The Difference Between Rhema vs Logos vs Graphe

[K2K]

The are two greek words, Logos and Rhema, that are translated as the english word "WORD" in your Bible. And there is a greek word, Graphe, that is translated as the english word 'Scripture' in your Bible

In our current Christian ease, we also call the Scriptures (Graphe in Greek) 'The Word.'

So we tell people to read and study 'The Word', meaning the Scriptures (Graphe).

Graphe means "Holy Writ". The Scriptures are holy writings because they are all inspired by God. Yet your Bible does not say the Graphe (Holy Writ) is alive and active! Because we now also call the Scriptures 'the Word' some of us are getting confussed and thinking the Scriptures are somehow alive and active. They are writings not a living being.

It all reminds me of the Abbot and Costello skit, 'Who's on first'. Where there is confusion because Costello doesn't understand that "Who" is the name of the first baseman. Many of us do not understand that "The Word of God" is the name of first person that we really need to get to know!

Rev 19:13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

It's important to understand that He [the Word of God] is a person, just like it is important to understand that Who was the name of the first baseman in the Abbott and Costello skit.

Costello: Are you the manager?
Abbott: Yes.
Costello: You gonna be the coach too?
Abbott: Yes.
Costello: And you don't know the fellows' names.
Abbot: Well I should.
Costello: Well who's on first?
Abbott: Yes.
Costello: I mean the fellow's name.
Abbott: Who.
Costello: The guy on first.
Abbott: Who.
Costello: The first baseman.
Abbott: Who.
Costello: The guy playing...
Abbot: Who is on first!
Costello: I'm asking you who's on first.
Abbot: That's the man's name.
Costello: That's who's name.
Abbot: Yes

I sometime feel like I am in that same skit when trying to tell people that The Word of God is the name of the One we are trying to get to know. He is called that because He tells each of us the words from God. He is not the Holy Writ (Scriptures) He is a person that you too can get to know and thus hear from.

Now if you are going to manage and coach a team of other Christains, you should know the man playing first base and His name!!!

 

[Faulty]

Graphe means "Holy Writ". The Scriptures are holy writings because they are all inspired by God. Yet your Bible does not say the Graphe (Holy Writ) is alive and active! Because we now also call the Scriptures 'the Word' some of us are getting confussed and thinking the Scriptures are somehow alive and active. They are writings not a living being.

This is another good example where you perform a little sleight of hand when it comes to the scriptures. It being written, you focus on the fact it's printed on paper, then imply that since paper isn't alive, neither are the words printed on it. It's something you've done a number of times before.

And yet, it is this written word we have, that Peter declares that was preached to the saints, which he calls both 'living and abiding' (1 Pet 1:22-25), and that His word (including that already given) remains forever (v25), like it or not.

I don't understand how someone who claims such love for what God says can have such contempt for what God has already said. This is a subtle attack on God's scriptures. You come in with great language declaring "God is great! God is great!", but then with end it with, "and if you're not hearing Him speak in your head, you're doing something wrong, and all that stuff He said before, forget it, don't worry about it, it's old and dead". It's model deceptive behavior, if you intend for it to be that way or not.

 

[K2K]

This is another good example where you perform a little sleight of hand when it comes to the scriptures. It being written, you focus on the fact it's printed on paper, then imply that since paper isn't alive, neither are the words printed on it. It's something you've done a number of times before.

And yet, it is this written word we have, that Peter declares that was preached to the saints, which he calls both 'living and abiding' (1 Pet 1:22-25), and that His word (including that already given) remains forever (v25), like it or not.

I don't understand how someone who claims such love for what God says can have such contempt for what God has already said. This is a subtle attack on God's scriptures. You come in with great language declaring "God is great! God is great!", but then with end it with, "and if you're not hearing Him speak in your head, you're doing something wrong, and all that stuff He said before, forget it, don't worry about it, it's old and dead". It's model deceptive behavior, if you intend for it to be that way or not.

This is exactly what I am saying.

A book is not alive. A person is alive. Jesus Christ is alive. His name is called The Word of God. He abides and lives forever.

