Today, we are going to look at the word Word.. We may think that when we refer to the Word that it always means the same thing, but it actually has several meanings, or layers.

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4 (KJV) emphasis mine

Graphe

Written in this verse is the Greek word graphe, meaning from a document, or a holy writ. It speaks of God’s written Word- ink on paper. It is the written Word that we see on the pages of the Bible.

Rhema

In the same verse, we look at the word, Word, which is rhema in the Greek. It refers to an utterance, a word, a spoken word. It is a word that Holy Spirt brings to our remembrance to use when we need it (Ephesians 6:17). This doesn’t speak of the whole Bible, but of an individual Scripture to use in time of need. For example, in Matthew 4, Jesus knew the written Word (graphe), and God brought a specific Scripture to His mind to speak (rhema) when He needed it. Thus Jesus spoke a rhema Word that God had said to Him that came from the graphe Word. We must know the written Word to speak a rhema Word from God.

Logos

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made…. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:1-3, 14 (KJV) emphasis mine

In this passage, Word is logos in Greek, which is the Living Word, Jesus Christ, made flesh. The Logos, Jesus, is God revealed to us in flesh. It is seeing God by the life Jesus lived. Through the Logos, we experience the thoughts of God. Christ the Word, the living Word, reveals God’s thoughts, heart, will, and mind to us. Christ, who is God, became flesh to reveal God; He is the expression of God. We see a form of the word Logos in the word theology. Theos means God and ology means study, so theology is the study of God. It allows us to experience God.

All Three

By God’s written Word, graphe, we know God and study Him. Through the written Word, we read and study God in order to see, hear, and know Him. As we read God by His written Word, we can then hear God, hear His voice from His Word speaking specifically to us- that’s His rhema Word. It is not a vague Word. It helps us to know God, His will, and what to do in each situation of our lives. God always speaks, and He always speaks from His Word. God speaks from written Scripture (graphe) to give us a Word from God (rhema). He speaks daily, giving us our daily bread. God has given us the written Word to know, hear, and read God. Then the Holy Spirit speaks it to us from His written Word. This allows us to know Jesus, the Logos, the living Word. So, as we know Father God’s Graphe, we can hear the Rhema, and can ultimately come to know Jesus, the Logos. Three Words, that come through all three Members of the Godhead. We can walk with them all and fellowship with them all through Gods’ written, spoken, and living Word.

As we study God’s Word, we study God. It allows us to know who He is and what He He has done and will do. The more we study God’s Word, the more we study God. The more we study God, the more we hear from Him and get to know Him. As a result, we can intimately know Him, love Him, worship Him, fellowship with Him, and obey Him.