A Spiritually Split Personality

Hebrews 4:12

“For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

In the medical world, a split

personality is called a dissociative

identity disorder or D.I.D. People with

D.I.D have two or more distinct

personalities. The thoughts, actions

and behaviors of each personality may

be completely different. We call it a

split personality. It’s the presence of

two or more identities that

continually have power over a

person’s behavior.

Now, I’m not a psychiatrist, and I

haven’t studied medicine, so I have no

desire to diagnose anyone who

struggles with this very real and

perplexing disorder. But I know that

we are all born with a split personality

of sorts. This type of disorder can’t be

found in a medical journal, even

though it has already been diagnosed

and prescribed a cure.

A SPIRITUALLY SPLIT PERSONALITY

Think about it. We are all born with a

sin nature. That’s one identity that

comes with us at birth.

But we also have the capacity to do

good. We all have the same

opportunity to become what

God desires for us. Still, it’s a struggle.

Listen to what Apostle Paul said about

this struggle within his own body. He

said, Romans 7:19 TLB“When I want to do good, I don’t; and when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway.”

One thing is certain. Good people do

bad things. James said the only way to

avoid this is to “Submit yourselves therefore unto God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”(James 4:7) Paul

said something similar. He said he had

to bring his body into subjection to the

Will of God. Listen to 1 Corinthians 9:26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 

27  But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. 

It’s clear from the testimony of James

and Paul that we are all fighting a war

between our carnal and spiritual

nature. But listen. Outcome is

determined by input. Garbage in…

garbage out. If you want your car to

move, you fill it with gas. You wouldn’t

fill your tank with water and expect to

get anywhere. Likewise, if you want

your life to head in the right direction,

you need to feed it from the right

source…the source for good, not the

source for evil.

Our source for good is the Word of

God. Let’s look through the words of

Paul in Hebrews 4:12 at how the Word

impacts us.

Paul says…the Word is Quick.

The word quick here doesn’t mean

fast…it means living. Acts 10:42 says

that Christ is the Judge between the

quick and the dead…in other words,

the living and the dead.

Paul is saying that the Word is alive. It

is as alive as God Himself who uttered

it. It is a living, breathing bestseller

filled with the character and the Will of

God. You can’t read it without it

impacting your life because it is alive

with the sound doctrine of salvation.

You’ve heard it said that our

constitution is a “living, breathing

document”. By living and breathing,

they mean the Constitution was

written as a ‘dynamic’ or flexible

document, so it can change with the

times. If there are mistakes in it, they

can be corrected simply by redefining

the role of government. But God’s

living, breathing Word is different. It

has no need to be flexible, because

God never has and never will make

any mistakes. His Word was perfect “in

the beginning” and it’s still perfect…

because He is perfect.

Jesus warns us not to change a single

word or definition of His Father’s

living, breathing masterpiece. Jesus says: Matthew 5:18  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 

The jot and the tittle were small marks

added to Hebrew letters to change

their emphasis and meaning. They

were similar in appearance to our

comma and exclamation point, but

with far greater impact. It sounds like

Jesus is saying , ‘Don’t you dare mess

with my Father’s Word, if you know

what’s good for you!’ Or maybe He’s

saying, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’

God’s Word is not just paper and ink. It

is a living reality. His Word remains the

same yesterday, today, and forever.

And His living Word will continue to

breathe on us for all eternity.

THE WORD IS QUICK!

Then Paul says...the Word is Powerful.

This means that the Word is operative

and effective in its purpose. It’s not

dormant and inactive, no matter how

long you leave it on your coffee table

and let it collect dust. The Word is

God’s energizing promise that “though [a man is] dead, yet shall he live.” (John 11:26).

When you read a novel by any other

author, it’s nothing more than

entertainment. You don’t run out and

act like the characters in the book. But

when you read God’s Word, it touches

your heart and compels you to BE

better…and to DO better Or be worst

by remaining the same. God’s Word

becomes a part of you. Even if you

reject what you read, it will still impact

you, because His Word is a living

power over you. If God can’t be a song

in your heart, He will be a thorn in

your side.

God’s word is so powerful that it can

nourish the spirit of every believer

with exactly what he needs to become,

and to REMAIN a child of God. By its

sheer power, the Word turns believers

into overcomers. Paul said in 2

Corinthians 4:8 - 9 “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed…”. And that’s all because of the POWER of the Word.

THE WORD IS POWERFUL!

Finally, Paul says…the Word is Sharper than a two-edged sword.

This means it cuts. It can penetrate

and cut out what needs to be

eradicated with the precision of a

masterful surgeon. It is so precise that

it can separate the soul and spirit from

your very bone. And it can do it

without causing a wound because

Christ was already wounded for our

transgressions. He was bruised for our

iniquities.

His scalp was wounded with a crown thorns.

His back was scourged with a bony whip.

His hands and feet were wounded with nails. His side was wounded by a Roman spear.

Paul says God’s Word can penetrate

the marrow, the deepest part of your

bone structure and detect every sin

that eats at your spirit. It’s cleansing

power is unlike any other. With the

utmost precision, the Word can

“cleanse [us] from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit” (2 Corinthians 7:1)*

Nothing hides from the Word’s scalpel… A greedy spirit. A proud look.

A vulgar tongue. A sinful desire.

A foolish decision. A jealous stare.

An offensive remark. A dirty joke.

A wicked imagination.

An impure thought. A filthy habit.

A quick temper. A rebellious attitude.

A hardened heart.

Maybe you’re one of those people who

thinks you are too far gone to be any

good. You’re wrong! Even though

God’s established law says you are

guilty, here’s the good news from Galatians 3:13“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse FOR us.

None of us are worse than the other.

“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”(Romans 3:23).

If you think you are ugly from the

inside out, I’ve got good news for you.

Christ can make you beautiful.

Sin may have made you greedy, but

Christ can make you generous.

Sin may have made you hateful, but

Christ can make you loving.

Sin may have made you corrupt, but

Christ can make you pure.

Sin may have made you selfish, but

Christ can make you sacrificial.

Sin may have made you fearful, but

Christ can give you peace!

You can’t avoid the Word. It is quick,

and powerful, and sharper than a two-

edged sword. The Word of God wants

to take your split personality and give

it a single-minded purpose…to accept

Christ and reject sin. There is no other

source of help. There is no other way

out of sin. There is no other method to

get the job done. No other formula will

work. No other remedy will do. Only

Christ can put that song in your heart

that you so desperately desire…a song

that will let the world see you, not as a

split personality, but as one who…

Responds to the Word of God.

Trusts in the promises of God.

Yields to the Spirit of God.

Is faithful to the House of God.

Has a relationship with the Son of God,

and fellowship with the Saints of God!

Paul said in verse 11, let us make every

effort to enter into God’s rest.

What is the secret of entering into

this rest? The Word of God. Hebrews

4:12 is the answer to every spiritual

condition; if we allow the Word to

judge us and expose our hearts, then

we will not fail to inherit the blessing.

Warren W. Wiersbe

The conclusion is clear. God acts

through his words, the Word is “alive

and active” (Heb 4:12), and therefore

the way to have God dynamically

active in our lives is through the

Bible. To understand the Scripture is

not simply to get information about

God. If attended to with trust and

faith, the Bible is the way to actually

hear God speaking and also to meet

God himself.

Timothy Keller