Some Faith Movement/Charismatic Groups distinguish between the "Logos" as the "written word" of God and the "Rhema" as the "spoken word" of God. Thus, they speak in terms of receiving "words from God" or "words for the now, "which they call Rhema words. In contrast, the Bible itself, the written word of God, is associated with the term Logos. While on the surface Rhema words are said to require conformity to the Logos word (written word), in practical terms, they become more significant to the life of the believer than the Logos (written word) because they provide direct guidance for our current circumstances and choices on a day to day basisl
In Christianity, rhema is used in Bible study to signify Jesus Christ's utterance. The Greek word rhema is useful to distinguish between two meanings of word. While both rhema and logos are translated into the English word, in the original Greek there was a substantial distinction. Rhema is Christ's utterance, while Logos refers to Christ himself.
[edit]Septuagint usage
The Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek uses the terms Rhema and Logos as equivalents and uses both for the Hebrew word Dabar, as the Word of God.[5][6][7]
[edit]Modern usage
Some modern usage distinguishes Rhema from Logos in Christian Theology, with Rhema at times called "a word from the Word,"[8] referring to the revelation received by the reader from the Holy Spirit when the Word (Logos) is read.[8][9] In this usage, "Logos" refers to Christ.[10]
In this modern usage, Logos is the "Word of God" Jesus Christ, the subject from Genesis to Revelation. Rhema is the revealed word of God, as an utterance from God to the heart of the reader via the Holy Spirit, as in John 14:26 [11]:
"... the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
In this usage Rhema refers to "a word that is spoken", when the Holy Spirit ...
In Christianity, rhema is used in Bible study to signify Jesus Christ's utterance. The Greek word rhema is useful to distinguish between two meanings of word. While both rhema and logos are translated into the English word, in the original Greek there was a substantial distinction. Rhema is Christ's utterance, while Logos refers to Christ himself.
[edit]Septuagint usage
The Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek uses the terms Rhema and Logos as equivalents and uses both for the Hebrew word Dabar, as the Word of God.[5][6][7]
[edit]Modern usage
Some modern usage distinguishes Rhema from Logos in Christian Theology, with Rhema at times called "a word from the Word,"[8] referring to the revelation received by the reader from the Holy Spirit when the Word (Logos) is read.[8][9] In this usage, "Logos" refers to Christ.[10]
In this modern usage, Logos is the "Word of God" Jesus Christ, the subject from Genesis to Revelation. Rhema is the revealed word of God, as an utterance from God to the heart of the reader via the Holy Spirit, as in John 14:26 [11]:
"... the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
In this usage Rhema refers to "a word that is spoken", when the Holy Spirit delivers a message to the heart as in Romans 10:17:[12]
"Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. (rhematos Christou)"
and in the Matthew 4:4:
"Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word (rhema) that comes from the mouth of God".[12]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
What do the two Greek words "rhema" and "logos" mean? Do they mean the same thing or are there differences?
Both rhema and logos mean "word" and are so translated frequently. Although this is the common meaning for logos in the New Testament, the apostle John also gives it a special sense. Logos, one of the most common words in the New Testament,[1] is rich in meaning[2] and, according to W. E. Vine, its meaning points to the expression of thought more than just name an object.[3]
Sometimes "word" (logos) is almost a synonym for the Christian message. In Mark's gospel Jesus "preached the word" (2:2) and in the explanation of the parable of the sower "the word is sown" (4:14). Paul and his companions preached "the word" (Acts 14:25). Although more frequently logos is said to be "the word of God" (Lu 5:1; 11:28; Jn 10:35; Acts 4:31; 6:7; 13:44; 1 Co 14:36; Heb 13:7), sometimes it is "the word of the Lord" (1 Th 4:15; 2 Tim 3:1) and once, "the word of Christ" (Col 3:16). In Greek grammar the genitive case can be subjective or objective. When it is subjective, it means that God gave the word, or it was the word that the Lord gave or it was the word that Christ gave. Now it is ver...
rhema and logos mean the word
Rhema and logos mean the word
What do the two Greek words "rhema" and "logos" mean? Do they mean the same thing or are there differences?
Both rhema and logos mean "word" and are so translated frequently. Although this is the common meaning for logos in the New Testament, the apostle John also gives it a special sense. Logos, one of the most common words in the New Testament,[1] is rich in meaning[2] and, according to W. E. Vine, its meaning points to the expression of thought more than just name an object.[3]
Sometimes "word" (logos) is almost a synonym for the Christian message. In Mark's gospel Jesus "preached the word" (2:2) and in the explanation of the parable of the sower "the word is sown" (4:14). Paul and his companions preached "the word" (Acts 14:25). Although more frequently logos is said to be "the word of God" (Lu 5:1; 11:28; Jn 10:35; Acts 4:31; 6:7; 13:44; 1 Co 14:36; Heb 13:7), sometimes it is "the word of the Lord" (1 Th 4:15; 2 Tim 3:1) and once, "the word of Christ" (Col 3:16). In Greek grammar the genitive case can be subjective or objective. When it is subjective, it means that God gave the word, or it was the word that the Lord gave or it was the word that Christ gave. Now it is very probable that both phrases are combined in the two meanings. That is, the Christian message -- the logos, the word -- is something that came from God; it was not man's discovery, but God's gift, but in addition, it is something spoken about God which man cannot discover for himself. The very fact that the logos was spoken means that it is NOT something learned from books, but something communicated from person to person. Thus the Christian message is more frequently transmitted from a living person than by the printed page.[4]
What are the functions of logos? The word judges (Jn 12:48), purifies (Jn 15:3; 1 Tim 4:5), stimulates faith (Acts 4:4), and is the agent of the new birth (1 Pe 1:23).[5] It cleanses the disciples from impurities (Jn 15:3), sanctifies them (Jn 17:17) and produces spiritual growth in them (1 Pe 2:2). Also it is the Spirit of God who makes the word real.
