession of faith.
Here is Sujeong’s third confession:
“As I started studying and reading the Bible, His words came alive. I started to understand what it truly meant that Jesus suffered on the cross to give us eternal life. I learned what it means to have joy.”
As I meditate on this confession again, I believe that while she was alive, even in the midst of the intense suffering of cancer, the living and active Word of God, just as Hebrews 4:12 (KRV) describes, truly came alive and moved within her heart. Thus I believe she received two great blessings from God. These two great blessings are:
(1) She “began to understand what it truly meant that Jesus suffered on the cross to give us eternal life.”
I believe that as she struggled with cancer and suffered deeply, she began to truly understand the purpose of Jesus’ suffering on the cross—through the living and active Word of God.
Is this not ironic? Though she continuously suffered physically, spiritually she began—through the living and active Word—to understand the truth that Jesus suffered on the cross to give us eternal life. Because she began to understand this, I believe that even during her cancer battle, she longed to enjoy eternal life fully in the heavenly kingdom. Thus she confessed, “I put my trust and hope in Him.”
As I meditated on her confession, I wrote two short reflections:
(a) “In my suffering, I begin to understand the purpose of Jesus’ suffering.”
(b) “When we begin to understand Jesus’ suffering and death through the living and active Word of God amid our own suffering, we will long to fully enjoy eternal life in heaven.”
(2) The second great blessing Sujeong received from God is this:
She said, “I learned what it means to have joy.”
How could she “learn what joy is” when she was in severe pain from cancer?
How could suffering and joy exist together?
I remembered how my grandfather, even while battling cancer, asked me to sing hymn #82: “My Joy, My Hope, My Heart’s Delight.” I love verses 1 and 5, but I meditated especially on verses 1 and 2 because they contain the word “joy”:
(Korean original)
(Verse 1) “My joy, my hope, my life is the Lord; day and night I call and offer praise, yet always feel unsatisfied.”
(Verse 2) “My beloved good Shepherd—where does He go with His flock? Perhaps to some flower-filled garden where He may share joy with them.”
Curious about the English lyrics, I looked them up and translated them literally into Korean:
(Verse 1) “O, before Him my soul finds joy; He is the One to whom I cry in my distress, my Comfort by day, my Song by night, my Hope, my Salvation, my Everything!”
(Verse 2) “Beloved Shepherd, where do You lead Your sheep? To feed them in love’s fair pasture? Why must I grieve in the valley of death and wander alone in this lonely wilderness?”
I believe God the Father revealed Sujeong’s joy—her Lord—to her through His living and active Word. And I believe that the Good Shepherd, Immanuel God, was with her even in the valley of death, so that she rejoiced in hope rather than sorrow (Rom. 12:12: “Be joyful in hope…”). Thus, even in severe suffering, Sujeong came to “learn what joy means.”
Zephaniah 3:17 came to mind: “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty One who saves. He will take great delight in you; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.” (Modern Translation: “The Lord your God is with you. He is a mighty Savior. He takes great joy in you and will love you quietly, and because of you He will sing with joy.”)
Let me conclude this meditation on the Word. Please listen once more to Sujeong’s third confession of faith: “As I started studying and reading the Bible, His words came alive. I started to understand what it truly meant that Jesus suffered on the cross to give us eternal life. I learned what it means to have joy.” And listen again to today’s passage, Hebrews 4:12 (KRV): “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and it discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart.” I pray that the living and active Word of God will also move and come alive in each of our hearts and lives, just as it did in Sujeong’s.