THE LIVING [ZAO] GOD who is THE FATHER, possesses life [zoe] in Himself. He created all things by and through His WORD and omnipresent SPIRIT who is THE BREATH OF LIFE [ZOE].
Greek Septuagint translation of Genesis 2:7:
καὶ ἔπλασεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐνεφύσησεν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ πνοὴν ζωῆς καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν.
The words in English:
"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,
ζάω Zaō
ζάω Zaō (VERB) simply means to live, to be alive, or to continue living (to be alive [zao] forever is to be immortal).
Range of use
* Physical existence (being alive)
* Manner of life (“how one lives”)
* Vitality (living toward God)
Examples
* Romans 14:8: “If we live (zaō), we live to the Lord.”
* Galatians 2:20: “It is no longer I who live (zaō), but Christ who lives in me.”
* Luke 20:38: “For all live (zaō) to Him.”
In short, zaō = the act or state of living | of being alive.
Throughout the New Testament,
Zoe (noun) pertains to life - the only source of which is God.
Zao (verb) - whenever it is used in reference to the creature - pertains to living | being alive - the creature.
zoe aionios: eternal life.
zao: to live | to be alive. *
* By implication in certain verses, zao also alludes to the source of living | being alive - which is life itself [zoe], which is of God, is in the Word of God, and given by God through the Word (hence, subsequent to the fall of Adam, now in Christ) to the descendants of created humans (the creature). For example, compare:
- "It is the spirit that quickens (makes alive what was dead); the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life [zoe]."
- "In Him (the Word of God) is life [zoe] and the life is the light of men."
- "It is written, Man shall not live [zao] by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
- "For in him we live [zao], and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring." (John 6:63; John 1:4; Matthew 4:4; Acts 17:28).
Nothing which has the breath of life [zoe] from God (Genesis 2:7; Genesis 6:17; Genesis 7:15 & 22; Ecclesiastes 12:7) is alive [zao] forever - nor ever can be alive [zao] forever (immortal) - unless it has the breath of everlasting life [zoe aionios] - which is in Christ - given to it:
And the LORD God said, "Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." (Genesis 3:22).
HE IS RISEN
The day after the sabbath after Jesus had been crucified, had died, and been laid in a tomb, some of His disciples went to the tomb to embalm His body - but they found the stone rolled away, and the tomb empty. Seeing angels standing beside the tomb's entrance, they were afraid, and we read that:
"As they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they (the angels) said unto them, Why seek ye the living [zao] among the dead? He is not here, but is risen [egeiro]: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee?" (Luke 24:5-6).
THE BIBLE EXPLICITLY GIVES THE REASON WHY
CHRIST DIED FOR US AND ROSE AGAIN
- In 1 Corinthians 15:26 we read that death is the enemy of God.
- In Ezekiel 18:32 God says, "For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye."
- God "made not death: neither hath he pleasure in the destruction of the living. For he created all things, (in order) that they might have their being." (Wisdom 1:13-14).
Romans 14:9
--- "For this reason Christ died [apothnesko] and rose again from the dead [anistemi], and lived again [anazao], so that he may be the Lord of both the dead [nekros] and living [zao: those who are alive, not dead]." ---
"Fear not; I am the first and the last:
I am he that is alive / that liveth [zao],
and was dead;
and, behold, I am alive [zao] to the ages of the ages, Amen;
and I have the keys of hades and of death."
(Revelation 1:17-18 - the words of the Lord Jesus Christ)
Ever since Adam - the created human being - sinned and began to die, no descendant of Adam and Eve has continued to be alive | live [zao] forever, because no human being can live | be alive [zao] forever (be immortal) unless he also has eternal life [zoe] in him
- but only Christ has eternal life IN HIMSELF (John 5:26).
"He alone has (possesses) immortality and lives in unapproachable light, whom no human has ever seen or is able to see. To him be honor and eternal power! Amen." (1 Timothy 6:15-16).
