My dear brethren:

          Today’s study will give attention to the Greek word “rhema”.  The rhema is one of two Greek words for the word “word”, and especially in connection with the “word of God” . Let us look at these two words.

 

·        John 1:1  In the beginning was the LOGOS (word), and the LOGOS(word) was with God, and the LOGOS(word) was God.

·        Matthew 12:36  But I say unto you, That every idle RHEMA (word) that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

          The “logos” describes “the word of God” as an idea or a concept, usually in a written form.  The “rhema” however is a personally spoken word of revelation, prophecy, or knowledge, through the mouth of God to us, in regards to a particular circumstance.  We have all said at one time or another, “this scripture really leaped out at me”!  This is a “rhema word” given you by the Lord to minister to you in a particular situation.  Gross misunderstanding and ignorance of the distinction between these two types of “words”, lends greatly to the weak state of our church today.  Let us look at some examples that will help us to learn.

 

·        Matthew 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every RHEMA that proceedeth( from moment to moment) out of the mouth of God.

  Oh how this scripture burdens me time and time again, because the precious bride of Christ does not dig deep enough into God to know how to cultivate the voice of God within its heart.  Secondly, the church does not learn to live in total dependency to the personal word of revelation from God to it, moment by moment.  Beloved, our learning to do this is the difference between spiritual life and death!

 

·        Luke 1:37  For with God nothing shall be impossible.  The literal interpretation of this verse is as follows:  Every “rhema” of God has absolute power to come to pass!  Wow! 

The power of the living word of God will never ever cease.  The more of the rhema we have revealed within us, the more we will operate in the power of God.

 

·        Luke 5:5  And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy RHEMA I will let down the net.   The disciples of Jesus had been painfully laboring throughout the night to catch fish, and had accomplished little.  This account describes perfectly the activity of our churches.  Much of our goings-on have been spent upon programs, agendas, and committees, and little upon the guidance, strategy, and power of the Holy Spirit through the rhema.  Notice that the “one rhema” of Jesus brought a huge catch. 

 

John 3:34  For he whom God hath sent speaketh the RHEMAS of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.  .  Each time we hear, speak, and act upon the rhema word, the power of God will be released.  This is the key to a healing and deliverance ministry.

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·        John 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the RHEMAS that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.  What ever we do beyond the voice of God, no matter how noble, noteworthy, merciful, or charitable it is, will always produce a measure of spiritual death.  Every activity in our Christian walk, and in our congregations must be based wholly upon the voice of the living God.

 

·        John 6:68  Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the RHEMAS of eternal life.  Only the voice of God produces eternal life.  Even the best voices of our intellects, promoting church activities and functions, which have not been commanded by the Lord will generate some spiritual death.

 

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·        John 12:47  And if any man hear my RHEMAS and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

·        John 12:48  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my RHEMAS>, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.  What a sobering admonition Jesus gives us here!   Can you imagine that our willful disobedience to the voice of God during our earthly life will be our judge in the next one?

 

·        John 15:7  If ye abide in me, and my RHEMAS abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.  Many times we take the name of Jesus as a “magic wand” and have believed that asking in that name will get us anything we want.  My brothers and sisters, our asking and receiving must always be in accordance to the rhema of God.  God will always honor his rhema word since it comes from Him.  According to His rhema, our prayers will always be answered, and we will get anything that we ask for! 

 

·        John 17:8  For I have given unto them the RHEMAS which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.  This scripture supports the vital importance of spiritual gifts.  The revelatory words of God make manifest the Christ to the world. Christ today dwells in glory.  Glory is what makes the invisible Christ visible!  How we need the full manifestation of spiritual gifts in our churches for the full manifestation of Christ.  What a ploy of the enemy it is to shut them out, or to tell us that they are not needed today.

 

·        Romans 10:17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the RHEMA of God. We must shed some extra light on this ever-important and much quoted scripture. God wants us all to move in faith, and will take us from faith to more faith, until it becomes totally naturally to live in it.  However, as we have been learning, everything must start with the voice of God revealed within our hearts.  Obedience acts upon the rhema, and faith is developed through our obedience.  I heard a true story of some kids that attempted to walk on the ocean or maybe a lake like Jesus and Peter. They drowned, because they had attempted this miracle without the rhema.  Remember brethren, stepping out into ministry without having heard the voice of God is presumption, and you and I will really get burned.

 

·        Ephesians 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

·        Ephesians 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the RHEMA.  These scriptures “hit home” at one of the very major problems within our churches today.  The church will only be purified and made holy by the revelatory word of God.  The rhema is what washes the bride of Christ and heals and restores it.  Let me ask you a question.  If the flow of spiritual gifts is curtailed in our congregations, and the rhema is quenched, how will the church ever be washed and made holy?  Pretty serious stuff!

·        Ephesians 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the RHEMA of God:  Brethren, it is time for us to know that the only offensive weapon that we have against Satan and his schemes such as sickness, bondage, and sin is the rhema word of God.  If we don’t know how to operate in the revelatory word of God, we will never attain a complete victory against the devil, the world, and the flesh !

 

·        Peter 1:25  But the RHEMA of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the RHEMA which by the gospel is preached unto you.  Finally my beloved brothers and sisters; our witnessing and evangelism must be always done in the power of God through the rhema, if it is it to be truly effective.  Evangelism programs are good yes, but without the living word spoken into the lives of every lost soul that we encounter, the effectiveness of every program will be limited.   

May God Richly Bless You,

Jose Alverez