- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1).
- Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4).
- So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17 NASB).
- Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17).
These are all familiar passages of scripture that demonstrate the importance of “the Word.” Much has been said about the importance and integrity of the Word of God. But what exactly is the Word?
For most of us, when we see the “the Word” we are inclined to think of the Bible. It’s tempting to mentally replace the phrase “the Word” with “the Bible” in all of the verses quoted above. In fact, many of us do this automatically without even thinking about it. When we read about taking up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” we might imagine carrying a Bible. When we read “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ,” we might imagine reading the Bible. We naturally interpret “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word…” as meaning that we should live by the Bible. And reading “In the beginning was the Word,” we might imagine the unwritten scriptures already existing before anything else. For many Christians, the Bible is central to their entire thinking about “the Word.”
In the early church, however, few people had access to the scriptures, and even if they did, most people did not know how to read. If faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Bible, it would be impossible for most early Christians to have faith. If man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the Bible, then it would be impossible for all but a few early Christians to live our their faith. And what about John 1:1? Did the Bible really exist at the beginning of time? Or is there more to the word “Word” than just the Bible?
In scripture, “the Word” can take on different meanings depending on which Greek word it is translated from.
Lógos (Strong’s 3056) refers to an overarching plan, purpose, logic, thought, or reasoning. In John 1, “the Word” is translated from Logos. The “Word” here does not refer to the written scriptures, but to the eternal plan of God, existing from the beginning in His divine counsel and foreknowledge (John 1:1) and becoming manifested to us in the person of Jesus Christ: “the Word was made flesh” (John 1:14). John 1:1 is not saying that the Bible existed from the beginning of time. Rather, it means that even from the beginning of time God already had a divine plan and purpose in place for His Messiah and His Kingdom. This divine plan, thought, and idea of God came to fruition in the coming of His Son, Jesus Christ, who is the embodiment (“the Word became flesh”) of God’s plan. Lógos is found not only in John 1, but throughout the New Testament, usually translated “Word,” and referring to God’s eternal plan and purposes.
Graphé (Strong’s 1124), in contrast, refers to the written Word of God, the Bible, and is usually translated as “scriptures.” For example, 2 Timothy 3:16, “All scripture (graphe) is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” In this verse, “scripture” is clearly referring to the written Bible. But elsewhere in scripture, God’s “Word” takes on a larger meaning. Nowhere is this more apparent than where “Word” is translated from the Greek word rhema.
Rhḗma (Strong’s 4487) refers to the spoken word, literally an “utterance,” and is sometimes translated as “saying” or “sayings.” Translated as word, it certainly includes the scriptures, and the rhema of Christ would include all of Christ’s sayings and teachings as recorded in the gospels. However, rhema has a much broader meaning than graphe. While graphe refers only to the written word, rhema may refer to a specific revelation or instruction given through the Spirit.
The Discovery Study Bible notes that rhḗma refers to a word or message that comes from a “living voice” and “is commonly used in the New Testament and the Septuagint for the Lord speaking His dynamic, living word in a believer to inbirth faith. Romans 10:17: ‘So faith proceeds from (spiritual) hearing; moreover this hearing (is consummated) through a rhēma-word from Christ.’ See also Galatians 3:2,5 which refers to ‘the hearing of faith’ – i.e. a spiritual hearing that goes with the divine inbirthing of faith.”
Author Mike Arnold has a great analogy for how logos (the plan), graphe (the written word), and rhema (the spoken word) work together. Imagine an architect endeavoring to design and construct a building. He first imagines it in his mind and mentally plans out what it should look like. He then draws up written blueprints detailing each part of the building. Finally, he discusses the blueprints with those in charge of the actual construction to make sure everyone understands the blueprints and is on the same page regarding which materials and techniques will be used to achieve the desired architecture. This final step is critically important. If the architect simply handed the plans to the builders without any communication at all, the plans would be completely left up to their own interpretation. Give the same blueprint to 100 different construction firms without any other communication, and you could end up with 100 slightly different buildings.
Unfortunately, this often happens in the Christian church. God is building a Kingdom, and His plan for His Kingdom has existed from the beginning of time. He has revealed this plan to us in the written revelation of the Bible, which functions as the blueprint for His Kingdom. But too many Christians assume that the revelation of God stops there. If God cannot communicate with us except through the Bible, then we are left on our own when it comes to interpreting what the Bible means. The result is a thousand different denominations, all interpreting the same Bible in slightly different ways.
But it was never meant to be this way. At the Last Supper, Jesus promised his disciples that, “the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26). Jesus also promised that “when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come” (John 16:13).