If people were hearing from Him then they would know Him. They would know Him as the Word of God, like Abraham whom the Word of God appeared to in a vision.

A word is something spoken to you, but a vision is something you see. The Word of God that appeared to Abraham in a vision is a person. The same One that was in the beginning with God and is God. The same One that through whom all things came into being. The same One that went to the cross and we call Jesus Christ.

We tell people that they can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Don't you relatize that you can only have a personl relationship with a person?

The Bible is not a person. Yet some people think that it is. They think the Bible can be alive, so it can be their friend, and it can perhaps heal them, and even can save them. So Jesus told them that they search the Scriptures thinking in them they have eternal life, but didn't come to Him so that they might live.

Giving attiributes of God to an inannimate object is making an idol out of that object. People are making an idol out of the Bible, and not coming to know Jesus Christ the person. This was going on when Jesus was on earth, so He talked to them about it, and it is still going on today.

That is why the Lord told me, "Karl, I want you to preach the Word, but not as it is so often preached today. I want you to preach I AM the Word of God."

My friends, I AM is the Word of God. He always has been. He took on flesh, went to the cross, rose from the dead and sits at the right hand of God in the Kingdom of God. And the Good news is that you too can hear from the Great I Am because the Spirit of God is everywhere.

You can have a personal relationship with the person who's name is called The Word of God.

This is not a sleight of hand, in fact it is not a sleight thing at all! If you do not come to know the Word of God as your Lord; the One who gives you instructions, He will tell you 'I never knew you', and you will not pass through judgement!

If you know Him you will talk to Him and listen to Him. So you too will know Him as the Word of God, and since He lives forever, what do you think your friend will do for you?

Jn 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater that all; an no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.

This is the same One who explained that He stood and the door and knocked, and if anyone (perhaps maybe you?) would hear His voice and open the door, He would come in and dine with them and them with Him.

If you seek Him you will find Him whose name is called the Word of God. So you will hear from Him who we call Jesus Christ, because the Word of God is Christ and God's salvation to us. You will hear from Him in the morning when you wake up. You will hear from Him while you read the book you call the Word of God. You will hear from Him when you take time to get something to eat. You will hear from Him at school or work. You will see Him in a vision like Abraham and hear Him talking to you.

There are those that call themselves Christian because they have this type of relationship with Jesus Christ whose name is called the 'Word of God' and 'I AM' because He will and is capable of talking to you via the Spirit of God through out the day. If you don't know that, you don't know Him. If you are not hearing from Him, you need to seek to start hearing from Him.

The Spirit of God is not the only spirit, so check the spirits. The Spirit of God will tell you Jesus Christ came in the flesh (1 Jn 4: 1-3) and will always glorify Jesus Christ. That is why the Spirit of God takes from the Word of God and give you His words to you personally, and takes the word you have for them and gives them to Him. You can know Him just like Abraham, and those others who are listening to Him to this very day.

He is the door to heaven, and if someone is trying to get you to believe that you will get in by knowing the Scriptures, going to chruch, or any other bits of work, it is they and not me who are trying to pull a sleight of hand.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

The Bible is the collected writings of believers through the ages who kept a journal of the dealings with God with them, The New Testament is account of who Jesus is and what He did for us and how we can maintain a close relationship with Him,

The Bible is not God. But there are some who "worship" the Bible and use it as a lawbook to legislate how others should live. This was not the purpose of the Bible. The Bible is there to point us to Jesus Christ and to assist us to have a personal relationship with Him. It shows us how we can recognise His voice and when it is Him whom we are following and not another.

The Bible is our springboard to a close relationship with Christ. We have the Holy Spirit living within us to point us to Christ. That is His role. He makes the Bible make sense to us. Those who are not filled with the Spirit experience the Bible as something that is difficult to understand.

Just as some worship their senior pastor and put him before Christ (maybe not in theory but in actual practice), so some worship the Bible and put it before Christ. These are types of modern day idolatory. God said that He would have no gods before Him, and that includes a highly respected preacher or leader, and the Bible itself.

Just as the sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath, so the Bible is compiled for man, and not man for the Bible.

