The Meaning of Hebrews 4:12 Explained

Hebrews 4:12

KJV: For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged 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.

YLT: for the reckoning of God is living, and working, and sharp above every two-edged sword, and piercing unto the dividing asunder both of soul and spirit, of joints also and marrow, and a discerner of thoughts and intents of the heart;

Darby: For the word of God is living and operative, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and penetrating to the division of soul and spirit, both of joints and marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

ASV: For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For  the word  of God  [is] quick,  and  powerful,  and  sharper  than  any  twoedged  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. 

What does Hebrews 4:12 Mean?

Verse Meaning

After we die, or experience the Rapture, God will do a spiritual postmortem on us at the judgment seat of Christ ( Romans 14:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:10). He will examine our innermost attitudes and motives. The "scalpel" He will use is His Word. The Word of God is "living" because it is the word of the living God ( Hebrews 3:12), and it is "active" (energetic, powerful). The sword in view (Gr. machairan) was originally a small one like a boning knife that cooks used to cut up meat. In its double-edged form it was a symbol of judges and magistrates in the Roman world. It illustrated the power of those officials to turn both ways to get to the bottom of a case. However it is possible that by the time Hebrews was written machaira (sword) had come to mean a sword of any size, long or short. [1] The Word of God can express and distinguish what is "soulish" (natural) and what is spiritual in our motivation and actions. It can do so even when those elements are as close to each other as our joints and marrow. It is even able to expose our thoughts and attitudes (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:5).
"What the author is saying is that God"s Word can reach to the innermost recesses of our being. We must not think that we can bluff our way out of anything, for there are no secrets hidden from God. We cannot keep our thoughts to ourselves." [2]
Many Christians use this verse to show that God will judge unbelievers with His piercing Word, but in the context it refers to God judging believers to determine rewards ( 1 Corinthians 3:11-15).

Context Summary

Hebrews 4:11-16 - Entered By Faith And Prayer
There is no escape for disobedience and unbelief, because we have to do with the omniscience of God. The conception of Hebrews 4:12-13 is of a victim appointed for sacrifice and thrown upon its back, that the keen edge of the knife may do its work more readily. The divine scrutiny is still sharper. There is so much of the soul in what we do, that is, of our opinions and activities. God distinguishes between these and those promptings of His Spirit which are really important and influential. Only what is born of the Spirit will stand the test of eternity!
Shall we not fail in that scrutiny? Will he not detect in us that evil heart of unbelief? We need not fear; because our High Priest has passed the veil that hides the invisible and eternal and has entered the divine presence. "Mercy and grace to help in time of need!" These will meet our supreme needs-mercy for our sins, grace for our helplessness and frailty. [source]

Chapter Summary: Hebrews 4

1  The Sabbath-Rest for Christians is attained by faith
12  The power of God's word
14  By our high priest Jesus, the Son of God,
16  we may and must go boldly to the throne of grace

