Words for the Word of God

From time to time, I hope to share some thoughts that are rattling around in my head that don't fit neatly into our current Sermon on the Mount series. I just need to get these thoughts off my chest so I can move on.

So here is my first post under the heading "Bruxy's Blurbs"...

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I have noticed that we Christians use the phrase "the word of God" or "God's word" in at least three different ways:

1. To refer to the Bible, the Scriptures inspired by God.

2. To refer to Jesus, the inerrant and authoritative Son given to us by God.

3. To refer to the Spirit's voice, giving God's guidance directly to us.

The Greek New Testament has three different words for each of these versions of "the Word of God".

1. Graphé. This word literally means the "writings" and it is what the Bible most often calls itself, with New Testament authors referring to the Old Testament as the "scriptures" (Greek, graphé).

   (Matthew 21:42; 22:29; Luke 4:21; Luke 24:45; John 5:39; Acts 17:2, 11;

   1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20; 3:16)

   
   

2. Logos. This word literally means the "word", but not referring to the small units of communication made up of letters and syllables, in the way this paragraph is made up of many words. Instead, logos is the main message we want to convey, the way we might say, "May I have a word with you?" The logos is the main "message" or "thought" or "principle" or "reality" that someone desires to communicate. And the Bible makes the stunning statement that ultimately God's "word" to us isn't a text or a concept, but a person: Jesus.

(John 1:1, 14; Acts 6:7; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 4:12)

3. Rhema. This word means the spoken word, usually applied to a specific context or need. Rhema is the subjective, engaged, and interactive word or message. Rhema is the Holy Spirit speaking to us personally, individually, for guidance, encouragement, and conviction. It is also us preaching the word to others. When the logos gets spoken, passed on from person to person and applied to our lives, it becomes rhema.

(Matthew 4:4; Luke 1:38; Romans 10:17; Ephesians 6:17)

The sword of the Spirit is the rhema of God.

All three are interconnected. Putting it all together, we might say God's rhema is the illumination and application of God's logos, which we learn by reading God's graphé with an open heart. We learn to recognize the voice of God giving us guidance in our hearts (rhema) when we immerse ourselves in God's main message of love through Jesus (logos) that we learn by reading, studying, discussing, and meditating on the Bible (graphé).

All three work together, but we need to get to rhema. We can't just read the Bible (graphé) to learn its message (logos). We need to hear the Spirit personally (rhema). That's what Jesus (the logos) tells us in the Scriptures (graphé) - we can't live without rhema:

One does not live by bread alone, but by every word (rhema) that comes from the mouth of God. ~ JESUS (Matthew 4:4)

Rhema is life.

Now here is where it gets interesting (well, to me at least). In Protestant Christianity, a fascinating linguistic habit has evolved: that is, the habit of primarily referring to the Bible as "the Word of God".

We talk about Jesus, the gospel, the main message of the Bible, and the Spirit's voice in our hearts in various ways, but Protestants tend to reserve the phrase "the Word of God" primarily for the book. We might say something like, "We learn about Jesus and the gospel and God's will for our lives when we read the Word of God." Or, "It's Bible study time. Let's open the Word of God together so we can learn about Jesus." And friends, this language seems backwards to me. I think it would be more biblical to say, "Let's open our Bibles together, God's inspired Scriptures, so we can learn about the Word of God." (The fact this sounds so unusual to many of us shows how far our religious language has strayed from biblical language.)

In one stunning passage, Jesus actually says we can read and study and diligently search "the scriptures" (graphé), and still not know the Word (logos) of God. To the Bible-believing, Bible-memorizing, Bible-studying religious leaders of his day (that is, men who knew their scriptures better than you and I ever will), Jesus says:

And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word (logos) dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. You diligently study the Scriptures (graphé) because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures (graphé) that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. ~ JESUS (John 5:37-39)

See that? We religious types can learn the graphé of God and still not know the logos of God. They kept God's inspired writings (graphé) in their minds, but because their approach to scripture never centred on Jesus, they were missing God's word (logos). When we call the Bible the "word of God", not only is our language unbiblical, but we make it harder for us to grasp this important warning of Jesus.

It may take some effort, but I think it is valuable for us who are disciples of Jesus to try and buck the system and go against the linguistic trend of our religious subculture. Words matter.

Words make worlds.

And God SAID, "Let there be light."

Let's try to refer to the Bible as "the Bible" or "the Scriptures" (graphé) or even "the Good Book" if we like, but not as "the Word of God". It is an unbiblical misnomer that clouds the truth. And let's refer to Jesus, the gospel, the main message of the Bible (all logos), and the voice of the Holy Spirit applying this all to our lives as well as our proclamation of the Good News to others (rhema) as the "Word of God".

At the same time, let's not be judgemental legalists. If a Christian sister or brother calls the Bible "the Word of God" let it pass. At least they care about learning from scripture. If some Christian minister says "Let's open up the Word of God" while holding their Bible in the air, let's listen to their heart as they preach the Word (logos) from the text (graphé) so we can learn what the Spirit wants to say to us (rhema). Even if a preacher's words are a bit confused, God can still speak loud and clear.

"it says right here in the Word of God..." / "Read the Word of God and see for yourself." / "Let's open up the Word of God..." What's wrong with these sentences?

Apprentices of Jesus study God's graphé to learn his logos so we can recognize his rhema in every situation of our lives. We believe in the inerrant, infallible, inspired, authoritative Word of God - and his name is Jesus.

Them's my thoughts. Would love to hear yours in the comments.