HEBREW LESSON | KEVIN GEOFFREY


The Word is Power


“Then Yeshua was led up to the desert by the Spirit to be tempted by the Accuser, and having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he hun- gered. And the Tempter came to Him saying, ‘If you are [the] Son of God, speak—that these stones may become loaves [of bread].’ But [Yeshua] an- swered saying, ‘It is written, “Not upon bread alone does man live, but upon every word that comes forth from the


mouth of God.”’” Why"t.Tim;; Matit’yahu (Matthew) 4:1-4


is translated from the Hebrew rb'D', davar, and less often, hr"m.ai, im’rah. Both have similar meanings and usages relating to the words of


Torah (hr"AT) and fundamental for every disciple of Messiah: life comes from the Word of God. The “Word” is not just a metaphor for an innocuous set of lofty ideas and good sugges- tions. The Word is His very essence spoken into existence and encoded in the “stuff” of understandable, appli- cable human language and com- munication. Through the Word, the Creator has chosen to reveal His will to His creation in terms that we can grasp and apply to our lives. In the Scriptures, the word “Word”


The Master teaches us a founda- tional truth—a truth rooted in the


to the promises or attributes that are implicit in the Word—what we might consider to be the living man- ifestation of the Word in our lives, or the living Word. These words find their respective, approximate equiv- alents in the Greek løgoq, logos and W∂ma, rhema, although the pattern of “written Word / living Word” in each pair is by no means a hard-and-fast comparison. Ultimately, what the Scriptures about


say “the Word” is varied,


but points to a single source and purpose. The Word is a fire and a hammer of destruction against those


who misuse it, but it is a light (rAa, or) and a lamp (rnE, ner) to the feet of those who follow in its way. The


Word is Truth (tm,a/, ’emet), and it is alive—it is straight and upright (rv'y", yashar), never crooked in its ways.


Word is the Torah of Adonai, the instructions and teachings for Israel. It is also the word of the Prophets who spoke by inspiration, moved by the Spirit of God. The Word is the Sword of the Spirit, separating spirit and soul, joint and marrow, discern- ing the thoughts of the heart. The


speech. rb'D', davar tends to refer to the actual commands and teach- ings of Adonai—what we would consider to be the written Word of God. hr"m.ai, im’rah sometimes speaks


The Word is the very seed of the Good News of the Messiah Yeshua; and more than that, it is the Messiah Himself—the Son, the Only Begot- ten One. This unbroken Word—dic- tated by the mouth of God, inscribed by human hands—is preserved for us in the Scriptures (~ybiWtK., k’tuviym =


Pronunciation Key: a = “ah” | e = “eh” | i = “ee” | o = “oh” | u = “oo” | ch or kh = guttural sound in back of throat as in “bach” or “loch” not “ch” as in “much” or “charity”


24 JewishVoiceToday.org | March/April 2011


“Writings”) of our faith. Every as- pect of the Word becomes alive in us when we receive its authority and power to change our lives. Our only hope, both for unity as a Body and effectiveness as disciples, begins with the place of the Word of God in our lives. If the Word does not establish our priorities for us, if the Word is a mere consultant with no authority, if the Word is not con- sidered absolute truth—and the sole source of it, at that—we will experi- ence powerlessness, dissatisfaction, confusion and disunity as we try to make our way through life on our own. How we respond and adhere to the Word determines how we will live.


Adapted from Kevin’s book Being a Disciple of Messiah


BEING A DISCIPLE OF MESSIAH As Believers in Messiah, we are called to be like Him—to practically and actually live our lives like the Master. But many times it is a daily struggle for us to walk in the ways we know we should go. Being a Disciple of Messiah will help strengthen and build you up for a greater, more effective walk in Yeshua … challenging and inspiring you to become more like the Master every day.


Kevin Geoffrey is a father, a husband, and a Jewish disciple of the Messiah Yeshua. He is also the principal laborer of Perfect Word Ministries, a Messianic Jewish equipping min- istry. Kevin lives in Phoenix, AZ, with his wife, Esther, and their three sons, Isaac, Josiah, and Hosea. Visit Perfect Word online at: www.PerfectWordMinistries.org


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