What should a person do with the word (logos) of God? He should listen to it (Mt 13:20; Acts 13:7, 44), receive it (Lu 8:13; James 1:21; Acts 8:14; 11:1; 17:11), retain it (Lu 8:13), keep it (Jn 8:51; 14:23; 1 Jn 2:5; Rev 3:8) and remain in it (Jn 8:31). Also he should testify about it (Acts 8:25; Rev 1:2), minister it (Acts 6:4), proclaim it (2 Tim 4:2), announce it (Acts 15:36; 17:13), valiantly speak it (Acts 4:29; Phil 1:14), teach it (Acts 18:11) and be a doer of the word (James 1:22), but the consequence of doing all this can be persecution and suffering (Rev 1:9; 1 Th 1:6).[6]
Even though our relation to logos incurs these Christian duties, there can be miscarriage. The word can be rejected (1 Pe 2:8), choked out or taken away (Mt 13:22 y Mk 4:15), adulterated (2 Co 4:2), invalidated (Mk 7:13) and Christians can even traffic with it (2 Co 2:17).[7]
There is richness and variety in the New Testament use of logos, due to its use of several different genitive cases that express the content of the message. The Christian message or logos has to do with the good news of the gospel (Acts 15:7), the word of truth (Jn 17:17; Eph 1:13; James 1:18), the word of life (Phil 2:16), the word of justice (He 5:13), the word of reconciliation (2 Co 5:19), the word of salvation (Acts 13:26) and the word of the cross (1 Co 1:18).[8] "Preaching this word is a matter of urgency (2 Tim 4:2), not to be prevented by threats or imprisonment (Acts 4:13-31; 2 Tim 2:9); people cannot hear without a preacher (Ro 10:14)."[9]
In addition to the New Testament uses already mentioned, there is also a technical meaning of the word, logos. It appears repeatedly in the gospel of John's prologue (1:1-18) which ends by saying, the logos "became flesh and dwelt among us." What does this mean?[10] But first, before answering we must remember that in the Greek logos has two meanings, word and reason and that the two ideas are always present. Please note that in these verses normally the English versions translate logos as "Word," written with a capital.[11]
In the Old Testament context word meant more than the sound that expressed an idea. The word of God really made things; that is, they were caused by it. In the first creation account (Gn 1 to 2:4a) the words created. God said, "Let there be light and there was light" (Gn 1:3). The word of the Lord made the heavens, "For he spoke and it came to be" (Ps 33:6, 9). "He sent forth his word, and healed them" (Ps 107:20). The word of God achieved all that it pleased him to do (Is 55:11). Thus in Hebrew thought the word of God was not only spoken but also did things.[12] Later in the Aramaic translations the Jewish thinkers decided not to attribute feelings, thoughts, actions and reactions to God. Therefore, they substituted word ("memra") for the name of God.[13] As a result, it was always the word that did things instead of just simply being spoken.[14]
Also in the Jewish thought the word was associated with reason similar to the concept of wisdom ("sofia") that is especially reflected in the book of Proverbs. God founded the earth (Pvb 3:13-20) by wisdom which is from eternity, existing even before the beginning of the earth: it was with God on the day of creation (Pvb 8:1-9). The books between the Testaments developed these ideas even more. In Ecclesiasticus 1:1-10 wisdom is described as a creation before everything else, but at the same time it was intertwined with creation itself. In the Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom works all things (8:5). By his Word God made all things, even man was made by His Word (9:1-2). Thus "Wisdom was God's instrument in creation and is woven throughout all the world."[15]
We reiterate, then, that there were two concepts that formed the background of the idea about Jesus in his preexistence as the Word, the logos of God. "First, God's Word is not only speech; it is power. Second, it is impossible to separate the ideas of Word and Wisdom; and it was God's Wisdom which created and permeated the world."[16]
Toward the end of the first century the apostle John united these Hebrew senses with the Greek ideas. In the Greek philosophical background Heraclitus (540-480 B.C.) of Ephesus wished to unite change with the stability of the world. Therefore, he affirmed that "all things happen according to logos;" that is, in "the world there is a reason and a mind at work." This mind is God's, His logos, and because of this logos the world is an ordered cosmos instead of disordered chaos.[17]
This idea of a mind, a reason, a logos that reigned over the world influenced other philosophers such as Plato (ca. 428-348 B.C.) and the stoics. For the stoics logos incorporated sense into the universe and man, and this logos was nothing less than the mind of God.[18] This concept reached its zenith in Philo (ca. 13 B.C. - 45 A.D.), a Jewish philosopher from Alexandria, with his synthesis of these two cultural ideas. For him God's logos was written and recorded into the very essence of everything so that it was the bridge between God and man.
