Yes! There is Good News! February 24, 2022

Yes! There is Good News!
by Bill Rollins
original post date: February 24, 2022

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. …. And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.’ …. And there was evening and there was morning – the second day.” (Gen. 1:1-6)

We know that God created light on the “first day” but for our intents and purposes
we need to consider the second day when God was working with water!

Now let us jump all the way to the last book of the bible, Revelation. In the final chapter, 22:1 we read this, “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city.” Toward the end of this final chapter, verse 17, we read, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come’! Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”

We read about water in the first chapter of the first book of the Bible and we again read about water in the final chapter of the last book of the Bible. Do you think we might find references to water elsewhere in scripture? Indeed we do!! There are over 700 references to water in the Old and New Testaments. We have neither the time nor the inclination to check out all these scriptures but perhaps we might ponder a few of them.

In our previous article we saw Jesus speak of the living water as though it would flow from within God’s people as a river. (John 7:38) John informs us that, “by this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.” This receiving of the Holy Spirit is perhaps the highlight of the third phase of the Gospel.

I don’t believe I have to elaborate upon the idea that water is essential to life. Every one of us has at some time or another been thirsty – perhaps even to the point of fainting. Our bodies are over 60% water and we are told over and over again to make sure we stay hydrated. Drinking a sufficient amount of water each day is vital to good health.

We know this from a physical point of view but how about from a spiritual point of view? Much of the time when one of the authors of the Bible talks about life, they are using a word that should lead us to understand the reality of our spiritual life. In the New Testament Greek the word used is “zoe” (pronounced ‘dzo-ay’). From Vine’s Greek dictionary of the New Testament we find this definition: “Zoe means life in the absolute sense; life as God has it, and  which the Father has in Himself. It was from this life that Adam and Eve became alienated as a consequence of the fall.”

There are 3 words from the Greek which are translated ‘life’ in scripture: Zoe, Bios, and Psuche. Bios is the word from which we get our English words, Biology (the study of life) or Biography (the ‘mapping out’ of one’s life). Psuche simply means ‘breath’ – that which all living things need. And so we have a lesson in Greek – Zoe is the spiritual word we are seeking and we will consider it next time.