Zoe and Healing
Rev 22:1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Rev 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
The word "zoe" is the Greek word for life. In the scriptures it refers to the life or nature of God and is synonymous with eternal life. It refers to spiritual life not physical life, but the condition of the spirit ultimately determines the condition of the body.
You and I are made in God’s image therefore we consist of three major divisions just as God does. Have you ever heard of the Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost? Man IS a spirit, he has a soul and he lives in a body.
1 Th 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole SPIRIT AND SOUL AND BODY be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Each of these divisions has an influence on your overall health. The bible has the least to say about the effect of bodily conditioning on your health.
1 Tim 4:8 For physical training is of SOME VALUE, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
John 6:63 The Spirit gives life; THE FLESH COUNTS FOR NOTHING. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
The flesh may count for nothing but it is not to be abused. The body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. You were bought with a price therefore honor God with your body. Don’t do things that you know will injure your body like smoking or overeating. Be a good steward of what God has given you and it will last.
There are instructions in the word pertaining to the health of the soul (which constitutes the mind, will, and emotions).
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Phil 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
2 Cor 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Mind science religions like christian science claim to heal the body through the power of the mind. I dispute the claim that the mind has any such power. Regardless, your spirit is the core of your being and the ultimate source of life for both mind and body. Logically it should therefore be far more effective to heal through the spirit than through the mind.
The most important source of life and health for man is the author of life Himself. That life flows in to you through your spirit. Christian healing is via the spirit. What is a spirit? A spirit is a being that exists independently of matter, energy, space and time. God is a spirit, angels are spirits, demons are spirits, the devil is a spirit. You are a spirit. You will exist forever but your body is as temporary as the universe with which you are familiar.
Spiritual life from God enters your body through your spirit. This can only occur if your spirit is in living contact with God.
1 Cor 6:17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
John 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
He is the vine we are the branches. We receive the nourishing sap from the olive root. If we remain in Him we continue to receive life, if not we wither and are destined for destruction. The life of God that flows into us will heal our bodies and can flow out to heal others.
As I stated earlier the REAL you is your spirit. The health of your spirit is paramount. Your body is just the house YOU live in here on the earth. For your body to be healthy you must feed it the right things. This is also true of your spirit.
Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Your spirit is the ultimate source of life for your body and you cannot have a healthy spirit without feeding it. God’s word, the bible, is food for your spirit. Like manna you cannot save it overnight. The word you ate yesterday will not sustain you today. Try starving your body for a week and see what happens. How do you eat the bible? You assimilate it into your being through your mouth.
Josh 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
The Hebrew word for meditate used here means to mutter or to speak to oneself over and over.
Prov 4:20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
Prov 4:21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
Prov 4:22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear let him hear.". He was talking about hearing with the heart (or spirit). We can see from this scripture that God's words enter a receptive heart through the ears and the eyes. Daily bible reading (especially if done out loud) and an active prayer life keep you in living contact with the Father above from whom all blessings flow.
No discussion of spiritual life (zoe) would be complete without discussing spiritual death. When God warned Adam about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil He said:
Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Adam did not die physically that day but he did die spiritually. He had sinned and sin separates you from the life of God. It took almost a thousand years for that spiritual death to eventually kill his body.
This next point is the reason for our entire discussion of zoe. Sickness is incipient death in the body. Part of the body may be dead or the body may be slowly dying but it is death nonetheless. This death in the body comes from death in the spirit. God’s life flowing into the spirit will correct that underlying spiritual condition. This life may come 1) from the word of God going directly into your own spirit, 2) for the unsaved by salvation, a grafting into the vine or 3) through the body of another that has that life of God in them. It can be transferred by the laying on of hands, for example. That zoe life in the spirit will eventually show up as healing and health in the body.
God alone is the ultimate source of all life and health. Blessed be His Holy name.