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The Bible clarifies that the lower, earthly life of fallen mankind is incompatible with the higher, heavenly life of God. Therefore, the fundamental need for fallen humanity is not the legalistic practice of religion. Instead, it is new life suitable for fellowship with the living (zoe) God.
Life is a major theme in the Bible. The word “life” is used 551 times; 339 in the Old Testament and 212 times in the New Testament. Etymology The New Testament contains several Greek words translated into the English word “life.” Two of them are used most frequently; zoe (dzo-ay’) (135 times) and psuche (psoo-khay’) (103 times). Context of usage serves to reveal an interesting relationship between zoe and psuche. The Greek word zoe is often used in the New Testament in reference to life in the absolute sense or life in the fullest. Consequently, it refers to the perfect, eternal, higher life of God. The Greek word psuche is most often translated as “life” and “soul” in the New Testament. When context dictates an interpretation of “life,” psuche generally refers to the temporal, earthly life of mankind that is shared in common with the animals. Psuche is interpreted as “soul” in the New Testament only when its context is more specifically related to the immaterial part of man, the seat of his personality. Regardless of whether interpreted as “life” or “soul,” psuche is commonly used in the New Testament to refer to man’s earthly, temporal, lower life. The Greek words zoe and psuche are sometimes used together in the New Testament in contrast to one another. For example, “He who loves his life (psuche) loses it, and he who hates his life (psuche) in this world will keep it to life (zoe) eternal.” (John 12:25) The contrast between psuche and zoe can be distinguished as follows: |
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Message of Life
The Holy Bible unveils the eternal plan of God to establish His redemptive, living (zoe) presence on the degenerated earth. It is revealed from Genesis to Revelation. The biblical “message of…life (zoe)” is first revealed in Genesis. (cf. Acts 5:19-21) It clarifies that God gave more than just physical, earthly life (psuche) to human beings. He also created man to exist on earth in union with His heavenly life (zoe). “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:26-27) When God said, “Let us make man in our image,” He used the Hebrew noun for “man” ('adam) in a collective sense. It provided a clear indication that He made mankind as one collective, covenantal entity. Therefore, it was not just Adam, the covenantal head of humanity, that was made to share life with God but also his covenantal body, the entire human race. Relative to the creation of mankind, Moses did not use the words “image” and “likeness” to communicate two different concepts. Instead, he used them for the sake of emphasis. The English word “image” is translated from the Hebrew word selem (tseh'-lem). It can refer to a copy, model, shadow, or representation. In contrast, the English word “likeness” is translated from the Hebrew word demuwth (dem-ooth'). It generally means shape, figure, form, or pattern. Rather than communicating a different idea, the word “likeness” (demuwth) was intended to amplify the word “image” (selem) and provide specificity of meaning. Being created in the “image” and “likeness” of God indicated that humanity was created as a “vessel” to accommodate the “treasure” of divine life (zoe) on earth. (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:7) It is often presumed that the image-likeness of God in Adam was the manifestation of nothing more than some of the specific attributes of the divine nature. Concordant with the biblical “message of…life (zoe)”, however, the image-likeness of God in Adam was not indicative of a select number of divine attributes but the presence of divine life (zoe). Made in the image-likeness of God, Adam was not merely created to serve as a legal representative of God on earth. Accommodative of divine life (zoe), he was also made to be organically representational of God on earth.1 |
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Union of Life
God originally created Adam to share life with Him on earth. Consequently, he was provided with a functional awareness that was physical, spiritual, and personal. “Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (LXX - zoe); and man became a living (zoe - LXX) being (psuche -LXX).” (Genesis 2:7) God formed Adam from the “… of dust from the ground.” Therefore, he gained a physical body and the physical life function necessary for life (psuche) on earth. As a result, Adam could relate to the material world around him. God also “… breathed into [Adam’s] nostrils the breath of life (LXX - zoe). As a result, he was equipped with spiritual life function by which he could share life with God and personal life function by which he became an independently functioning person with self-awareness. Consequently, Adam was more than just a natural “being (psuche -LXX).” He “became a living (zoe) being.” Indwelt by the living (zoe) God, Adam was a supernatural being created to relate to God on earth through intimate, shared life fellowship. Adam was created with physical, spiritual, and personal life function. Perfectly designed to accommodate life shared with God on earth, he was not only legally representative of God but also organically representational of God. Separation of Life In the beginning, before the foundation of this present world, a large number of angelic beings made the unenviable choice to challenge the nature of God. It constituted a monumental act of rebellion. The justice of God required the angelic challenge and its consequences to be