The Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit and is the written word of GOD. When the Bible uses the term 'word' as a translation for 'Logos', many of us have equated 'Logos' with the bible itself. I will show below how this is in error. While the bible bears witness to the Logos, in the new covenant, the Logos now dwells within the believer.
The term 'Word' in the Bible is frequently a translation from either the Greek words 'logos' or 'rhema'. It is commonly believed that logos refers to a written word, while rhema refers to a spoken word, but this is mistaken. In the Bible, both words are used in various contexts and either word can be used for spoken or written communication. The word 'logos' is related to our English word 'logic' and this reveals the difference between the two words. Whereas rhema is used for a general word, such as “How is the weather this morning”, logos implies a word (either spoken or written) that has a plan or message within it.
The sheer number of times that rhema and logos are used in the bible obscure their meaning, but more light is brought to the matter when we search specifically for the term 'word of GOD'. In this context, it is notable that the Greek term used is far more likely to be logos rather than rhema (a notable exception being Romans 10:17: “so faith comes by hearing and hearing by the rhema of GOD”).
It is also clear that the word 'scripture' is not referred to in the bible using the words logos or rhema. Scripture has its own Greek word: 'graphe' and Jesus was careful to differentiate between these terms, as we will see below.
How Jesus used the term Logos
“Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word (logos) of God came, and the scripture (graphe) cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?” John 10:34-36.
In this scripture, the Hebrews intended to stone Jesus because he called himself the Son of GOD. Jesus pointed out to them that the messiah is described using such language in the Old Testament. What is relevant here is that Jesus referred to the scrolls of the Hebrew bible as 'graphe', while the message that the scrolls contained about the messiah is clearly described as the “logos of GOD”. While it is true that the graphe bares witness to the logos, it is incorrect to regard the two as identical. Jesus was careful to differentiate between scripture and the word (as we translate the terms into English) when referring to them both in the same sentence and we should do the same today.
Preaching the Logos in Acts
When reading through the book of Acts it is apparent that the logos of GOD is the divine plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. This was not the New Testament (as this had not been written yet) and neither was this the Old Testament (as the logos of GOD was present only in type and figure).
In Acts 4:2, we read that Peter and John were berated by the Jewish Council for, “teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead”. Later on in Acts 4:31, the apostles were “filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the Word (logos) of GOD with boldness”. It is clear that the word which they continued to speak with boldness was that “proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead”, referred to Acts 4:2. It is again notable that Peter was happy to quote from the scripture (graphe) while preaching the logos message to the Jews (Acts 2:17-21).
The logos of GOD was later preached in Samaria (Acts 8:14), Cyprus (Acts 13:5), Perga (Acts 13:44), Corinth (Acts 18:11), and Ephesus (Acts: 19:20). Paul and Barnabus themselves believed that they preached the logos in every city that they visited (Acts 15:36). The teaching at Perga is particularly helpful for us since Paul says that it was necessary, “that the word (logos) of GOD be spoken to you” to the Jews there and the logos that was spoken by Paul is defined in detail earlier on in the chapter (Acts 13:16-41). The passage is too lengthy to quote here, but we again see that GOD’s divine plan of salvation through Jesus Christ is the message that was delivered to them. Paul does quote from scripture to help deliver the message to the Jews, but the scripture itself is not the message.
The Logos Became Flesh
We have seen that the Old Testament scripture bore witness to the logos and was often used when preaching the logos. These Hebrew scrolls were the primary mechanism through which old testament believers related to GOD, as they could not be born-again before Pentecost. The problem with relating to GOD through scripture is that the image of GOD is easily corrupted through our mind and senses. Thus, the old covenant was imperfect and was ripe for replacement at the appointed time.
“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.”, John 1:14
In this passage, John describes this appointed time of GOD, which is the appearance of Jesus Christ. When people saw Jesus, they saw the word of GOD in front of their eyes. The Faithless could not reconcile what they read in the scripture to what they saw in the flesh and so they rejected Christ. The faithful, many of whom were probably illiterate and unfamiliar with scripture, were able to see the logos in Christ because they related to GOD by faith.
This passage in John perhaps finalises what our definition of logos should be. While the logos of GOD was preached as a message, it was also embodied by Jesus Christ himself. At the point of salvation, Christ comes to reside inside the believer and thus the logos is experienced on the inside, rather than something to be read about from the outside and potentially corrupted by the senses.
Conclusion
After Pentecost, the logos of GOD came to reside inside the believer. It would thus be rather an odd situation if those believers regarded the logos of GOD as something to be read about in a book, rather than experienced first-hand through their relationship with GOD. Yet this is the situation that we find ourselves in.
Believers can allow their emotions to overcome them at times and do questionable things, while claiming they are under the influence of the spirit. So the bible is important to us as a second witness; which is as a means of verification & validation of spiritual experiences. The primary witness, however, is always our relationship with GOD through Jesus Christ.