Word (4487) (rhema from verb rheo = to speak - to say, speak or utter definite words) refers to the spoken word, especially a word as uttered by a living voice. Laleo is another word translated speak but it refers only to uttering a sound whereas rheo refers to uttering a definite intelligible word. Rhema refers to any sound produced by the voice which has a definite meaning. It focuses upon the content of the communication. For example in Luke we read... And they understood none of these things, and this saying (rhema) was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said. (Luke 18:34) In the plural rhema ("words"), means saying, speech or discourse. Rhema is used to refer to "the thing spoken of", an object, a matter, an affair or an event. For example we read in Luke 1:65 And fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters [rhema] were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea. (Compare to) But Mary treasured up all these things (rhema), pondering them in her heart. (Luke 2:19) Rhema in the NT can exhibit several nuances of meaning depending on the context -- a prophecy ("that you should remember the words - rhema - spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles." see note 2 Peter 3:2), a charge against one (Mt 27:14 Jesus "did not answer him with regard to even a single charge" - rhema), a message (Ro 10:8 "But what does it say? "THE WORD - rhema - IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"-- that is, the word - rhema - of faith which we are preaching,"), a promise (Lu 2:29 "Now Lord, Thou dost let Thy bond-servant depart In peace, according to Thy word", Lu 1:38 And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.), a command (Mt 4:4 "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word - rhema - that proceeds from the mouth of God"; Luke 5:5 And Simon answered and said, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but at Your bidding - rhema - I will let down the nets.") There are 68 uses of rhema in the NT (Matt. 4:4; 12:36; 16" class="scriptRef">18:16; 26:75; 27:14; 32" class="scriptRef">Mk. 9:32; 14:72; 37-Luke.1.38" class="scriptRef">Lk. 1:37, 38, 65; 2:15, 17, 19, 29, 50, 51; 3:2; 5:5; 7:1; 9:45; 18:34; 20:26; 22:61; 24:8, 11; Jn. 3:34; 47" class="scriptRef">5:47; 6:63, 68; 8:20, 47; 10:21; 12:47, 48; 14:10; 15:7; 17:8; Acts 2:14; 5:20, 32; 6:11, 13; 10:22, 37, 44; 11:14, 16; 13:42; 16:38; 26:25; 28:25; Ro 10:8, 17, 18; 2Co. 12:4; 13:1; Ep 5:26; 6:17; He 1:3; 6:5; 11:3; 12:19; 1Pet. 1:25; 2Pet. 3:2; Jude 1:17) and is translated: bidding (1), charge, 1; discourse, 1; fact, 2; matters, 1; message, 2; nothing, 1; remark, 1; say, 1; saying, 1; sayings, 3; statement, 6; thing, 2; things, 4; word, 18; words, 22. There are too many uses of rhema (about 516) in the Septuagint (LXX) to list. The significance of rhema (as distinct from logos) is exemplified in the injunction to take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, Eph 6:17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word (rhema) of God. (See note Ephesians 6:17) In Ephesians 6:17 the reference is not to the whole Bible as such, but to the individual scripture which the Spirit brings to our remembrance for use in time of need, a prerequisite being the regular storing of the mind with Scripture. One of my favorite uses of rhema is in Luke's record of the angel's words to Mary... For nothing will be impossible with God. (Luke 1:37) Comment: You are probably asking "Where is rhema in this verse?" The Greek can be rendered "No word of God can fail." Only a few English translations render rhema in this way. The 1901 ASV has "For no word from God shall be void of power." The Weymouth has "For no promise from God will be impossible of fulfilment." The Amplified has "For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment." This is a powerful verse about God's powerful spoken word! Here in Ephesians 5 the rhema is a purifying word. In Hebrews 11 we see rhema is a creating word... By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. (Heb 11:3) In Hebrews 1 rhema is a upholding word, a word associated with Jesus' power... And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Heb 1:3) In Matthew 12 we see rhema can refer to a potentially damaging word (be careful what rhema proceeds from your mouth!)... "And I say to you, that every careless word (rhema) that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment.37 "For by your words (logos) you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." (Mt 12:36, 37) Comment: Note how rhema is used in parallel with logos. As a generalization, rhema brings out the single item rather than the whole content as in logos. Matthew 4 we see it is a nourishing word... But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" (Mt 4:4) (Comment: Here we see that rhema is not only a nourishing word but a temptation defending word, used to fend off the fiery missiles the Evil One had thrown at Jesus to tempt Him.) In John 6 we see rhema is a life giving word, a word of eternal life, Jesus declaring that... It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words (rhema) that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life...68 Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. (John 6:63, 68) This word is the agent of this sanctification as Paul wrote in Titus... He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing (loutron) of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. (See note Titus 3:5) The purpose of the spoken word is to produce a blamelessness and holiness that makes us fit to be presented to Christ as His own beloved and eternal bride, to dwell in His glorious presence forever (cf. Rev. 21:1ff-note). Christ’s present ministry to the church is that of sanctifying and cleansing her by using the water of the Word of God. Water for washing is sometimes used as a symbol of the Word of God. In John 15 Jesus declared... You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. (John 