The Word: More Than Just The Bible

Transcription

1 The Word: More Than Just The Bible By Cheryl Elton and Matthew Elton 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 proceeds from the mouth of God. -Matthew 4:4 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. -Romans 10:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; - Ephesians 6:17 These are well-known verses of Scripture that demonstrate the importance of the word. To most Christians, the word simply means the Bible. They mentally insert Bible into all of the above verses when they read word. When we hear In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, we might picture a Bible floating in space with God. We hear Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, faith comes by hearing,

2 and hearing by the word of God, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and our minds again insert Bible: We live by the Bible, have faith by hearing the Bible, and fight the devil with the Bible. But is this really what these verses mean? In the early church, few people had access to the Scriptures, and even if they did, most didn t know how to read. If faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Bible, it would be difficult for most early Christians to have faith. If man lives by every word that comes out of the Bible, it would likewise be challenging for most early Christians to live out their faith. Is there more to the word than just the Bible? The New Testament was translated from Greek, and word can take on several different meanings depending on which Greek word it was translated from. It s worth gaining a clearer understanding of the Greek words logos, graphe (grah -fay), and rhema (ray -muh). The Architect s vision God, from the beginning of time, has had a vision for the world and for His Kingdom. This overarching plan, reasoning, or vision is expressed by the Greek word lógos (Strong s 3056). It is a decree, mandate, or order; what is declared, a thought, declaration, aphorism, a weighty saying, a dictum, a maxim.

3 Logos is used 316 times in the New Testament. It does not refer to the written Scriptures, but to the eternal plan and purpose of God, existing from the beginning and becoming manifested to us in the person of Jesus Christ. John 1:1 reads: In the beginning was the logos, and the logos was with God and the logos was God. Then in John 1:14, Jesus is the logos made flesh: And the logos became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1 isn t saying that scrolls or Bibles were floating around in heaven at the beginning of time. Rather, it means that from the beginning God had a supreme plan for His Messiah and His Kingdom. He had a big picture in mind. This supreme plan that was in God s mind from the beginning finally came to fruition with the coming of His Son, Jesus Christ ( the Word became flesh ), and is continuing today. As we explore the words graphe and rhema, I d like to do so in the context of an illustration, in which we ll see how logos, graphe, and rhema work together. When an architect is hired for a building project, he must start with a clearly defined vision (logos) of the end result. This vision serves as the basis for all other methods of communication relating to the project. The architect then draws up written blueprints detailing every aspect of the building. These

4 sketches and instructions serve to guide the contractors as they start working. Each step of the building process is still incomplete in expressing the architect s vision. Only the finished building will express his full intentions. Think of God as the Architect and us as His work crew. He guides our steps as we endeavor to work on His building (His Kingdom). He has a clear vision of every detail, and He communicates His vision to us so we can build according to His specifications. The Scriptures - our blueprint The word graphé (Strong s 1124) describes this concept of the blueprints. Used 51 times in the New Testament, it refers to the written word and is usually translated as scripture. It s used in 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. Most Christians have taken the Architect s blueprints the Scriptures and viewed them as expressing His full plan and purpose. But as anyone in construction will tell you, if the architect were to hand the blueprints to the builders without any further communication at all, the plans would be left to the builders own interpretation. Without personal, step-by-step communication and supervision from the

5 architect, the building would never be constructed exactly as intended. Give the same set of blueprints to 100 different construction companies without any other communication, and you ll likely end up with 100 slightly different buildings, as each interprets the blueprints his own way. The functionality and look of the building could end up quite different from what the architect originally envisioned! Unfortunately, this is exactly what has happened to the Christian church. God, the Architect, is building a Kingdom, and His plan (logos) has existed from the beginning of time. He revealed it to us in the written revelation of the Bible, the divinely inspired Scriptures (graphe), which serve as the blueprint for His Kingdom. Yet, many Christians assume and live as if God s communication to us stops there. If the Bible is the totality of God s Word and if God does not communicate with us outside of the Bible, then we are left on our own when it comes to interpreting it. We now have thousands of different denominations and groups, each interpreting the Bible in slightly different ways. It wasn t meant to be this way. At the Last Supper, Jesus told his disciples that he would be leaving them, and there was more they would need to know to continue his work. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the

6 Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. -John 14:26 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell 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 would no longer be physically present to speak to his disciples in person. Yet the things he needed to communicate to them were sadly incomplete at that time! I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now, Jesus said in John 16:12. Also, John tells us in John 21:25 that the Bible records only a small fraction of Christ s ministry: And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Jesus clearly said there is much more to the Architect s vision than he could communicate to his disciples during his brief time here on earth

