This is a fine picture, but you do not supply a Bible verse to back it up. I have found Hebrews 4:12:
‘For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.’ ESV
Did you have another quote in mind, to support your concept, please?
Welcome to Restless Pilgrim. It’s not so much a single verse, but the Biblical concept that the word of God is both written in written form (“graphe”) and in proclamation (“rhema”). If you click on the hyperlinked Greek terms you’ll see where both of these are found in Scripture:
” All Scripture (graphe) is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” – 2 Timothy 3:16
“But the word of the Lord (rhema) endures forever” And this is the word (rhema) which was preached to you.” – 1 Peter 1:25
You find the testimony throughout the Early Church Fathers concerning the authority of both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition (2 Thes 2:15). Tradition and Scripture, as Dei Verbum says in Chapter 9, “flow… from the same divine wellspring…[and] merge into a unity and tend toward the same end”.
Thank you, David. ‘The Word of the Lord’ sounds more like scripture than tradition to me, though. Scripture should be proclaimed, of course. Another meaning might be Jesus himself, as in John 1, but there it is simply ‘the Word’.
“The Word of the Lord” is anything which God has revealed to man. In its totality, we call it “The Deposit Of Faith”. The portions which are written down we call “Sacred Scripture”, the rest we call “Sacred Tradition”. Again, I would refer you to Dei Verbum which explains this beautifully:
For Sacred Scripture is the word of God inasmuch as it is consigned to writing under the inspiration of the divine Spirit, while sacred tradition takes the word of God entrusted by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, and hands it on to their successors in its full purity, so that led by the light of the Spirit of truth, they may in proclaiming it preserve this word of God faithfully, explain it, and make it more widely known. Consequently it is not from Sacred Scripture alone that the Church draws her certainty about everything which has been revealed. Therefore both sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture are to be accepted and venerated with the same sense of loyalty and reverence… Sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the word of God, committed to
the Church. – Dei Verbum
You’re also quite right about John 1. In Scripture, there are three words translated as “word”. We already spoke about the first two (“graphe” and “rhema”) and the third is “logos”
I’ve found another instance of a two-edged sword, in Rev. 1:16; again it ties in with the idea of the Word of the Lord, but nothing is said to distinguish the edges.
You’re not going to find anything explicit the Bible that identifies the edges.
Scripture tells us that the Word of God is a sword. Scripture also tells us that the Word of God is both written (Scripture) and orally passed down through the Church (Tradition). Because of this, the artist chose to render the sword with two edges, one to reflect Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16) and another to reflect Tradition (2 Thessalonians 2:15).
This is a fine picture, but you do not supply a Bible verse to back it up. I have found Hebrews 4:12:
‘For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.’ ESV
Did you have another quote in mind, to support your concept, please?
Hey Robin,
Welcome to Restless Pilgrim. It’s not so much a single verse, but the Biblical concept that the word of God is both written in written form (“graphe”) and in proclamation (“rhema”). If you click on the hyperlinked Greek terms you’ll see where both of these are found in Scripture:
” All Scripture (graphe) is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” – 2 Timothy 3:16
“But the word of the Lord (rhema) endures forever” And this is the word (rhema) which was preached to you.” – 1 Peter 1:25
You find the testimony throughout the Early Church Fathers concerning the authority of both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition (2 Thes 2:15). Tradition and Scripture, as Dei Verbum says in Chapter 9, “flow… from the same divine wellspring…[and] merge into a unity and tend toward the same end”.
Hope this helps,
David.
Thank you, David. ‘The Word of the Lord’ sounds more like scripture than tradition to me, though. Scripture should be proclaimed, of course. Another meaning might be Jesus himself, as in John 1, but there it is simply ‘the Word’.
“The Word of the Lord” is anything which God has revealed to man. In its totality, we call it “The Deposit Of Faith”. The portions which are written down we call “Sacred Scripture”, the rest we call “Sacred Tradition”. Again, I would refer you to Dei Verbum which explains this beautifully:
For Sacred Scripture is the word of God inasmuch as it is consigned to writing under the inspiration of the divine Spirit, while sacred tradition takes the word of God entrusted by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, and hands it on to their successors in its full purity, so that led by the light of the Spirit of truth, they may in proclaiming it preserve this word of God faithfully, explain it, and make it more widely known. Consequently it is not from Sacred Scripture alone that the Church draws her certainty about everything which has been revealed. Therefore both sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture are to be accepted and venerated with the same sense of loyalty and reverence… Sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the word of God, committed to
the Church. – Dei Verbum
You’re also quite right about John 1. In Scripture, there are three words translated as “word”. We already spoke about the first two (“graphe” and “rhema”) and the third is “logos”
I’ve found another instance of a two-edged sword, in Rev. 1:16; again it ties in with the idea of the Word of the Lord, but nothing is said to distinguish the edges.
Hey Robin,
You’re not going to find anything explicit the Bible that identifies the edges.
Scripture tells us that the Word of God is a sword. Scripture also tells us that the Word of God is both written (Scripture) and orally passed down through the Church (Tradition). Because of this, the artist chose to render the sword with two edges, one to reflect Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16) and another to reflect Tradition (2 Thessalonians 2:15).
Thanks,
David.