This common Greek word appears some 250 times in the New Testament. Logos can mean "word, saying, message, talk, teaching, conversation; account, reason' matter, thing." Rema, a similar word, means "word, saying; thing, matter, event, happening," and appears nearly 70 times in the New Testament. In the Latin Vulgate translation (c.400 AD), logos was translated by verbum or sermo, whereas rema was rendered verbum. As I read through the Latin New Testament., I can see that they are virtual synonyms. Some Neopentecostal writers draw a heavy distinction between logos and rema, but this does not seem warranted.
Probably the best known occurrence of logos in the Bible is in John 1:1, where we read, "In the beginning was the logos, and the logos was God." The cosmos begins not with subjective feeling, but with reason, with thought. In fact our word logic is derived from logos. There is reason (and rhyme) to the universe. Moreover, it all started with one who is logical and reasonable. The universe therefore can be expected to have direction. It is not meaningless.
The cosmos is governed consistently, justly, and rightly by One who himself is reason. That is good news! We need not be afraid of the dark. The light is shining, and will guide us on the right path.
