The New Testament talks about God as
being alive [zao], as being
life [zoe], and has having life [zoe] in Himself.
Note: The life [zoe] of God is eternal life.
(Greek word) zoe: Life | eternal life.
(Greek word) zao: To live | to be alive (not lifeless | not dead).
The God who is alive [zao], who has life [zoe] in Himself, created human beings to live | to be alive [zao] on the created earth in created bodies.
ZOE:
In Him (the Word of God) is life [zōḗ], and the life [zōḗ] is the light of men. -- John 1:4.
They named Him Jesus. Jesus said,
"For as the Father has life [zōḗ] in himself; so has he given to the Son (of God)
to have life [zōḗ] in himself." -- John 5:26; and,
"I am the way, the truth, and the life [zoe]: no man comes unto the Father, but by me."
-- John 14:6.
John wrote, "God has given to us eternal life [zoe], and
this (eternal) life [zōḗ] is in His Son; and,
and,
He that has the Son has this (eternal) life [zoe]; and he that has not the Son of God has not this (eternal) life [zōḗ]." -- 1 John 5:11-12.
CHRIST HAS ZOE IN HIMSELF.
CREATED HUMANS DO NOT. THE ZOE GIVEN TO US IS IN CHRIST.
Eternal life [zoe] is only given to created human beings through
what the apostle Paul calls "the mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints", which is "Christ in you, the hope of glory."
It follows that
if someone does not have the Spirit of Christ coming to abide in him, he does not have eternal life; and without being
born of the Spirit of God (just as we were born of the flesh), created human beings simply
have no eternal life [zoe] in them. Jesus said,
"I am in my Father, and ye (will be) in me, and I in you." -- John 14:19b-20b.
The full list of verses using the word zoe is
HERE
ZAO:
Thayer's Greek Lexicon defines zaō firstly as meaning
to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead).
In the New Testament,
eternal life in the Greek
is always referred to as aionios zoe, never as aionios zao.
Throughout the New Testament, whenever the verses containing the word zao are referring
to God, they are referring to
the living [zao] God | the God who is alive [zao], who has eternal life [zoe] in Himself,
but
whenever the verses containing the word zao are referring to
created humans who are alive | living [zao], they are referring to humans who are
alive in their human bodies (not dead | not lifeless), regardless of whether or not they have eternal life [zoe], for example,
"Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth [zao]? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth [zao]; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband." (Romans 7:1-2).
"For this reason Christ died [apothnesko] and rose again from the dead [anistemi], and lived again [anazao: lived again in a body that is not dead], so that he may be the Lord of both the dead [nekros] and living [zao: those who are alive in a body that is not dead]." (Romans 14:9).
I Thessalonians 4:15 & 17:
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [zao] and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
Then we which are alive [zao] and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
The full list is
HERE , but below are some examples referring to the living [zao] God:
THE LIVING [zao] GOD,
THE LIVING [zao] WORD,
THE LIVING [záō] CHRIST,
AND LIVING [zao] WATER
1.
THE LIVING WORD
Hebrews 4:12:
For the word of God is alive [zao], and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
I Peter 1:23:
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth [zao] and abideth for ever.
2.
CHRIST ALIVE IN THE BODY
Revelation 1:18:
I am he that liveth [zao], and was dead; and, behold, I am alive [zao] for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
(Referring to Christ's bodily death, bodily resurrection, and the fact that He is alive in His body [zao] to the ages of the ages.)
Revelation 2:8:
And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive [zao].
Acts 1:3:
To whom also he shewed himself alive [zao] after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
Acts 25:19:
But had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive [zao].
(Referring to Christ being alive again in the body).
The full list is on the same page given above.
3.
THE GOD WHO IS ALIVE |THE LIVING GOD, AND THE LIVING CHRIST
I Peter 2:4:
To whom coming, as unto a living [zao] stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious.
(Christ, the God who is alive | the living God [zao] and is alive in the body [zao] forevermore).
Revelation 4:9:
And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth [zao] for ever and ever.
(The God who is alive | the living God, and Christ, the God who is alive | the living God [zao] and is alive in the body [zao] forevermore).
The full list is on the same page given above.
Revelation 20
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them:
and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived [zao] and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Throughout the New Testament, whenever the verses containing the word zao are referring to God, they are referring to the living [zao] God | the God who is alive [zao], who has eternal life [zoe] in Himself,
but WHENEVER the verses containing the word zao are referring to created humans who are alive | living [zao], they are referring to humans who are alive in their human bodies (not dead | not lifeless), regardless of whether or not they have eternal life [zoe].
The remnant of the saints - those of us who believe in the Word of God and place the authority of scripture above the doctrines and theologies of fallible human beings, allow the New Testament to speak for itself.
The rest deny the facts and change the meaning of scripture whenever and wherever they need to (make their futile attempts to) get scripture to comply with their man-made doctrines and theologies.
5 But the rest of the dead
lived not again [anazao] until the thousand years were finished.
This is the first resurrection of the body [anastasis].
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection [anastasis]: on such the second death hath no power, but they
shall be priests of God and of Christ, and
shall reign with him a thousand years.
