We have all heard it in a sermon, read it in a theological book, or perhaps said it ourselves: “the Bible is the Word of God.”
Interestingly, the Bible doesn’t make this claim about itself. Instead, it makes this claim about the Spirit of God that was in Jesus according to John 1:1.
Scriptures referring to the Word of God never refer to the Bible. For example, Moses says: “The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram.'” (Genesis 15:1). It was not the Bible that spoke to Abram. He heard the Word of God before any scriptures were written and before the Bible was compiled.
John says: “I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True … He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.” (Revelation 19:11-13). John did not see the Bible: he saw Jesus. Hebrews also proclaims: “The Word of God is living and powerful.., and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12). Certainly, this is not referring to the Bible. The Bible contains words written on pages of paper. It cannot discern the thoughts and intents of its readers. But this is Jesus’ specialty: “I am He who searches the minds and hearts.” (Revelation 2:23).
Jesus maintains there is no life in the Scriptures. He says: “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40).
Even if the Bible had dropped down out of the sky, or if God had emailed us the PDF directly, even if no humans were involved in writing, editing, compiling, and deciding on which documents to include (OT, NT). The Bible would only be a document but not the Word of God.
Paul tells us that all Scripture is “God-breathed,” but we almost always fail to experience the “the breath” of His speaking. It seems that we make a leap from Scripture being inspired, “God-breathed” as it states in 2 Timothy 3:16 to Scripture being this inerrant, perfect document, given to us from the very hand of God, without the possibility of humans altering its original content.
John says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him, nothing was made that was made.” (John 1:1-3). Again, it is Jesus, not the Bible, that is the Word of God.
Concerning Jesus as “the Word of God,” John 1:14 clearly states: “But the Word was made flesh.” According to Jesus in John 14:29, He consistently actualized this reality by saying, “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.”
And where did Jesus hear the voice of the Father (the Word of God)? Obviously, this happened within His mind.
So fundamentally, “the Word of God” should be more accurately viewed and experienced as the voice of God dressed in your flesh, speaking whatever is on His mind within your mind concerning anything about His will for your life.
The “He” in verse two should not be viewed solely as the human Jesus, but more importantly, as the voice of God embodied within the flesh of Jesus. This is the same “He” that Scripture clearly states is responsible for “speaking” into existence all that we find in the six days of creation in Genesis chapter one. And the same “He” (the Spirit of God) that is inherently present within “You” within His Kingdom beginning with the creation of your mind and body on this earth when you were created within your Mother’s womb (Psalms 139: 13-18; Matthew 6:33, Luke 17: 21; 22:29). It is here, within your mind, that the Word of God is spoken and experienced according to His language, which is truth.
So what is the purpose of Scripture?
Scripture is a historical account of God revealing Himself to humans, leading up to and culminating in the fullest revelation of God possible: the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus all Scripture must be understood through the Spirit of God (both forward and backward), and thankfully He has endowed us with His Spirit to do just that.
We should never read Scripture (the Bible) and call it “the Word of God.” Instead, we should hear “the Word of God” to receive the His interpretation of its content, and more importantly, the content regarding His-Script for your life.
So what am I saying? Am I saying that the Bible isn’t necessary nor important? Am I saying it’s just some book written by humans with nothing special about it? Am I saying we don’t have to take it seriously? Live by it? Learn from it? No, here’s “My” why.
I am personally under the conviction that if the Bible is inspired by God, a belief that is held historically and universally among Christians. And if man or woman is intended to live “not by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God” (Matthew. 4:4), then the very teachings of Scripture constitute a revelation. Scripture’s primary purpose has to be used only as a resource to teach people how to hear and learn from God, just like Jesus experienced as a human being. If the Scriptures are being used for any other reason, then manmade doctrines, philosophies, and religious practices are being taught. Although valuable in many respects and varying degrees, these cannot compare to the infinite wealth of knowledge that comes directly from experiencing the mouth of God within our minds.
Whenever the Scriptures are used to produce doctrines or dogmas versus being used to teach a person how to experience the Word of God within our minds, then the sacredness and life-transforming power of the Scriptures is removed.