What was John saying when he wrote, "The logos became flesh"? Although he was using a technical word understandable to the Hebrew and the Greek, he added a personal sense to the concept of logos, thus initiating a new christology that, according to the theologian William Barclay, affirmed two things about Jesus: First, He "is the creating power of God come to man. He does not only speak the word of knowledge; [but] he is the word of power. He did not come so much to say things for us, as to do things for us." Second, "Jesus is the incarnate mind of God. We might translate John's words, 'the mind of God became a man.' A word is always 'the expression of a thought' and Jesus is the perfect expression of God's thought for men."[19]
W. E. Vine, another theologian and authority of the Greek language, sees Logos as "the Personal Word, a title of the Son of God," that in John 1:1-18 declares "His distinct and superfinite Personality," His relationship in the Godhead, His Deity, His creative power, His incarnation as "His voluntary act, the reality and totality of His human nature," and His glory as the only begotten of the Father; the Shekinah glory manifesting itself openly; the personal manifestation "of the whole Deity, the very image of God Himself."[20]
Besides the prologue of John's gospel, the verses in 1 John 1:1-4 contain a reference to "the logos (Word) of life." This has been interpreted in two ways: simply as a reference to the message of the gospel and also a designation of Christ himself as the personal Word. Since there is a lot of affinity between the gospel and John and his letters, in the light of the verbs "see" and "touch," it seems more logical to conclude that the writer had both meanings in mind.[21]
Revelation 19:11-16 contains an apocalyptic vision of the apostle John in which he sees a rider mounted on a white horse. As a leader who judges and makes war he rides in front of the celestial army to injure the nations. He is called Faithful and True and his name is "THE WORD (LOGOS) OF GOD." Thus the glorified Christ is described as executing God's judgment. He is identified by certain special characteristics. Thus "The vivid description combines the Old Testament picture of God as a warrior and vintager (cf. Isa. 63:1-6; Joel 3:9-13) with the Old Testament concept of the Davidic Messiah, crushing the nations in judgment (Ps 2:9; Isa. 11:4)." In fact this description of "Christ as the Word of God coming in eschatological judgment at the consummation of all things fittingly complements the Gospel's picture as the creative Word that existed from the beginning."[22]
Once we grasp the concept of logos, we can discover the meaning of rhema which also can be translated as word. What is the general meaning of rhema? According to Arndt and Gringrich, it has two meanings: the first and the most extensive means "that which is said, word, saying, expression." In general the singular form unites all the divine teachings as a unit, as a whole, meaning something like the gospel or a confession. The second meaning, according to the Hebrew custom, means "thing, object, matter, event."[23]
According to Vine rhema "denotes that which is spoken, what is uttered in speech or written." In the singular it means word, but in the plural it is what is spoken or discourse. Twice it refers to the gospel (Ro 10:8, 17) and "the word of Christ"; that is, the word that Christ preaches (Ro 10:18) and twice it refers to statement, command or instruction (1 Pe 1:25).[24]
What should we do with rhema, the word of God? We should remember what Jesus said (2 Pe 3:2; Jude 17; 2 Pe 3:2) or remember about it (Mt 26:75; Mk 14:72; 24:8; Acts 22:16). In addition, it is our duty to listen to it (Jn 5:47) or hear it, or pay attention to it, especially when it refers to the word of Jesus (Acts 2:14), of Christ (Ro 10:17) or of Peter (10:44). We should believe Jesus' words (Jn 5:47); that is, receive them (Jn 17:8). Also it is necessary to keep the word (Lu 2:19, 51 and obey it (Lu 5:5); this in fact can mean speak it (Acts 5:20) or be a witness to it (Acts 5:32; 13:42).
Although our relationship to rhema incurs Christian duties, we can fail to carry them out, especially when we do not listen (Jn 9:45) or do not receive Jesus' words (Jn 12:48) or we do not believe them (Jn 14:10). Likewise, the fathers did not understand Jesus' words (Lu 2:40), or when the disciples (9:45) or the twelve apostles (18:34) feared to ask about what was unclear in their minds (Lu 9:45). Of course they can also lose their value when the unbelievers speak blasphemous words (Acts 6:11-13) or attribute Jesus' words to a demon (Jn 10:21) or the words of man to God.
An indication of their protective function can be seen when they describe God's rhema as "the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit" (Eph 6:17). It includes both a defensive function as well as an offensive action.
Since the New Testament indicates the contents of the message by using several genitive cases, there is a variety of uses of rhema. Arndt and Gingrich underscore its use of the objective genitive in Romans 10:8b as "words of faith" and specify several uses of the subjective genitive in these passages: word of the Lord (1 Pe 1:25), word (Eph 6:27; Heb 6:5) and words of God (Jn 3:34; 6:68; 8:20, 47; Ro 10:17; Eph 6:17; Heb 6:5 [good word]; 11:3); as well as the word of the Son, the word of his power (Heb 1:3) and the creative word of God (Heb 11:3).[25]
Rhema refers to the words of the Lord (1 Pe 1:25; Lu 3:2), of Jesus (Mt 26:75; Jn 5:47, 63; 8:20; 12:47-48; 14:10; Acts 2:14; 11:16) and the words spoken by Jesus about the Father (Jn 17:8). Likewise, it refers to the words spoken by the apostles (Jude 17), by the holy prophets (2 Pe 3:2), by Mary Magdalene, Juana, the mother of James and others (Lu 24:10) and, finally, to the last word spoken by Paul (Acts 28:25). The spoken words of Jesus are spirit and life (Jn 6:63) and life eternal (Jn 6:68). They are words of salvation (Acts 11:14), the sober truth (Acts 26:25) and it is the gospel that endures forever (1 Pe 1:25). Likewise, they are the words that go out to the ends of the world (Ro 10:18) and it is commanded to speak all the words of life "to the people" (Acts 5:20).
