Jesus, your lovingkindness is life that’s changing my heart, drawing me near….to you. Your love is better than life, I know it well. And I’ll find all that I need in you. Hillsong United, Your Love, 1997 Copyright
It is a most unfortunate practice prevalent in almost all English translations and paraphrases of the New Testament that different words in the original Greek text are translated using only one English word. Probably the most well-known example is “love” which is used in place of three different Greek words. Such practice renders the texts confusing at best, and misleading at worst. A lesser known example of such a word is “life.” The above popular Hillsong song is an illustration of our point.
Take a look at what has been done with “life”–click on the “LexiConc” tab next to “Primary Results”. In short, there are at least six different root nouns each translated “life.” We will consider only a couple of them in this post.
The first word is “bios“, from which we get our words “biology”, “biosphere”, and “biography”. It refers to created, natural life that has come to each person through our common ancestor, Adam. It is finite, or has an ending, and originates in this realm. There are different levels of “bios”. Starting with human bios, there is a lower level of animal bios, and below that, plant bios. In the same way, there is created life higher than human bios, and it is angelic bios or “life”, since angels are also created beings. (We have for purposes of simplicity combined all forms of angelic life into one level, although we believe there are actually several levels of angelic life.) The scriptures say that man has been created lower than the angels, for a little while.
Now take a look at the ficus tree or ivy in your home. Let’s say that the ficus knows the words and the tune to the famous Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. And let’s say that the ficus wants, with all of its being, to sing them. The ficus has a problem: it has no lungs with which to draw in air, so that it can expel the air through its vocal cords (that it also doesn’t have) to form words with its lips (that it also doesn’t have). You see, in our silly example, that the ficus lacks the capacity to sing–the capacity to sing is not indigenous to its species. The same is true, to a lesser extent, for your dog, even though it is one level of bios higher than the plant.
The second word we’ll consider is “zoe.” It refers to life that is NOT created, that is endless and indestructible–in short, it is divine life. Zoe is higher than angelic bios, since Zoe has no beginning and no end. Here is the critical point: it is not from this realm, but is from the heavenly realm–from your heavenly Father, to be precise. Thus, it is holy, righteous, and perfect. In the Bible, it is usually referred to with a number of different adjectives, such as “eternal life”, or “everlasting life”, or “abundant life”. These adjectives do not describe so much Zoe’s duration as they describe its species!
Just like the ficus in our examle, your bios, dear reader, is at least two life forms lower than the life form that exists in Father and in His son, Jesus the messiah. Divine life is not indigenous to our species! Furthermore, our life form simply does not have the capacity needed to be holy, righteous and perfect. (We sincerely apologize to all who are struggling mightily to be holy, righteous and perfect–if you arrive there, please let us know! And we also apologize to anyone who has been told by their church or denomination that they CAN get there, if they would just have faith, or try harder, or whatever, but whoever told you it depends upon your effort was wrong.) Like the ficus, we may know the “words” and the “tune”, and we may want with all of our heart to be holy, but the capacity is simply not there.
Jesus did not come, live, die, be resurrected, and leave simply to tell you to try harder to live according to divine Zoe. He knows it is not indigenous to your species–He CREATED your species! Instead, He came to IMPART HIS ZOE INTO YOUR BIOS. What we are talking about here is a change roughly comparable to enabling the poor ficus to sing the Hallelujah Chorus, and to sing it better than anyone has ever heard it sung! Anyone, anywhere, who wants to, can become a partaker of His divine nature! Now, let’s look at the Hillsong verses again with a better translation:
Jesus, your lovingkindness is life (zoe) that’s changing my heart, drawing me near….to you. Your love is better than life (bios), I know it well. And I’ll find all that I need in you.
Hasn’t God commanded us to be holy? Actually, before the cross it was a command; after the cross it is a promise. And so we come to the Law of the Spirit of Life (zoe) in Christ Jesus. Look at these amazing words:
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Romans 8:1-2 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
The author of these words, the apostle Paul, is making the point in the eighth chapter of Romans that the Torah, the comandments given to Moses and Israel at Mount Sanai had a fatal weakness: it couldn’t do away with sin permanently. So God sent Jesus as a final offering for sin to accomplish the satisfaction of the law, and at the same time, provided for the imbuement of His own nature into those who believe in Him. This nature, His own “zoe”, once imparted would inexhorably accomplish the requirement of the Torah within the believer.
For what the Law (of Moses) could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us. Romans 8:3-4
The Law of the spirit of life (zoe) in Christ Jesus was not a part of the Torah given to Israel, but a higher law, one that did not originate “through the flesh”. Do we not say: two things are certain in life (bios)–death and taxes. Actually, it would be better to say, death and sin. The laws of Torah were not able to overcome these certainties, because they (sin and death) were higher laws. In the same way, the law of the spirit of life (zoe) is such a higher law, but one even higher than sin and death.
Think of the law of gravity as similar comparison: you can defeat the law of gravity for a period of time, but eventually you must succumb to its inexhorable effects. In the same way, the law of the spirit of zoe in Christ Jesus cannot be ultimately overcome; instead, IT OVERCOMES. Its effects are continuous–and those effects are freedom from sin and death. Moreover, while it is at work, it is changing your heart, drawing you nearer and nearer to Him, and fulfilling the law of Torah, all of God’s commandments, in your heart! Do you see, dear reader, why we sing of Him and of His lovingkindness? There is simply nothing more wonderful than this good news–for all who will trust Him to do it, He will give you His own nature, and that nature will eventually change you into His likeness with an unending divine life! It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done–choose life, the divine zoe of Jesus.
Blessed are you, O Lord of Life, and blessed are You, Father, for the wonderful gifts of Life You have ordained for all mankind. Open the eyes and the hearts of our readers–may they have this Life and have it more abundantly!