The Rhema Barb and
Its Poison:
The Rhema vs. Logos Controversy
|
John Dawson, as Director of Youth with a Mission, wrote Taking Our Cities for God, in which
he stated: "There is always the
release of God's power when we declare out loud His word.
The Greek word rhema is the
biblical term for the specific personal communication of God with His
children here and now. This is different from the logos, which refers to the already
revealed word recorded in Scripture." [2]
Is this really the case?
The name, rhema, is particularly
associated with the ministry of
the
late Kenneth Hagin Sr. (died 2003). The doctrine of "rhema," as proclaimed
by the Hyper-Faith Movement, claims that "you can have what
you say" or "you can write our
own ticket with God" (the language of Kenneth Hagin Sr.) [3] if you will only confess
it. So, health, wealth and many other outcomes are based on a
confession of the "rhema" in one's life. "Name It and Claim It"
theology is based on this understanding of "rhema." Can this
distinction of rhema be
sustained by a study of the New Testament?
These statements have developed a doctrine of the spoken word, known
as, "rhematology," or "positive confession." It stresses the
power of one's thoughts and words in affecting reality in a person's
life.
It is common, particularly in Pentecostal and charismatic circles, to
try to distinguish between the two Greek words that are translated,
"Word, " in the New Testament – rhema
and logos. The point made is
that rhema is "often a word
spoken for a particular occasion." It is God's word for you in
your present situation.
This is seen at the popular level in Dr. Paul Choo's article on the
Spirit-filled life and victorious faith: "Logos refers to the whole
revelation of God (e.g.. John 17:17). Rhema (which is found in Rom.
10:17) refers to a part of God's Word, i.e. a specific promise." [4] A search on the www revealed
that this was a common theme: "'Rhema' means 'spoken word', and 'Logos'
means 'written word.'" [5]
It is claimed that "the logos is universal while rhema is particular. The logos is objective, while the rhema is subjective. The logos is eternal, while the rhema is contemporary." [6] However, when we examine the
biblical evidence, the differences between rhema and logos cannot be sustained.
Both rhema and logos are used in situations where the
"spoken word" is indicated. In Luke 5:5, Peter's words to
Jesus were, "But at your word [rhema]
I will let down the nets" (ESV). [7]
On the other hand, it is said of the nobleman whose son was healed by
Jesus, that "the man believed the word [logos] that Jesus spoke to him and
went on his way" (John 4:50).
Some want to conclude that rhema
is never applied to the person of Christ. In
Matt. 4:4, Jesus stated, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by
every word [rhema] that comes
from the mouth of God." Another example is the use of rhema in verses such as Matt.
27:14, where Jesus was on trial before his crucifixion: "But he gave
him no answer [rhema], not
even to a single charge"
When Peter denied the Lord, he "remembered the saying [rhema] of Jesus." As already
indicated, Luke 5:5 says, "But at your word [rhema] I will let down the
nets." Luke 7:1 is a telling example: Speaking of Jesus, it
states: "After he had finished all his sayings [rhemata, the plural of rhema] in the hearing of the
people, he entered Capernaum." Therefore, the honest interpreter
of the New Testament must conclude that it is incorrect to say that rhema is never applied to the
person of Christ.
Peter, in his epistle, used both rhema
and logos without thinking
that there was any difference in meaning. He said that we are
born again "through the living and abiding word [logos] of God" (I Peter
1:23). Two verses later, Peter writes that "the word [rhema] of the Lord remains forever"
(v. 25).
Korean Pentecostal leader, Paul Yonggi Cho, maintained that we as
Christians “can link our spirit’s fourth dimension to the
fourth dimension of the Holy Father—the Creator of the
universe—we can have all the more dominion over
circumstances.” The Holy Spirit causes this through dreams,
visions, and visualisation. By the latter we "incubate our future" and "hatch the
results." This happens through our speaking that rhema word that "releases
Christ." How does one receive this rhema? According to Cho, it
is a "specific word to a specific person in a specific situation" and
is attained by "waiting upon the Lord." [8]
"If rhema is supposed to be a spoken
word and logos the written
word, Paul [the apostle] apparently did not recognize that
distinction. When talking about the gifts of the word of wisdom
and the word of knowledge, he used logos rather than rhema (1 Corinthians 12:8).
It seems that rhema would
have been more appropriate if the distinction which some make is
valid." [9]
Two passages that seem to be referring to the same action, use rhema and logos interchangeably. Jesus
said, "Already you are clean because of the word [logos] that I have spoken to you"
(John 15:3). When Paul spoke about Christ sanctifying and
cleansing the church, he indicated that Christ "might sanctify her [the
church], having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word [rhema]" (Eph. 5:26).
This is further illustrated in the Greek translation of the Old
Testament, known as the Septuagint (LXX), the translation which was
completed about 250 BC. The first two verses of Jeremiah read:
"The word [rhema] of God which
came to Jeremiah" (v. 1) and "the word [logos] of God which came to him"
(v. 2). [10] It is clear that even as far back as
the third century before Christ, rhema and logos were used interchangeably.
For Greek buffs, this technical information confirms that rhema and logos are synonyms. If we
examine the Greek verb forms of these two words we find:
"In the present tense, the verb
form of logos is lego. But other tenses for
this verb contain the stem used in rhema
(ero, eireka, eiremai, errethen). It is an irregular
Greek verb. The present tense (I say) and the logos use the same stem, but most
other tenses use the stem from which rhema
is derived." [11]
The Englishman's Greek-English
Concordance [12] lists
every mention of the words, rhema
and logos in the New
Testament. An examination of these will clearly show that the contemporary distinctions between rhema and logos do not hold up under careful
investigation.