Is there a technical use of rhema as in the case of logos? Does it refer only to a private revelation or do they reveal public truths as well? As to a private revelation, that which is given exclusively to one person, it is important to point out that in the sense of "the Old Testament formula that the Word of the Lord came to a man specifically called by God ... [it] is also found in a few obviously limited instances in the New Testament." Rhema came to Simeon with the messianic promise (Lu 2:29) and is equivalent to the more complete expression in Luke 2:26. In addition, it is said of John the Baptist that "the word (rhema) of God came to him" (Lu 3:2). The use of rhema in the Christian age is Luke's way of placing both men in a classification of past Old Testament prophets.[26]
Besides, during the apostolic age the phrases "logos of God" or "logos of the Lord" or "rhema of the Lord" frequently appear in the New Testament, but never is it used in the preapostolic period of special divine instructions, except in the cases of Simeon and John the Baptist. This does not mean that others did not receive instructions from God, but they were described in another way (Gal 2:2, Acts 16:6, 27:23, 8:9 and others).[27] According to Gerhard Kittel, this is due to the fact that "after the coming of Jesus the Word of God or the Word of the Lord," Logos has a new sense which is absolutely exclusive for the primitive church. "It has become the undisputed term for the one Word of God which God has spoken, and speaks, in what has taken place in Jesus and in the message concerning it. From this time on, the term cannot be used for any other revealing event, no matter how authentic and estimable in the religious sense." Thus for the primitive Christians "the revelation which has taken place in Jesus Christ is definitive and unique, and that a new age has been inaugurated therewith...."[28]
Even in the accounts about Jesus' life, the supreme Agent of revelation, never is it stated that the Word or the words of God were given to him as they were to the prophets of the Old Testament age. Even during the two peak moments of Jesus' baptism and transfiguration there is no such expression, because they do not have to do with revelations to a prophet as in the case of the Old Testament since they have to do with very different purposes. They have to do with "an impartation, confirmation or decision granted to the hearers especially in order that uncertainty may be dispelled where there is doubt." In those two events the words are directed to the disciples with the purpose of providing "an accreditation of the Son" instead of "a commission [being] laid upon Him."[29]
But in addition to the cases of Simeon and Juan the Baptist, there are other instances of private revelations such as the words that Jesus communicated to Peter (Mk 14:72; 26:75; and perhaps Acts 10:9-17) and the words spoken by the angel to Mary (Lu 1:3). Also possibly Paul listened to the ineffable words in private (2 Co 12:4) and Cornelius received words of revelation from an angel, even though the Scriptures do not make absolutely clear whether he was alone or accompanied; nor do they say explicitly where he was when he received the instructions (Acts 10:22).
But even more significantly rhema refers to several public revelations. In fact, on at least seven occasions, or almost double the private revelations, words are revealed or are to be revealed to persons, people and to all the region. In Luke the words are addressed to the people (Lu 7:1) and in front of the people (Lu 20:26). Twice in John they are as spoken words first in the temple (Jn 8:20) and once "he raised his voice" evidently so that others would be able to hear (Jn 12:44). Regardless, it has to do with spoken words or public revelations. In the book of Acts several imprisoned apostles were to speak "all the words of this life" to the people (Acts 5:20). In a discourse Paul pointed out that after John the Baptist "the message was spread all through Judea, beginning ... from Galilee" (Acts 10:37).
In conclusion we should point out that "since the work of Jesus consisted to a large extent in the proclamation of the message, i.e., the spoken word, it is natural that there should be countless references" to His sayings and words [logos y rhema]. "In this respect there seem to be no distinction between logos y rhema."[30] In addition, this identity of meaning can partly be seen in 1 Peter 1:23 and 25 where logos in verse 23 appears as rhema in verse 25. In the same way in the Septuagint, the first translation of the Old Testament into Greek, there is no essential difference between the two words, in their normal usage they are synonyms. But Vine does point to the meaning of rhema, in distinction to logos, as exemplified in the command to take "the sword of the Spirit, that is the word of God" (Eph 6:17) where "the reference is not to all the Bible as such, but to a particular scripture that the Spirit makes us remember in order to use it in a moment of necessity, being a prerequisite having stored it in the mind." Besides, he points out that an essential difference of logos is that they are "reasoned words" whereas rhema indicates only what is expressed.[31] Nevertheless, the fundamental difference between the two words is the exclusive reference to Jesus as Logos, just as it appears in the writings of John. NEVER did any apostle ever refer to the incarnate Son as rhema.
Finally, and in order to contrast the eternal and sublime truth that we have explained with reference to the biblical terms logos and rhema, we want to alert all who read this article about the dismally diabolic and antibiblical teaching of the mistakenly called "INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY OF GROWING IN GRACE." When this aberrant "Ministry" speaks or writes in relation to "The Word (Verb) [logos]" it is strikingly different and even contradictory to the biblical message about the Logos, the Word of God. The diabolical teaching of this so called "Ministry" is so obstinately daring that it published an advertisement which proclaimed its principal leader Jose Luis de Jesús Miranda as God. The following is my translation of the last part of the document of four paragraphs: "The WORDS that God (JOSE LUIS DE JESUS) speaks are spirit and life. All who receive his words LIVE as a GOD. ABBA FATHER!! Thanks to the ineffable words of our God and Apostle Jose Luis de Jesús, we know that he is the Man Jesus Christ in his second appearance."[32] Categorically we proclaim that, from the perspective of the revelation given to the primitive church and which has also been revealed to us by the grace of the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God, that which Jose Luis de Jesús Miranda announces is blasphemy and anathema, worthy of all condemnation. From the bottom of our heart and soul and in our zeal and struggle for sound doctrine we declare that, Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, is an impostor, a false teacher, a false prophet and a false Christ -- a perfect candidate for hell, unless there be found in him true repentance for his odious blasphemy. The Lord Jesus Christ had already warned the primitive church and, therefore, us also, that many false apostles and false Christs would come (Mt 24:24-26). The apostle Paul called them impostors "deceitful workmen, masquerading as" messengers of Christ (2 Co 11:13-15).
