Fresh Revelation? Rhema Versus Logos

There is a teaching in the church today that the Greek word ‘rhema’ is exclusively the 'right now' spoken Word 'from' God (Holy Spirit) to people today to personally lead them, and the Greek word ‘logos’ is exclusively God's general written Word as we have in the Bible for direction. This has caused the belief that a ‘spoken’ word through prophecy, dreams, visions, or a Word of Knowledge is a ‘fresh revelation’ that is greater than, and even supersedes, the written Word, the Bible. It is reasoned that because the Bible is a living Word one Scripture can apply a certain way to a person today and touch on an aspect of their life. Then, in the future, they can read the same Scripture and it impacts something else in their life. Therefore, because God is timeless the Bible is timeless so He can bring meaning to something in His Word in different ways at different times.

This belief is being used to validate and justify teaching that is contrary to traditional orthodox Christianity. A simple word study of the original Greek language used in the New Testament (NT) quickly reveals that there is no major difference between the words ‘rhema’ and ‘logos.’ The words are used interchangeably in the Bible because they irrefutably mean the same thing and are not subtle differences of each other.

A text cannot mean what was never meant. The usage and definition of words in the Bible are God-breathed, and do not change with the culture or history. God doesn't change (Malachi 3:6). The illumination of a Scripture is not the same as a revelation because it is the Scripture alone that is God's revealed revelation. There are no mysteries or riddles found within it.

The original meaning of the words can be USED to speak to modern culture, but they cannot be CHANGED to try and fit into modern culture. They mean what they mean. A definition is exact. Trying to make Scripture say or mean something different than what is clearly shown in its grammatical and historical context, to fit a personal confirmation bias and validate a personal supposition, is called eisegesis, and is what is used by false religious cults and teachers who are wolves in sheep's clothing.

The Holy Spirit is the one who illuminates the written Word of God. It is alive, active, and unchanging, because ALL "Scripture (Gk: graphé) is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16 NIV).

Just because someone suddenly sees a word or verse differently doesn't mean it now has a different meaning. The warning given at the end of the book of Revelation can apply to every verse of Scripture (Revelation 22:18-19).

The Septuagint translates both ‘logos’ and ‘rhema’ from the Hebrew word ‘dabar,’ which means ‘that which is uttered in speech, or writing, discourse, the subject matter of speech; a minimal unit of discourse, a single word, a focus on the content of the communication.

The words "rhema" and "logos" overlap in their definitions. The actual difference between the words is simply a matter of writing style and expression. The word "logos" occurs 330 times in the NT. The word "rhema" occurs 70 times in the NT. There are 218 times when the word "logos" occurs and it is translated as "word." ”Rhema” is translated 56 times as 'word.' The word "logos" occurs 50 times translated as "saying." Nine times "rhema" is also translated as "saying." The words "logos" and "rhema" are equally associated with 'word' and 'saying.' "Rhema" is a 'saying' that could be in a written form, so many "rhema's" put together could constitute a "logos."

The Greek word "logos" refers to a word, decree, the act of speaking, teaching, reason, account; first sense of collection, counting, conversation; expression of thought, a complete statement description, thoughts expressed in words, relates to speaking and thinking, a divine declaration recorded in the Old Testament (OT); systematic and formal treatment of a subject, the content of what is preached; pertaining to matter.

"Logos" also refers to the Gospel as preached by the Apostles, and not to all the Scriptures (Acts 4:4). It is used regarding the supernatural gifts of prophecy, wisdom, knowledge, and tongues (1 Corinthians 12:8, 14:9). The "logos" is also ‘spoken’ by Angels (Hebrews 2:2, 12:19) and refers directly to Jesus (John 1:1,14).

The Bible often uses the Greek word "graphe" to refer to the written Word of God and "logos" to refer to that which Jesus had spoken (Matthew 21:42; 22:29; John 2:22, 5:39, 14:23-24, 17:6,14; Acts 17:11; 18:24; Romans 1:2).

Jesus is the "logos" who spoke the "logos" and all that exists came into existence (John 1:1-3). Both "rhema" and "logos" are meant to be synonyms and are equated with each other (2 Peter 3:5). The word "rhema" can be seen as referring to what was written. Although the prophets "spoke" words from God, they were written to the people (1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 3:2,5; Hebrews 12:19,11:3; Jude 1:17).