15:3) In John 13 John used the root word louo explaining to Peter that... He who has bathed (louo in the perfect tense = past completed action with ongoing effect) needs only to wash (nipto) his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you. 11 For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, "Not all of you are clean. (John 13:10-11) (Comment: The imagery is oriental, where the Roman citizen would louo his entire body at the public baths and nipto his feet when he arrived home. Jesus used louo to refer to the cleansing of the sinner in "the Fountain filled with Blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins" at the moment of salvation when he is completely and eternally justified or declared righteous by faith in Christ. "Wash his feet" refers to a daily cleansing of the saint in his walk and his feet become "dirty" from sin and thus has to do with progressive or practical sanctification or daily being set aside more and more to God and from this world which is passing away. In this verse it appears that Jesus is referring to the "washing of regeneration", to the one time occurrence in salvation when the sinner is justified by grace through faith. The partial washing indicated by the verb nipto is a picture of the daily need for confession and cleansing as in 1John 1:7,9. But see comment on this verse in the Net Bible regarding this interpretation). In John 17 in His prayer to His Father Jesus said... Sanctify (aorist imperative) them in the truth. Thy word is truth. (John 17:17) So how does Christ sanctify His Church today? By the washing of the water with the Word. Pastor-Teachers, are you "washing" your flock the Jesus way? Remember Paul says in Eph 5:29 (note) that He also nourishes (promotes the growth of) His Bride and the only spiritual food that accomplishes this goal is the pure milk of the Word. ><> ><> ><> From ILLUSTRATIONS OF BIBLE TRUTH by Harry A. Ironside - THE CLEANSING WORD "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the water by the word" (Eph 5:26). The Word is for cleansing as well as for instruction, and if it keeps going through you it will have a marvelous effect upon your mind and heart and life. It will cleanse and purify you and fit you to be a real worker for the LORD JESUS CHRIST. You remember the story of the Scotch laddie who was one of those inquisitive youngsters who always wanted a reason for everything he was told to do? He was working for a farmer and when the old man told him to do anything, the lad generally asked, "Why?" This disturbed his employer. On one occasion he said to the boy as he handed him a market basket, "Take this basket down to the creek and fill it with water." When the laddie asked, "Why?" and started to explain that it would not hold water, the old man replied, "None o' yer 'whys.' I'm paying for your time; you do as I tell you." So the boy started for the creek with the basket in his hand. Wading into the water, he dipped the basket into the creek and lifted it up. Of course, the water all ran out. Disgusted, he said, "It will no' hold the water." The old farmer replied, "Fill it up again." Again the lad obeyed, and once more the water all ran through. His master said, "Fill it again." This time the boy answered, "I'll fill it up once more, but if it does no' hold this time, you will no make me a fool again." So he dipped it into the creek the third time, and as he held it up, the water all ran out. Angry, he flung the basket over into the grass, saying, "Take your auld kreel; I'll no be a fool fer ye or anybody else." The old man picked it up good naturedly and then held it between him and the sun. As he examined it carefully, he explained, "It's a guid deal cleaner than it was, and that's what it needed." The water running through it had cleaned away the dirt, and this is how the Word of GOD affects our lives. Our LORD JESUS prayed, "Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth." (John 17:17) We are sanctified by the washing of the water by the Word. We cannot give too much time to the study of this blessed Book. I do not mean merely studying it in order to get sermons out of it, but what we need is a daily, thoughtful, prayerful study of the Word for the nourishment of our own souls, for building ourselves up in our most holy faith. (Bolding added) ><>><>><> Constant Companion - When my wife and I are preparing for a trip, one of the first things we do is get out the road atlas. We study it intensely to learn the best routes, determine the number of miles we’ll have to travel, pick out interesting places to visit, decide how far we can get in a day, and estimate expenses. On the journey, the atlas is our constant companion, and we consult it many times a day. We couldn’t get along without it. For Christians, the Bible is an atlas for their spiritual journey, but it is much more. It is described as: sweeter than honey (Psalm 19:10-note; Ps 119:103-note) a lamp (Psalm 119:105-note) rain and snow (Isaiah 55:10,11) a fire (Jeremiah 23:29) a hammer (Jeremiah 23:29) water (Ephesians 5:26-note) a sword (Ephesians 6:17-note) solid food (Hebrews 5:12-note, He 5:14-note) a mirror (James 1:23-note) milk (1Peter 2:2-note) Like the highway traveler, we as Christians are on a long and sometimes hazardous journey. We face many decisions and will have many needs on our pilgrimage to paradise. The Bible has been given to us to help us make those decisions and to meet those needs. It should be our constant companion–studied diligently and consulted often along the way. We can’t do without it. (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) I have a companion, a dear, faithful friend, A union of blessing that never shall end; Till Jesus returns with His saints from on high We'll travel together, my Bible and I. —Anon The Bible is like a compass— it always points the believer in the right direction. 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