COPY: that which Jose Luis de Jesús Miranda announces is blasphemy and anathema, worthy of all condemnation. From the bottom of our heart and soul and in our zeal and struggle for sound doctrine we declare that, Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, is an impostor, a false teacher, a false prophet and a false Christ (what is this all about???????)
thank you sir.how is the work ?
yes i am ..are you?
If one choses to believe nonsense....
[edit]Septuagint usage
The Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek uses the terms Rhema and Logos as equivalents and uses both for the Hebrew word Dabar, as the Word of God.[5][6][7]
[edit]Modern usage
Some modern usage distinguishes Rhema from Logos in Christian Theology, with Rhema at times called "a word from the Word,"[8] referring to the revelation received by the reader from the Holy Spirit when the Word (Logos) is read.[8][9] In this usage, "Logos" refers to Christ.[10]
In this modern usage, Logos is the "Word of God" Jesus Christ, the subject from Genesis to Revelation. Rhema is the revealed word of God, as an utterance from God to the heart of the reader via the Holy Spirit, as in John 14:26 [11]:
"... the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
In this usage Rhema refers to "a word that is spoken", when the Holy Spirit ...
[edit]Septuagint usage
The Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek uses the terms Rhema and Logos as equivalents and uses both for the Hebrew word Dabar, as the Word of God.[5][6][7]
[edit]Modern usage
Some modern usage distinguishes Rhema from Logos in Christian Theology, with Rhema at times called "a word from the Word,"[8] referring to the revelation received by the reader from the Holy Spirit when the Word (Logos) is read.[8][9] In this usage, "Logos" refers to Christ.[10]
In this modern usage, Logos is the "Word of God" Jesus Christ, the subject from Genesis to Revelation. Rhema is the revealed word of God, as an utterance from God to the heart of the reader via the Holy Spirit, as in John 14:26 [11]:
"... the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
In this usage Rhema refers to "a word that is spoken", when the Holy Spirit delivers a message to the heart as in Romans 10:17:[12]
"Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. (rhematos Christou)"
and in the Matthew 4:4:
"Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word (rhema) that comes from the mouth of God".[12]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Rhema and logos mean the word
What do the two Greek words "rhema" and "logos" mean? Do they mean the same thing or are there differences?
Both rhema and logos mean "word" and are so translated frequently. Although this is the common meaning for logos in the New Testament, the apostle John also gives it a special sense. Logos, one of the most common words in the New Testament,[1] is rich in meaning[2] and, according to W. E. Vine, its meaning points to the expression of thought more than just name an object.[3]
Sometimes "word" (logos) is almost a synonym for the Christian message. In Mark's gospel Jesus "preached the word" (2:2) and in the explanation of the parable of the sower "the word is sown" (4:14). Paul and his companions preached "the word" (Acts 14:25). Although more frequently logos is said to be "the word of God" (Lu 5:1; 11:28; Jn 10:35; Acts 4:31; 6:7; 13:44; 1 Co 14:36; Heb 13:7), sometimes it is "the word of the Lord" (1 Th 4:15; 2 Tim 3:1) and once, "the word of Christ" (Col 3:16). In Greek grammar the genitive case can be subjective or objective. When it is subjective, it means that God gave the word, or it was the word that the Lord gave or it was the word that Christ gave. Now it is ver...
Rhema and logos mean the word
What do the two Greek words "rhema" and "logos" mean? Do they mean the same thing or are there differences?
Both rhema and logos mean "word" and are so translated frequently. Although this is the common meaning for logos in the New Testament, the apostle John also gives it a special sense. Logos, one of the most common words in the New Testament,[1] is rich in meaning[2] and, according to W. E. Vine, its meaning points to the expression of thought more than just name an object.[3]
Sometimes "word" (logos) is almost a synonym for the Christian message. In Mark's gospel Jesus "preached the word" (2:2) and in the explanation of the parable of the sower "the word is sown" (4:14). Paul and his companions preached "the word" (Acts 14:25). Although more frequently logos is said to be "the word of God" (Lu 5:1; 11:28; Jn 10:35; Acts 4:31; 6:7; 13:44; 1 Co 14:36; Heb 13:7), sometimes it is "the word of the Lord" (1 Th 4:15; 2 Tim 3:1) and once, "the word of Christ" (Col 3:16). In Greek grammar the genitive case can be subjective or objective. When it is subjective, it means that God gave the word, or it was the word that the Lord gave or it was the word that Christ gave. Now it is very probable that both phrases are combined in the two meanings. That is, the Christian message -- the logos, the word -- is something that came from God; it was not man's discovery, but God's gift, but in addition, it is something spoken about God which man cannot discover for himself. The very fact that the logos was spoken means that it is NOT something learned from books, but something communicated from person to person. Thus the Christian message is more frequently transmitted from a living person than by the printed page.[4]
What are the functions of logos? The word judges (Jn 12:48), purifies (Jn 15:3; 1 Tim 4:5), stimulates faith (Acts 4:4), and is the agent of the new birth (1 Pe 1:23).[5] It cleanses the disciples from impurities (Jn 15:3), sanctifies them (Jn 17:17) and produces spiritual growth in them (1 Pe 2:2). Also it is the Spirit of God who makes the word real.
