“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63, NKJV)
Have you ever, in your Bible reading, come to a verse that you had seen a hundred times before, and suddenly, it has brand new meaning for you? What is happening there?
That is the breath of God. The word “Spirit” in both Hebrew and Greek means wind, or breath. The Holy Spirit is breathing into your spirit the meaning of what you are reading in the Scriptures. He is taking the written Word and feeding it to you as truth transferred right from the heart of God to yours.
There are two words in the New Testament rendered as “word” in English translations. One is logos, which refers to the whole of God’s written word. The other is rhema, which means “utterance.” It is God’s personally spoken word to our hearts.
Ever look at a passage and scratch your head, at a loss as to what it might mean? We actually are completely unable to properly understand God’s written Word without the empowering of the Holy Spirit. “And we speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom, but with those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people… they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:13, 14b; NET).
I love asking Him to explain a particular verse to me, when the meaning is hidden. Without fail, whether it’s in that moment or soon afterwards, He responds to me. Those are some of the most exciting discovery moments in my adventures with Him.
I have learned that He is eager for these interactions with us. He is genuinely delighted when we inquire of Him. He has given His Spirit to us “without measure,” that we might go deeper and deeper into the revelation and understanding of His truth. This is what He had in mind when He said, “The words (rhema) that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”
Jesus has a personal, Spirit-breathed, life giving rhema word ready to deposit into your heart today. How transformational is His Spirit-to-spirit communication with us!
So open up the Logos, ready to linger and listen for His utterance as you read what He has written there, just for you. Pull out your trowel and your shovel and dig a little deeper for the nuances He has buried in His masterful writings. Ask Him questions. Explore with Him. Uncover mysteries. Engage with the clues that He allows you to encounter. Then show Him how much you treasure His words by writing down His rhema when it begins to stir inside of you!
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What Bible verse has recently come alive for you in a new way?
Feeding On Jesus 
One verse that hit me at the beginning of the year was
“God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.”
— Genesis 1:4
The Spirit pointed out to me that here was the beginning (Genesis!) of the Biblical explanation of light and dark seen throughout the whole Bible.
Thank you for this precious encouragement Jennifer, God bless you today sister.
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Hearing how He showed that to you uplifts my spirit. Thank you so much for sharing that, Alan.
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Anita and I are embarking on a new ‘project’ for this year: We are reading The Complete Jewish Bible together, and we are doing it chronologically based on the times that the books became available, not necessarily in order of writing. E.g., we are starting with Exodus even though the events of Genesis and Job predate the escape from Egypt.
However, it was likely during the wilderness time that Moshe (Moses) recorded the events of Genesis and that Israel became aware of Job’s record, even though Job was more likely a contemporary of Avrahim (Abraham) or even earlier.
Interesting commentary notes throughout the printed edition.
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That sounds wonderfully enriching, C.A.! How neat! The Father’s richest blessings on your new study journey. May it bring forth so many new riches in your relationship with HIm 🙂
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I love this Jennifer! Your post makes me think of one of my favorite quotes by A.W. Tozer…. “The continuous and unembarrassed interchange of love and thought between God and the soul of the redeemed man is the throbbing heart of New Testament religion.”
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Wow, that quote is strikingly beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing it 🙂
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