God’s Word contains power to transform a person’s life. The secret to “Word transformation” is two-fold: first the reading of the Bible and secondly, in living out its specific instructions. In the New Testament, there are two words commonly found to reference “God’s Word.” One is logos, which in its broadest term includes the Bible and its Christian message. The Bible is rightly called the “logos of God” because it denotes the expression of God’s thought and revealed will. The other use of God’s Word is rhema (rhay’mah). Rhema focuses attention on a specific word, command, or utterance of God directed to an individual and their life circumstance.
The significance of rhema can be illustrated by its first occurrence in the Bible (Matt. 4:4). When a word or phrase appears for the first time in the Bible, it is deserving of special attention because it is the introduction of new truth to man about God. Every other occurrence of that truth in Scripture builds upon the example established by its initial appearance.
In this foundational scripture, Satan challenges Jesus to change stones to bread. He counters Satan’s temptation by responding that man is to live by “every rhema that comes from the mouth of God.” Subsequent temptations are diffused with specific words or utterances from Scripture. (Matt. 4:5-11) The new truth revealed in Matthew 4:4 was that man was to live by God’s specific rhema (word) to them. Jesus’ retorts to Satan show how we are to respond to life’s circumstances–follow the rhema God reveals to us.
The importance of rhema (versus logos) is seen in God’s directive to believers to “take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word (rhema) of God.” Here the reference is not to the whole Bible as such, but to individual scriptures which the Spirit brings to remembrance for use in time of need. The only requirement is that there has been regular storing of Scripture in the mind. When you immerse yourself in God’s logos through reading and meditating, you are setting yourself up to receive the rhema of God.