7 indeed, much more than could be written down in the Gospels! All the things Jesus spoke about and showed them during his years on earth were but a fraction of the entirety of God s Kingdom vision or logos. Fortunately, Jesus assures us that the Architect isn t going to leave us with only a set of blueprints. Instead, He has sent a job foreman (the holy spirit) to guide us and instruct us, communicating to us every detail we need to carry out the work. God s voice for us today The instruction (revelation) we receive from the holy spirit is God s rhḗma (Strong s 4487) another Greek word translated word. Rhema means that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing spoken; word; any sound produced by the voice and having definite meaning. Rhema is the personal, relevant, conversational, relationship word. It is God in Jesus Christ in us through the holy spirit. It is the Lord s voice for each of us, just as it was for Samuel. Now the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. -1 Samuel 3:1 We read that the word of the Lord was rare in

8 those days. This doesn t mean there was a shortage of scrolls. It means the spoken rhema revelation of God was unusual. In the Old Testament, it was not often that God would pour out His Spirit on someone that they might prophesy or would reveal Himself in a dream or a vision. But today, in the post-pentecost church, God has graciously poured out His holy spirit on all who believe. On the day of Pentecost, Peter quoted what had been prophesied by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. -Acts 2:17 A deeper level of meaning A proper understanding of these words logos, graphe, and rhema reveals a new and deeper level of meaning on how God communicates. This is not at all to diminish the greatness of His written word, the Scriptures. God expects us to read and learn the Scriptures to understand Him. However, the Scriptures are only a portion of what He desires to communicate to us. Let s revisit the verses at the beginning of this article with the new understanding of word.

9 Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word [rhema] that proceeds from the mouth of God. -Matthew 4:4 While most Christians think this is talking about the importance of knowing the Bible, the Greek word used here is not graphe but rhema, meaning the spoken revelation of God. In the context of Matthew 4, 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 Scripture. Christ s answer to Satan, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every rhema that proceeds from the mouth of God, is essentially saying that the spiritual revelation of God His daily instruction to our lives through the holy spirit is more important than physical food. God had not yet instructed Christ to eat. Although he was extremely hungry, Jesus remained 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. (John 5:19 Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. )

10 Jesus would have rather starved to death than do anything outside of the Father s rhema instructions for his life. Jesus didn t live by bread alone or by the Bible alone (graphe, the written word because on that basis alone the temptation would have been fine!), but instead he lived by rhema the Father s daily, personal instruction. We can do the same. Other key rhema verses So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word (rhema) of God -Romans 10:17 Most people think this is talking about the Bible. Yet, word in this verse is rhema the spoken utterance, or revelation from God. If faith came solely by hearing the written Scriptures, surely graphe would have been used. God is telling us that the way to grow our faith is to recognize and follow His personal, present voice in our lives. How exciting this is! We are to have a personal, present relationship with God through Jesus Christ, walking and talking with Him throughout the day (all relationship involves communication). Surely this time spent in relationship with Him will grow our faith, as He gives us His daily revelation bread to guide our

11 way. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word (rhema) of God; -Ephesians 6:17 This usage of word has been interpreted as the Bible for too long! Simply quoting Bible verses will not stop the devil he s heard it all before! What Satan doesn t have access to, which we do, is the rhema of God the relevant, personal word via the holy spirit through which the Lord guides our steps. It s interesting that of all the pieces of armor mentioned in Ephesians 6, only one is an offensive weapon the sword of the Spirit the rhema of God. His personal revelation instruction to us will defeat the devil every time. Knowing about God vs. knowing God A key lesson we can take away from our study of word is that there s an important distinction to be made between knowing about God and knowing God. The Pharisees had great intellectual knowledge about God and the Scriptures. They memorized every law and prided themselves in what they believed to be their superior understanding and handling of the Scriptures. Nevertheless, bogged down by legalism and

12 concerned mainly with the outward appearance, they lacked any real relationship with God! Jesus saw through the façade and said to them in Matthew 23:25: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and selfindulgence. We certainly don t want to be like the Pharisees. We should desire to know God personally and walk with Him every day. If we want to know our Heavenly Father, we must begin by looking to Jesus Christ because God is most fully revealed in His Son. Hebrews 1:3 tells us: Who [Jesus] being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word (rhema) of His power In John 14:6 Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. From our brief study of rhema, it s clear that God desires a living relationship filled with daily communication with us. This dynamic, active relationship with God is made possible only through Jesus Christ. The holy spirit has been given so we can receive God s daily rhema instruction in our lives. Jesus is calling us into a relationship with him so that through him we

13 will know and experience God. As we learn to hear the voice of the Lord by way of the holy spirit, we learn to know God and His will for our lives. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. -John 10:27