Hebrews 4:12. "For the word of God is living 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." NASB
Warfare is rarely taught in the Church! Why not? In Ephesians 6 we are provided with the armor of God and told to stand after having done all. Done all, what? The previous verse gives us a clue. Ephesians 6:12-"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." NASB (emphasis mine in the 1st. instance.)
Ephesians 6:13-18 gives us insight to God's armor. Far too many churches teach/believe there is no Devil, or if there is one he is portrayed as a fiend, having horns protruding out of his head and colored red. This description has no Biblical basis. Also, God didn't give us a shield of faith to extinguish the fiery darts of a Devil, who does not exit! Think about it! Think, also, about the rest of the armor.
In Hebrews 4:13 we read, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." NASB
In these verses, we will look at various words for the purpose of learning how they apply to the church, as a whole, and the individual that makes up the church-Christians.
First, though, we should look at the makeup of each human being. This makeup bears directly on our behavior as Christians and those who are not.
1. SOUL: Psuche: Strongs #5590 (II). Specifically the soul as the sentient principle, the seat of the senses, desires, affections, appetites, passions … The immaterial part of man upon which the word of God is operative as described in Hebrews 4:12. As man is a tri-part being, he consists of body, soul, and spirit.
The body has five senses:
Seeing.
Touching.
Smelling.
Hearing.
Tasting.
The soul consists of the following three aspects of a person:
1. Mind: #1271. To think over. Understanding, intellect, intellectual faculty, thought mind. (III) mode of thinking and feeling, the feelings, affections disposition of mind. #3563. The organ of mental perception and apprehension, of the consciousness preceding actions or recognizing and judging them, intelligent understanding. (This is why we are accountable to God for our thoughts, words, and deeds.)
2. Will. #2309. To will, wish, desire, implying active volition and purpose. (Volitional will is that which imparts total responsibility to the one exercising it.)
3. Emotion: (Not found in the Bible.) From the New World Dictionary: 1. a) strong feelings; excitement b) the state or capability of having the feelings aroused to the point of awareness. 2. any specific feelings; any of various complex reactions with both mental and physical manifestations, as love, fear, anger, etc.
The Church is mandated by God to engage in spiritual warfare. To do so requires, at the very least, each member be:
1. A true member of the Body of Christ; i.e. they must be born again.
2. Knowledgeable of their unique place within the church and their relationship to the rest of the members.
3. Like a soldier in a natural army. Fully trained in the art of combat and knowledgeable concerning the Weapons the Christian has available, like the soldier in the natural army.
4. Aware of those who are placed along side of them in the performance of assigned tasks.
5. Knowledgeable of those placed in positions of authority over them who are responsible for training the Army of God.
Whereas the natural army fights a flesh and blood enemy (Satan is always behind the evil of war) using all the weapons at their disposal, so too must the Army of God. The difference is the Army of God wages most of their warfare in the spiritual realm; only a small part (seems very big, though) is undertaken in the natural.
Lets put some of this into practical application. Dr. David Jeremiah in his study guide, "Facing the Giants in your Life," said, "fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed."
When we are confronted by the enemy fear is always present. It affects our body, soul, and spirit. If one is not grounded in the Word of God and does not knows Him personally, fear begins to rule the actions of the person. People become paralyzed and their mind experiences chaos or confusion.
The saint clothed, daily, with God's armor is, by status, confrontational! IT IS WARFARE! Warfare is not a passive activity, regardless of what some Christians think.
Let's look at Moses as he led the Hebrews out of bondage to the Promised Land. You know the story, Moses sent out twelve spies. Now God told Israel He was giving them this land and they would overcome all obstacles in possessing it. (There is a lesson in this story for the New Testament believer.)
All twelve saw and heard the same thing. But, notice the difference in what was reported. The two, Joshua and Caleb, came back with a different view of the land: WE CAN DO IT! The ten saw the giants in relation to themselves! For Joshua and Caleb, their relationship to Jehovah was such that they saw everything in relation to God's promises.
You know the outcome. A whole nation, possibly 2.5 to 5 million, was deadly affected by the report of the ten fear resulted in a forty-year journey in the desert, and death for that generation, outside of the Promised Land. Notice something else. Both Joshua and Caleb shared in the sufferings of Israel due to God's judgment; yet both of them lived to enter into the Promised Land and receive their inheritance.
They, like today's Christian, shared something in common. Philippians 3:10 "that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to his death." KJV Finally, they entered into the promises of God regarding the covenant He made with Abraham.
We are mandated to fight the good fight of faith. Hebrews 11:1 "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." KJV Our inheritance, through faith in Christ, is an eternal one, not a natural one. We don't inherit land, but an eternity with God! Joshua and Caleb had a different spirit in them so, when confronted with fear, in essence said, "This is no big deal for God!"
We have the indwelling Holy Spirit. Hebrews 4:12 describe God's Word as being like a double-edged sword. With one edge the Holy Sprit slays the fear in our heart, body, and mind. With the other edge, as He enables us to speak the Word of God, He slays the giant of fear. The conquered source of our fear becomes the victory in our fight of faith.
If the report of the ten resulted in disaster for the Hebrews, what, might you think, would the impact of Christians who have overcome giants, be on their community?
Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again?" NASB Salt impacts our world in the following ways:
1. Salt flavors the lives around us.
2. Salt flavors lives that are empty.
3. Salt preserves lives that can be filled.
4. Salt keeps things from decaying.
An example of this. Suppose you had a sore throat. You fill a glass with water, put in some salt, then you gargle. Healing starts to take place. The throat begins to feel better.
Jesus tells us in Mark 9:49 'everyone will be salted with fire.' Fire burns up impurities. Fire refines. But, without this fire, salt becomes impure and starts to loose its tastiness. When was the last time you asked God to salt you with fire? From Hebrews 4:12, when was the last time you called for God's sword to slay giants?
Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:14 we (believers) are the light of the world. Oh, wow. First He tells us we are the salt of the earth, now He tells us we are the light of the world and like a city set on a hill, we aren't hidden. Think about this!
In verse 16 of the above, Jesus tells us we are to: "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." NASB (This cannot be accomplished inside a church building.)
If impurities cause our salt to lose some of its tastiness, so also does defilement cause out light to dim. The Word and the Spirit filter out salt's impurities and cleanses our light from defilement. Cf. 1 John 1:9.
All these things can be summed up in one word. RELATIONSHIP! The farther we are from God in our personal relationship, the weaker our faith is, and the giants of doubt, unbelief, and fear, to name just a few, begin to influence our behavior.
What is the opposite of fear? LOVE! The closer we are in our relationship with Jesus, the closer we are in our love with Him and His love is with us. This makes fear weak (and other giants) because in 1 John 4:18 we learn that 'perfect love casts out fear.' This would include the greatest fear of mankind. DEATH!
That's the way I see it. You may see it differently. If so, make sure what you believe agrees with scripture.