Greek Commentary for Hebrews 4:12

The word of God [ο λογος του τεου]
That just quoted about the promise of rest and God‘s rest, but true of any real word of God. Living Cf. the Living God (Hebrews 3:12). In Philo and the Book of Wisdom the Logos of God is personified, but still more in John 1:1-18 where Jesus is pictured as the Logos on a par with God. “Our author is using Philonic language rather than Philonic ideas” (Moffatt). See John 6:63: “The words which I have spoken are spirit and are life.” Active Energetic, powerful (John 1:12; Philemon 3:21; Colossians 1:29). Sharper Comparative of τομος — tomos cutting (from τεμνω — temnō to cut), late adjective, here only in the N.T. Than Often so after a comparative (Luke 16:8; 2 Corinthians 12:13). Two-edged “Two-mouthed” Present middle participle of αχρι μερισμου — diikneomai old verb to go through, here only in N.T. Even to the dividing Old word from μερος — merizō As in 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 1 Corinthians 15:45, but not an argument for trichotomy. Psychology is constantly changing its terminology. Of both joints and marrow From αρμος — arō to join, comes Μυελος — harmos old word, here only in the N.T. μυω — Muelos (from κριτικος — muō to shut), old word, here only in N.T. This surgeon goes into and through the joints and marrow, not cleaving between them. Quick to discern Verbal adjective in -κρινω — ikos from εντυμησεων και εννοιων καρδιας — krinō skilled in judging, as the surgeon has to be and able to decide on the instant what to do. So God‘s word like his eye sees the secret lurking doubt and unbelief “of the thoughts and intents of the heart” The surgeon carries a bright and powerful light for every dark crevice and a sharp knife for the removal of all the pus revealed by the light. It is a powerful picture here drawn. [source]
[]
d The exhortation is enforced by reference to the character of the revelation which sets forth the rest of God. The message of God which promises the rest and urges to seek it, is no dead, formal precept, but is instinct with living energy. [source]
Lit. coming through . N.T.o Even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow [ἄρχι μερισμοῦ ψυχῆς καὶ πνεύματος ἁρμῶν τε καὶ μυελῶν]
Μερισμὸς dividingonly here and Hebrews 2:4, is not to be understood of dividing soul from spirit or joints from marrow. Soul and spirit cannot be said to be separated in any such sense as this, and joints and marrow are not in contact with each other. Μερισμὸς is the act of division; not the point or line of division. Joints and marrow are not to be taken in a literal and material sense. In rendering, construe soul, spirit, joints, marrow, as all dependent on dividing. Joints and marrow ( ἁρμῶν, μυελῶν, N.T.o) are to be taken figuratively as joints and marrow of soul and spirit. This figurative sense is exemplified in classical usage, as Eurip. Hippol. 255, “to form moderate friendships, and not πρὸς ἄρκον μυελὸν ψυχῆς to the deep marrow of the soul.” The conception of depth applied to the soul is on the same figurative line. See Aesch. Agam. 778; Eurip. Bacch. 203. Attempts to explain on any psychological basis are futile. The form of expression is poetical, and signifies that the word penetrates to the inmost recesses of our spiritual being as a sword cuts through the joints and marrow of the body. The separation is not of one part from another, but operates in each department of the spiritual nature. The expression is expanded and defined by the next clause. [source]
The word of God [ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ]
That which God speaks through any medium. The primary reference is to God's declarations concerning his rest. The fathers explained it of the personal Word as in the Fourth Gospel. But in the Epistle there is no approach to any definite use of λόγος with reference to Christ, not even in the description of his relation to God in Hebrews 1:1-14, where, if anywhere, it might have been expected. In Hebrews 6:5and Hebrews 11:3we find ῥῆμα . Everywhere in the Epistle Christ appears as the Son, not as the Word. In this passage, the following predicates, ἐνεργὴς, τομώτερος, κριτικὸς , would hardly be applied to the Logos, and in Hebrews 4:14he is styled Jesus the Son of God. [source]
Quick and powerful [ζῶν καὶ ἐνεργὴς]
Note the emphatic position of ζῶν livingLiving is the word of God, since it is the word of “the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). Living in its essence. For ἐνεργὴς activeenergizing, and kindred words, see on John 1:12; see on Philemon 3:21; see on Colossians 1:29; see on Philemon 1:6. Manifesting itself actively in the world and in men's hearts. Comp. 1 Peter 1:23. [source]
Sharper than any two-edged sword [τομώτερος ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν μάχαιραν δίστομον]
Τομώτερος sharperfrom τέμνειν tocut, N.T.oolxx. The word of God has an incisive and penetrating quality. It lays bare self-delusions and moral sophisms. For the comparison of the word of God or of men to a sword, see Psalm 57:4; Psalm 59:7; Psalm 64:3; Ephesians 6:17. Philo calls his Logos ὁ τομεύς thecutter, as cutting chaos into distinct things, and so creating a kosmos. Ὑπὲρ thanis literally, above. Πᾶσαν anyis every. Δίσμοτον only here and Revelation 1:16; Revelation 2:12, lit. two-mouthed. In lxx always of a sword. See Judges 3:16; Psalm 149:6; Proverbs 5:4; Colossians 900); of rivers with two mouths (Polyb. xxxiv. 10,5). Στόμα mouthof the edge of a sword, Luke href="/desk/?q=lu+21:24&sr=1">Luke 21:24; Hebrews 11:34. Often in lxx, as Genesis 34:26; Joshua 10:28, Joshua 10:33, Joshua 10:35, Joshua 10:37, Joshua 10:39; Judges 1:8. So occasionally in Class., as Homer, Il. xv. 389. Κατεσθίειν or κατέσθειν todevour is used of the sword, Deuteronomy 32:42; 2 Samuel 2:26; Isaiah 31:8; Jeremiah 2:30, etc. Μάχαιρα swordin Class. a dirk or dagger: rarely, a carving knife; later, a bent sword or sabre as contrasted with a straight, thrusting sword, ξίφος (not in N.T. but occasionally in lxx). Ῥομφαία , Luke 2:35(see note), elsewhere only in Revelation, very often in lxx, is a large broadsword. In lxx of Goliath's sword, 1 Samuel 17:51 [source]
Piercing [διΐκνούμενος]
Lit. coming through. N.T.oEven to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow ( ἄρχι μερισμοῦ ψυχῆς καὶ πνεύματος ἁρμῶν τε καὶ μυελῶν ) Μερισμὸς dividingonly here and Hebrews 2:4, is not to be understood of dividing soul from spirit or joints from marrow. Soul and spirit cannot be said to be separated in any such sense as this, and joints and marrow are not in contact with each other. Μερισμὸς is the act of division; not the point or line of division. Joints and marrow are not to be taken in a literal and material sense. In rendering, construe soul, spirit, joints, marrow, as all dependent on dividing. Joints and marrow ( ἁρμῶν, μυελῶν, N.T.o) are to be taken figuratively as joints and marrow of soul and spirit. This figurative sense is exemplified in classical usage, as Eurip. Hippol. 255, “to form moderate friendships, and not πρὸς ἄρκον μυελὸν ψυχῆς to the deep marrow of the soul.” The conception of depth applied to the soul is on the same figurative line. See Aesch. Agam. 778; Eurip. Bacch. 203. Attempts to explain on any psychological basis are futile. The form of expression is poetical, and signifies that the word penetrates to the inmost recesses of our spiritual being as a sword cuts through the joints and marrow of the body. The separation is not of one part from another, but operates in each department of the spiritual nature. The expression is expanded and defined by the next clause. [source]
A discerner [κριτικὸς]
N.T.oolxx. The word carries on the thought of dividing. From κρίνειν todivide or separate, which runs into the sense of judge, the usual meaning in N.T., judgment involving the sifting out and analysis of evidence. In κριτικὸς the ideas of discrimination and judgment are blended. Vulg. discretor. [source]
Of the thoughts and intents of the heart [ἐνθυμήσεων καὶ ἐννοιῶν καρδίας]
The A.V. is loose and inaccurate. Ἐνθύμησις rare in N.T. See Matthew 9:4; Acts 17:29. Comp. ἐνθυμεῖσθαι , Matthew 1:20; Matthew 9:4. In every instance, both of the noun and of the verb, the sense is pondering or thinking out. Rend. the reflections. Ἔννοια only here and 1 Peter 4:1. It is the definite conception which follows ἐνθύμησις Rend. conceptions. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Hebrews 4:12

