Logos and Rhema Agree
Ephesians 6:6: Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; But as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.
So many people want to know what the will of God is for their lives. Often we hear statements such as the following, “If I only knew what the will of God was for my life, I would do it.” Many sincere Christians seek God to know His will, yet they seem to find no satisfactory answers. The reason for this is that there are no pat answers aside from the Bible. The best definition for the will of God would be that His Word is His will. If we find anything in our lives that disagrees with His Word, then it is not His will for us. On the other side of the coin, if we find anything in His Word that is not in our lives, then it is His will that we receive it.
To teach on the will of God in this light, we need to first understand specifically what God’s Word is. In the New Testament Greek, we have two meanings for the Word of God, “logos” and “rhema.” The first meaning for God’s Word, “logos,” denotes The Word, a title of the Son of God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1); And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth (John 1:14). “Logos” also denotes the sayings or statements made by God, the written Word, contained in the Bible. II Timothy 3:16-17 says: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. By this verse we can see that God’s Word (His Will) produces a perfect man. So, if we walk according to the Bible, we will do His perfect will.
The other meaning for the Word of God, “rhema,” is the Word spoken to our spirits. John 6:63 states, It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. The first Word, “logos,” is the reference to the whole written Word of God, while the Word, “rhema,” is the individual Scripture which the Spirit brings to our remembrance for use in the time of need, or the voice we hear in our spirits when the Lord is speaking to us. “Rhema” can come also in the form of prophecy. When it does, it is alive to us and is quickened to our spirits. All “rhema” words should agree with the “logos” words. Prophetic words should be tested the same way we test or prove other things that come to us. We must never build our lives on a prophecy or vision. The Lord generally uses prophecy to confirm those things He has already spoken to us. He generally does not bring guidance through a prophetic word. If He does, it will be easily entreated and we will have a witness in our hearts that it is the Lord speaking to us. We must always be guided by the Holy Spirit and His Word, and only seldom through either prophecies or ‘’fleeces.”