The Bible is the source of all truth, and that truth is proclaimed by its very description: The Word of God. Therefore, because God is Love and because he wants a relationship with us, He chose to reveal himself to mankind through this source. And because God is God – omnipotent, omniscience, omnipresent, Creator of the universe, Alpha and Omega, the Godhead of the Trinity – it is no surprise that he also knows something about relationships.
For instance, he knew that in order for a relationship to come into existence, both parties must choose to participate. But in this case it is a bit more complicated than a relationship between two people, because God is a spirit who exists outside our five senses. So how can we (as finite humans) relate to, come to know, and ultimately come to trust someone we can’t see or touch?
God chose to speak through prophets and scribes throughout the ages, revealing himself to us through his Word. He has told us: 1. who he is; He is Love – “we love because he first loved us” (1John 4:19)
2. what he thinks; “my ways are not your ways, my thoughts are not your thoughts. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, my ways and thoughts are different from your ways and thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8,9)
3. what he thinks about us; “We are his proudest creation” (Ephesians 2:10)
4. what his standards are; The Ten Commandments
5. what his plans are for us; “I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you, not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
6. what his promises are; “we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm” (Ephesians 1;3)
7. how we achieve those promises; “we are heir to all of God’s promises because we are in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:14)
Apostle Peter talks about the authenticity of the Word. “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophets themselves or because they wanted to prophesy. It was the Holy Spirit who moved the prophets to speak from God.” (2Peter 1:20-21, 19) This idea is expanded in 2Timothy 3:16-17; “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing He wants us to do.
Our term “word” comes from the Greek word “logos” meaning logic, rational thinking or truth. Therefore if the Bible is God’s Word, it is His truth. And the wonderful thing about the Bible is…it meets all of us wherever we are in our journey. When we open our minds and our hearts to the words on the page (logos), those words begin directing us to the fulfillment of God’s plan, which Ephesians 1:6 tells us “has always been centered on Jesus Christ.”
Because God is God, he knew man’s sin-nature would lead us to our own destruction. But because God is Love, his plan was always to send a Savior to do for us what he knew we could not do for ourselves. Romans 5:6 vividly portrays our sorry state of being: “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.”
Jesus was and is the answer to man’s sinful nature, and therefore the answer to eternal life. When we make a decision to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, “we become a new creation; the old self is gone; the new life has come.” (2Corinthians 5:17) And that new life is made possible by the gift of the Holy Spirit. You see, God’s salvation plan is absolutely perfect. Because we are now in Christ, not only do we have forgiveness of our sins and eternal life – which gives us incredible peace of mind about our destiny – but we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to empower us to rise above the world around us and live the life we are called to live right here, right now.
The natural man (prior to our re-birth) does not receive the things of the Spirit of God. “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1Corinthians 2:14)
Therefore, because God’s words are “spirit and life” (John 6:63), to understand them beyond the logos level requires the Holy Spirit. The logos level of experiencing the word gives us indispensable information, but there is another level of experiencing the Word that turns the information into revelation. That is referred to as the “rhema” Word of God and is explained in Hebrews 4:1-13: “The Word (rhema) of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword; it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit…it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.” This is when the truth of Scripture comes alive in us and prepares us to handle people and situations in an enlightened way that brings honor and glory to God. This is done by the indwelling Holy Spirit who empowers us to rise above our self and the world around us to meet life’s challenges.
For instance, people and relationships are always a challenge, right? As Christ-followers, we are called to love our neighbors and to forgive our enemies. But how do we do that? I gotta be honest right here and tell ya…there are some people I find it hard to even like; and there are some I have found it really hard to forgive. But here is one truth that has come alive in my heart and has become a cornerstone in my platform of faith: “He that is in me (the Holy Spirit) is greater than he (satan) that is in this world.” (And no doubt satan wilI show up at my encounter doing everything in his power to thwart my efforts.) But I have meditated and ruminated on this scripture until its truth has become as real to me as my need for water. That scripture tells me I am already victorious! Therefore, when I know (or even suspect) I may encounter a challenging situation, I call on the Holy Spirit to give me wisdom, courage, strength, patience, perseverance – whatever it is I need – to handle this matter in a way that brings honor and glory to God. When my motivation is to honor God in the way I handle life’s challenges, I have experienced the truth of that scripture time and time again.
Apostle Paul was very specific in Romans 12:2: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. (through new information and through revelation.) Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.” As we begin to experience the truth of God’s Word changing us, first through the logos, then through the rhema Word of God, we begin building a platform of faith on which we can build our new life. When we start standing on this platform and become confident about stepping out in faith, we begin living “in the Spirit.” Galatians 5:16-23 tells us what it is like to live in the Spirit’s power: “The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, out-bursts of anger, selfish ambition, envy, drunkenness, wild parties and other kinds of sin. But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to your sin nature. The Holy Spirit will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
We honor an awesome God when we let the light of Jesus shine through us in our daily walk. He gave us an incredible Gift of Grace, not because we earned it or even deserved it, but because he loves us and wants us to spend eternity with him. The gift of the Holy Spirit was part of that gift and allows us to get a glimpse of heaven on earth right here, right now. For instance, when the truth of Jesus’ message to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; trust Me.” (Mark 5:35) comes alive in our hearts and becomes a truth we know we can absolutely stand on, we begin living in “in the Spirit.” And the result is what everyone is looking for: peace and serenity!
So my question to you today is…do you get the difference between logos and rhema? If so, meditate on the truth of Jesus message to Jairus.
Feel free to respond to this posting, and feel free to “like” it and share it with social media friends.
May God Bless Ya…
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
Hi Dan,
I so enjoy reading your messages each week. They are a real blessing. I have some input on today’s and I’d like to know what you think. This is regarding what God’s Standards are and how He chose to speak. I agree that God spoke through the prophets and scribes. That has been handed down to us in the Old Testament or Old Covenant. We are now in the Age of Grace and God speaks to us through the Words of Jesus Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel of Mark. Jesus was talking with the Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees. The Scribe heard men arguing and approached Christ and asked, “what commandment is foremost of all?” Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all you heart, and with all your soul,
and with all you mind, and with all your strength.’ “The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
I think the Ten Commandments we given as a precursor to Jesus. By issuing these people realized they could not possibly follow all of them and God knew that. He was showing people that they were imperfect and would need a sacrifice for their sins. When Jesus came and died for the world we had a new standard of Grace and Forgiveness.
Let me know your thoughts.
Sue
Thank you, Susan, for your support and input. You are so right about the Ten Commandments. When God gave them, they served three purposes: 1. it was civil law since the Jews had been in captivity for the past four hundred years and knew nothing about freedom and living in community. 2. The Commandments are his standard (and still are)
3. And it was given to man to show us our own insufficiency in achieving His standard. In other words, it pointed out our need for a Savior to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. (Rom. 5:6..while we were utterly helpless….)
The Commandments are still his standard, which proved from Creation to 2000 yrs. ago to be beyond human capability…especially since the only acceptable performance level is 100%. So we can either try to meet that standard on our own or accept God’s Gift of Grace.
The Law and the Old Covenant ended with the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The only way to be acceptable, worthy, justiified, the righteousness of Christ is to be in Christ. When God sees us covered with the blood of Jesus, we are a Saint in his eyes.
Isn’t it wonderful to serve a loving God who showed Mercy on us and paid our ransom with the blood of his Son.
May God Bless you and your family, Susan
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