 

[K2K]

The Bible is the collected writings of believers through the ages who kept a journal of the dealings with God with them, The New Testament is account of who Jesus is and what He did for us and how we can maintain a close relationship with Him,

The Bible is not God. But there are some who "worship" the Bible and use it as a lawbook to legislate how others should live. This was not the purpose of the Bible. The Bible is there to point us to Jesus Christ and to assist us to have a personal relationship with Him. It shows us how we can recognise His voice and when it is Him whom we are following and not another.

The Bible is our springboard to a close relationship with Christ. We have the Holy Spirit living within us to point us to Christ. That is His role. He makes the Bible make sense to us. Those who are not filled with the Spirit experience the Bible as something that is difficult to understand.

Just as some worship their senior pastor and put him before Christ (maybe not in theory but in actual practice), so some worship the Bible and put it before Christ. These are types of modern day idolatory. God said that He would have no gods before Him, and that includes a highly respected preacher or leader, and the Bible itself.

Just as the sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath, so the Bible is compiled for man, and not man for the Bible.

Very well put Oscarr! I loved the last sentence:

"Just as the sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath, so the Bible is compiled for man, and not man for the Bible."

That sounds exactly like something I would hear from the Lord.

 

[Notsocommonsense]

The Bible is the collected writings of believers through the ages who kept a journal of the dealings with God with them,

That is the same mindset behind some of the greatest atheist in the world.

The written word is not inspired, it is only a collection of writings, a history book at best.

 

[K2K]

That is the same mindset behind some of the greatest atheist in the world.

The written word is not inspired, it is only a collection of writings, a history book at best.

Nobody suggested that the Scriptures were not inspired, in fact quite the opposite is true. Those people that wrote the Bible were not only inspired by God but were hearing from Him and that is what inspired them to write what they did. That is what we are to do, hear from the Lord.

They who wrote the Bible were people like you and me, but the one thing they had in common was that they believed that God was the Great I Am and the Word of God, so they listen to Him in whom they believed. Not all people do that.

Certainly some people that don't believe don't even take time to read the Bible. And there are also others that don't believe yet they study the Bible believing that in it they have eternal life. In order to them to believe the Bible gives them eternal life they must give it attributes of God. They conclude that the Scripture (graphe in Greek) must be alive, thought nowhere in the Scripture does it say the Scriptures are alive, but rather the Scriptures explain that the Lord is alive and active. They misread the Scriptures and are not willing to be corrected because to be corrected would mean that their studying the Scriptures would not give them eternal life, and that is what they have put their hope it.

If they had put there hope in knowing Jesus Christ as the Word of God they would turn to Him and listen to who they know when they had a problem instead of leaning on their own understanding of the Scriptures when they had a problem. But they can't do that, because they don't believe they can hear from Him.

I can tell them that it is not so hard as they think to hear from Him, but they can't believe it. It seems easier to explain about hearing God and truly knowing Jesus Christ to a child than it is to someone that is convienced their knowing the Scriptures gives them eternal life.

I once got a hold of a 2 disc movie set called "The Perfect Stranger/ Another Perfect Stranger", that did a wonderful job of showing what it is like to hear from the Lord. Who ever put that together obviously knows what it is like to hear from the Lord. He explains things to you, answers your questions, and He you can even get closer to Him and keep Him around better than the movies leads you to believe. Still you have to believe in Him and get to know Him, like is shown in those movies, and more importantly, as explained in the Scriptures.

The Jesus Christ can talk to you through the Spirit while eating dinner, or while flying on a plane, and anywhere else. So you can hear from Him while reading the Bible, you can not limit Him to talking to you only while reading the Scriptures. He is alive and active, and He said He would never leave you, so how come people don't understand what I am saying? Is it because they are not listening to His words?

Jn 8:43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.

To hear from the Lord you need only some faith. Not much, just enough to think it possible and investigate honestly that possible, then you can talk to Him over and over and over about all types of things. Then you will understand that He is not the Scriptures, but is the One who talked to those who wrote them.

He is alive, and He is active, and He is not only available to talk to but wants us to listen to Him. So do it.

