Eternal zoe life

This post is not just about faith, it is also about healing and living an abundant life.

It is written under Holy Spirit inspiration, through me, a person who is also on a journey as you are. I’m not at the destination yet, but I’m sharing what I have found along the way.

Its a long post and it is full of goodness. So… strap yourself in and lets get started. 🙂

The Greek word zoe means life in the broadest sense.

G2222 Thayer Definition:

1. life a. the state of one who is possessed of vitality or is animate b. every living soul
2. life a. of the absolute fulness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God, and through him both to the hypostatic “logos” and to Christ in whom the “logos” put on human nature b. life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last for ever.

Scripture reveals that the source of zoe life is God the Father. Indeed, Jesus calls Him…

the living [zao, verb] Father – John 6:57

indicating that zoe life is the very life that God has in Himself. Having life in Himself, the Father imparted this life to the Son:

For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself – John 5:26

In turn, the Son manifested this same zoe life to the world and the world saw this zoe life as light!

The Father’s zoe life is “light” to a dying world…

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness… – John 1:4-5

God the Father’s eternal life and us seeing Him as light are connected. The bible says God is light and there is no darkness in Him.

1John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

… and because life and light are connected this helps clarify that God IS eternal zoe life and there is no death in Him at all.

This eternal zoe life was originally with the Father… and given to Jesus Christ who then made it manifest/visible/experiential to a dying and darkened world…

And the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us – I John 1:2

That is what Jesus Christ did for three years… He SHOWED God the Fathers eternal zoe life to the world. He undid the effects of death and showed us what eternal life looks like.

In John 3:16 it says He came to give us eternal life.

A dying world in need of eternal life

In Genesis God said that they would die if they sinned (disobeyed) and ate from the forbidden tree. After Adam sinned, God stopped anyone from eating from the tree of eternal life.

Since then this world has been decaying and no one has access to eternal life… until Jesus Christ abolished death and made eternal life available to us…

now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel – II Timothy 1:9-10

It is God the Father’s own eternal zoe life which is being offered to people in this world. Our zoe life will run out, but Gods zoe life is eternal.

Failure to receive because of ignorance

We Christians can be alienated from Gods gift of His own life… the eternal zoe life of God… because our understanding of our full inheritance can be darkened… we can be ignorant about it… we don’t receive it…

Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart, who being past feeling… – Eph 4:18-19

We can miss out on receiving the full effects, the full impact, the full package deal of our inheritance… eternal zoe life RIGHT NOW… and I’m speaking to Christians here… I’m saying that we Christians can walk in FAR LESS than our full inheritance. We may not even know what our full inheritance is! (Ignorance)

Therefore let us study scripture and not be ignorant and let us avoid having our understanding darkened.

Consider these two verses in 2Cor 4:10-11

10 … the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

11 … the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

The eternal zoe life which is in Jesus Christ is meant to be made manifest in our physical bodies… unseating all the sin and sinful behaviour that we have.

But we dont just receive Gods eternal zoe life from Jesus Christ… instead it is He, Himself Who is our life!

When Christ, who is our life – Col 3:4

Jesus Christ also explained… that He IS… the way (to the Father), the truth and the (eternal zoe) life… He Himself IS our life!

You see, although God gave His own eternal zoe life to His Son, we don’t receive eternal zoe life from Jesus Christ… instead… Jesus Christ Himself IS what we receive.

John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent

That word “know” is clearly not an intellectual abstract knowing, it is an experiential abiding intimate two-becoming-one kind of knowing.

There is a very good and profound reason why we receive more than just Gods zoe life handed down to us. We receive the fullness of Jesus Christ HIMSELF which causes us to have much more than just eternal zoe life.

It should now make sense that we can give up our existing (inferior) zoe life… which is destined to die… and we can take up Jesus Christ… when we receive Him, HE has a superior eternal zoe life, because our Father in Heaven put His own zoe life into His Son…

Whoever wants to save their own zoe life will lose it

That is why Jesus repeatedly said (Im paraphrasing) we must give up our own zoe life… and we will find our Father Gods eternal zoe life.

