The living word of God is operative. The anglicized form of the Greek word translated “operative” in verse 12 is energetic. Hence, operative here means energizing or energetic. The living word of God is energizing within us to work out something for God.
The living word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword (Eph. 6:17), piercing into our being, dividing our soul from our spirit, discerning the thoughts and intents of our heart. Many times the word of God discerns our mixed-up thoughts. Do not think that all thoughts come from hell or that all intents come from the self. Some thoughts come from the heavens, and some intents are for God. But mostly we have a mixture in our thoughts and intents and need the living, operative, sharp word to pierce into us and discern our thoughts and intents, revealing which are of and for the self and which are of and for God. If we are left by ourselves, we cannot discern these matters. But once we experience the living word of God, it is easy to discern the thoughts that are not of God and the intents that are of Satan.
This brings us to the parts of man. This is covered adequately in the book The Economy of God and the booklet The Parts of Man.
Our body is our outward organ by which we contact the outward, physical world. It is composed of all its members and is signified in 4:12 by the joints and marrow.
The soul is our very self. This is proved by comparing Matthew 16:26 with Luke 9:25. Matthew 16:26 says, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Luke 9:25 says, “For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?” Here we see that our soul is simply our self, our being, our personality. In following the Lord, we must deny our soul, our self (Matt. 16:24; Luke 9:23).
Our soul is composed of the mind, the will, and the emotion. Proverbs 2:10 suggests that the soul needs knowledge. Since knowledge is a function of the mind, this proves that the mind is a part of the soul. Then Psalm 139:14 says that the soul knows. Knowing is a function of the mind, which again proves that the mind is a part of the soul. Psalm 13:2 says the soul considers, or counsels, which refers to the mind. Lamentations 3:20 indicates that remembrance is of the soul. From these verses we can see that there is a part in the soul which knows, considers, and remembers. This part is the mind.
The second part of the soul is the will. Job 7:15 says the soul chooses. Choosing is a decision made by an act of the will. This proves that the will must be a part of the soul. Job 6:7 says the soul refuses. To choose and refuse are both functions of the will. First Chronicles 22:19 says, “Set your soul to seek.” Just as we set our minds to think, so we set our souls to seek. This is, of course, the soul making a decision, which proves that the will must be a part of the soul. Psalm 27:12; 41:2, and Ezekiel 16:27 translate the Hebrew word soul into will. The prayer made by the psalmist is, “Do not deliver me to the will of the enemy.” In the original it means, “Do not deliver me to the soul of the enemy.” This proves clearly that the will must be a part of the soul.
The emotion is the third part of the soul. With the emotion there are many aspects: love, hate, joy, grief, etc. References to love are found in 1 Samuel 18:1, Song of Songs 1:7, and Psalm 42:1. These verses show that love is something in the soul, proving, therefore, that within the soul there is such an organ or function as the emotion. Concerning hatred, we may note 2 Samuel 5:8, Psalm 107:18 and Ezekiel 36:5. That joy, an element of the emotion, is also a part of the soul is seen in Isaiah 61:10 and Psalm 86:4. Then there is the matter of grief, another expression of the soul, mentioned in 1 Samuel 30:6 and Judges 10:16. These verses establish the ground to verify the three parts of the soul. The mind is the leading part, followed by the will and the emotion.