Dismembered & at Rest

If you are like some folks, the word "dismembered" causes you to have the distasteful thought of a human body being mutilated by a deranged killer; a reaction I suspect, that is from watching too much crime TV.  But that is another post for another time. For the purpose of today's post, think of "dismembered" in its most basic meaning, that is, something that is separated into parts. 

Hebrews Chapter 4 has some very familiar content, yet its verses are often taken out of context. The verse I want to concentrate on today is verse 12. In the King James it reads, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."   

To take this verse in context, you must read the entire chapter. In doing so, you will see that each verse relates to the idea of the whole chapter. That idea/thought is all about entering into the rest that God has designed for believers. Rest, now that's a subject that everyone is interested in, these days. However, few are interested in being dismembered in order to obtain that rest.

Bottom line: the Word of God is the instrument that God uses upon us to separate our carnal/flesh desires (soul) from the part of us that is regenerated at salvation (spirit). The soul part of us is our human intellect and base desires. Our spirit is the part of us that was created when God breathed into Adam and made him a living soul. The soul, then, consists of the spirit and is housed in a body.

God is not interested in dismembering our physical body. Yet, scripture says that His Word is sharp enough to divide the joints from the marrow. Our skeleton is made up of the bones. Within our bodies, the bones are attached with ligaments and tendons, creating the joints.  The marrow is the inside part of the bones. Within the bones, the red blood cells are manufactured. Without healthy bone marrow, a person will die for lack of on-going production of red blood cells.  So the marrow is what makes the body to live. And the bones/joints are the structure/stability of our body. His Word is sharp enough to separate our structure from our life source. That's a heavy thought. But it is exactly what is necessary to transform us into the new creation that He wills at our time of salvation. That is the point in which we realize that apart from Jesus (Life- Giver) our human structure (flesh/soul), has no means of living.

God is in the business of helping us to distinguish between our soul-ish desires and the righteousness that we have in Him, that is our spirit. One of the ways that He does this, is through the reading/hearing of His Word. When we read/hear His Word, faith is built and our spirit is quickened ( made alive) to what God desires us to be and do. When our thoughts are separated from our intents, we can see the goodness or deceitfulness of both.

We can have a good thought, but deliver it with the wrong intent and vice versa. We can have good intentions, but negative thoughts. It is God's Word that will help us to reconcile our thoughts and intents. In general, modern translations of Hebrews 4:12 state that God's Word is alive, active, and powerful. The Word lives forever, will always work for our good, is more powerful than any force, and is what we must have to live. We can not survive without the Word. We can not enter into God's rest without total dependence upon the Word.

It may hurt to be dismembered, but the pain will subside as He/ the living Word, mends you back together in the way that is most pleasing to Him.