We know that the Word of God is Jesus – the Creator and Sustainer of all things. When the writer of Hebrews says the Word of God is like a sword, it reminds me of this verse in the book of Revelation:
From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. (Revelation 19:15)
The sword is the word coming from the mouth of Jesus. The Word of God we see in Revelation is the same one the writer of Hebrews is referring to. And in the very End – the Last Days – that John writes about in Revelation, this Living Sword will indeed cut between soul and spirit.
The soul of a person is their mind, will, and emotions, and is eternal – the spirit is what is changed when accepting Jesus as Lord. For those that do not accept Christ before the end, this may be saying the sword will actually divide the soul from the spirit – the eternal soul going to damnation, and the spirit being separated forever from them – meaning they will have no spirit; no place for God. This is a horrible and frightening thought!
Those that do follow Christ will be brought – soul and spirit – into eternal fellowship with the Father and the Son. The contrast could not be more stark! The decision must be made before it’s too late – you cannot afford to get this wrong!
On a related note: The verse above from Revelation is describing Jesus returning to wage war with Satan and all his followers (of which there are far too many). After Satan is captured and thrown into the fiery lake, it then states that all the rest “were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse”. I wonder if the entire ‘battle’ in chapter 19 of Revelation will consist of the Living Word simply saying (for the last time), "It is finished!" – the same lines Jesus spoke as He completed His work on the cross.
#LoveMatters