What should a person do with the word (logos) of God? He should listen to it (Mt 13:20; Acts 13:7, 44), receive it (Lu 8:13; James 1:21; Acts 8:14; 11:1; 17:11), retain it (Lu 8:13), keep it (Jn 8:51; 14:23; 1 Jn 2:5; Rev 3:8) and remain in it (Jn 8:31). Also he should testify about it (Acts 8:25; Rev 1:2), minister it (Acts 6:4), proclaim it (2 Tim 4:2), announce it (Acts 15:36; 17:13), valiantly speak it (Acts 4:29; Phil 1:14), teach it (Acts 18:11) and be a doer of the word (James 1:22), but the consequence of doing all this can be persecution and suffering (Rev 1:9; 1 Th 1:6).[6]
Even though our relation to logos incurs these Christian duties, there can be miscarriage. The word can be rejected (1 Pe 2:8), choked out or taken away (Mt 13:22 y Mk 4:15), adulterated (2 Co 4:2), invalidated (Mk 7:13) and Christians can even traffic with it (2 Co 2:17).[7]
There is richness and variety in the New Testament use of logos, due to its use of several different genitive cases that express the content of the message. The Christian message or logos has to do with the good news of the gospel (Acts 15:7), the word of truth (Jn 17:17; Eph 1:13; James 1:18), the word of life (Phil 2:16), the word of justice (He 5:13), the word of reconciliation (2 Co 5:19), the word of salvation (Acts 13:26) and the word of the cross (1 Co 1:18).[8] "Preaching this word is a matter of urgency (2 Tim 4:2), not to be prevented by threats or imprisonment (Acts 4:13-31; 2 Tim 2:9); people cannot hear without a preacher (Ro 10:14)."[9]
In addition to the New Testament uses already mentioned, there is also a technical meaning of the word, logos. It appears repeatedly in the gospel of John's prologue (1:1-18) which ends by saying, the logos "became flesh and dwelt among us." What does this mean?[10] But first, before answering we must remember that in the Greek logos has two meanings, word and reason and that the two ideas are always present. Please note that in these verses normally the English versions translate logos as "Word," written with a capital.[11]
In the Old Testament context word meant more than the sound that expressed an idea. The word of God really made things; that is, they were caused by it. In the first creation account (Gn 1 to 2:4a) the words created. God said, "Let there be light and there was light" (Gn 1:3). The word of the Lord made the heavens, "For he spoke and it came to be" (Ps 33:6, 9). "He sent forth his word, and healed them" (Ps 107:20). The word of God achieved all that it pleased him to do (Is 55:11). Thus in Hebrew thought the word of God was not only spoken but also did things.[12] Later in the Aramaic translations the Jewish thinkers decided not to attribute feelings, thoughts, actions and reactions to God. Therefore, they substituted word ("memra") for the name of God.[13] As a result, it was always the word that did things instead of just simply being spoken.[14]
Also in the Jewish thought the word was associated with reason similar to the concept of wisdom ("sofia") that is especially reflected in the book of Proverbs. God founded the earth (Pvb 3:13-20) by wisdom which is from eternity, existing even before the beginning of the earth: it was with God on the day of creation (Pvb 8:1-9). The books between the Testaments developed these ideas even more. In Ecclesiasticus 1:1-10 wisdom is described as a creation before everything else, but at the same time it was intertwined with creation itself. In the Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom works all things (8:5). By his Word God made all things, even man was made by His Word (9:1-2). Thus "Wisdom was God's instrument in creation and is woven throughout all the world."[15]
We reiterate, then, that there were two concepts that formed the background of the idea about Jesus in his preexistence as the Word, the logos of God. "First, God's Word is not only speech; it is power. Second, it is impossible to separate the ideas of Word and Wisdom; and it was God's Wisdom which created and permeated the world."[16]
Toward the end of the first century the apostle John united these Hebrew senses with the Greek ideas. In the Greek philosophical background Heraclitus (540-480 B.C.) of Ephesus wished to unite change with the stability of the world. Therefore, he affirmed that "all things happen according to logos;" that is, in "the world there is a reason and a mind at work." This mind is God's, His logos, and because of this logos the world is an ordered cosmos instead of disordered chaos.[17]
This idea of a mind, a reason, a logos that reigned over the world influenced other philosophers such as Plato (ca. 428-348 B.C.) and the stoics. For the stoics logos incorporated sense into the universe and man, and this logos was nothing less than the mind of God.[18] This concept reached its zenith in Philo (ca. 13 B.C. - 45 A.D.), a Jewish philosopher from Alexandria, with his synthesis of these two cultural ideas. For him God's logos was written and recorded into the very essence of everything so that it was the bridge between God and man.