My goal with this post is not to tear down Scripture or in any way diminish its importance for living a God-inspired Christian life. I love Scripture! I am committed to the Bible. I have devoted the better part of my life to studying it and acquiring the tools to learn it as deeply as possible. I could not feel more strongly about the importance of Scripture and the critical role it plays in living the Christian life.
But this the notion that the Bible is inerrant and that it’s the final authority and all matters related to God and that it’s the Word of God does not serve us well because they place experiencing the inerrant Word of God in the wrong location: a book.
Herein lies the problem with referring to and believing that the Bible is “the Word of God.” It continually fosters a limiting mindset and experience with God. Though some may not want to admit it, referring to the Bible as the “the Word of God” produces a nonverbal replacement for the real thing: the voice of God experienced within one’s mind.
It’s important to remember that “the Word of God” is a Spirit that speaks and teaches and that it resides within you.
When we assert that the Bible is the Word of God, we are diminishing what it means to possess the Word of God. The Bible is a book. Just like any other book, it contains words, propositions, stories, ideologies, and philosophies. But it contains something far greater than any other book that has ever been written. If used accurately, it contains revelation knowledge to experience the Word of God personally as a teaching Spirit within one’s mind.
Yet why are most Christians taught that the Bible is the “the Word of God?”
The Difference Between Logos and Rhema
Far too often, those who teach the Scriptures advocate major theological assumptions based on manmade denominational doctrines at best and third-hand information at worst. Thus, eminence in the realm of preaching and teaching produces blindness and incompetence in another domain – that of teaching Scriptures from definitive, root word perspectives.
Along these lines, a few Greek words have made it to the top of the list. In such cases, Greek terms are juxtaposed and forced into molds not fitting their native shape.
For example, preachers will use the Greek words chronos and kairos to describe the concept of time. Without question, discerning the distinction of these two terms uncovers great truths. Nevertheless, I have heard entire sermons – in one instance, an entire sermon series – based on a misapplication of chronos and kairos.
What about these heavyweight words: logos and rhema? Do the similarities and contrasts present in these two words contain theological gold? How do these terms, each most often translated as “word,” interact with one another? And most importantly, what does the interplay of these two keywords teach us that we should be experiencing regarding the inner Spoken Word of God every day of our lives?
The Totality of Logos
In the charismatic world, we’re overwhelmed with all kinds of teaching from all over the world. Some of it is legitimate, and some are not. In the last two decades or so, a doctrine has spread that there is a significant difference between rhema and logos. It’s been taught that rhema is the Spoken Word from God to each individual, whereas logos is God’s written word as we have it in the Bible.
The main scriptural passages used to prove their point is John 1:1-2, 14: “In the beginning was the Word [logos], and the Word [logos] was with God, and the Word [logos] was God. He was in the beginning with God . . . And the Word [logos] 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.”
Just think how absurd and erroneous it is to substitute “the Word” (logos) in John’s verses for “the Bible” or “Scripture.” The problem is that if logos only referred to the Scripture found in the Bible, it would read:
“In the beginning was the Bible, and the Bible was with God, and the Bible was God. He was in the beginning with God . . . And the Bible 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.”
Strongs’ Concordance defines logos as “something said” versus something written. Thayer’s Greek Dictionary of Biblical Words defines logos as “a word uttered by a living voice that embodies a conception or idea, the sayings of God, a narration reported through speech” (G3056 1a,e). This definition enlightens us that the Bible is a form of logos in that it conveys the ideas, sayings, and will of God for humanity according to the “original” inspired writings.
From a scriptural perspective, the above definition for logos doesn’t encompass the totality of what logos is. According to Psalms 139: 16, there is also a more personal form of logos, a book that God has authored about your life that you will not find in the Scriptures. It only exists within the mind of God. Most Christians aren’t taught about this book. It’s the most important form of Script-sure that you can experience because it’s the Script (God’s will) for your life.
We must not be afraid of what our studies of the Scriptures reveal. And we must also not be afraid to admit that maybe we have been taught in error, as in my case. I was taught that the references to logos in the Bible were solely applied to the written Word (the Bible) and that rhema was the Spoken Word of God until my studies and the Spirit of God revealed something different.
