“And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy rhema I will let down the net.” (Luke 5:5, KJV)
The fourth way in which Scripture can be read becomes clearer if one can explain that what our English Bible translates as “Word/word” has two meanings in Greek: logos and rhema. Logos is generally considered to be the written word, while rhema indicates two things: that which someone speaks under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (like prophesy, for example), or that which the Holy Spirit illuminates from Scripture at a personal level.
Today we would like to focus on that which is usually called a rhema word – the principle of reading the Scripture under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and then receiving a personal word, which is not related to the context of the Scripture portion, but which is applicable to your situation. It is only for you and is a personal confirmation. Rhema is the Word that the Spirit of God speaks or highlights in the studying of the written word (the logos). It is the personal revelation that God gives to you so that you can apply it on a personal level.
It is important to know that the rhema word never contradicts the logos word.
Many problems that believers have with the fact that the promises of God don’t realise for them lie in the difference between logos and rhema. You can claim the logos word till you are blue in the face, it will not cause anything to necessarily realise. John 6:63 states it well: “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the rhemas that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Thus, when you take up the sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:17) you may only use the rhema from God, otherwise you use the sword of the Word as logos, and you thus minister death, like Jesus’ disciple who cut off the ear of Jesus’ opponent with his sword (Matt 26:51), preventing that person from hearing..
A practical demonstration of the above modes of reading: let’s use Luke 5:5 above. You can firstly read and understand this portion of Scripture as an actual event that took place around 30 AD. But secondly, you can take from it a life lesson, that God often requires lateral thinking from us in the solution to a problem, or that obedience to His voice will lead to your provision. Thirdly, you can link this Scripture portion to another event where the disciples didn’t catch any fish and Jesus told them to throw the nets into the water on the other side of the boat (John 21:6). Here you begin to notice a predetermined pattern, which can indicate a deeper spiritual reality. If you go looking, it is interesting that the number 153 fish is specified (in verse 11), which, according to the symbolism of numbers, indicates “the sons of God” (Rom 8:19).
Fourthly, you can receive it as a specific personal word regarding a difficult situation that you are praying about and it becomes personally meaningful to you (for example, do precisely the opposite of what you were doing initially).
- Sela: Read Isa 53 in all four these exegetical ways.
- Read: 1 Sam 19; Ps 141; Luke 16
- Memorise: Luke 16:10-11
- Going deeper: Read chapter 16 in Hanegraaff’s Christianity in crisis for an explanation of method 1 and 2. Be aware, though, of the leaven of his critical spirit which sours things somewhat.