 

[patience7]

Nobody suggested that the Scriptures were not inspired, in fact quite the opposite is true. Those people that wrote the Bible were not only inspired by God but were hearing from Him and that is what inspired them to write what they did. That is what we are to do, hear from the Lord.

The number one way that we know God and his Son is through the written word which was inspired by the logos/rhema of God.

They who wrote the Bible were people like you and me, but the one thing they had in common was that they believed that God was the Great I Am and the Word of God, so they listen to Him in whom they believed. Not all people do that.

Certainly some people that don't believe don't even take time to read the Bible. And there are also others that don't believe yet they study the Bible believing that in it they have eternal life. In order to them to believe the Bible gives them eternal life they must give it attributes of God. They conclude that the Scripture (graphe in Greek) must be alive, thought nowhere in the Scripture does it say the Scriptures are alive, but rather the Scriptures explain that the Lord is alive and active. They misread the Scriptures and are not willing to be corrected because to be corrected would mean that their studying the Scriptures would not give them eternal life, and that is what they have put their hope it.

The written word which contains logos/rhema of God shows us how to receive eternal life.

If they had put there hope in knowing Jesus Christ as the Word of God they would turn to Him and listen to who they know when they had a problem instead of leaning on their own understanding of the Scriptures when they had a problem. But they can't do that, because they don't believe they can hear from Him.

I can tell them that it is not so hard as they think to hear from Him, but they can't believe it. It seems easier to explain about hearing God and truly knowing Jesus Christ to a child than it is to someone that is convienced their knowing the Scriptures gives them eternal life.

I once got a hold of a 2 disc movie set called "The Perfect Stranger/ Another Perfect Stranger", that did a wonderful job of showing what it is like to hear from the Lord. Who ever put that together obviously knows what it is like to hear from the Lord. He explains things to you, answers your questions, and He you can even get closer to Him and keep Him around better than the movies leads you to believe. Still you have to believe in Him and get to know Him, like is shown in those movies, and more importantly, as explained in the Scriptures.

The Jesus Christ can talk to you through the Spirit while eating dinner, or while flying on a plane, and anywhere else. So you can hear from Him while reading the Bible, you can not limit Him to talking to you only while reading the Scriptures. He is alive and active, and He said He would never leave you, so how come people don't understand what I am saying? Is it because they are not listening to His words?

Yes, we can hear his voice and he does talk to us daily but also through scripture - that's how I know he will never leave me or forsake me - I read it in scripture.

Jn 8:43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.

To hear from the Lord you need only some faith. Not much, just enough to think it possible and investigate honestly that possible, then you can talk to Him over and over and over about all types of things. Then you will understand that He is not the Scriptures, but is the One who talked to those who wrote them.

He is alive, and He is active, and He is not only available to talk to but wants us to listen to Him. So do it.

No, he is not "scripture" but he is the subject from Genesis to Revelation and he is found in and through the written word of God.

 

[probinson]

You come in with great language declaring "God is great! God is great!", but then with end it with, "and if you're not hearing Him speak in your head, you're doing something wrong, and all that stuff He said before, forget it, don't worry about it, it's old and dead".

Hmmm...

I don't think either of those 2 statements should be in quotes, seeing as how the OP never made either of those statements. Complete fabrications should not be placed in quotation marks. Quotation marks should be reserved for repeating what someone actually said.

 

[mrhappy3]

My head got in a tizz, but I have to say the Abbott and Costello sketch made me laugh.

Similar to a "carry on" sketch in the UK

"Whats his name"
"yes, sir I am trying to find that out"
"No - WHATS his name"
etc etc

lol !

 

[Usernametaken]

Hmmm...

I don't think either of those 2 statements should be in quotes, seeing as how the OP never made either of those statements. Complete fabrications should not be placed in quotation marks. Quotation marks should be reserved for repeating what someone actually said.

How does this help the topic of the thread?

 

[K2K]

The number one way that we know God and his Son is through the written word which was inspired by the logos/rhema of God.

.