Though many have been given eternal life [zoe aionios] IN CHRIST, when we die (when the body dies),
- the body [soma] goes to the grave,
- the soul [pscuhe] has another destination,
- and the breath (Spirit) of life [zoe] which gave life [zoe] to the living [zao] (human) creature (the person who died) goes back to its source.
Mainstream church theology that teaches about a 'dead' human spirit being 'quickened' or 'resurrected from the dead' when someone is born of the Spirit, is echoing a false doctrine.
Eternal life and resurrection power is alone in the last Adam, who became flesh (1 Corinthians 15:45):
- He IS the Word of God in whom is life [zoe] (John 1:4)
- He became flesh (John 1:14)
- He died for our sins, and
- rose again bodily from the dead; and
- as the Father has life [zoe] in Himself, so He has given to the Son to have life [zoe] in Himself (John 5:26); and
- He IS the resurrection of the body from the dead [o' anastasis] AND
- the life [zoe] (John 11:25),
- who alone possesses immortality (1 Timothy 6:16),
so that whoever believes in Him, though he dies, yet he will live [zao] (following the resurrection from the dead):
Jesus to Martha:
(whose brother had just died):
(John 11:23-26):
"Your brother shall rise again".
Martha: "I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection [o anastasis] at the last day."
Jesus:
"I am the Resurrection [o anastasis]
and the ZOE! (the life).
He who believes in Me, though he die,
yet he shall live (ZAO: he shall be alive)."
(The resurrection of the dead renders the one who died alive [zao] again):
"And whoever is ZAO (alive) and believes in Me shall never die." (shall be immortal).
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".. He who believes in Me, though he die, yet he shall be spiritually alive. 26 And whoever is spiritually alive and believes in Me shall be spiritually alive forever and ever. Do you believe this?"
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The record penned by the apostle John has Jesus describing Himself as the resurrection of the dead body [anastasis] and the life [zoe], saying that though they die bodily, whoever believes in Him shall live | be alive [zao] - and Jesus said it in the context of telling Martha that her brother who had just died, will rise again.
There are two different things mentioned in the above passage: Life [zoe]; and the expression of life, i.e to be alive [zao].
- The one who is alive [zao] and has been given eternal life [zoe aionios] IN Christ the Lord will be alive [zao] and will never die FOLLOWING the resurrection of the body from the dead.
To read what Jesus said in verses 25-26 as ".. He who believes in Me, though he die, yet he shall be spiritually alive. And whoever is spiritually alive and believes in Me shall be spiritually alive forever and ever. Do you believe this?",
is not exposition of the passage - it's an example of inserting a false theological notion into the text - a notion which is based on the conflation of zoe (life) with zao (to be alive | living), and as a result, replacing the word zao (alive in the body - the word that is used in the text) - with the word zoe (spiritual life - which is IN CHRIST):
"If Christ's Spirit is in you,
(1) your body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit (of Christ) is your (eternal) life [zoe] because of (Christ's) righteousness. (Romans 8:10)
(2) Moreover, if the Spirit of the one who raised [egeiro] Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised [egeiro] Christ from the dead will also quicken [zōopoiéō] your mortal bodies through his Spirit who lives in you." (Romans 8:11).
The result of Christ's Spirit in a human being quickening the dead body (making it alive again) is the resurrection of the body from the dead when Christ returns.
-- "When Christ, who is our life [zōḗ], shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:4) --
SCRIPTURES WHERE MANY CHURCHES
CONFLATE ZOE AND ZAO
Due to:
(A) Conflating zao (to live | to be alive) and zoe (spiritual life, which is of God); and
(B) The false doctrine that teaches about a quickening (making alive again) of a "dead human spirit",
there are at least four passages where the New Testament uses the word zao to talk about those who had died but will live again | be alive again following the resurrection of the body from the dead,
where main-stream churches replace the word zao with the word zoe in their doctrine:
- John 5:24-29;
- Jesus to Martha (further up on this page)
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