The Precious Word of God, Message Two
The Bible—God’s Breathing
Day 3
A. Truth—truth replaces the vanity of corruption with the reality of all the divine riches
Ephesians 5:26 That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word.
John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
Titus 3:5 Not out of works in righteousness which we did but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,
Read over the outline points and verses above and use these for your prayer to spend time with the Lord in the Word in the morning. After your prayer time, jot down in your notebook one or two things that the Lord touched you with. Afterward, read the following portion, either in your morning time or sometime later in the day.
Reading Portion:
THE CLEANSING OF THE CHURCH BY THE WASHING OF THE WATER IN THE WORD (Ephesians 5:26)
We must notice this phrase “by the washing of the water in the word.” In the New Testament two Greek words are used to denote word. One is logos, referring to the word in a general sense; the other is rhema, which although translated as word in Scripture, means something quite different from logos. Logos refers both to things which have been eternally determined and to things used in an objective way. This is word, as we generally use it, and word, as it is generally known in Christianity. But rhema refers to words which are spoken. This is more subjective than logos. Let us look at several passages in the New Testament where rhema is used.
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 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…. 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. (The Glorious Church, Chapter 3)
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