The number one way to get to know God and His son is to talk to them. That is what the Scriptures say. That is how Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David..ect all got to know God

The Scriptures are meant to lead to God so that you can get to know Him. But if your not listening to what He has to say to you, you don't know Him!

quote=patience7;59019885]


The written word which contains logos/rhema of God shows us how to receive eternal life.


.[/quote]

Graphe is the Greek word for Scriptures, and the Scritpures are the written word.

Logos, according to the opening verses in the Gospel of John is the Son. And the Scriptures are not the Son!! Logos has a more general meaning, but Graphe is the Greek word for Scriptures (written word). The Graphe (written word) does not give eternal life and is not alive. Have you ever seen your Bible floating around your room. The Son is alive, your Bible is not!

Rhema is an uterance from God. Many have been recorded in the Scriptures [Graphe] but they are not specfically to you, but recorded for everyone.

The Lord will give you Rhema, a spoken word just for you. The One speaking it is the Logos, according to the gospel of John, and the written word is Graphe. The Graphe (written word) is not alive. The One who inspired it's writing is alive, and He is the same One who you can hear from so listen to Him.

quote=patience7;59019885]


Yes, we can hear his voice and he does talk to us daily but also through scripture - that's how I know he will never leave me or forsake me - I read it in scripture.



[/quote]
He is not the Scriptures, so He can talk to you while you read them and about what you read, and you may even recongize that He is the author and see His wisdom and regonize the words in the Scriptures as being from Him, but the words in the Scriptures are not actually Him speaking to you but was Him writing to you, so that you might seek Him who can speak to you.

God is spirit, and when we hear Him it comes across as thoughts in our head. That is very similar to what happens when we read words on a page. So it is easy to understand why someone reading words God had written on a page to think that it is actually God speaking to them.

The Bible is for us. It is God communicating to us, but God uses His voice to communicate specifically to you. A personal relationship with God requires you hearing words spoken specifically to you. It requires hearing His voice, reading His book is not Him speaking to you, it is not personal, but hearing His voice is personal. So we are preaching Jesus Christ, the One who speaks to you, as the Word of God, and use the Scriptures to tell people about Him.


quote=patience7;59019885]



No, he is not "scripture" but he is the subject from Genesis to Revelation and he is found in and through the written word of God.[/quote]

He maybe be found out about in the written word, but He is not found in the written word, you will find Him in your heart and on your lips. This might just be a matter of symantics, but it doesn't sound like it. It sounds more like incorrect thinking. The Scriptures are not God's home, you are God's home, or at least He wants you to be His home.

So when you go looking for the Lord, you don't do it by opening your Bible, you do it by listening to the thoughts on your heart and even the things that come out of your mouth.

If you suddenly decided to give money to a homeless person walking down the street, was that your thougths or His?

He is not the only spirit, so if you suddenly find yourself upset with someone you never met because of the clothes they wear or the color of their skin, whose thoughts were those?

And if you are thinking the Scriptures give you eternal life, the Scriptures are alive because that is where God lives, where did those thoughts come from?

Paul took all thought captive to Jesus Christ. We need to realize the the Lord is near us (in our heart and on our lips) so we can ask Him these questions, and know Jesus Christ as our Lord.

We all have a battle with powers and principalities, and we should be aware of the battle. The battle takes place inside us.

Rm 7:19-21 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwelss in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.

The Lord has me read and study the Bible. The first Rhema I heard from the Logos was "READ YOUR BIBLE [GRAPHE]". Yet the Lord was never the Bible nor did He live in the Bible, is lives in me. I am His home. So where should I look for Him?

 

[Usernametaken]

Will God ever speak something that is in contradiction to what he has written?

 

[K2K]

My head got in a tizz, but I have to say the Abbott and Costello sketch made me laugh.

Similar to a "carry on" sketch in the UK

"Whats his name"
"yes, sir I am trying to find that out"
"No - WHATS his name"
etc etc

lol !

I come across rather serious on this issue of knowing the Lord and that not being the same thing as knowing the Bible. Yet, I find in rather laughable at times.

It's so obvious, that how can anyone not understand?

There is God, and He had a book written (the Bible).

