Īccording to Nee a passage of the logos can move into being rhema if it becomes shown to apply to the specific individual. We are not saying that the written Word of God is of no use, but that logos-the Word of God recorded in the Bible-is of no use to us by itself.Both logos and rhema are the Word of God, but the former is God's Word objectively recorded in the Bible, while the latter is the word of God spoken to us at a specific occasion. Can we say that man shall not live by bread alone, but by the Word of God recorded in the Bible? No. In Matthew 4:4 Jesus said, '"It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every rhema that proceeds out through the mouth of God."'. Pastor Watchman Nee writing along the same lines wrote:
…The meaning of rhema in distinction to logos is illustrated in Ephesians 6:17, where the reference is not to the Scriptures as a whole, but to that portion which the believer wields as a sword in the time of need." 4:12), and the Holy Spirit utters the spoken logos (1 Cor. "Jesus is the living Logos (John 1:1), the Bible is the written logos (Heb. must be received with faith by the hearer in order for it to fulfil its mission." Hamon, expounding on Romans 10:17 goes on to say that a rhema is "that timely, Holy Spirit-inspired Word from the Logos that brings life, power, and faith to perform and fulfil it. In support of this Hamon cites Ephesians 6:17 "take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word (rhema) of God", and points to William Edwy Vine's An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words that explains the passage "Here 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". A rhema may come while reading the Bible, as God quickens a certain text, or it may come to us through the spoken words of another person." All Christians must live by the logos and receive the rhema as needed." Under this definition the method of receiving rhemas "may come by many ways. …Truth is truth, and the Logos and rhema are one with God." The logos "is the standard of all truth.the rhema, which provides the precise word needed for the specific situation. …The Logos is like a well of water, and the rhema is a bucket of water from that well. He defines rhema as "a specific word from the Lord that applies it to us individually. Citing Timothy 2:15 Hamon defines the less personal usage "logos" as "the Scriptures as a whole". A true rhema carries with it a deep inner assurance and witness of the Spirit." Ĭiting John 1:1,14 Hamon holds "Jesus was the eternal Word revealed and manifest in mortal flesh" and can be called by the personal name "Logos". It is conceived in your spirit, but birthed into your natural understanding by divine illumination. It is a divinely inspired impression upon your soul, a flash of thought or a creative idea from God.
Under this system, "rhema" is a broad term that includes many types of spiritual interaction "any method God uses to reveal His specific will to an individual, whether by divinely directed desire, illumination, revelation, vision, or dream.rhema will be our general term to refer to all of these means of God communicating His specific will to an individual." Hamon states "A rhema is an inspired Word birthed within your own spirit, a whisper from the Holy Spirit like the still, small voice that spoke to Elijah in the cave. In this understanding, the logos is universal for all humanity, while any intellectual changes for a specific individual believer are categorized as rhema. Some Christians, such as Apostolic-Prophetic Movement Christian minister and author Bill Hamon, put forward the position that rhema is a process within Christian epistemology.