John 1:1 The Word [ὁ λόγος]
Logos. This expression is the keynote and theme of the entire gospel. Λόγος is from the root λεγ , appearing in λέγω , the primitive meaning of which is to lay: then, to pick out, gather, pick up: hence to gather or put words together, and so, to speak. Hence λόγος is, first of all, a collecting or collection both of things in the mind, and of words by which they are expressed. It therefore signifies both the outward form by which the inward thought is expressed, and the inward thought itself, the Latin oratio and ratio: compare the Italian ragionare, “to think” and “to speak.” As signifying the outward form it is never used in the merely grammatical sense, as simply the name of a thing or act ( ἔπος, ὄνομα, ῥῆμα ), but means a word as the thing referred to: the material, not the formal part: a word as embodying a conception or idea. See, for instance, Matthew 22:46; 1 Corinthians 14:9, 1 Corinthians 14:19. Hence it signifies a saying, of God, or of man (Matthew 19:21, Matthew 19:22; Mark 5:35, Mark 5:36): a decree, a precept (Romans 9:28; Mark 7:13). The ten commandments are called in the Septuagint, οἱ δέκα λόγοι , “the ten words ” (Exodus 34:28), and hence the familiar term decalogue. It is further used of discourse: either of the act of speaking (Acts 14:12), of skill and practice in speaking (Acts 18:15; 2 Timothy 4:15), specifically the doctrine of salvation through Christ (Matthew 13:20-23; Philemon 1:14); of narrative, both the relation and the thing related (Acts 1:1; John 21:23; Mark 1:45); of matter under discussion, an affair, a case in law (Acts 15:6; Acts 19:38). -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
As signifying the inward thought, it denotes the faculty of thinking and reasoning (Hebrews 4:12); regard or consideration (Acts 20:24); reckoning, account (Philemon 4:15, Philemon 4:17; Hebrews 4:13); cause or reason (Acts 10:29). -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
John uses the word in a peculiar sense, here, and in John 1:14; and, in this sense, in these two passages only. The nearest approach to it is in Revelation 19:13, where the conqueror is called the Word of God; and it is recalled in the phrases Word of Life, and the Life was manifested (1 John 1:1, 1 John 1:2). Compare Hebrews 4:12. It was a familiar and current theological term when John wrote, and therefore he uses it without explanation. Old Testament Usage of the TermThe word here points directly to Psalm href="/desk/?q=ps+33:6&sr=1">Psalm 33:6). The idea of God, who is in his own nature hidden, revealing himself in creation, is the root of the Logos-idea, in contrast with all materialistic or pantheistic conceptions of creation. This idea develops itself in the Old Testament on three lines. (1) The Word, as embodying the divine will, is personified in Hebrew poetry. Consequently divine attributes are predicated of it as being the continuous revelation of God in law and prophecy (Psalm 3:4; Isaiah 40:8; Psalm 119:105). The Word is a healer in Psalm 107:20; a messenger in Psalm 147:15; the agent of the divine decrees in Isaiah 55:11. (2) The personified wisdom (Job 28:12sq.; Job 28). Even Death, which unlocks so many secrets, and the underworld, know it only as a rumor (Job href="/desk/?q=job+28:22&sr=1">Job 28:22). It is only God who knows its way and its place (Job 28:23). He made the world, made the winds and the waters, made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder (Job 28:25, Job 28:26). He who possessed wisdom in the beginning of his way, before His works of old, before the earth with its depths and springs and mountains, with whom was wisdom as one brought up with Him (Proverbs 8:26-31), declared it. “It became, as it were, objective, so that He beheld it” (Job 28:27) and embodied it in His creative work. This personification, therefore, is based on the thought that wisdom is not shut up at rest in God, but is active and manifest in the world. “She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors” (Proverbs 8:2, Proverbs 8:3). She builds a palace and prepares a banquet, and issues a general invitation to the simple and to him that wanteth understanding (Proverbs 9:1-6). It is viewed as the one guide to salvation, comprehending all revelations of God, and as an attribute embracing and combining all His other attributes. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
(3) The Angel of Jehovah. The messenger of God who serves as His agent in the world of sense, and is sometimes distinguished from Jehovah and sometimes identical with him (Genesis 16:7-13; Genesis 32:24-28; Hosea 12:4, Hosea 12:5; Exodus 23:20, Exodus 23:21; Malachi 3:1). Apocryphal UsageIn the Apocryphal writings this mediative element is more distinctly apprehended, but with a tendency to pantheism. In the Wisdom of Solomon (at least 100 b.c.), where wisdom seems to be viewed as another name for the whole divine nature, while nowhere connected with the Messiah, it is described as a being of light, proceeding essentially from God; a true image of God, co-occupant of the divine throne; a real and independent principle, revealing God in the world and mediating between it and Him, after having created it as his organ - in association with a spirit which is called μονογενές , only begotten (7:22). “She is the breath of the power of God, and a pure influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty; therefore can no defiled thing fall into her. For she is the brightness of the everlasting light, the unspotted mirror of the power of God, and the image of his goodness” (see chapter 7, throughout). Again: “Wisdom reacheth from one end to another mightily, and sweetly doth she order all things. In that she is conversant with God, she magnifieth her nobility: yea, the Lord of all things Himself loved her. For she is privy to the mysteries of the knowledge of God, and a lover of His works. Moreover, by the means of her I shall obtain immortality, and leave behind me an everlasting memorial to them that come after me” (chapter 9). In 16:12, it is said, “Thy word, O Lord, healeth all things” (compare Psalm 107:20); and in 18:15,16, “Thine almighty word leaped from heaven out of thy royal throne, as a fierce man of war into the midst of a land of destruction, and brought thine unfeigned commandment as a sharp sword, and, standing up, filled all things with death; and it touched the heaven, but it stood upon the earth.” See also Wisdom of Sirach, chapters 1,24, and Genesis href="/desk/?q=ge+39:21&sr=1">Genesis 39:21, they paraphrase, “The Memra was with Joseph in prison.” In Psalm 110:1-7Jehovah addresses the first verse to the Memra. The Memra is the angel that destroyed the first-born of Egypt, and it was the Memra that led the Israelites in the cloudy pillar. Usage in the Judaeo-Alexandrine PhilosophyFrom the time of Ptolemy I: (323-285 b.c.), there were Jews in great numbers in Egypt. Philo (a.d. 50) estimates them at a million in his time. Alexandria was their headquarters. They had their own senate and