So how can people think the book is alive, the book saves, the book heals, the book is their friend, or the book is the goal. It is a book for God's sake, and I mean a book for God's sake and for your sake.

Somehow the Bible (a book) has become a 'who'???

It would be very funny except for the consequenses of getting it wrong, and the large scale on which it is happening.

Jesus told the Jews as a group, that they searched the Scriptures thinking in them they had eternal life, but they didn't turn to Him so they might live. It seems to me that He could show up and tell Christians, as a group, that same thing today and be just as right doing it as He was then. And that's not funny.

 

[Faulty]

Jesus told the Jews as a group, that they searched the Scriptures thinking in them they had eternal life, but they didn't turn to Him so they might live. It seems to me that He could show up and tell Christians, as a group, that same thing today and be just as right doing it as He was then. And that's not funny.

Actually, He told them they searched the scriptures, thinking that in them they had life, but they didn't believe the scriptures they searched. Had they believed the scriptures they searched, they would have believed on Him, and had eternal life. The two go together. It's not one or the other.

 

[probinson]

How does this help the topic of the thread?

It's difficult to converse with someone on any topic when they refuse to acknowledge what you're actually saying and instead make up stuff and attribute it to you. It's even worse when people "quote" you, stating things you never said, which borders on bearing false witness against them.

Essentially, you have people arguing against boogie men of their own making; a fairly common occurrence at CF.

 

[probinson]

Will God ever speak something that is in contradiction to what he has written?

Nope.

And may I ask, what does this have to do with the topic?

No one here is has suggested that God is going to speak contrary to what is in the written Word, nor is anyone suggesting that the written Word is unimportant. Perhaps now you see why people "quoting" their own nonsensical ideas and attempting to attribute them to others is so problematic.

To the contrary, listening to and heeding the voice of God in our everyday lives is the thing that is being disparaged and marginalized, rather surprisingly I might add, by folks who claim to be Spirit-Filled Charismatics. I have no idea why this is such a hotly contested idea.

God didn't stop speaking to men after Revelation. He's still speaking to each one of us today, if only we'll listen. This in no way marginalizes the importance and significance of scripture.

 

[patience7]

The number one way to get to know God and His son is to talk to them. That is what the Scriptures say. That is how Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David..ect all got to know God

The Scriptures are meant to lead to God so that you can get to know Him. But if your not listening to what He has to say to you, you don't know Him!

Graphe is the Greek word for Scriptures, and the Scritpures are the written word.

I know that graphe is the greek word for the scriptures. The scriptures are God's word in written form.

Logos, according to the opening verses in the Gospel of John is the Son. And the Scriptures are not the Son!! Logos has a more general meaning, but Graphe is the Greek word for Scriptures (written word). The Graphe (written word) does not give eternal life and is not alive. Have you ever seen your Bible floating around your room. The Son is alive, your Bible is not!

Logos is translated "word" in more places than John 1:1.

Rhema is an uterance from God. Many have been recorded in the Scriptures [Graphe] but they are not specfically to you, but recorded for everyone.

The Lord will give you Rhema, a spoken word just for you. The One speaking it is the Logos, according to the gospel of John, and the written word is Graphe. The Graphe (written word) is not alive. The One who inspired it's writing is alive, and He is the same One who you can hear from so listen to Him.

I also know what rhema is. The totality of the written word is God breathed and is a combination logos/rhema of God. I take the scriptures and apply them to me personally in my everyday life and when I am reading although I do know that they are written for everyone to learn and know the will of God. I also know that God will give me specific word (rhema) on things that I need to know.

He is not the Scriptures, so He can talk to you while you read them and about what you read, and you may even recongize that He is the author and see His wisdom and regonize the words in the Scriptures as being from Him, but the words in the Scriptures are not actually Him speaking to you but was Him writing to you, so that you might seek Him who can speak to you.

I do see scripture as God speaking to me in written form. If I receive a letter from a friend - the letter contains thoughts from my friend in written form but they are still my friend's words.

God is spirit, and when we hear Him it comes across as thoughts in our head. That is very similar to what happens when we read words on a page. So it is easy to understand why someone reading words God had written on a page to think that it is actually God speaking to them.

