Rhema

Take ... the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:17 (NIV)

-----------------------

"There are two words for "word" in the Greek New Testament. The most common is logos, found in John 1:1. ... But logos is not the word found in Ephesians 6:17 to refer to "the word of God." "Word" in Ephesians 6:17 is the English translation of the Greek word rhema. It is this word of God that we are to use as the sword of the Spirit, our offensive weapon in spiritual warfare.

The best way to define rhema in English is to translate it as the "saying" of God rather than the "word" of God. To use a military analogy, think of the completed Bible as an armory where the military stores various weapons until they are needed in a war. The sayings of God, stored in the Bible (the armory) are our weapons of warfare. Therefore, the Bible is not the sword of the Spirit. The Bible is the armory in which are stored the swords of the Spirit which are the "rhema's" of God -- the sayings, or truths, of God.

Romans 10:17 is a good example of the use of rhema: "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word [rhema] of God." Most people who read this verse in English think they're reading the logos of God, not the rhema of God. They apply this verse by saying that the more we read our Bible, the more our faith will increase. So they read their Bible diligently but their faith doesn't increase and they wonder why.

We definitely need to read our Bibles (go to the armory); but when we are reading the Bible, the Spirit applies something the Bible says in a way that quickens your faith. When that happens, your faith increases. Perhaps you've memorized a verse of Scripture without much impact on your life, only to have it take on a brand new relevance in a certain situation. That's an example of the logs becoming the rhema to you -- a sword of the Spirit in your hands.

...

And if you are not daily reading and meditating on that Bible, the Spirit will not have the rhema of God to work with in your life when you need it most."


David Jeremiah, "The Sword of the Spirit", Spiritual Warfare.