Romans 10:17, Logos, Rhema

 In the Greek language there are two different words for ‘word,’ logos and rhema. The world was created by the Word, logos, of God. Logos is the general Word of God, stretching from Genesis to Revelation, for all these books directly or indirectly tell about the Word, Jesus Christ. By reading the logos from Genesis to Revelation you can receive all the knowledge you need about God and His promises; but just by reading you do not receive faith. You have received knowledge and understanding about God, but you do not receive faith. 

Romans 10:17 shows us that the material used to build faith is more than just reading God’s Word: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” In this scripture ‘word’ is not logos, but rhema. Faith specifically comes by hearing the rhema.

In his Greek lexicon Dr. Ironside has defined logos as “the said word of God,” and rhema as “the saying word of God.” Many scholars define this action of rhema as being the Holy Spirit using a few verses of Scripture and quickening it personally to one individual person. Here is my definition of rhema: rhema is a specific word to a specific person in a specific situation.

Logos is given to everybody. Logos is common to Koreans, Europeans, Africans and Americans. It is given to all so that they may gain knowledge about God; but rhema is not given to everyone. Rhema is given to that specific person who is waiting upon the Lord until the Holy Spirit quickens logos into rhema. If you never have time to wait upon the Lord, then the Lord can never come and quicken the needed scripture to your heart. 

This is a busy age. People come to church and are entertained. They hear a short sermon and are dismissed, without having any time of waiting upon the Lord. They get the logos, but since they do not receive rhema, they miss out on seeing the miraculous workings of God, and begin to doubt His power. 

People must come to the main sanctuary, listen attentively to the preacher, and wait upon the Lord. But they do not come and listen prayerfully to the preacher, waiting upon the Lord to receive rhema; therefore, they cannot receive the faith they need for the solutions to their problems. Their knowledge of the Bible increases as their problems increase, and though they come to church, nothing happens. So they begin to fall away and lose faith.

Cho, David Yonggi. The Fourth Dimension: Combined Edition (pp. 84-85). Bridge-Logos Publishers. Kindle Edition. 

Wait for the Guiding Light

 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:1-3). 

To bring order to chaos, first God created light. In our lives, which are filled with formless and empty darkness, we must first call out for light, saying, “Let there be light.” Just as light shows the path even in the darkest of night, when light shines down on our lives, we are able to see the path we must take in our lives. How can we let such light shine in our lives? 

We must pray sincerely to God, “Let light shine upon us!” When we have the assurance that He shines the light upon us, we must declare this with our lips. When we do so, light will be given to us in the form of dreams and ideas. 

A sister in our church had a husband who had mistakenly co-signed for a friend to make a huge loan. When his friend defaulted on the loan, the husband had some of his salary taken from him by the lender. Her family had to face a devastating situation. Having a six-member family, they were spiraling into greater debt each month. She began to feel that she could no longer depend on her husband’s income and decided to find a job. She fasted and prayed to God to show her the way. One day, as she was praying all night in church, a brilliant light shone upon her. She saw a vision in the light. She saw a small building with a shop on the first floor and a place of residence on the second. She was instantly convinced it was God’s answer to her prayer. In the morning, she returned home with joy and conviction. Before the month was over, she did find a small store where she was able to start a small business and helped support her family. Finally, they got out of debt. 

In much the same way, the first step to a productive life is to let light shine into your life. Before light shines upon you and shows you the path, do not act according to your own way. The reasons many people today are trapped with no way out is because they depend on and follow their own ways and means. 

If you truly want to live in success and blessing, no matter how much darkness may seem to surround you, you must wait and pray for the guiding light of God. When it shines down upon you, you will see exactly what you must do. 

Such light may come to you as a revelation, a dream or a vision. It may come as you are reading the Bible. There are other ways light might come to you. When Christians fail to wait for such guiding light of the Holy Spirit and run ahead of Him, it always leads to failure. You must kneel down and pray, and then wait. You must firmly command yourself saying, 

“Light shall come upon me. Let there be light in my life.”

by, Cho, David Yonggi. Unleashing the Power of Faith (pp. 97-100). Bridge-Logos Publishers. Kindle Edition.