The Written Word Of God Versus Fresh Revelation

I consistently hear from those who want to justify that experiential special/fresh revelation supersedes what is written in the Bible because the “books” of the New Testament were not compiled until after 324 AD. 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 hears His voice constantly and they follow Him” (see John 10:27).

I often hear people say one of two things; 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 something they have done, or a message they have given, or the way they have interpreted the Bible.

This is a generation that is made up of biblically illiterate people because the church is full of immature pretentious pontifical polyester pretzel preachers of pablum and taradiddle teachers that focus on touchy-feely felt needs and sensory spirituality while they twist God's Word to make it say what they want it to say instead of what it actually says.

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.” (Heb 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” (Rev 3:20 ESV). The Bible tells us that when we hear His voice, we should not “harden” our heart (Heb 4:7).

However, the question that remains is, how does He speak to us?

There are also those who believe that the 66 books, divided into 1,189 chapters, and 31,000 verses of the Bible are not enough, so they continuously look for private prophetic words, dreams, or visions for a more meaningful personal experiential revelation from God. This belief is being used to validate and justify teaching that is contrary to traditional orthodox Christianity. The biblical reality is that if a private “revelation” given to (or by) someone does not agree or align with Scripture, it is false, and if it does, then it is not needed.

A simple word study of the original Greek language used in the New Testament (NT) quickly reveals that there is no significant difference between the words ‘rhema’ and ‘logos.’ 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 (Matt 21:42; 22:29; John 2:22, 5:39, 14:23-24, 17:6,14; Acts 17:11; 18:24; Rom 1:2).

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, statement; 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 Cor 12:8, 14:9). The ‘logos’ is also ‘spoken’ by angels (Heb 2:2, 12:19) and also refers directly to Jesus (John 1:1,14).

The Septuagint translates both ‘logos’ and ‘rhema’ from the Hebrew word ‘dabar,’ which means ‘that which is uttered in speech, or writing; speech, 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 simply as "word." ”Rhema” is translated 56 times as "word." The word "logos" occurs 50 times and is translated "saying." Nine times "rhema" is also translated as "saying." The words "logos" and "rhema" are equally associated with "word" and "saying."

Jesus 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 Pet 3:5). The word ‘rhema’ can be seen referring to what was written. Although the prophets ‘spoke’ words from God, they were written to the people (1 Pet 1:25; 2 Pe 3:2,5; Heb 12:19,11:3; Jude 1:17).