magistrates, and possessed the same privileges as the Greeks. The Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek (b.c. 280-150) was the beginning of a literary movement among them, the key-note of which was the reconciliation of Western culture and Judaism, the establishment of a connection between the Old Testament faith and the Greek philosophy. Hence they interpreted the facts of sacred history allegorically, and made them symbols of certain speculative principles, alleging that the Greek philosophers had borrowed their wisdom from Moses. Aristobulus (about 150 b.c.) asserted the existence of a previous and much older translation of the law, and dedicated to Ptolemy VI an allegorical exposition of the Pentateuch, in which he tried to show that the doctrines of the Peripatetic or Aristotelian school were derived from the Old Testament. Most of the schools of Greek philosophy were represented among the Alexandrian Jews, but the favorite one was the Platonic. The effort at reconciliation culminated in Philo, a contemporary of Christ. Philo was intimately acquainted with the Platonic philosophy, and made it the fundamental feature of his own doctrines, while availing himself likewise of ideas belonging to the Peripatetic and Stoic schools. Unable to discern the difference in the points of view from which these different doctrines severally proceeded, he jumbled together not merely discordant doctrines of the Greek schools, but also those of the East, regarding the wisdom of the Greeks as having originated in the legislation and writings of Moses. He gathered together from East and West every element that could help to shape his conception of a vicegerent of God, “a mediator between the eternal and the ephemeral. His Logos reflects light from countless facets.” According to Philo, God is the absolute Being. He calls God “that which is:” “the One and the All.” God alone exists for himself, without multiplicity and without mixture. No name can properly be ascribed to Him: He simply is. Hence, in His nature, He is unknowable. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
Outside of God there exists eternal matter, without form and void, and essentially evil; but the perfect Being could not come into direct contact with the senseless and corruptible; so that the world could not have been created by His direct agency. Hence the doctrine of a mediating principle between God and matter - the divine Reason, the Logos in whom are comprised all the ideas of finite things, and who created the sensible world by causing these ideas to penetrate into matter. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
The absolute God is surrounded by his powers ( δυνάμεις ) as a king by his servants. These powers are, in Platonic language, ideas; in Jewish, angels; but all are essentially one, and their unity, as they exist in God, as they emanate from him, as they are disseminated in the world, is expressed by Logos Hence the Logos appears under a twofold aspect: (1) As the immanent reason of God, containing within itself the world-ideal, which, while not outwardly existing, is like the immanent reason in man. This is styled Λόγος ἐνδιάθετος , i.e., the Logos conceived and residing in the mind. This was the aspect emphasized by the Alexandrians, and which tended to the recognition of a twofold personality in the divine essence. (2) As the outspoken word, proceeding from God and manifest in the world. This, when it has issued from God in creating the world, is the Λόγος προφορικός , i.e., the Logos uttered, even as in man the spoken word is the manifestation of thought. This aspect prevailed in Palestine, where the Word appears like the angel of the Pentateuch, as the medium of the outward communication of God with men, and tends toward the recognition of a divine person subordinate to God. Under the former aspect, the Logos is, really, one with God's hidden being: the latter comprehends all the workings and revelations of God in the world; affords from itself the ideas and energies by which the world was framed and is upheld; and, filling all things with divine light and life, rules them in wisdom, love, and righteousness. It is the beginning of creation, not inaugurated, like God, nor made, like the world; but the eldest son of the eternal Father (the world being the younger); God's image; the mediator between God and the world; the highest angel; the second God. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
Philo's conception of the Logos, therefore, is: the sum-total and free exercise of the divine energies; so that God, so far as he reveals himself, is called Logos; while the Logos, so far as he reveals God, is called God. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
John's doctrine and terms are colored by these preceding influences. During his residence at Ephesus he must have become familiar with the forms and terms of the Alexandrian theology. Nor is it improbable that he used the term Logos with an intent to facilitate the passage from the current theories of his time to the pure gospel which he proclaimed. “To those Hellenists and Hellenistic Jews, on the one hand, who were vainly philosophizing on the relations of the finite and infinite; to those investigators of the letter of the Scriptures, on the other, who speculated about the theocratic revelations, John said, by giving this name Logos to Jesus: 'The unknown Mediator between God and the world, the knowledge of whom you are striving after, we have seen, heard, and touched. Your philosophical speculations and your scriptural subtleties will never raise you to Him. Believe as we do in Jesus, and you will possess in Him that divine Revealer who engages your thoughts'” (Godet). -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
But John's doctrine is not Philo's, and does not depend upon it. The differences between the two are pronounced. Though both use the term Logos, they use it with utterly different meanings. In John it signifies word, as in Holy Scripture generally; in Philo, reason; and that so distinctly that when Philo wishes to give it the meaning of word, he adds to it by way of explanation, the term ῥῆμα , word. The nature of the being described by Logos is conceived by each in an entirely different spirit. John's Logos is a person, with a consciousness of personal distinction; Philo's is impersonal. His notion is indeterminate and fluctuating, shaped by the influence which happens to be operating at the time. Under the influence of Jewish documents he styles the Logos an “archangel;” under the influence of Plato, “the Idea of Ideas;” of the Stoics, “the impersonal Reason.” It is doubtful whether Philo ever meant to represent the Logos formally as a person. All the titles he gives it may be explained by supposing it to mean the ideal world on which the actual is modeled. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