We should also never come to the Scriptures with preconceived ideas. It is dangerous to merely accept what we are taught from the pulpit or in conferences by “reputable” teachers. We must be like the Bereans in Acts 17:10-12 who, after hearing Paul and Silas teach in their synagogue did not just presume that what they taught was true but took it a step further; they “searched the Scriptures daily” to see if what Paul and Silas had been teaching was indeed true.
There’s an important principle for all of us in Acts 17:11. God wants us to listen thoughtfully and critically to Bible teaching, taking care to evaluate the teaching based on personal examination of Scripture.
Much of what is propagated as being “Berean” is simply studying Scriptures under our favorite fivefold minister. We study the Scriptures, but our minds are already influenced by the interpretation/exegesis of our favorite preacher. When this occurs, we think God’s Spirit sounds exactly like their favorite preacher/teacher/Bible school lecturer in most minds.
We need to do all that we can to be like the Bereans who kept on comparing what Paul and Silas taught against the Scriptures they had, according to the ancient languages that it was written in. In doing so, what will be clearly revealed is that the foundational purpose of the Bible is to teach people how to experience God’s inner Spoken Word.
God provided both logos and rhema for our benefit.
Genuinely engaging in a meaningful word study requires deep intellectual and spiritual engagement. However, the treasure one uncovers proves well worth the digging. We will only benefit from what we apply. However, we cannot fully apply what we do not properly understand.
The Ultimate Form of Logos
The ultimate form of logos, from the ancient Hebrew perspective, is known as a sepher siphrah (Strong H1697: AHLB#: 2093 N, el). It’s biblically described as a book that God has authored on your personal life. Its content can only be experienced by God revealing to your mind His thoughts concerning it.
“And in Your book (logos/sepher siphrah) they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” (Psalms 139: 16b-17).
James 1:21 refers to this inner-experience as experiencing “the engrafted word (logos) that is able to save your soul” which, as we see below in Psalms 139: 16-17, is described as the “precious” and “sum” total of God’s thoughts for your life. These “days” referred to in the same Scripture are fashioned for us according to God’s will before they even began. This is the type of “word” (logos) that Jesus received every day of His life according “to the volume of the book” that was written about His life (Isaiah 50: 4-5; Hebrews 10:5-7).
This was His logos that He fleshed out. We are also meant to flesh out our own logos once we discover how to experience the book’s content through the kingdom of God that resides within our minds. In other words, we all have our own personal book (logos/sepher siphrah), just like Jesus had.
“And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” (Psalms 139: 16b-17).
The word rhema is the Greek word for “the utterance or the Spoken Word of God” (G4487). It’s an experience that God inherently designed for us to experience within our minds. Psalms 51:6 refers to it as experiencing “the hidden part.” Jesus referred to it as experiencing “the secret” place and “the kingdom of God that is within you” (Matthew 6:6; Luke 17:21).
As mentioned before, a simple study of the word logos using a Strong’s Concordance reveals that it is not defined as “something that is written” but instead is defined as “something said” by way of a “thought.” As with rhema, we hear the voice of God within our minds by way of thoughts that He thinks towards us, according to Jeremiah 29:11. Logos, in this case, is a personal, continual narrative account for your life, which Psalms 139:16 describes as a “book” of your life that God has authored. You can only access this as the Spirit of God reveals it to you within your mind.
Receiving Dabar
According to the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible, when a person experiences logos directly from the Spirit of God, they experience knowledge referred to as dabar: “a careful arrangement or placement of words that creates an order of life that comes through speech” (Strong H1697: AHLB#: 2093). In Hebrew thought, words contain the potential to create tangible substance. Dabar isn’t just a sound or doctrine that comes from the speech of God; God’s words are purposed to create action or an event. When you receive dabar from the mind of God within your mind, you receive “faith” filled with a dynamic power that compels you to move towards producing something and acting out what was said (Romans 10:17).
Fundamentally, dabar is not just a word but also a deed. According to Hebrew thought, the implication is that when someone truly receives dabar from the mouth of God as it relates to God’s purposes for his or her life, it produces an inner drive, a passion for bringing forth the reality of what has already seen by God!
Jesus received dabar every morning when He positioned Himself to hear and learn from the rhema of God regarding the content that was contained within the book (logos) for His life (Isaiah 50: 4-5; Mark 1:35; Hebrews 10:5-7).
