Divide and Discern

Introduction

Thank you guys for coming and being willing to listen to me discuss what is for me a life verse. I know that this phraseology can be seen in a negatively light, but I use this phase because this verse is where I keep going back to when I am at my worst points in my faith walk. The verse is Hebrews 4:12 . This verse I believe sums up the Christian understanding. It is a frame surrounding our belief in Jesus being the Cornerstone of our faith. It is a foot upon the Throne which Christ resides. Therefore, I want to share with you my understandings of if and discuss it necessity for the church in the West today.

Let’s start with prayer.

The Context of the Book of Hebrews

Authorship

The book is anonymous. We find no name for a stated author. Best suggestion for authorship is that given by Origen, Christian leader in the third century, who said, “But as to who actually wrote the epistle, God knows the truth of the matter.”

Eastern Christianity viewed Paul as the author, even though those who supported Pauline authorship knew that the language did not resemble Paul’s other letters. Western Christianity did not accept Pauline authorship until the fourth century. They felt that the letter had great authority, but many saw it as anonymous and non-Pauline.

The writer of Hebrews held to the same basic apostolic teaching as Paul, but he wrote with a different style and quoted the Old Testament differently from the apostle.

Among possible authors suggested are Luke, Apollos (see Acts 18:24), Barnabas, Priscilla, and Aquila.

The author identified himself as a second-generation Christian (see Heb. 2:3), and he wrote with an excellent literary style and a vivid vocabulary.

The original readers of the book knew the writer’s name, for he asked for prayers that he might be able to visit them (13:18–19) and expressed the hope that Timothy would come with him (13:23).

Original Readers of Hebrews

The title “To the Hebrews, “though not original, can be traced back to the last quarter of the second century. The readers of this book were familiar with the Old Testament and knew the ritual of the Book of Leviticus and the details of the tabernacle. The intended audience was probably Jewish believers with a similar background to those Jews who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls. They were not eyewitnesses to Jesus, but they had learned of him from those who were (Heb. 2:3–4).

They had faced persecution and endured abuse, imprisonment, and loss of property for their faith, but not martyrdom (Heb. 10:32–39; 12:4). They demonstrated their faith by serving fellow believers and particularly supported those who endured persecution (Heb. 6:10; 10:34).

They had ceased to grow as Christians and were falling away from the commitment they had known (Heb. 5:11–6:12). The writer rebuked them for not meeting together often enough (10:24–25). They were in danger of lapsing into sin (3:12–14).

The readers of Hebrews may have been in danger of returning to Judaism in order to avoid persecution. The author warned them against such apostasy (6:4–9; 10:26–31) and urged them to return to the mainstream of Christian fellowship.

Knowing where the intended audience lived is difficult to determine. Among locations suggested are Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Rome, with the latter being the best possibility.

Date

Mention of Timothy in 13:23 suggests a date in his lifetime, some time in the first century. Their failure to suffer martyrdom (Heb. 12:4) rules out the Jerusalem church (see Acts 7:54–60) and suggests a date before Nero’s persecution (a.d. 64). Rome was the intended destination.

The author wrote as if the Jerusalem Temple were still standing. The description of the ritual in 9:6–9 contains many usages of the Greek present tense, suggesting events still underway.

Mention of sacrifices in 10:2 implied that they were still being offered. Best suggestion is a date just before Nero’s persecutions in a.d. 64.

Lea, T. D. (1999). Hebrews, James (Vol. 10, pp. 1–2). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

I believe this context is important. I think it parallels much of what we are seeing in the Western Church today. We are reaching a point in time were we are ceasing to grow spiritually. We are not meeting together often, consistent church attendance is 2 weeks a month. At this church during my membership class almost all there were attenders for over a decade with no community commitment of membership. Social media and News Headlines are full of Christians deconstructing or falling into sin because of a lack of conviction. We don’t know who we are, what we want, or how to get it.

Chapter 4 Context

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 4

4 Therefore, since the promise to enter his rest remains, let us beware that none of you be found to have fallen short. 2 For we also have received the good news just as they did. But the message they heard did not benefit them, since they were not united with those who heard it in faith., 3 For we who have believed enter the rest, in keeping with what he has said,

So I swore in my anger,

“They will not enter my rest,”,

even though his works have been finished since the foundation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in this way: And on the seventh day God rested from all his works., 5 Again, in that passage he says, They will never enter my rest. 6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience, 7 he again specifies a certain day—today. He specified this speaking through David after such a long time:

Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts.,

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people. 10 For the person who has entered his rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, then, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.

12 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 No creature is hidden from him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.

The therefore at the beginning goes back to what the whole book of Hebrews is addressing. We cannot experience the rest that God has promised through Christ is we harden our hearts. Chapter 3 points the Jewish readers back to their ancestors and the wilderness and an entire generation who lost rest found in the Holy Land God had given them because they were not faithful. Chapter 4 as stated brings the OT and NT together in how Joshua was an archetype of our Lord Jesus. Where Joshua was deficient our Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient. The only way into this obedience is through the faith and obedience.

As a former Pastor of mine put it, Faith and Obedience are the wings of the eagle upon which we soar in life that give us rest as Christ proclaims, but where does Hebrews 4 :12 play into this.

The Double Edged Sword

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 4

12 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

word of God - start my focus here. Word is lower case meaning that it is not necessarily speaking to the Logos or Christ but rather God’s communications in general with man which I believe the Bible as a whole is best fitting for this. Yes, Christ is the living word, but here the text is speaking to the Bible as a whole not specifically how it was lived out in Christ’s life. This word is a a sharp sword (Ephesians 6:17, Revelation 1:16) with 2 characteristics. Living and Effective, others translations quick and powerful.

Actions of this sword are that it cuts the impenetrable.

To the Hebrew people, the body was a unity. We should not think of dividing the soul from the spirit. God’s message is capable of penetrating the impenetrable. It can divide what is indivisible.

Lea, T. D. (1999). Hebrews, James (Vol. 10, p. 72). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Basically the word of God knows your heart and therefore it commands strike at you not on the surface. These commands strike you at the very core of your being where no man alone knows you. When one encounters the commands and the revelations of this Holy book they cannot but do one of 2 actions. The will either be humbled to the point of dropping upon their knees because they realize their is no hiding (v13), or they will harden their hearts and deny the reality before them.

The straight dichotomy of this and that reveal that in relation to the worship of Christ and His Lordship over your life you have but 2 choices. For Him or Against Him. We all start out against Him. The word of God reveal that we are against Him and then we are to respond to the revelation.

If our response to this revelation is obedience then we find rest because we are no longer fighting the creator of the universe. If our response is continued rebellion then rest will be unattainable just as those who wandered in the wilderness until death.

Questions

What is the overall importance of the epistles context in relation to chapter 4 verse 12?

Why do we as men seek rest?

How does the word of God effect the way in which you live?

Why is this verse important for us as we combat the rising deconstruction and apostasy in the Western Church today?