What was John saying when he wrote, "The logos became flesh"? Although he was using a technical word understandable to the Hebrew and the Greek, he added a personal sense to the concept of logos, thus initiating a new christology that, according to the theologian William Barclay, affirmed two things about Jesus: First, He "is the creating power of God come to man. He does not only speak the word of knowledge; [but] he is the word of power. He did not come so much to say things for us, as to do things for us." Second, "Jesus is the incarnate mind of God. We might translate John's words, 'the mind of God became a man.' A word is always 'the expression of a thought' and Jesus is the perfect expression of God's thought for men."[19]
W. E. Vine, another theologian and authority of the Greek language, sees Logos as "the Personal Word, a title of the Son of God," that in John 1:1-18 declares "His distinct and superfinite Personality," His relationship in the Godhead, His Deity, His creative power, His incarnation as "His voluntary act, the reality and totality of His human nature," and His glory as the only begotten of the Father; the Shekinah glory manifesting itself openly; the personal manifestation "of the whole Deity, the very image of God Himself."[20]
Besides the prologue of John's gospel, the verses in 1 John 1:1-4 contain a reference to "the logos (Word) of life." This has been interpreted in two ways: simply as a reference to the message of the gospel and also a designation of Christ himself as the personal Word. Since there is a lot of affinity between the gospel and John and his letters, in the light of the verbs "see" and "touch," it seems more logical to conclude that the writer had both meanings in mind.[21]
Revelation 19:11-16 contains an apocalyptic vision of the apostle John in which he sees a rider mounted on a white horse. As a leader who judges and makes war he rides in front of the celestial army to injure the nations. He is called Faithful and True and his name is "THE WORD (LOGOS) OF GOD." Thus the glorified Christ is described as executing God's judgment. He is identified by certain special characteristics. Thus "The vivid description combines the Old Testament picture of God as a warrior and vintager (cf. Isa. 63:1-6; Joel 3:9-13) with the Old Testament concept of the Davidic Messiah, crushing the nations in judgment (Ps 2:9; Isa. 11:4)." In fact this description of "Christ as the Word of God coming in eschatological judgment at the consummation of all things fittingly complements the Gospel's picture as the creative Word that existed from the beginning."[22]
Once we grasp the concept of logos, we can discover the meaning of rhema which also can be translated as word. What is the general meaning of rhema? According to Arndt and Gringrich, it has two meanings: the first and the most extensive means "that which is said, word, saying, expression." In general the singular form unites all the divine teachings as a unit, as a whole, meaning something like the gospel or a confession. The second meaning, according to the Hebrew custom, means "thing, object, matter, event."[23]
According to Vine rhema "denotes that which is spoken, what is uttered in speech or written." In the singular it means word, but in the plural it is what is spoken or discourse. Twice it refers to the gospel (Ro 10:8, 17) and "the word of Christ"; that is, the word that Christ preaches (Ro 10:18) and twice it refers to statement, command or instruction (1 Pe 1:25).[24]
What should we do with rhema, the word of God? We should remember what Jesus said (2 Pe 3:2; Jude 17; 2 Pe 3:2) or remember about it (Mt 26:75; Mk 14:72; 24:8; Acts 22:16). In addition, it is our duty to listen to it (Jn 5:47) or hear it, or pay attention to it, especially when it refers to the word of Jesus (Acts 2:14), of Christ (Ro 10:17) or of Peter (10:44). We should believe Jesus' words (Jn 5:47); that is, receive them (Jn 17:8). Also it is necessary to keep the word (Lu 2:19, 51 and obey it (Lu 5:5); this in fact can mean speak it (Acts 5:20) or be a witness to it (Acts 5:32; 13:42).
Although our relationship to rhema incurs Christian duties, we can fail to carry them out, especially when we do not listen (Jn 9:45) or do not receive Jesus' words (Jn 12:48) or we do not believe them (Jn 14:10). Likewise, the fathers did not understand Jesus' words (Lu 2:40), or when the disciples (9:45) or the twelve apostles (18:34) feared to ask about what was unclear in their minds (Lu 9:45). Of course they can also lose their value when the unbelievers speak blasphemous words (Acts 6:11-13) or attribute Jesus' words to a demon (Jn 10:21) or the words of man to God.
An indication of their protective function can be seen when they describe God's rhema as "the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit" (Eph 6:17). It includes both a defensive function as well as an offensive action.
Since the New Testament indicates the contents of the message by using several genitive cases, there is a variety of uses of rhema. Arndt and Gingrich underscore its use of the objective genitive in Romans 10:8b as "words of faith" and specify several uses of the subjective genitive in these passages: word of the Lord (1 Pe 1:25), word (Eph 6:27; Heb 6:5) and words of God (Jn 3:34; 6:68; 8:20, 47; Ro 10:17; Eph 6:17; Heb 6:5 [good word]; 11:3); as well as the word of the Son, the word of his power (Heb 1:3) and the creative word of God (Heb 11:3).[25]
Rhema refers to the words of the Lord (1 Pe 1:25; Lu 3:2), of Jesus (Mt 26:75; Jn 5:47, 63; 8:20; 12:47-48; 14:10; Acts 2:14; 11:16) and the words spoken by Jesus about the Father (Jn 17:8). Likewise, it refers to the words spoken by the apostles (Jude 17), by the holy prophets (2 Pe 3:2), by Mary Magdalene, Juana, the mother of James and others (Lu 24:10) and, finally, to the last word spoken by Paul (Acts 28:25). The spoken words of Jesus are spirit and life (Jn 6:63) and life eternal (Jn 6:68). They are words of salvation (Acts 11:14), the sober truth (Acts 26:25) and it is the gospel that endures forever (1 Pe 1:25). Likewise, they are the words that go out to the ends of the world (Ro 10:18) and it is commanded to speak all the words of life "to the people" (Acts 5:20).