In Philo, moreover, the function of the Logos is confined to the creation and preservation of the universe. He does not identify or connect him with the Messiah. His doctrine was, to a great degree, a philosophical substitute for Messianic hopes. He may have conceived of the Word as acting through the Messiah, but not as one with him. He is a universal principle. In John the Messiah is the Logos himself, uniting himself with humanity, and clothing himself with a body in order to save the world. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
The two notions differ as to origin. The impersonal God of Philo cannot pass to the finite creation without contamination of his divine essence. Hence an inferior agent must be interposed. John's God, on the other hand, is personal, and a loving personality. He is a Father (John 1:18); His essence is love (John 3:16; 1 John 4:8, 1 John 4:16). He is in direct relation with the world which He desires to save, and the Logos is He Himself, manifest in the flesh. According to Philo, the Logos is not coexistent with the eternal God. Eternal matter is before him in time. According to John, the Logos is essentially with the Father from all eternity (John 1:2), and it is He who creates all things, matter included (John 1:3). -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
Philo misses the moral energy of the Hebrew religion as expressed in its emphasis upon the holiness of Jehovah, and therefore fails to perceive the necessity of a divine teacher and Savior. He forgets the wide distinction between God and the world, and declares that, were the universe to end, God would die of loneliness and inactivity. The Meaning of Logos in JohnAs Logos has the double meaning of thought and speech, so Christ is related to God as the word to the idea, the word being not merely a name for the idea, but the idea itself expressed. The thought is the inward word (Dr. Schaff compares the Hebrew expression “I speak in my heart” for “I think”). The Logos of John is the real, personal God (John 1:1), the Word, who was originally before the creation with God. and was God, one in essence and nature, yet personally distinct (John 1:1, John 1:18); the revealer and interpreter of the hidden being of God; the reflection and visible image of God, and the organ of all His manifestations to the world. Compare Hebrews 1:3. He made all things, proceeding personally from God for the accomplishment of the act of creation (Hebrews 1:3), and became man in the person of Jesus Christ, accomplishing the redemption of the world. Compare Philemon 2:6. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
The following is from William Austin, “Meditation for Christmas Day,” cited by Ford on John:-DIVIDER-
“The name Word is most excellently given to our Savior; for it expresses His nature in one, more than in any others. Therefore St. John, when he names the Person in the Trinity (1 John 5:7), chooses rather to call Him Word than Son; for word is a phrase more communicable than son. Son hath only reference to the Father that begot Him; but word may refer to him that conceives it; to him that speaks it; to that which is spoken by it; to the voice that it is clad in; and to the effects it raises in him that hears it. So Christ, as He is the Word, not only refers to His Father that begot Him, and from whom He comes forth, but to all the creatures that were made by Him; to the flesh that He took to clothe Him; and to the doctrine He brought and taught, and, which lives yet in the hearts of all them that obediently do hear it. He it is that is this Word; and any other, prophet or preacher, he is but a voice (Luke 3:4). Word is an inward conception of the mind; and voice is but a sign of intention. St. John was but a sign, a voice; not worthy to untie the shoe-latchet of this Word. Christ is the inner conception 'in the bosom of His Father;' and that is properly the Word. And yet the Word is the intention uttered forth, as well as conceived within; for Christ was no less the Word in the womb of the Virgin, or in the cradle of the manger, or on the altar of the cross, than he was in the beginning, 'in the bosom of his Father.' For as the intention departs not from the mind when the word is uttered, so Christ, proceeding from the Father by eternal generation, and after here by birth and incarnation, remains still in Him and with Him in essence; as the intention, which is conceived and born in the mind, remains still with it and in it, though the word be spoken. He is therefore rightly called the Word, both by His coming from, and yet remaining still in, the Father.”And the WordA repetition of the great subject, with solemn emphasis.Was with God ( ἦν πὸς τὸν Θεὸν )Anglo-Saxon vers., mid Gode. Wyc., at God. With ( πρός ) does not convey the full meaning, that there is no single English word which will give it better. The preposition πρός , which, with the accusative case, denotes motion towards, or direction, is also often used in the New Testament in the sense of with; and that not merely as being near or beside, but as a living union and communion; implying the active notion of intercourse. Thus: “Are not his sisters here with us ” ( πρὸς ἡμᾶς ), i.e., in social relations with us (Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:56). “How long shall I be with you ” ( πρὸς ὑμᾶς , Mark 9:16). “I sat daily with you ” (Matthew 26:55). “To be present with the Lord ” ( πρὸς τὸν Κύριον , 2 Corinthians 5:8). “Abide and winter with you ” (1 Corinthians 16:6). “The eternal life which was with the Father ” ( πρὸς τὸν πατέρα , 1 John 1:2). Thus John's statement is that the divine Word not only abode with the Father from all eternity, but was in the living, active relation of communion with Him.And the Word was God ( καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος )In the Greek order, and God was the Word, which is followed by Anglo-Saxon, Wyc., and Tynd. But θεὸς , God, is the predicate and not the subject of the proposition. The subject must be the Word; for John is not trying to show who is God, but who is the Word. Notice that Θεὸς is without the article, which could not have been omitted if he had meant to designate the word as God; because, in that event, Θεὸς would have been ambiguous; perhaps a God. Moreover, if he had said God was the Word, he would have contradicted his previous statement by which he had distinguished (hypostatically) God from the word, and λόγος (Logos) would, further, have signified only an attribute of God. The predicate is emphatically placed in the proposition before the subject, because of the progress of the thought; this being the third and highest statement respecting the Word - the climax of the two preceding propositions. The word God, used attributively, maintains the personal distinction between God and the Word, but makes the unity of essence and nature to follow the distinction of person, and ascribes to the Word all the attributes of the divine essence. “There is something majestic in the way in which the description of the Logos, in the three brief but great propositions of John 1:1, is unfolded with increasing fullness” (Meyer). [source]

