What Is Rhema?
// Kenneth W. Hagin
THE WORD "RHEMA" is infused in everything connected with Kenneth Hagin Ministries. But what is it exactly? The following three answers will shed light on the meaning of "rhema," revealing the origin of something very powerful.
Rhema—A Spoken Word
The Greek word rhḗma simply means "any spoken word." In the New Testament, there are two different Greek words used to identify words from God: lógos and rhḗma.
Logos is used in John 1:1 (NKJV). "In the beginning was the [logos] Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1 NKJV).
Rhema is a spoken word. "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the [spoken] word of God" (Eph. 6:17 NKJV).
When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, He countered each temptation by speaking a "rhema" word. In Matthew 4:4, He said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every [spoken (rhema)] word.' " Jesus spoke the written Word He needed for the situation. So a rhema word can be the spoken Word of God.
We need the written Word as our foundation, but we also need the spoken Word (rhema) for direction. We have the written Word, to stand on. We have rhema, the spoken Word, so we know what to do and where to go.
When the Holy Spirit speaks to you, He quickens a Scripture verse or specific direction to you—a specific word for a specific time and purpose.
Rhema—A Place
Rhema Bible Training College began with a quickened word spoken by my dad, Kenneth E. Hagin. When Dad received the mandate, "Go teach My people faith," that was a rhema word to him of what to do in ministry. I often heard him pray, "Lord, how am I going to get this message out? I'm just one man."
His answer came during Campmeeting 1973. Dad said under the inspiration of the Spirit, "We're going to start a Bible school!" When he said that, I had a rhema word inside of me—Lynette and I were to help Dad start the school. Those rhema words gave the direction of how to get the faith message out and fulfill the mandate.
Dad didn't want to put his name on the school. When we discussed what to call it, he suggested "Rhema" based on a message Roy Hicks taught at Campmeeting.
We chose the name Rhema Bible Training College because it is purpose driven, not personality driven. And it's still not personality driven! It was founded on the principles of the infallible Word of God, learning how to be led by the Spirit, and knowing the authority of the believer—while zeroing in on the practical aspects of ministry.
Rhema—A Worldwide Family
Back in the 1930s, a young farmer got saved at a tent meeting. His parents didn't like it, so they wouldn't let him go back to the tent meeting. But he would come up to a grassy knoll on the family farm—right about where Rhema Bible Church stands today—to read his Bible and pray. He had a vision that a mighty work of God would be raised up on that very place. The Lord told him that from this place, the Gospel would go out all over the world.
The young man had a rhema word—a word from God! This campus was God ordained. It wasn't man's idea. It was God's idea. And from this place, men and women have been trained with the message of faith and have gone around the world.
It's like throwing a rock in a pond. There's a splash and it ripples across the water. People have gone out from Rhema and started churches. Men and women are coming from those churches to be trained. Then they're going back out to start what God spoke to them.
For many years there was only one Rhema. But today there are over 235 Rhema Bible Training College campuses in 50 nations. It has become a worldwide family!
You might say, "I didn't graduate from Rhema." If you follow this ministry, have sown seed into it, or have learned and grown from the books and teachings, then you are part of the family. It's all of us together. We are the Rhema family.
We have been raised up to fulfill the Great Commission. Thank God for Rhema! Rhema is the spoken Word. Rhema is a place to be trained. Rhema is a worldwide family. And together we have one mandate—"Go teach My people faith."
Rhḗma—A Definition
rhḗma (ῥῆμα in Greek); that which is spoken, what is uttered in speech or writing;1 an utterance (individually, collectively, or specifically);2 the word by which something is commanded, directed, or enjoined;3 something that is spoken clearly and vividly, in unmistakable terms and in an undeniable language. In the New Testament, the word rhema carries the idea of a quickened word.4
1W.E. Vine, Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1985), 683.
2James Strong, "A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament," The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1984), 63.
3J.H. Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (New York: American Book Company, Harper & Brothers, 1889), 562.
4Rick Renner, Sparkling Gems From the Greek (Tulsa: Teach All Nations, 2003), 78.
Let Us Know
How did God connect you with Rhema? What "rhema word" has He used to direct you? Share your #MyRhema story on social media or send us an email at partnerservice@rhema.org.