I hope you have taken some time to ponder part 1. (If you haven’t read that yet, I recommend that you start there.) That last line is supposed to get you thinking. You need to let it stew for a while to get the full benefit. This meal is definitely not take away. Sit down and chew your food.
So what’s the big deal? Isn’t this all just an issue of semantics? I guess you can tell that I think it’s much more than that. We are in the unfortunate situation that some key concepts in Scripture do not translate well from Greek to English, and what really makes this a big deal is that many of the words that don’t translate well are foundational concepts. We build on these concepts and so when we misunderstand them the effect is not limited to a small area, but like yeast in dough, it affects the entire batch.
What is more, the unique nature of these words and the way we have used them amplify the impact. Two great examples of this are “love” and “word”. I’ll keep “love” for another day, for now I want to talk about “word”.
So what makes “word” so unique? Well, the problem is that in English Bible translations, it is used to refer to some very general ideas, such as words (sounds we make which have particular meaning) and also to some very specific ideas, such as Christ, without us being able to see the difference. All we read is “word”. The translation obscures much of the nuance and even obvious meaning.
The English word “word” in the New Testament is translated from mainly two different words in Greek: λόγος (logos) and ῥῆμα (rhema). I have heard it said that logos refers to the written word and rhema to the spoken word. Now, I have done some digging and I simply can’t find where that idea comes from. It certainly does not match up with how those words are used in Scripture.
The root of rhema is ῥέω (rheo), which means “to flow”. So rhema has to do with words that flow; actively speaking, prophesying, etc. This one is quite simple to understand.
Logos, on the other hand, is a completely different kettle of fish. The root is λέγω (lego): “I say”, or “to lay forth”. So at first glance, logos has to do with communication involving discourse or explanation. We get “logic” from the same root. Aristotle used the term in connection with his modes of persuasion (ways of laying out an argument), and lastly, logos was a philosophical concept of the day: The logos was thought of as the most fundamental truth, the source code of the universe, the reasoning of the Creator, if you will. The mind of God.
Logos made flesh
This is where my revelation comes in. At the time of Christ, Greek philosophy was debating the origin of life as part of trying to understand the meaning of life. They were basically stuck at the question of what was at the beginning? How did it all start? As I understand it, the predominant idea at the time was that in the beginning, there was chaos.
But John came and dropped a nuke on their world views, he proclaimed that contrary to the best minds of the day, in the beginning, there was logos!
As if that wasn’t enough to blow their minds, that logos, the mind of God, the source code of the universe took on flesh and was revealed to man on earth!
“In the beginning was the logos, and the logos was with God, and the logos was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made…The logos became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
I don’t know about you, but to me the idea of Christ as the “mind of God made flesh” is awesome! It makes so many things make sense in a whole new way. Now I understand what Paul meant in Colossians 1:
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
It gets even better! In Hebrews 1 the logos, the mind of God, sustains all things by speaking:
“but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful rhema.”
There is so much to be said about this! It’s definitely worth a separate article.
How about Jesus speaking in John 5:
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
Well of course the Son only does what He sees the Father doing, He is the embodiment of the mind of God!
Hallelujah! I find this to be so powerful. There is so much meaning to these scriptures that make so much more sense in the context of Christ as the logos. I can (and have) ponder this for ages.
I hope you can see how the English word “word” in this context of Jesus as the logos is simply insufficient. There is just no way for it to ever convey any of the power of this concept at all. Sadly, I have found that it is not only insufficient, but also misleading. Let me elaborate.
Today, in the English speaking church (probably true in other languages as well, but outside the scope of this article), we use the term “word” colloquially to refer to the Scriptures. So we like to say “the Word of God” when we’re talking about the Bible. We study “the Word”, we teach “the Word”, we proclaim “the Word”.
While we like to describe the Bible as “the Word of God”, we find that “the Word of God” in Scripture is something completely different. This is where the problem starts rearing its head.
Instead of “the Word of God” being a glorious celebration and explanation of Jesus, the embodiment of the logos, the mind of God made flesh, we see the Bible being substituted into this idea! Somehow the “eternal Word of God” refers to Scripture. We end up ascribing God-like qualities to a collection of writings. I hope you see the problem. This is idolatry, pure and simple.
I mentioned that logos had a few different uses during the time of Christ. We have dealt with one, arguably the most important one, the philosophical use of logos describing Christ. In my next article, we’ll talk about logos as it occurs most often in the New Testament.
Continued in Part 3.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and to discuss this further, please consider leaving a comment.