John 1:1 In the beginning [εν αρχηι]
Αρχη — Archē is definite, though anarthrous like our at home, in town, and the similar Hebrew ην — be reshith in Genesis 1:1. But Westcott notes that here John carries our thoughts beyond the beginning of creation in time to eternity. There is no argument here to prove the existence of God any more than in Genesis. It is simply assumed. Either God exists and is the Creator of the universe as scientists like Eddington and Jeans assume or matter is eternal or it has come out of nothing. Was Three times in this sentence John uses this imperfect of εγενετο — eimi to be which conveys no idea of origin for God or for the Logos, simply continuous existence. Quite a different verb The Word λεγω — Logos is from Λογος — legō old word in Homer to lay by, to collect, to put words side by side, to speak, to express an opinion. ανιμα μυνδι — Logos is common for reason as well as speech. Heraclitus used it for the principle which controls the universe. The Stoics employed it for the soul of the world There is a possible personification of “the Word of God” in Hebrews 4:12. But the personal pre-existence of Christ is taught by Paul (2 Corinthians 8:9; Philemon 2:6.; Colossians 1:17) and in Hebrews 1:2. and in John 17:5. This term suits John‘s purpose better than σαρχ εγενετο — sophia (wisdom) and is his answer to the Gnostics who either denied the actual humanity of Christ (Docetic Gnostics) or who separated the προς τον τεον — aeon Christ from the man Jesus (Cerinthian Gnostics). The pre-existent Logos “became flesh” Though existing eternally with God the Logos was in perfect fellowship with God. παρακλητον εχομεν προς τον πατερα — Pros with the accusative presents a plane of equality and intimacy, face to face with each other. In 1 John 2:1 we have a like use of προσωπον προς προσωπον — pros “We have a Paraclete with the Father” See προς — prosōpon pros prosōpon (face to face, 1 Corinthians 13:12), a triple use of το γνωστον της προς αλληλους συνητειας — pros There is a papyrus example of προς — pros in this sense παρα σοι — to gnōston tēs pros allēlous sunētheias “the knowledge of our intimacy with one another” (M.&M., Vocabulary) which answers the claim of Rendel Harris, Origin of Prologue, p. 8) that the use of και τεος ην ο λογος — pros here and in Mark 6:3 is a mere Aramaism. It is not a classic idiom, but this is Koiné, not old Attic. In John 17:5 John has ο τεος ην ο λογος — para soi the more common idiom. And the Word was God By exact and careful language John denied Sabellianism by not saying ο λογος — ho theos ēn ho logos That would mean that all of God was expressed in τεος — ho logos and the terms would be interchangeable, each having the article. The subject is made plain by the article Thus in the Trinity we see personal fellowship on an equality. [source]
1 Corinthians 16:9 For a great and effectual door is opened unto me [τυρα γαρ μοι ανεωιγεν μεγαλη και ενεργης]
Second perfect active indicative of ανοιγω — anoigō to open. Intransitive, stands wide open at last after his years there (Acts 20:31). A wide open door. What does he mean by ενεργης — energēs It is a late word in the Koiné. In the papyri a medical receipt has it for “tolerably strong.” The form ενεργος — energos in the papyri is used of a mill “in working order,” of “tilled land,” and of “wrought iron.” In the N.T. it occurs in Philemon 1:6; Hebrews 4:12 of “the word of God” as “ενεργης — energēs ” (powerful). Paul means that he has at least a great opportunity for work in Ephesus. [source]
Ephesians 6:17 Sword of the Spirit [μάχαιραν τοῦ πνεύματος]
See on Revelation 6:4. The word of God serves both for attack and to parry the thrusts of the enemy. Thus Christ used it in His temptation. It is the sword of the Spirit, because the Spirit of God gives it and inspires it. The Spirit's aid is needed for its interpretation. Compare John 14:10; Hebrews 4:12, in which latter passage the image is sacrificial. [source]
Ephesians 6:17 Which is the word of God [ο]
Explanatory relative The sword given by the Spirit to be wielded as offensive weapon (the others defensive) by the Christian is the word of God. See note on Hebrews 4:12 where the word of God is called “sharper than any two-edged sword.” [source]
Philemon 1:6 May become effectual [ἐνεργὴς]
See on James 5:16. This adjective, and the kindred ἐνεργέω towork, be effectual, ἐνέργημα workingoperation, and ἐνέργεια energypower in exercise, are used in the New Testament only of superhuman power, good or evil. Compare Ephesians 1:19; Matthew 14:2; Philemon 2:13; 1 Corinthians 12:10; Hebrews 4:12. [source]
Philemon 1:6 The fellowship of thy faith [η κοινωνια της πιστεως σου]
Partnership like Philemon 1:5 in (objective genitive, πιστεως — pisteōs). Effectual (ενεργης — energēs). Common adjective, like ενεργος — energos (at work), in N.T. only here, 1 Corinthians 16:9; Hebrews 4:12. Papyri use ενεργος — energos of a mill in working order, of ploughed land, etc. In you Some MSS. have εν ημιν — en hēmin (in us), itacism and common. [source]
Philemon 1:6 Effectual [ενεργης]
Common adjective, like ενεργος — energos (at work), in N.T. only here, 1 Corinthians 16:9; Hebrews 4:12. Papyri use ενεργος — energos of a mill in working order, of ploughed land, etc. [source]
Hebrews 13:9 That the heart be established [βεβαιοῦσθαι τὴν καρδίαν]
There is an emphasis on heart as well as on grace. These strange teachings all emphasized externalism, in contrast with Christianity, which insisted upon the purification of the heart and conscience. The contrast is strongly stated in Hebrews 9:9, Hebrews 9:14, and the Epistle constantly directs the readers to the heart as the true point of contact with God, and the source of all departures from him. See Hebrews 3:8, Hebrews 3:10, Hebrews 3:12, Hebrews 3:15; Hebrews 4:7, Hebrews 4:12; Hebrews 8:10; especially Hebrews 10:22. Hence, the writer says, “it is good that the solid basis of your assurance before God be in the heart, purged from an evil conscience, so that you can draw near to God with a firmly-established confidence, with a true heart, in full assurance of faith”: Hebrews 10:22; comp. 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 2 Timothy 2:22. [source]
Hebrews 11:34 Edge of the sword [στόματα μαχαίρης]
Lit. mouths of the sword. See on Hebrews href="/desk/?q=heb+4:12&sr=1">Hebrews 4:12. The plural edges indicates frequent assaults. [source]
Hebrews 4:13 That is not manifest [απανης]