What can we conclude? The evidence does not point to any kind of
difference of meaning between rhema
and logos. They "are very close synonyms, and we
must not force on them a distinction in meaning. Often a
change is made from one word to the other simply to give literary
variety." [13]
David Watson gives a helpful summary of the evidence for rhema vs. logos. [14] His conclusion supports the conclusion above:
"In no New Testament dictionary or
Greek lexicon of any substance can the claimed distinction between the
two words be found. . . The massive weight of evidence shows that
there is no clear distinction to be made between logos and rhema in the Scriptures. Thus
the two far-reaching inferences mentioned above are based on a false
premise." [15]
I endorse Anthony Palma's practical conclusion:
"This matter is of more than
academic significance. Among some who promote this distinction in
meaning, a danger exists that the
so-called spoken or contemporary word will be esteemed more highly than
the Scriptures. But the principle given in 1 Corinthians
14:29 is that all messages must be evaluated, and the only sure basis
for evaluation is the written Word of God."[16]
This wrong-headed doctrine of rhema
has had some materialistic and threatening outworking in ministries
such as that of Paula White on a Benny Hinn Telethon, LeSEA Network, April 16,
2004. In her promotion of the alleged meaning of rhema,
she proclaimed,
"Now, get up and go to the phone! When God begins to speak to you
dial that number on your screen. Don't you miss this
moment! If you miss your moment you miss your miracle!. . .
He's [God's] giving you a Rhema Word right now. . . The God that
I serve is speaking to you right now!" She proclaimed that "God
is looking for somebody to believe that this is a Rhema Word."[17]
The contemporary confusion in understanding of rhema and logos is "a reminder that a little
'knowledge' is a dangerous thing." [18]
How many more people are going to be hurt and misled by the false rhema doctrine of a "special word
for an occasion" that comes with a barb like that of Paula White, in
this same Benny Hinn Telethon. She gave this threatening message:
"You will die! You will die
unless you go to the phone and do what God says to do." [19]
What difference does it make? When preachers with a high public
profile or ordinary believers proclaim that sickness can be healed when
a person experiences
God's rhema [special word for
the occasion], and it doesn't happen, some people are left
disillusioned with the Christian faith because their God has not met
His obligations. One other alternative is that these people are
accused of not having enough faith or having the wrong kind of faith.
For the ill, this is a particularly cruel accusation -- their God
did not
come to the party OR their faith is sub-standard. These are the
people who need God's encouragement and not condemnation.
The real issue does not amount to a wrong kind of faith but it is the
promotion of a theology of health and wealth that is a false doctrine.
These preachers and teachers need to be exposed for what they are
-- false teachers!
| The differences between rhema and logos cannot be sustained. |
[1] I am an Australian family relationships' counselling manager,
doctoral student in biblical studies, an active Christian apologist,
and
may be
contacted
at: P. O. Box 3107, Hervey Bay 4655, Australia.
[2] John Dawson
1989, Taking Our Cities for God,
Word Publishing, Milton Keynes, England, p. 197.
[3] See Hagin's tape by
that name, available from http://www.faithbuilders.co.uk/books/9380.htm
[4 May 2005]
[4] Pastor Dr. Paul
Choo, preached at Gospel Light Christian Church, Singapore, 10 December
2000,"The Spirit-Filled Life I –
[5] From Arthur
Chiang, "The Power of Words", 17 September 2004, Free Community Church,
available from:
[6] For a critique
of this popular view, see Anthony D. Palma, "Word…Word," Advance, May 1977, p. 27.
Palma alerted me
to the distinction
between rhema and logos in this article from an
Assemblies of God (USA) magazine, Advance. Much of the following
information is based on Palma's article.
[7] Unless
otherwise stated, all Bible quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version
2001, Crossway Bibles,
Wheaton, Illinois.
[8] Paul Yonggi
Cho 1979, The Fourth Dimension: The
Key to Putting Your Faith to Work for a Successful Life, Logos,
Plainfield, NJ, pp. 41, 44, 81,91,
97-100. For an assessment of Cho's theology of the Holy Spirit,
see Simon K.H. Chan 2004, "The Pneumatology of Paul Yonggi Cho," Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies
(7:1), pp. 79-99, available from: http://www.apts.edu/ajps/04-1/04-1-SimonChan.pdf
[4 May 2005].
[9] Palma, p. 27.
[10] Please note that these
are literal translations from the Septuagint and are not following
modern English translations of
Jeremiah1:1-2, such as
the ESV.
[11] Palma, p. 27.
[12] For example, Jay P.
Green, Sr. 1976, The New
Englishman's Greek Concordance of the New Testament,
Associated
Publishers & Authors, Wilmington,
Delaware, p. 4483.
[13] Palma, p. 27.
[14] David Watson 1982, Called & Committed: World-Changing
Discipleship, Harold Shaw Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois,
pp. 110-112.
[15] Watson, p. 111.
[16] Palma, p. 27.
[17] Cited in "Paula White,"
available from: http://www.myfortress.org/paulawhite.html
[4 May 2004].
[18] Watson, p. 112.
[19] Paula White, Forgotten Word Ministries, available
from: http://www.forgottenword.org/white.html [12 January 2007].
The Truth Challenge
The
Apologetic Challenge 
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This document last updated at Date: 5 May 2007.