Matthew 10:39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

Mark 8:35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.

Luke 9:24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.

Luke 17:33 Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.

John 12:25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

The exchange is you letting go – in baptism by faith – of your inferior zoe life and receiving the zoe life of God Himself IN His Son Jesus Christ.

God the Father –> Jesus Christ –> us

Now we can more easily understand the connection between God the Father and His Son… they share the same eternal zoe life… and we can now understand the connection between God the Father and Jesus Christ AND US…

John 17:21 Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us

We give up our inferior zoe life (in baptism by faith) and we receive Jesus Christ… through Him we have that same life of God the Father in us!

Lets look again at this scripture

Col 3:4-5 For you have died, and your life has been safely guarded by Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life…

If you have… and if you are a Christian then you do already have… Jesus Christ in you, then set your mind on things above…

Col 3:1-2 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ keep focusing on the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Keep your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.

and keep focussing on things unseen…

2Cor 4:18 we do not look for things that can be seen but for things that cannot be seen. For things that can be seen are temporary, but things that cannot be seen are eternal.

As you walk by faith and not by sight… He begins to manifest in your physical/mortal body… unseating all addictions, anger, filth, greed. Those things cannot remain as He manifests in our physical bodies.

Because He Himself is in all of us now we can easily understand…

Col 3:11 the Christ is all and in all.

How to do this practically?

Ok, so we studied, we are not ignorant. Now we want it. We want it all! We want him to be made manifest in our physical bodies, just as scripture says.

But how do we receive this profound truth?

2Cor 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

That word glass in the KJV really means mirror.

G2734 Thayer Definition:

1. to show in a mirror, to make to reflect, to mirror
2. to look at one’s self in a mirror
3. to behold one’s self in a mirror

Using the word mirror is a profound figurative example of how to do this practically.

Strong’s Definition: … to mirror oneself, that is, to see reflected (figuratively): – behold as in a glass.

As you speak about yourself, or as you consider yourself, don’t see who you are BY SIGHT but instead see that it is no longer you that lives but Christ lives in you. See Him in the (figurative) mirror. See Him living in you, choose not to see you in you.

As you see His glory… His perfection… His holiness… His purity… His love… His victory over death… His righteousness… His humility… all of these things are you acknowledging His glory… now you are seeing Him as He is.

See in that figurative mirror that He is within you (by faith through baptism) as a free gift from God… be sure to know you cannot earn Him, you did not deserve Him, you are none of the things that He is… but receive Him anyway by faith as a free gift.

As you do this… looking in that figurative mirror and seeing that (by faith through baptism) Jesus Christ is in you… as a free and undeserved gift… you will be changed into His likeness, from glory to glory.

From glory to glory means… bit by bit, over time… as you keep doing this.

As scripture says…

Col 3:9-10 you have stripped off the old nature with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new nature, which is being renewed in full knowledge, consistent with the image of the one who created it.

Keep believing and declaring Who He is and what he has done for you.

What DID He do for you?

Did God put his very own life into his own Son? Is His Son in you now? Is your old sinful nature dead and your own Zoe life hidden in God to be revealed later? Do you have Jesus Christ in you now? Is He your eternal zoe life now? Is He being made manifest in your physical body… removing and replacing all sinful behaviour, replacing it with His own life?

Yes?

Then you have beheld Him and you will be renewed into His image, bit by bit, from glory to glory, as you continue to behold him.

NOTE: One of the benefits to researching this and writing it over the last 4 hours, is that faith comes by hearing the word of God… therefore my faith has grown… and as I researched and wrote this I’ve beheld Him, I’ve gone from glory to glory, and my sinful nature has been unseated just a bit more as Jesus Christ manifests in my physical body.

God bless you in your journey ahead.