“Why Do We Read The Bible?”

Have you ever wonder why it’s important to read the Bible? When we meet a new friend and we decide that we want to get to know her better, we plan times to get together and bond, share experiences and learn what is important to each of us. If you court someone, you share your hopes and dreams as you begin to link your lives one to another. In all human relationships, we need to draw near to someone in intimacy and disclose who we are to the other person.

When you really know someone you can go out shopping and see something and say “wow that looks like something my friend would love.” When you hear their voice on the phone you recognize it immediately. If someone tells you your friend said something, you would know that it is or isn’t something they would say, and if you see them from the back in the middle of a crowd, you would recognize their gait, the way they move, and their overall demeanor.

 You make this effort with your side by side companions, how much more is it important to draw near to God and really know Him? Do you recognize His voice? Would that be something He would say that agrees with His Word? Do you know what He loves and what He hates and why? He longs to draw near to you but He never infringes in your free will. Do you make the time to know Him deeply, not in a surface way but as your best friend?

 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 NKJV

 In Greek there are two primary words that describe Scripture which are translated as “Word” in the New Testament. The first word is Logos and refers to the total inspired Word of God and to Jesus, who is the living Logos.

The Word was God. It is His character, His heart, His personality, the way in which He interacts through all things. To get to know what He loves and what He hates and know what He would say and HOW HE WOULD SAY IT, is all in the Word. I think that many people have been turned off by the God they heard about, not the God who is. You need to know Him; there is nothing in Him that would repel you, for He loves you right where you are, and He is always on your side to save you even from yourself.

 “…If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31 NKJV

 You read the Word to know Him, to hear His voice, to be disciple, taught by Him, and to directly give Him the opportunity to speak to you in your present situations.

The second Greek word for Scripture is Rhema. Rhema refers to a spoken word and means “an utterance.” When we read God’s Word (Logos), we should seek and ask God to speak to us through the Scripture and give us insight, direction, and understanding.

A Rhema word is brought through the Holy Spirit by a verse or portion of Scripture that speaks directly to you. The Word comes alive through Scripture directly to your heart and situation. It becomes a part of your daily thoughts and actions. It is your personal conversation with the God that we seek to know better and better.

 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10:17 NKJV

• “In the beginning was the Word [logos], and the Word [logos] was with God, and the Word [logos] was God” (John 1:1).
• “The seed is the word [logos] of God” (Luke  8:11)
• “Holding forth the word [logos] of life”  (Philippians 2:16).
• “Study to show thyself approved  unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the      word [logos] of      truth” (II Timothy 2:15).
• “For the word [logos] of God is quick, and  powerful” (Hebrews 4:12).
• “Being born again, not of   corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word [logos] of God, which liveth      and abideth forever” (I Peter 1:23).

 Biblical Insights Into Rhemas:

The following passages of Scripture provide insight into the rhemas of God:

• “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word [rhema]      of God” (Romans 10:17)
• “And  take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the  word [rhema] of God” (Ephesians 6:17)
• When  the angel told Mary that she would have a child, “Mary said, Behold the  handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word [rhema]” (Luke 1:38).
• Simeon  recalled the promise that he would see Christ before he died: “Now  lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word (Luke 2:29). rhema]” God  gave John the message he was to preach as a forerunner to Christ: “The word [rhema] of God came unto John” (Luke 3:2)
• God reminded Peter of His Word: “Then remembered I the word [rhema] of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 11:16)
• Jesus told Peter he would deny Him. “Peter remembered the word [rhema] of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice” (Matthew 26:75)

Every word of God is inspired, and “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). It is the Holy Spirit Who illuminates particular Scriptures for application in a daily walk with the Lord.

The words of Jesus are significant on this point. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word [rhema] that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Jesus also stated, “The words [rhema] that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).

When God gives a rhema for us to act upon, He often confirms it by a second rhema, that “in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word [rhema] be established” (II Corinthians 13:1).

I encourage you to pick two verses focus on daily. Study them, take notes, and contemplate how they apply to you. Also remember God isn’t a God of legalism, it doesn’t matter what time of day; God just wants you to get to know Him.

Dr. Michele 

Copyright © 2013 by Michele Fleming Ph.D.