Another way of viewing this process is this: when the Spirit of God speaks to you within your mind regarding any topic, you are experiencing rhema. But when the Spirit of God speaks to you regarding the content of the book on your life, you are experiencing the personal logos that you are ordained to live out in your life.
Our personal logos is the most amazing discovery that we make when we authentically “seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33) that has been inherently placed within us. We access this through a meditative mindset purposed to tap into the mind of God within us.
When you discover your personalized logos that God has authored on your life, you discover the script for your life that contains God’s will and your life’s purposes – the reasons God created you. You receive glimpses of your future through visions from God inwardly revealed to you, as well as the details concerning them.
This process is similar to an actor getting a script from the screenwriter for a part they are about to portray in a motion picture. The script will contain words that the actor must repeat as well as details of the scenes that will take place. The script equips the actor with foreknowledge and visualization. The actor is given a glimpse of the future before it comes to pass.
Your personal logos functions in the same way. It functions as a curriculum and the script for your life, like a manual that God uses to instruct you in His will and ways for your life.
This revelation that we all have a personalized God-authored logos came to me during my study time and was confirmed by God during one of my prayer and learning sessions with Him. His confirmation that such a book existed led me to take a deeper look into the written Scriptures to see if the Bible I’ve been using for over 20 years contains information on such a book.
What I discovered literally put me in a state of shock. Over the past 20 years, I’ve probably attended 2,000 church services, numerous religious conferences, and hundreds of Bible studies. I’ve also completed a number of religious certification courses. I don’t remember anyone teaching me about or even mentioning that such a book exists. And yet, it was the secret to the effectiveness of Jesus’ prayer life; it is also the key to the effectiveness that we should be experiencing in our prayer lives. I wrote about this extensively in chapters eight and fourteen – “The Logos Book on your Life” and “How to Hear and See Like Jesus” of the second book in this series: The Mystery of Prayer Revealed.
What shocked me the most was that after I discovered that this book is a biblical concept, I quickly realized that my life did not line up with that book’s contents, which contained the detailed will of God for my life. I was writing my own book, my own script, according to my will and the will of others. This book included my assumptions of God’s will for my life. The problem was that, when it comes down to it, assumptions don’t cut it. I was, in essence, writing a book of fiction with my life. I wasn’t living from a reference point of truth that originates in God. At times, my life took on the storyline of a joke book. In other seasons of my life, it probably looked more like the plot of a horror story. Some parts might have read like a romance novel, and in a few places followed the line of inspirational fiction … but it wasn’t the logos for my life as God had foreseen and written before I was even born.
A failure to discover the book that God authored for your life is a failure to discover the story of your life, as it should be. The process of experiencing the logos for His life is what gave Jesus a precise awareness of all the events that He encountered before they ever happened. This is how “And the Word [logos] was made flesh and dwelt amongst us” (John 1:14). This is the same process we should eventually experience as we are spiritually matured within the kingdom of God that resides within our minds through the personalized teaching by the Spirit of God.
Listening intently to the inner-Word, “the engrafted word that is able to save your soul” (James 1:21), the inner-logos, enables us to enjoy inner-rhema – “the utterance or the Spoken Word of God.” This dual experience ultimately has the power to transform your life!.
Like Jesus’ Word (logos), Ephesians 1:3-5 teaches us this type of “Word” concerning your life was “in the beginning,” was “with God,” and “was” God. If you do not access this inner-system of knowledge, you will automatically default to other learning systems – the world’s, your own, or other religions’ learning systems.
Thus, if the Word of God was with God in the beginning, where is it now? One thing is for sure; it cannot be in a Bible. Moses tells us where to find it. He says: “It is not up in heaven so that you have to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ No, the Word (dabar) is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so you may obey it.” (Deuteronomy 30:12-14).
Good Shepherd’s Voice
Throughout my journey as a Christian, I’ve personally experienced and have come to see Christians as falling into three groups: Biblists, Followers, and Spiritualist. The Biblists seem to be more interested in the literal interpretation of Scripture according to the language they read it in or how it is taught to them through their religious organization. The Followers are those that mainly attend church and believe whatever is being taught to them without doing in-depth word study to see if what they are being taught is true. The Spiritualist are those that do the in-depth word studies and are more concerned with how Jesus and other biblical people experienced the Word of God within the inherent Kingdom within their minds as a Fathering, guiding and teaching Spirit.