Jesus knew that his time had come and he would soon face death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. He knew that he would soon leave the earth to sit down at the right hand of God, and he would no longer be physically present to speak to his disciples in person. Yet the teaching that he needed to communicate to them was sadly incomplete. “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now,” he told his disciples in John 16:12. And John 21:25 tells us that the Bible records only a tiny fraction of Christ’s ministry: “there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.”
God is the Architect, and in the scriptures He has given us His Kingdom blueprint. But he has not left us on our own when it comes to interpreting that blueprint. God has graciously given us the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth and help us to correctly understand and apply the truths of scripture.
The Bible is the Word of God, but God’s revelation doesn’t stop there. We must also receive revelation by means of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. This is rhema revelation – God speaking to us through the Spirit – in contrast to graphe, the written word.
Consider when God spoke to Samuel in 1 Samuel 3, calling out to him, “Samuel! Samuel!” Verse 1 tells us that “the word of Yahweh was rare in those days.” This does not mean that there was a shortage of scrolls. It means that the spokenrevelation of God was rare.
In the Old Testament, it was rare when God would pour out His Spirit on someone that they may prophesy, or when God would reveal Himself in a dream or vision. But today, in the post-Pentecost age, God has graciously poured out His Spirit on all who believe. At the day of Pentecost, Peter quoted what had been prophesied by the prophet Joel, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams” (Acts 2:17, Joel 2:28).
Looking back at the verses quoted at the beginning of this post, a proper understanding of the Greek reveals a new and deeper level of meaning. Consider Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” The phrase “every word” is not limited to the Bible, but also includes the words of revelation that God speaks to us through the Spirit. The Greek word used here is not graphe, but rhema, meaning the spoken revelation of God.
In context, Satan was tempting Jesus in the wilderness to turn stones into bread. It is often assumed that Satan was tempting Jesus to sin. But nowhere in the Bible does it say it is wrong to turn stones into bread and eat them. If Jesus had done this, he would not have violated any commandment written in the Bible. Christ’s answer to Satan, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every rhema that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,” is essentially saying that the spiritual revelation of God – his daily instruction in our lives through the Holy Spirit – is more important than physical food, and God had not yet instructed Christ to eat. Although he was extremely hungry, Jesus remained completely obedient to God’s spiritual revelation. He walked in perfect fellowship with his Father and followed the Father’s instructions every step of the way. Nowhere is this more apparent than John 5:19, “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.”
Of all the pieces of the “armor of God” described in Ephesians 6, only one piece is an offensive weapon. It’s “the sword of the Spirit, which is the rhema of God” (Ephesians 6:17). Following the instructions that God speaks (rhema) to us through the Holy Spirit will always defeat the devil in any situation. This is what Jesus did when he was tempted in the wilderness. He remained perfectly obedient to God’s revelation and was therefore able to resist the devil. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” And Hebrews 2:18 promises us that Jesus Christ “is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted” through the Holy Spirit.
Romans 10:17 tells us that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (NASB). The Greek word for “word” in this verse is rhema – spoken revelation, the “utterance” of God. While the Bible is certainly revelation of God, the Greek in this verse does not limit “the word of God” only to the written scriptures. If that were the intent, the writer could have used graphe (the written word) instead.
Consider that few people in the ancient world could read or had access to the scriptures. And yet God revealed himself to many people in mighty ways, causing faith to come by revelation. And ironically, many of the highly educated Pharisees who read and studied the scriptures did not have genuine faith!
An important lesson we can learn from this is that there is a difference between knowing about God, and knowing God. The Pharisees had great intellectual knowledge about God and the scriptures. They knew all of the written laws and prided themselves in what they believed to be their superior understanding of and handling of the scriptures. And yet, bogged down by legalism and concerned only with the outward appearance of things, they lacked any real relationship with God. Jesus saw right through their false religion, saying to them: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess” (Matthew 23:25).
If there’s one thing we can learn from an understanding of rhema, it’s that God desires relationship. Because of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us on the cross, a relationship with God is now possible, and God has poured out His Holy Spirit so we may commune with Him and receive His daily revelation in our lives.
A relationship with God must begin with faith in Jesus Christ. If we want to know who God is, we must start by looking to Jesus Christ, because God is most fully revealed in His Son. Hebrews 1:3 tells us, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word (rhema). After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Jesus says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me” (John 14:6). A relationship with God is only possible through Jesus Christ!
Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine…. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:14,27). Have you heard the voice of the Good Shepherd in your life? Do you know him personally, or do you merely know about him? Do you have a relationship with him, and do you have a relationship with God through him?
If not, I encourage you to accept Jesus Christ into your heart and ask God to make his revelation a living reality in your life.