remedied. Therefore, He judged the rebellious angels and sentenced them to eternal condemnation. According to eternal plan, however, the sentence was temporarily suspended. It allowed for the fulfillment of a greater purpose. During the suspension, the fallen angels would contribute, albeit unwittingly, to the revelation of the nature of God in the heavens and on earth. Although their sentence was temporarily suspended, the fallen angels were not exempt from the immediate consequences of their rebellion. They experienced legal alienation and organic separation from God, and consequently, banishment from His kingdom. It was a tragic reality that resulted in death, degeneration, and darkness for the rebellious angels and their habitat, the original earth. Concordant with His eternal plan, God renovated the earth within the framework of the “Renovation Covenant.” He renovated it in spatiotemporal form and populated it with a new type of creature, mankind. The renovated earth and its creatures provided God with an arena to not only demonstrate the attributes of His nature but to replenish His kingdom with new citizens. Within the arena of space and time, the heavenly host, comprised of angels holy and unholy, would witness the progressive demonstration of the attributes of the divine nature through the gradual repopulation of the kingdom of God. For the holy angels, the fulfillment of God’s eternal plan would be nothing less than awe-inspiring. (cf. 1 Peter 1:12) In contrast, the fallen angels would view it with burning anger and intense jealousy. The Renovation Covenant was a conditional covenant of law. Nevertheless, it had only one stipulation. For Adam to continue in covenant partnership with God, he could not eat from a specific tree in the Garden of Eden. The biblical text states, “…from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) As indicated, the consequence of his disobedience would be significant. Adam would experience separation from God and consequently, spiritual death. Recognizing an opportunity, Satan devised a scheme he believed would motivate God to lessen the severity of his sentence. By its success, Adam, the human creature that God had chosen to replace him would also rebel against divine authority. As a result, the scheme would serve to demonstrate that none of the higher creatures of God, angelic or human, were capable of obeying the rule of law according to divine standard. Satan hoped the justice of God would require Him to reduce the severity of his sentence. Although it may have been a long shot, it was the only one he had. Foreknown by God, Adam, the progenitor and covenantal head of the human race fell for the devilish scheme and ate from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Like the fallen angels before, he also experienced legal alienation and organic separation from God, and therefore, banishment from His kingdom. As a consequence of his legal and organic separation from God, Adam experienced spiritual death. Therefore, his primary life source shifted from heaven to earth, God to self. The degenerative effects of Adam’s spiritual death influenced every part of his being. His soul became utterly self-serving, characterized by a darkened mind, deceitful emotions, and perverse will, and His body became subject to disease and eventual physical death. Congruent with Adam’s covenantal headship, the human race is his covenantal body, joined with him by law and life. Therefore, Adam’s separation from God not only had devastating consequences for him but the entire human race. Positioned “in Adam,” the entire human race was guilty of his transgression. As a result, all mankind, past, present and future, experienced separation from God and consequently, spiritual death and degeneration of soul and body. Despite the rebellion and consequent fall of mankind, God graciously chose to pursue reconciliation with the human race. Rather than motivated by any apparent worthiness in the fallen, it was part of His eternal plan to vindicate the attributes of His nature from angelic accusation and repopulate His kingdom with willing citizens. |
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Restoration of Life
The biblical message of life (zoe) not only reveals the need for fallen humanity to be redeemed from sin but also restored to life (zoe). It is communicated in both Old and New Testaments. However, the message of life (zoe) is more specifically disclosed in the New Testament. Therefore, it is unveiled in the Gospels, developed in Acts, and expounded in the Epistles. The Gospel of John unveils the biblical message of life (zoe) more fully than any other New Testament author. For example: |
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The biblical message of life (zoe) is developed in the Book of Acts. It traces the movement of heavenly life (zoe) in and through the early church as follows:
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Providing more significant detail about the opportunity for restoration to shared life, the biblical message of life (zoe) is expounded in the Epistles. For example:
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Fundamental Need
In light of his natural, lifeless (zoe) state, the fundamental need for humanity is not simply to do better. It is the reception of new life (zoe). Therefore, God graciously sacrificed His life (psuche) so that He could share His resurrected life (zoe) with the fallen. It is a wondrous gift. Through the biblical message of life (zoe) God has communicated His desire of God to share His life (zoe) with the undeserving dead. By grace through faith alone, it is found only through instrumentality of the New Testament church. © 2023 James Hiatt |
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