On Hearing the Spoken Word

He who is of God hears the words of God---the reason you do not hear the words of God is that you are not (born) of God, for flesh gives birth to flesh, and Spirit to spirit.

We read the Logos (the written word) so that we may learn to hear the Rhema--the living, spoken word---the voice of God.  We are given not only the written word, but the Spirit who both speaks the word and "hears," or interprets the word in us and for us.  To those without the Spirit, who have only the Logos, the word remains without life.  Paul puts it this way:  To this day, when the word is read, a veil covers their hearts.  Only in Christ Jesus is the veil removed.  (That's someplace in Romans).

With the Spirit, the word springs to life like dry bones in the desert.  John the Baptist heard the voice of Mary, carrying Jesus, and lept for joy in his mother's womb.  The Pharisees heard the words of Jesus and sneered, even though they knew the Scriptures backwards and forwards.  Go figure!