Living Victorious.

Last week we started talking about the word of God and how important it is. This week I wanted to talk to you about two different types of the word of God. The Bible uses two Greek words when speaking about the “word” of God. There is the logos, which is the God inspired written word in our Bibles and it also refers to Jesus. Then there is the rhema word of God, which is the spoken word or an utterance.

Matthew 4:4 says, “But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’””

Jesus tells us that we ought to live by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Looking at that literally, if the word is coming from the mouth of God, the assumption is that He is speaking it. But we should not assume anything so I looked up the Greek word for “word” in our verse and it is the Greek word “rhema” which is “an utterance”. Because we don’t use the word utterance everyday, I looked it up on Google and it means “a spoken word, statement or vocal sound”.

Last week we talked about reading our Bibles and getting the word of God in us. What I have realized when God speaks to me is that He is usually referring to something that is already in Scripture. In other words, when I hear an utterance from God, He is essentially pulling out of my knowledge bank a scripture that I have already read and which has been planted in my heart. Meaning, the more Scripture I have in me, that is, the more written word logos I have in me, the more rhema I get to hear and understand.

When I am going through a situation, God can give me one word or one verse that I can use as a weapon against the enemy. I can say, “Things may look this way but nope, God said…”. A rhema word is a fighting word. It will get you through whatever situation you are going through. But it is difficult to get a rhema word when you don’t have the logos word in you because God will not say anything that contradicts His logos, His written word. Because Jesus is the logos, for God to say anything that contradicts the logos is to contradict Himself and He is not a confused God.

We hear four voices in our heads, our own voice or thoughts, God’s voice, the voice of the enemy and other people’s voices. Knowing the logos, is to know Jesus and knowing Jesus will help you discern whether you are hearing from Him or another source. So when you have the word, logos, in you, when God speaks you can then discern the voice of God by checking it through the logos that’s in you. I am not talking about justifying your own cray cray thoughts with Scripture, I am talking about hearing from God and discerning that it is a word from God by checking it against Scripture.

The logos and the rhema work hand in hand and we should never underestimate the value of both. The logos will wash your mind (soul) of all wrong thinking and align you with the word of God. The rhema will speak into your day, situation, chaos, plans or into your future and bring the God perspective to it all. The rhema can be like a faith injection at a time you need it the most. So for us to be able to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, we first need to know what the Scriptures say.

Jesus spoke the words in our verse at a time when He was being tempted by the devil, Matthew 4:1-11. Jesus had been fasting for 40 days and nights in the wilderness and we know that He had been filled with the Holy Spirit so He had the Helper with Him. When confronted by the devil and when Jesus was being tempted to sin, Jesus, the word- logos, spoke the word- rhema, and said, “It is written…”. I believe the Holy Spirit was uttering just the right words that Jesus needed to speak into the situation, same way He does with us. Holy Spirit is such an awesome Helper, He knows exactly what we need to give us victory in that moment. But Jesus, yes even Jesus, had to have the word- logos in Him so Holy Spirit could draw on it.

So, if you haven’t been too jazzed about reading your Bible lately, I hope this helps you get excited to dig in there so you can get some word-logos in you. Right in the moment when you need it, the Holy Spirit will be able to pull it out of you and utter a rhema word to your spirit so you can have an effective weapon against the enemy and live victorious.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.