The Rhema of God

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words [Greek:  rhema] that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life" (the Lord Jesus as recorded in John 6:63; emphasis is in the Greek text). The following poignant words are from the collection of Watchman Nee's teachings transcribed in the book The Glorious Church.

"In Luke 2:29 Simeon said, 'Now You release Your slave, Master, according to Your word, in peace.' 'Word' in this verse is rhema. Before the Lord Jesus came, God spoke His word to Simeon that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord's Christ. But on the day he saw the Lord Jesus, Simeon said, 'Now You release Your slave, Master, according to Your word, in peace.' Simeon had rhema from the Lord. It was not according to a certain chapter or a certain verse in the Bible, but it was according to the word spoken to him on that day by the Lord.

"Merely having the word from a certain chapter and verse in the Bible is not sufficient. Only the word which the Lord speaks to us is of any use. The rhema reveals something to us personally and directly; it shows us what we need to deal with and what we need to be cleansed from. We must specifically seek after this very matter, because our Christian life is based on this rhema.

"What word has God really spoken to us, and how has He spoken to us? We must remember that today's Christianity is still the Christianity of personal revelation. If the Lord does not speak within man, it is not Christianity, nor is it the New Testament.

"Luke 3:2 says, 'During the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zachariah in the wilderness.' 'Word' in this verse is also rhema.

"Luke 5:5 says, 'Simon answered and said, Master, through the whole night we toiled and caught nothing; but based on Your word I will let down the nets.' The 'word' in this verse was something spoken by the Lord for that occasion. It was the Lord speaking personally to Simon. This is rhema. The Lord did not speak in a certain chapter and verse of the Scripture that Simon should let down the net. If someone attempted to walk on the sea because of Matthew 14:29, he would certainly sink. This is not the word which the Lord is speaking today, though He did speak it on that day.

"It is true that the word spoken by God in the past and the word He speaks today carry the same authority; they have never changed. But the important thing is this: Is God speaking that very word to us today?

"Luke 24:8 says, 'They remembered His words (rhema).' In short what is rhema? Rhema is something the Lord has spoken previously which He is now speaking again. In other words, rhema is the word which the Lord speaks the second time. This is something living.

"In Acts 11:16 Peter said, 'And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, John baptized in water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit.' While Peter was preaching to the household of Cornelius, the Spirit of the Lord fell upon them, and the word of the Lord came to Peter. It was not that Peter tried to recall the word from his memory, but it was the Lord who spoke to him, 'John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit.'

"We will always treasure the fact that the Lord still speaks today. He not only spoke in the Scriptures, He not only spoke to Paul and John, He is also speaking to us today. The word of the Lord has never ceased.

"Whenever someone who is working for the Lord stands up to speak for Him, he must expect the rhema. If the Lord does not speak to us today, we are really failures. How many times have we preached, yet the Lord did not speak a word? It is not that there was something wrong with the message, but it was all the general word of the Lord; there was no rhema in it.

"The problem with the church today is that it lacks the living word of the Lord; instead there are only dead doctrines. There is a real shortage of direct communication from God. There is only a passing on of man's preaching. It is pitiful that so many people have died under good doctrines! May God have mercy upon us and give us rhema. May He speak personally and directly to us today. Only when we have rhema can we move ahead and have the living water to supply to others. What we need is rhema."