Is there a technical use of rhema as in the case of logos? Does it refer only to a private revelation or do they reveal public truths as well? As to a private revelation, that which is given exclusively to one person, it is important to point out that in the sense of "the Old Testament formula that the Word of the Lord came to a man specifically called by God ... [it] is also found in a few obviously limited instances in the New Testament." Rhema came to Simeon with the messianic promise (Lu 2:29) and is equivalent to the more complete expression in Luke 2:26. In addition, it is said of John the Baptist that "the word (rhema) of God came to him" (Lu 3:2). The use of rhema in the Christian age is Luke's way of placing both men in a classification of past Old Testament prophets.[26]
Besides, during the apostolic age the phrases "logos of God" or "logos of the Lord" or "rhema of the Lord" frequently appear in the New Testament, but never is it used in the preapostolic period of special divine instructions, except in the cases of Simeon and John the Baptist. This does not mean that others did not receive instructions from God, but they were described in another way (Gal 2:2, Acts 16:6, 27:23, 8:9 and others).[27] According to Gerhard Kittel, this is due to the fact that "after the coming of Jesus the Word of God or the Word of the Lord," Logos has a new sense which is absolutely exclusive for the primitive church. "It has become the undisputed term for the one Word of God which God has spoken, and speaks, in what has taken place in Jesus and in the message concerning it. From this time on, the term cannot be used for any other revealing event, no matter how authentic and estimable in the religious sense." Thus for the primitive Christians "the revelation which has taken place in Jesus Christ is definitive and unique, and that a new age has been inaugurated therewith...."[28]
Even in the accounts about Jesus' life, the supreme Agent of revelation, never is it stated that the Word or the words of God were given to him as they were to the prophets of the Old Testament age. Even during the two peak moments of Jesus' baptism and transfiguration there is no such expression, because they do not have to do with revelations to a prophet as in the case of the Old Testament since they have to do with very different purposes. They have to do with "an impartation, confirmation or decision granted to the hearers especially in order that uncertainty may be dispelled where there is doubt." In those two events the words are directed to the disciples with the purpose of providing "an accreditation of the Son" instead of "a commission [being] laid upon Him."[29]
But in addition to the cases of Simeon and Juan the Baptist, there are other instances of private revelations such as the words that Jesus communicated to Peter (Mk 14:72; 26:75; and perhaps Acts 10:9-17) and the words spoken by the angel to Mary (Lu 1:3). Also possibly Paul listened to the ineffable words in private (2 Co 12:4) and Cornelius received words of revelation from an angel, even though the Scriptures do not make absolutely clear whether he was alone or accompanied; nor do they say explicitly where he was when he received the instructions (Acts 10:22).
But even more significantly rhema refers to several public revelations. In fact, on at least seven occasions, or almost double the private revelations, words are revealed or are to be revealed to persons, people and to all the region. In Luke the words are addressed to the people (Lu 7:1) and in front of the people (Lu 20:26). Twice in John they are as spoken words first in the temple (Jn 8:20) and once "he raised his voice" evidently so that others would be able to hear (Jn 12:44). Regardless, it has to do with spoken words or public revelations. In the book of Acts several imprisoned apostles were to speak "all the words of this life" to the people (Acts 5:20). In a discourse Paul pointed out that after John the Baptist "the message was spread all through Judea, beginning ... from Galilee" (Acts 10:37).
In conclusion we should point out that "since the work of Jesus consisted to a large extent in the proclamation of the message, i.e., the spoken word, it is natural that there should be countless references" to His sayings and words [logos y rhema]. "In this respect there seem to be no distinction between logos y rhema."[30] In addition, this identity of meaning can partly be seen in 1 Peter 1:23 and 25 where logos in verse 23 appears as rhema in verse 25. In the same way in the Septuagint, the first translation of the Old Testament into Greek, there is no essential difference between the two words, in their normal usage they are synonyms. But Vine does point to the meaning of rhema, in distinction to logos, as exemplified in the command to take "the sword of the Spirit, that is the word of God" (Eph 6:17) where "the reference is not to all the Bible as such, but to a particular scripture that the Spirit makes us remember in order to use it in a moment of necessity, being a prerequisite having stored it in the mind." Besides, he points out that an essential difference of logos is that they are "reasoned words" whereas rhema indicates only what is expressed.[31] Nevertheless, the fundamental difference between the two words is the exclusive reference to Jesus as Logos, just as it appears in the writings of John. NEVER did any apostle ever refer to the incarnate Son as rhema.
Finally, and in order to contrast the eternal and sublime truth that we have explained with reference to the biblical terms logos and rhema, we want to alert all who read this article about the dismally diabolic and antibiblical teaching of the mistakenly called "INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY OF GROWING IN GRACE." When this aberrant "Ministry" speaks or writes in relation to "The Word (Verb) [logos]" it is strikingly different and even contradictory to the biblical message about the Logos, the Word of God. The diabolical teaching of this so called "Ministry" is so obstinately daring that it published an advertisement which proclaimed its principal leader Jose Luis de Jesús Miranda as God. The following is my translation of the last part of the document of four paragraphs: "The WORDS that God (JOSE LUIS DE JESUS) speaks are spirit and life. All who receive his words LIVE as a GOD. ABBA FATHER!! Thanks to the ineffable words of our God and Apostle Jose Luis de Jesús, we know that he is the Man Jesus Christ in his second appearance."[32] Categorically we proclaim that, from the perspective of the revelation given to the primitive church and which has also been revealed to us by the grace of the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God, that which Jose Luis de Jesús Miranda announces is blasphemy and anathema, worthy of all condemnation. From the bottom of our heart and soul and in our zeal and struggle for sound doctrine we declare that, Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, is an impostor, a false teacher, a false prophet and a false Christ -- a perfect candidate for hell, unless there be found in him true repentance for his odious blasphemy. The Lord Jesus Christ had already warned the primitive church and, therefore, us also, that many false apostles and false Christs would come (Mt 24:24-26). The apostle Paul called them impostors "deceitful workmen, masquerading as" messengers of Christ (2 Co 11:13-15).