LOGOS AND RHEMA Gracemail

Edward Fudge"

LOGOS AND RHEMA

A gracEmail subscriber writes: "I have heard that the written word of God (Greek: logos) becomes the living and active word of God (Greek: rhema) only after we take it into our soul and translate it into life. Is that distinction valid?"


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Two Greek words are translated "word" in the New Testament: logos (218 times) and rhema (56 times). Our word "logical" comes from the Greek word logos, as does the English suffix "-ology." Our words "rhetoric" and "orator" are kin to the Greek word rhema.

Knowing that, you will not be surprised to learn that logos emphasizes a word's rational origin in the mind (whether the word is written or spoken), while rhema refers to a word actually spoken. If you think about something and then say it, what you say is both logos (the expression of your thought) and also rhema (voiced by your vocal cords). That is the root difference between these two Greek words for "word."

You ask whether logos becomes rhema only after being taken into our lives and lived out. That is not in the meaning of the words themselves. However, it is true that God's word/message (whether written or spoken) becomes effective for us personally only when we receive it with meekness, digest it with faith, and make it a part of our lives (Heb. 4:2). (By the way, when Hebrews 4:12 says that God's "word" is living and active, the author uses logos rather than rhema).