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About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman
The
Divine Energy Hebrews 4:12 reads: "For the word of
God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it
penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints
and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." I could write pages
dissecting this verse but I won't. I
will only comment on the word "active" as it relates to God's
Word effectively penetrating the core of who we are.
This might sound like New Age philosophical religion, but it's
not. It's Biblical theology.
According to John 1:1,
Jesus is the Word of God. His
eternal existence, as if it were words, speaks and defines the very
essence of God. According to
Hebrews 4:12, God's Word, as just defined, must be effectively alive and
active within the Christian.
Our English word
"active" in Hebrews 4:12 is translated from the Greek word
"energes," which is derived from the Greek word
"ergon," meaning "work."
Our English word "energy" comes from the Greek word
"energes." In both
the Greek and English, energy can be defined as the capacity of work
performed by a certain force. In
scientific terms, energy is seen in thermal energy, radiant energy,
chemical energy, nuclear
energy, electrical energy, motion energy, sound energy, elastic energy,
and gravitational energy. In
New Age philosophical religion, energy is the work performed by a
person's intuitive inner nature that is meant to inspire creative
maturity in the person. In
Biblical theology, energy is the work performed by God's Word, the
Divine Nature that is meant to create the character of God within the
Christian. Despite our human
limitations to comprehend the totality of God's essence, you might say
that He being spirit (John 4:24) is the source of all energy that is meant to work His will in both the material and spiritual
universe. The apostle Paul wrote
about this Divine Energy in Ephesians 1:18 and 19.
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened
in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the
riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,
and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who
believe, according to the mighty working [Greek energia - English energy]
of his strength."
Paul and the author of
Hebrews 4:12 correctly concluded that the Divine Energy as seen in the
Word of God must penetrate our hearts to such a degree that God's
character becomes visibly evident in our lives. If God's Word is going
to work effectively in our lives for all to see, it will take more than
a mere few moments of daily meditative devotionals. It
will take all of our Holy Spirit empowered human energy to burn God's
Word into our brains. From there it can energetically penetrate
our hearts to such a degree that we will think and live the
godly character qualities of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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