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In the Beginning

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In The Beginning Was The Word

Logos and Rhema

The New Testament translation of the word "word" is take from the Greek words "rhema" and "logos". Rhema refers to an utterance or a spoken word while logos refers to the thought, reason, or motive behind the spoken word. The logos of a thing enables understanding through spiritual evaluation of what it is; by the logos we understand the true nature or essence of a thing. To put it simply, when the Word is spoken, we, at heart level, get it! The Logos makes the Word more than sounds by putting spiritual understanding on the words. That's the purpose of the Logos of God. 

The rhema is spoken while the logos is the understanding behind the rhema; the rhema speaks but it is the logos that brings the light. The rhema gives information, but the logos enables one to hear inwardly. God gives to every man the ability to hear inwardly because God speaks to the heart. 

God Communicates

God does not leave us in spiritual darkness but by the Logos communicates the way of Salvation. Jesus, the Logos of John 1:1, communicates through His incarnation, He communicates by the words He spoke while on Earth, and He continues to speak today by the Holy Spirit and through the written word. 

The Logos Gives Light

God created us and He gives the specific ability to spiritually understand and therefore to "know" what He is saying. We can know because the purpose of the Logos is to give light. We understand language, we evaluate concepts, we discern, and we understand nuance. We're able to think critically, and, we have been given the ability to believe.

The very purpose of the Logos is to enable us to inwardly hear, to understand, and then believe.

The Message of Redemption

The message of Redemption is spiritual and God Himself, from the very beginning, communicates the need for, and the provision of, Redemption. From the beginning of Creation man sinned and from that original sin, death passed upon every human being. But were sin abounds, grace does much more abound; the Logos communicates Redemption through the blood sacrifice of a Substitute. We see God covering the sins of Adam and Eve. They didn't even ask Him, He by His mercy, slew and animal and covered their nakedness. It is the function of the Logos to give the inward light of forgiveness; Jesus wants us to hear and He wants us to know.

It is the message of Salvation that communicates the Father and Son, and both through the Logos,  the Word of God. If we want to understand God then we need to listen to Him. Jesus, who is the Word (Logos) of God, was sent, not only to redeem, but to clearly communicate the wisdom, love, and the Person of the Father. The most complete revelation of God is through the doctrines of Salvation which explain the nature and character of God!

We Are Created to Obtain Salvation

One could say that we are created to obtain Salvation for it is by being Saved we come to a knowledge of God. The purpose of God is not for us to know just anything, but we are created specifically to know the Lord through Salvation. He has sent the Logos whose message is Salvation, and of reconciliation to God through the Cross of Christ. Our calling and purpose is to hear, to evaluate, to understand, and then believe what God is saying. And because He has built into each of us the ability to hear, to understand, and to believe, we have no excuse for not hearing, not understanding, and not believing what God, by the Logos, has said.

Jesus, the Word of God, Communicates Redemption

Jesus, while on Earth, communicated over and over the way of Salvation. He said very plainly that unless the people accepted Him as the Savior, that they would die in their sins. He gave them abundant evidence of His claims as the Son of God: His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, and His fulfillment of Messianic prophecies. He raised the dead, He commanded Nature and it obeyed Him, He spoke truth, He was merciful to sinners, and He gave His life to redeem His people from their sins. He takes their guilt and then makes His people perfectly righteous. And then He rose from the dead and now sits at the right hand of God, far above all principality and power, waiting until His enemies become His footstool. We should listen to Him!

The Logos Speaks Through the Scriptures

Jesus as the Word, continues to communicate through the Scriptures. The message has not changed. He continues to tell us HE is the only way of Salvation, and that He is the only way to know the Father. No one comes to the Father but by Him. With the Scriptures, we are given the full doctrines of Salvation. Book after book of the New Testament fully explains the doctrines of Salvation. Words specific to Salvation are used: justification, election, atonement, satisfaction, propitiation, sanctification, adoption, forgiveness, pardon, faith, belief, and resurrection. There are many more words that are specific to Salvation but these are examples of language specific to Redemption so that we might fully understand how it is that a man is saved and brought into the knowledge of God.

By Salvation We Know The Lord

Each person is called to know the Lord through the doctrines of Salvation. It is through Christ, our Redeemer, that we can know the Lord. The Logos specifically communicates the knowledge of God by telling us how to be saved, and, since the Logos speaks to our understanding, our calling is to know and believe what He is saying.

If we have filled our heads and our lives with every kind of knowledge but do not understand the way of Salvation then we have failed in the purpose of our existence.

If God began with the Logos (in the beginning was the Word) for the purpose of knowing Him, then we know, that above everything else, we are to hear, understand, and believe the Logos of God. This is the purpose of our existence.

We Are Called to Know the Doctrines of Salvation

Every born-again Christian should be able to intelligently discuss the language of Salvation: atonement, forgiveness, justification, sanctification, propitiation, adoption, and satisfaction are a good beginning. We should be able to discuss election and pre-destination? Jesus has come not only to save but to communicate a specific body of knowledge, apart from which we cannot fully know Him, and apart from which we cannot be saved. God has a reason for saying these things and He has called us to know and understand the doctrines of Salvation!

The Beginning of Wisdom

The Scripture tells us the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy is understanding. We live in a digital age, which is an information age. Information is everywhere and there are so many interesting things to know, but our calling is not to know about everything. Our calling and purpose is to know the Lord through Salvation and then communicate to others how to know the Lord through Salvation. 

The Most Dangerous Sin

The most dangerous sin is not stealing, not covetousness, and not the moral sins which are so prevalent. No, the sin that will lead millions and millions to destruction is the sin of heresy. The religious practices people trust to save them, but cannot save because there is no life in them. They are but symbols, trinkets, statues, and rituals.

Entire people groups, nations, believing in a way of Salvation that will not save. And part of the reason for their lost condition is the Church, who is charged with knowing the Gospel, is largely unable to make an effective defense of the Gospel. There is no longer an emphasis on the Doctrines of Salvation or on the words specific to Salvation. May the Lord lead the Church once again to study, and learn, so that we might know the Lord and then be able to communicate that knowledge. 

Do Our Children Understand?

Every Christian, at the very minimum, needs a Bible they can understand, a good Bible Commentary, a Bible Dictionary, and a local assembly that believes and teaches the Word of God. Every parent must assume the responsibility for the Biblical education of their children. If our children know more about computers, video games, and Lady GaGa, then we have failed to communicate to them the very purpose of their mind, their heart, and the purpose of their life. We need to prepare our children for eternity!

We Can Begin Today

But today is a new day and we can turn around, we can make a fresh start. If we realize we know many things but not the most important things, then today we can begin knowing the things God has created us to know. In the beginning was the Word (Logos) tells us that before anything else, we are to hear and then understand what God is saying to us. If God began with the Logos, then we also should begin with the Logos. If He gave us the ability to know and understand, then our purpose is to know and understand the Lord and we start by hearing the Logos!

God bless you,

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Thank you,

Jim