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).
The word "rhema" is also used in the Gospel of Jesus being preached, and not the written word that is used to sanctify and cleanse, or the spoken word (Romans 10:8,17; Ephesians 5:26; 1 Peter 1:25). The "logos" word is also equated with the "rhema" word that was delivered on the day of Pentecost (Acts 10:44). The "rhema" words of Peter were seen as a "logos."
During the early years of preaching the Gospel, it was not written down yet, but the Gospel is just as well contained in the OT as it is in the NT. The word of faith is "preached" and not "written." Whether the Bible uses the word "rhema" of God, or "logos" of God, it still points to that which is spoken in the majority of cases. The word ‘logos’ cannot be interpreted as only the written Word (example: Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 6:5). The words 'rhema,' 'logos,' and 'graphe' are used interchangeably in the Scriptures.
God the Father, just as He spoke in the past in the OT through His prophets, continues to speak to His people today through the NT by using His Words spoken to Jesus, who then spoke to His Apostles, who wrote them down, which are the books of the NT (Hebrews 1:1-3; Luke 10:16; John 13:20, 17:17-20). The writers of the NT constantly appealed to the Scriptures alone as their base of authority in declaring what was, and was not, true biblical teaching (Matthew 21:42; John 2:22; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Peter 1:10-12, 2:2; 2 Peter 1:17-19; Acts 17:11).
There are approximately 5,700 copies of the Greek manuscripts that were made very close to the time of the originals, and they all agree with each other with 99.5% accuracy. The .5% variation would include textual misspellings or minor word alternations. There are also over 19,000 copies in the Syriac, Latin, Coptic, and Aramaic languages which bring the total supporting New Testament manuscript purity to over 24,000 copies.
The Bible is the absolute perfect revelation of Jesus Christ and the only infallible, inerrant, inspired source of knowledge about Him and the only reliable source to hear His voice. Everything in the Cosmos is sustained by His Word (Hebrews 1:1-3).
The Scribes of the NT fully believed that they were recording the very inspired words (Scriptures) of God (John 14:26, 16:12-13). Because the Bible is already inspired, it does not need any fresh revelation to be relevant. Dreams, visitations, or prophetic words are not reliable. Only the written Word of God is. Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit is God. The Father is God. All three are ONE God. Their Word can be trusted, and it does not need extra-biblical help to be interpreted. The Bible only needs the Bible to do that.
The Bible says that “no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of any personal or private or special interpretation” (2 Peter 1:20 NIV). It must not be used as only a source of inspiration for anecdotal stories in ‘feel good’ messages or consulted and used merely to support an idea or pet belief. It is the ultimate authority for the Christian and must point directly to the character and work of the Triune God. The Bible warns that there will be ignorant, uneducated, and unstable people who will try and distort the Scriptures by bringing in meaning that forces them to conform to their opinions, thoughts, ideas, and agendas (2 Peter 3:16). A word can never mean what wasn't originally meant.
Upon review of the Scriptures, the usage of the words ‘rhema’ and ‘logos’ and their intertwining meanings, it would seem a logical conclusion to say there is insufficient distinction in Greek to establish a doctrine that "rhema" words are only spoken words from God in the present, and "logos" words are only the written text of Scripture. God’s written Word, the Bible alone, is sufficient for doctrine and daily living. There is no other replacement for it - ever!