Old adjective Both soul and body are naked to the eye of God. Laid open Perfect passive participle of τραχηλιζω — trachēlizō late verb to bend back the neck God‘s eyes see all the facts in our inmost hearts. There are no mental reservations from God. With whom we have to do “With whom the matter or account for us is.” There is a slight play here on λογος — logos of Hebrews 4:12. Surely every servant of Christ today needs to gaze into this revealing mirror and be honest with himself and God. [source]
Hebrews 2:4 God also bearing witness with them [συνεπιμαρτυρουντος του τεου]
Genitive absolute with the present active participle of the late double compound verb συνεπιμαρτυρεω — sunepimartureō to join Here only in N.T., but in Aristotle, Polybius, Plutarch. Both by signs Instrumental case used with all four items. See Acts 2:22 for the three words for miracles in inverse order (powers, wonders, signs). Each word adds an idea about the εργα — erga (works) of Christ. Τερας — Teras (wonder) attracts attention, δυναμις — dunamis (power) shows God‘s power, σημειον — sēmeion reveals the purpose of God in the miracles. For ποικιλαις — poikilais (manifold, many-coloured) see Matthew 4:24; James 1:2. For μερισμος — merismos for distribution (old word, in N.T. only here and Hebrews 4:12) see 1Cor 12:4-30. According to his own will The word τελησις — thelēsis is called a vulgarism by Pollux. The writer is fond of words in -ις — is f0). [source]
1 Peter 4:1 Mind [ἔννοιαν]
Only here and Hebrews 4:12. Literally the word means thought, and so some render it here. Rev. puts it in margin. The rendering intent, resolution, is very doubtful. It seems rather to be the thought as determining the resolution. Since Christ has suffered in the flesh, be ye also willing to suffer in the flesh. [source]
1 Peter 4:1 Arm ye yourselves also [και υμεις οπλισαστε]
Direct middle first aorist imperative of οπλιζω — hoplizō old verb from οπλον — hoplon (weapon, John 18:3), in metaphorical sense, here only in N.T.With the same mind (την αυτην εννοιαν — tēn autēn ennoian). Accusative of the thing (content), εννοιαν — ennoian old word (from εν νους — enυπογραμμος — nous), putting in mind, thinking, will, in N.T. only here and Hebrews 4:12. “Here again Christus Patiens is our οτι — hupogrammos ” (Bigg).For Reason for the exhortation.Hath ceased from sin (παυω — pepautai hamartias). Perfect middle indicative of αμαρτιας — pauō to make cease and the ablative singular αμαρτιαις — hamartias but B reads the dative plural hamartiais (cf. Romans 6:1.). Temptation has lost its appeal and power with such a man. [source]
1 Peter 4:1 With the same mind [την αυτην εννοιαν]
Accusative of the thing (content), εννοιαν — ennoian old word (from εν νους — enυπογραμμος — nous), putting in mind, thinking, will, in N.T. only here and Hebrews 4:12. “Here again Christus Patiens is our οτι — hupogrammos ” (Bigg). [source]
Revelation 1:16 Proceeded [εκπορευομενη]
Present middle participle of εκπορευομαι — ekporeuomai old compound (Matthew 3:5) used loosely again like εχων — echōn sharp two-edged sword “A sword two-mouthed sharp.” ομπαια — Romphaia (as distinct from μαχαιρα — machaira) is a long sword, properly a Thracian javelin, in N.T. only Luke 2:35; Revelation 1:16; Revelation 2:12; Hebrews 4:12. See στομα — stoma used with μαχαιρης — machairēs in Luke 21:24 (by the mouth of the sword).Countenance (οπσις — opsis). Old word (from οπτω — optō), in N.T. only here, John 7:24; John 11:44.As the sun shineth Brachylogy, “as the sun when it shines.” For παινει — phainei see John 1:5. [source]
Revelation 1:16 In his right hand [εν τηι δεχιαι χειρι]
For safe keeping as in John 10:28.Seven stars (αστερας επτα — asteras hepta). Symbols of the seven churches (Revelation 1:20), seven planets rather than Pleiades or any other constellation like the bear.Proceeded Present middle participle of εκπορευομαι — ekporeuomai old compound (Matthew 3:5) used loosely again like εχων — echōn sharp two-edged sword “A sword two-mouthed sharp.” ομπαια — Romphaia (as distinct from μαχαιρα — machaira) is a long sword, properly a Thracian javelin, in N.T. only Luke 2:35; Revelation 1:16; Revelation 2:12; Hebrews 4:12. See στομα — stoma used with μαχαιρης — machairēs in Luke 21:24 (by the mouth of the sword).Countenance (οπσις — opsis). Old word (from οπτω — optō), in N.T. only here, John 7:24; John 11:44.As the sun shineth Brachylogy, “as the sun when it shines.” For παινει — phainei see John 1:5. [source]
Revelation 19:13 In a garment [ιματιον]
Accusative case after the passive participle περιβεβλημενος — peribeblēmenos Perfect passive participle of ραντιζω — rantizō in the predicate accusative case agreeing with ιματιον — himation A Q here read βεβαμμενον — bebammenon (perfect passive participle of βαπτω — baptō to dip). Probably ρεραντισμενον — rerantismenon (sprinkled) is correct, because the picture comes from Isaiah 63:3, where Aquila and Symmachus use ραντιζω — rantizō The use of βεβαμμενον — bebammenon (dipped) is a bolder figure and Charles considers it correct. In either case it is the blood of Christ‘s enemies with which his raiment Some scholars hold this addition inconsistent with Revelation 19:12, but it may be merely the explanation of the secret name or still another name besides that known only to himself. The personal use of the Logos applied to Christ occurs only in the Johannine writings unless that is the idea in Hebrews 4:12. In John 1:1, John 1:14 it is merely ο Λογος — ho Logos (the Word), in 1 John 1:1 ο Λογος της ζωης — ho Logos tēs zōēs (the Word of Life), while here it is ο Λογος του τεου — ho Logos tou theou (the Word of God), one of the strongest arguments for identity of authorship. The idiom here is one common in Luke and Paul for the teaching of Christ (Luke 5:1; Luke 8:11, etc.; 1 Corinthians 14:36; 2 Corinthians 2:17, etc.). Jesus is himself the final and perfect revelation of God to men (Hebrews 1:1.). [source]
Revelation 19:13 The Word of God [ο Λογος του τεου]
Some scholars hold this addition inconsistent with Revelation 19:12, but it may be merely the explanation of the secret name or still another name besides that known only to himself. The personal use of the Logos applied to Christ occurs only in the Johannine writings unless that is the idea in Hebrews 4:12. In John 1:1, John 1:14 it is merely ο Λογος — ho Logos (the Word), in 1 John 1:1 ο Λογος της ζωης — ho Logos tēs zōēs (the Word of Life), while here it is ο Λογος του τεου — ho Logos tou theou (the Word of God), one of the strongest arguments for identity of authorship. The idiom here is one common in Luke and Paul for the teaching of Christ (Luke 5:1; Luke 8:11, etc.; 1 Corinthians 14:36; 2 Corinthians 2:17, etc.). Jesus is himself the final and perfect revelation of God to men (Hebrews 1:1.). [source]

