What’s the difference between rhema and logos? If you look around the Internet, you will find many opinions. Some think there is a difference and others think there is no difference. Here are some of the popular opinions. Don’t take them too seriously. Don’t let them make your head spin. They are just opinions. Although most of those who seek to answer this question assert that they have the final answer, when you read their reasoning, you can’t get down to true premises that actually prove their claim.
Quotes from random webpages:
Rhema is what flows from one person to another as a personal communication. Logos is what God wants; rhema is what God wants of me. Logos is the right way to act; rhema is the right thing for me to do in this specific situation. Logos is education; rhema is revelation.
Rhema is taken as the spoken word or the teachings of the Christ himself, Logos refers to Jesus himself.
Logos as a concept in Greek means a written word. Thus, bible itself is Logos.
When you hear a sermon in the church coming straight from the mouth of a minister, this is the Rhema.
Rhema is the right now word, word from HIM that gives you a sense of direction and joy and excitement of knowledge.
Rhema word is the word for your current situation telling you what to do.
Logos is the uttering of Christ himself; it is the spoken word communicated through Bible. Thus, Bible is an example of Logos.
Logos is the entire communication process.
The Spirit’s voice in our hearts is one example of rhema.
In the Bible, rhema refers to speaking, regardless of who is doing the speaking.
Rhema means (spoken) word, whereas logos includes thought (hence logic)
Rhema is not just the spoken word, but any means by which the Logos (the substance of what is being communicated) is conveyed. Written text, spoken text, text in Hebrew, Greek, English, etc are Rhema. Logos is discerned from Rhema.
Rhema is expression only versus logos as the thought from which expression springs.
A rhema is a verse or portion of Scripture that the Holy Spirit brings to our attention.
Logos refers to the total inspired Word of God and to Jesus.
Rhema occurs as words leave one’s lips.
That was a listing of what various theologians think. It could make you a little dizzy. Most of that doesn’t hold up when you look at the definitions of the two words or when you look at how the words are used in Scripture.
Here are the actual translations of the two words:
4487 ῥῆμα rhema [hray’-mah]
from 4483; n n; TDNT-4:69,505; [{See TDNT 431 }]
AV-word 56, saying 9, thing 3, no thing + 3756 1, not tr 1; 70
1) that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing spoken, word
1a) any sound produced by the voice and having definite meaning
1b) speech, discourse
1b1) what one has said
1c) a series of words joined together into a sentence (a declaration of one’s mind made in words)
1c1) an utterance
1c2) a saying of any sort as a message, a narrative
1c2a) concerning some occurrence
2) subject matter of speech, thing spoken of
2a) so far forth as it is a matter of narration
2b) so far as it is a matter of command
2c) a matter of dispute, case at law
3056 λόγος logos [log’-os]
from 3004; n m; TDNT-4:69,505; [{See TDNT 431 }]
AV-word 218, saying 50, account 8, speech 8, Word (Christ) 7, thing 5, not tr 2, misc 32; 330
1) of speech
1a) a word, uttered by a living voice, embodies a conception or idea
1b) what someone has said
1b1) a word
1b2) the sayings of God
1b3) decree, mandate or order
1b4) of the moral precepts given by God
1b5) Old Testament prophecy given by the prophets
1b6) what is declared, a thought, declaration, aphorism, a weighty saying, a dictum, a maxim
1c) discourse
1c1) the act of speaking, speech
1c2) the faculty of speech, skill and practice in speaking
1c3) a kind or style of speaking
1c4) a continuous speaking discourse-instruction
1d) doctrine, teaching
1e) anything reported in speech; a narration, narrative
1f) matter under discussion, thing spoken of, affair, a matter in dispute, case, suit at law
1g) the thing spoken of or talked about; event, deed
2) its use as respect to the MIND alone
2a) reason, the mental faculty of thinking, meditating, reasoning, calculating
2b) account, i.e. regard, consideration
2c) account, i.e. reckoning, score
2d) account, i.e. answer or explanation in reference to judgment
2e) relation, i.e. with whom as judge we stand in relation
2e1) reason would
2f) reason, cause, ground
Looking at both words as they are used in Scripture, they refer to the spoken word of God in most cases, but sometimes they refer to other words spoken that were not from God.
Here’s an example where Jesus is talking about words the people speak. He uses both the word “rhema” and the word “logos.”
Matthew 12:36-37 But I say unto you, That every idle word <rhema> that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words <logos> thou shalt be justified, and by thy words <logos> thou shalt be condemned.
There may be a difference, but I don’t see it. When I sought the Lord on the matter, it seemed to be something not to be concerned about. Both words mean speech. Mostly, they refer to a word from God. Those words may be spoken by God directly or through a person.
Here’s what God has emphasized to me. He knows how to communicate with His people. We hear His voice. We know His voice. We can discern it from other voices.
The way God showed it to me, God speaks through the Bible and every means of divine revelation mentioned in the Bible. In the Old Testament, where the translations say “word” the original text is saying “spoken word.” When preachers read “the word of God,” they often assume the passage is speaking of the Bible. It is a much more general term. If you have the Bible, you have the word of God because God speaks through the Bible. That doesn’t mean you hear the word of God since you may just hear your preconceived ideas and never listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
God also speaks through the things He does. Here are two examples where God speaks through what He does.
Acts 5:30-32 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand [to be] a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things (rhema); and [so is] also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
Luke 1:37 For with God nothing <rhema> shall be impossible.
He also gave us the first chapter of Romans in which He says He has revealed everything that can be known about God and the Godhead. And then, He indicates that these things can be seen through the things God has created. Also, God refers to the gifts of the Spirit as the manifestation in 1 Corinthians 12.