Those who cannot hear God often contest the witness of those who can. However, Jesus says: “My sheep hear My voice.” (John 10: 27). He does not say: “My sheep read the Scripture/Bible.”
When Christians want to hear from God, we go to our pastors to get a “word” and ask them to tell us what God is saying to us. The pastors hardly ever admit they don’t know. They come up with scriptures and maintain they are the Word of God for us. But this is often like reading someone’s old letters and then insisting they are actually addressed to us. Scripture from the mouth of a pastor can inspire, but it’s not the Word of God.
The problem with many Christians is that we don’t have a relationship with God. Instead, what we have is a relationship with a pastor (a human shepherd), a church group, and a Bible. We can read the Bible and quote some scriptures, but we cannot hear the Spoken Word of God. This was my predicament for the longest time. But when I finally experienced the same Spirit that Jesus as a human being experienced, the voice and Word of God within me at the age of 46, He opened my ears so I can now hear and learn from Him. He then quickened Scripture, which meant nothing to me before, into a vibrant Word of God for my life according to His interpretations of it.
According to Jesus, the Word of God is: “every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4). In order for the scriptures in our Bible to come alive, they have to be spoken again by the mouth of God according to His interpretation. This is fulfilled when God gives them to us personally, tailoring them precisely to our different situations and circumstances.
The Bible is Not Inerrant
Another point to ponder concerning our modern-day Bibles is the false notion that the Bible is inerrant or incapable of being altered. Much has been documented throughout history concerning people and events such as Tertullian, Augustine, Constantine, the Council of Nicea, and others that changed certain portions of Scripture to control and instill fear in the people they had influence over.
You may be asking at this point, is Julio really saying the Bible is not inerrant? So, if Scripture is not inerrant, what is it? If there are errors, how do I know where they are? How do I keep from going down a slippery slope where I toss out anything that I discover has been altered? These are serious questions.
This is what makes people nervous. The short answer to these vital questions is to do definitive root-word word studies yourself and, more importantly, let God teach you His interpretation. We must always keep in mind that God is all-knowing, including His “knowing” of the Scriptures. So who better to get the interpretation of Scripture than the original Inspirer of them and the All-Knower Himself.
The doctrines of inerrancy and the Bible being the final authority are only useful if I want to use the Bible to confront you, tell you how to live, layout what God has called you to do or be. But this is not how we are meant to use Scripture. It is not a tool that helps me pick the speck out of my brother’s eye. It is a mirror that shows me the beam in my own eye.
Scripture carries the weight and importance it does, not because it is some magic book I can use at my discretion.
The Word of God confronts us, interprets us, not the other way around. The Word of God knocks us off our horses on the Damascus Road, interrupts us in all of our religious zeal, and asks, “Why do you persecute Me?”
This is a radical departure from how many churches and Christians view and use the Bible presently.
The only “right” or most-effective reading of Scripture is when God’s Spirit gives you His interpretation and application of it. His interpretation empowers you to heal and become the best version of yourself that culminates in “You” becoming a Father impersonator just like Jesus, impersonating God according to His will for your life.
Again, a revelation worth repeating. Paul tells us that all Scripture is “God-breathed,” but we almost always fail to experience the “the breath” of His speaking.
Though studying the Bible from definitive root word perspectives is immensely rewarding. The most important form of study that we can do in life is not Bible study. But more importantly, mind-study to locate God within it to experience the breath of His speaking and teaching.
When trying to locate God, search your mind first. This is the reason that Jesus plainly encourages us to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness for the kingdom of God is within you. I present to you a kingdom, just as My Father presented one upon Me” (Matthew 6:33; Luke 17:21, 22:29).
It’s important to remember that “the Word of God” is a Spirit that speaks and teaches. All humanity possesses “the Word of God.” Yet some experience it, and some don’t for different reasons.
So I am not saying the Bible is unimportant or to be marginalized. Quite the contrary.
I am saying that it is so important, so critical to the life of the church, the body of Christ, that we can only trust Jesus (the Spoken Word) to interpret it correctly for us. Any interpretation that does not begin and end with Jesus (the Spoken Word) is bound to go wrong. You can only understand the Word of God through the person named “The Word of God.”