Fresh Revelation? Rhema Versus Logos

I often hear people say one of two things about the revelation of the Bible: that God speaks to them, or they wish God would speak to them. Those who say God speaks to them often pull the 'god card' to validate and justify something they have done, a message they have given, or the way they have interpreted the Bible, or receiving an experiential fresh/new/special revelation that supersedes what is written in the Bible because the "books" of the New Testament (NT) were not compiled until after AD 324. Therefore, because the Disciples in the first century had to rely on hearing the 'rhema' (spoken) Word from God, the Church today should as well because God still speaks today, which supersedes His 'logos' (written) Word. After all, they say, "God's sheep hear His voice constantly, and they follow Him" (see John 10:27).

The question arises of who is it that becomes the human arbiter of truth to rightly divide and disseminate differing subjective 'supernatural' interpretations of specific Scriptures supposedly given directly by the Holy Spirit to one of many 'interpreters' who have contradictory definitions of words from the original language and the grammatical and historical context they used?

The Bible says that those who are ignorant and unstable twist the Word of God to mean something quite different than what they were originally intended to mean in their context (2 Peter 3:15-16).

“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

“I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrines; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

The question that remains is, 'Does God still speak today? 'The short answer is a resounding, Yes! God did not become silent at the close of the first century.

"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world." (Hebrews 1:1-3 ESV)

Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27-28 ESV). He also said, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20 ESV). The Bible tells us that when we hear His voice, we should not "harden" our hearts (Hebrews 4:7).

Fresh/New/Special Revelation?

There is 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. It is also taught that the Greek word 'logos' is exclusively God's general written Word as we have in the Bible for direction, which 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, they posit that because God is timeless, the Bible is timeless so that 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 NT quickly reveals that there is no significant 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 from each other. Also, 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).

A text cannot mean what was never meant. The words used can only mean what the original writer meant them to mean in their original grammatical and historical context. The usage and definition of words in the Bible are God-breathed and do not change with the culture or history because 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.