What do the individual words in Hebrews 4:12 mean?

Living [is] for the word - of God and active sharper than any sword two-edged even penetrating as far as [the] division of soul spirit of joints and also marrows able to judge [the] thoughts intentions of [the] heart
Ζῶν γὰρ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἐνεργὴς τομώτερος ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν μάχαιραν δίστομον καὶ διϊκνούμενος ἄχρι μερισμοῦ ψυχῆς πνεύματος ἁρμῶν τε καὶ μυελῶν κριτικὸς ἐνθυμήσεων ἐννοιῶν καρδίας

Ζῶν  Living  [is] 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ζάω  
Sense: to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead).
λόγος  word 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: λόγος  
Sense: of speech.
τοῦ  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Θεοῦ  of  God 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: θεός  
Sense: a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities.
ἐνεργὴς  active 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἐναργής 
Sense: active.
τομώτερος  sharper 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular, Comparative
Root: τομός  
Sense: sharper.
ὑπὲρ  than 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ὑπέρ 
Sense: in behalf of, for the sake of.
πᾶσαν  any 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: πᾶς  
Sense: individually.
μάχαιραν  sword 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: μάχαιρα  
Sense: a large knife, used for killing animals and cutting up flesh.
δίστομον  two-edged 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: δίστομος  
Sense: having a double mouth as a river.
καὶ  even 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: καί  
Sense: and, also, even, indeed, but.
διϊκνούμενος  penetrating 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Middle or Passive, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: διϊκνέομαι  
Sense: to go through, penetrate, pierce.
ἄχρι  as  far  as 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἄχρι  
Sense: until, unto, etc.
μερισμοῦ  [the]  division 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: μερισμός  
Sense: a division, partition.
ψυχῆς  of  soul 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: ψυχή  
Sense: breath.
πνεύματος  spirit 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Singular
Root: πνεῦμα  
Sense: a movement of air (a gentle blast.
ἁρμῶν  of  joints 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: ἁρμός  
Sense: a joining, a joint.
καὶ  also 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: καί  
Sense: and, also, even, indeed, but.
μυελῶν  marrows 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: μυελός  
Sense: marrow.
κριτικὸς  able  to  judge 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: κριτικός  
Sense: relating to judging, fit for judging, skilled in judging.
ἐνθυμήσεων  [the]  thoughts 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Plural
Root: ἐνθύμησις  
Sense: a thinking, consideration.
ἐννοιῶν  intentions 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Plural
Root: ἔννοια  
Sense: the act of thinking, consideration, meditation.
καρδίας  of  [the]  heart 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: καρδία  
Sense: the heart.