John 6:63 says, "The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life." Did the Jews not have the logos of God? Yes, they did. They were very familiar with it and could recite the Old Testament commandments very well, but it was of no use to them. Only the words which the Lord spoke to them were spirit and life. Only rhema is spirit and life.

Mark 14:72 says, "And immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered the word, how Jesus had said to him, Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times. And thinking upon it, he wept." Peter recalled the rhema that Jesus had spoken to him. The rhema was that which was brought to his remembrance. While Peter was telling a lie, suddenly rhema came. The very sentence of the Lord came to him. Rhema is the word which the Lord has spoken, and now He speaks it again.

In Luke 1:38 Mary said, "Behold, the slave of the Lord. May it happen to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her." In this verse rhema is used. This was not just a word of prophecy in Isaiah 7:14, "Behold, the virgin will conceive and will bear a son," but a word that was spoken specifically to Mary by the angel, "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son" (Luke 1:31). Because Mary heard this, she received strength and it was accomplished.

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 must remember that today's Christianity is still the Christianity of personal revelation. If the Lord does not speak within man, it is not Christianity, nor is it the New Testament.

Luke 3:2 says, "During the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zachariah in the wilderness." "Word" in this verse is also rhema.

Luke 5:5 says, "Simon answered and said, Master, through the whole night we toiled and caught nothing; but based on Your word I will let down the nets." The "word" in this verse was something spoken by the Lord for that occasion. It was the Lord speaking personally to Simon. This is rhema. The Lord did not speak in a certain chapter and verse of the Scripture that Simon should let down the net. If someone attempted to walk on the sea because of Matthew 14:29, he would certainly sink. This is not the word which the Lord is speaking today, though He did speak it on that day. It is true that the word spoken by God in the past and the word He speaks today carry the same authority; they have never changed. But the important thing is this: Is God speaking that very word to us today?