Between joint and marrow
“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. 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.”
I am going to be entirely honest and say that I am not completely sure how these two verses fit into the context of the chapter. And while they contain a powerful truth, it seems like the author is coming out of left field on this one. When you look at what comes before, the author of Hebrews is admonishing the believers to not fall into disobedience. So perhaps he was pointing out that God’s word is capable of sifting through the hearts of those who are unbelieving. Jesus does say that not everyone who claims to know Him actually knows Him, so only He is able to judge what is truly in our hearts and if we are truly believers.
But let’s look at these verses again:
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. (CSB)
The NLT uses these words in its translation: For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between souls and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
When I read these verses I am immediately struck by the power of this imagery. The word of God is living. It is effective. It is sharp, sharper than any double edge sword. And my mind tries to imagine how? How could anything penetrate and cut, and sever, two things that are so intricately connected? How does the word of God do that?
When I read this verse I can feel the word “sharp.” Words like “penetrate” and “cut” seem painful. My body winces in pain imagining a sword cutting into my spirit. And I don’t like the word “expose.” It leaves me feeling vulnerable. Does it make you wonder how the same word of God that brings life to your bones (Proverbs 4:22) also cuts between your joint and marrow? Why does God use His word to separate between soul and spirit? Why a sword that cuts?
But I’ve come to learn that the very best thing we can do as believers is yield our spirits to His Word—to allow it to do everything this verse says it does.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:1-5 CSB)
Sometimes I think it’s easy to take a passage and just simplify it. So what is John 1:1-5 telling us?
Jesus = Word = Light = Life
God’s word is light. This light can pierce into the deepest (and darkest) parts of our hearts. The word of the Lord divides light and dark. In Genesis 1:3-4 it says “Then God said, ‘let there be light’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.”
For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6 CSB)
It is God’s light, God’s word, that shines into our hearts and allows us to know Jesus. If you look at the passage this verse is found in it says “But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’s sake.” Darkness keeps us blinded to His truth. So His light removes the darkness; His light separates the darkness; and His light illuminates the truth and “the knowledge of God’s glory.”
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light—for the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth—testing what is pleasing to the Lord…Everything exposed by the light is made visible, for what makes everything visible is light. (Ephesians 5:8-10, 13-14)
God created us. He knit us in our innermost being. He alone knows our spirit. Verse 13 says “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.” God uses His word, His light, to sift between believers and unbelievers. But God also uses His word to transforms us and to produce fruit in us.
God uses his word to illuminate the darkness in our life so we can identify sin and remove it. The light exposes the dark. Not to shame, not to condemn, but to identify (expose) and remove it. Only the truth of His word can illuminate the darkness in our lives. Only the light can cast out darkness. The word of the Lord cuts between joint and marrow. The word of the Lord cuts between soul and spirit. His light can pierce between those things that not even man can divide. God gives us His word to cut us so we can see where we end and where He begins. When we become Christians, and place our faith, hope, belief in Jesus, we are yielding our spirits to His. But our flesh, our hearts, are still inherently sinful. Only His word can separate the two. His word cuts between soul and spirit.
God desires intimacy with us. But if He already knows everything in our secret places what is holding us back from intimacy? God longs to tell us the secrets of His heart too. Jeremiah 33:3 says “Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.” God wants us to know His heart. But we cannot press into Him, we cannot know His Spirit while we still have sin in our lives. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from our sins so we will have eternity with Him. But intimacy with God is developed as we begin and walk in our relationship with Him. The process of sanctification allows us to know Him in a deeper capacity while we are here on earth. If I have sin in my life now, it will not change my eternal destination. But it will affect what God reveals to me. His word can cut out sin and create a space for His Spirit and light to fill.
Do you see now how the same word of God that brings life to your bones also cuts between your joint and marrow? In the same way a surgeon removes what doesn’t bring life to your physical body, God removes sin to bring healing to your spirit. But God uses the imagery of sword for a reason: this sharp sword does hurt. It is painful. It is not easy. And it is not for the faint of heart. Hebrews 12:11 reminds us “No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful.” But it finishes with a promise: “Later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
I’ve come to welcome His word as a sword for my spirit. I want His Word to remove anything that hinders me from Him. And while the cut may be painful, the promise of a deeper faith and intimacy with Him is greater.