The Bible is for us. It is God communicating to us, but God uses His voice to communicate specifically to you. A personal relationship with God requires you hearing words spoken specifically to you. It requires hearing His voice, reading His book is not Him speaking to you, it is not personal, but hearing His voice is personal. So we are preaching Jesus Christ, the One who speaks to you, as the Word of God, and use the Scriptures to tell people about Him.

I know that God is Spirit and I also know how to hear from God. That does not negate his written word. Sometimes my mind has lots of thoughts filtering in and out - and I know that all of those thoughts are not from God so knowing the written word helps me to discern those specific thoughts that are from God. Those thoughts will not be contrary to God's written word.

He maybe be found out about in the written word, but He is not found in the written word, you will find Him in your heart and on your lips. This might just be a matter of symantics, but it doesn't sound like it. It sounds more like incorrect thinking. The Scriptures are not God's home, you are God's home, or at least He wants you to be His home.

So when you go looking for the Lord, you don't do it by opening your Bible, you do it by listening to the thoughts on your heart and even the things that come out of your mouth.

If you suddenly decided to give money to a homeless person walking down the street, was that your thougths or His?

He is not the only spirit, so if you suddenly find yourself upset with someone you never met because of the clothes they wear or the color of their skin, whose thoughts were those?

I think I addressed this above. I do not think the way I am looking at the scriptures is "incorrect thinking" on my part. God inspired the written word and I think he means for it to be used as an instrument to get to know him, his son, and the Holy Spirit. Why else did he bother to inspire holy men to write it? Surely not to just sit on our coffee tables!

And if you are thinking the Scriptures give you eternal life, the Scriptures are alive because that is where God lives, where did those thoughts come from?

I don't recall saying that the scripture gives me eternal life - they do tell me how to receive eternal life - through faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul took all thought captive to Jesus Christ. We need to realize the the Lord is near us (in our heart and on our lips) so we can ask Him these questions, and know Jesus Christ as our Lord.

We all have a battle with powers and principalities, and we should be aware of the battle. The battle takes place inside us.

Rm 7:19-21 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwelss in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.

The Lord has me read and study the Bible. The first Rhema I heard from the Logos was "READ YOUR BIBLE [GRAPHE]". Yet the Lord was never the Bible nor did He live in the Bible, is lives in me. I am His home. So where should I look for Him?

[/QUOTE]I know that we have a spiritual battle going on. The word of God is part of the whole armour that I am to carry to help fight the battle and I consider scripture to be the word of God. In my spiritual battle I can do this: Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought to the obedience of Christ - but if I had not read that and learned that from the scripture I wouldn't know that I could apply that in my life.

 

[dkbwarrior]

Actually, He told them they searched the scriptures, thinking that in them they had life, but they didn't believe the scriptures they searched. Had they believed the scriptures they searched, they would have believed on Him, and had eternal life. The two go together. It's not one or the other.

I agree with this fully.

Part of the problem with this subject is that people can say the same thing, but mean totally different things.

The scriptures are the Word of God. The scriptures call themselves that in more than one place. But the Word of God is also a person, the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. The written Word by itself is just paper and ink, if written; or just pressure waves in the atmosphere if spoken. Neither of those things are God. But the scriptures are like seeds, they contain all the information of the whole. That is why Jesus likened the Word to a seed when He said the sower sows the Word. When you add water, or the Holy Spirit, the information is released and reveals the whole. The scriptures are more than paper and ink, they are information, and they contain the mind of God. When the Holy Spirit opens the scriptures to us, they reveal The Word, the person. We call that revelation.

It is really rather useless to debate this. Because it depends on the person. To one who does not know God, the scriptures are just non-living words. But to those that know God, the scriptures reveal Him to them.

I would add that is is through the exeeding great and precious promises contained in the scripture that we know Him and partake of the divine nature:

3According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
4Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
-2 Peter 1:3-4

Peace...

 

[Markus6]

The scriptures are the Word of God. The scriptures call themselves that in more than one place.

Could you possibly post these scriptures? Off the top of my head I can only think of one.