I recently spent some time with David Dyer, author of a book I really enjoyed entitled Let My People Go! You can read an excerpt here. David also completed The Father’s Life, a translation of the New Testament. You can obtain a copy at no cost by requesting it at www.agrainofwheat.com.
(From David Dyer) This version of the New Testament was written to clarify an essential truth of the gospel message. This is the concept of eternal life. Many, if not most believers, think that receiving eternal life means that their human life has now been extended forever. This, however, is not true.
Much misunderstanding about this important truth comes from the inadequate translation of the word “life” in the New Testament. While in English we have one word “life” which encompasses a vast spectrum of meaning, the ancient Greek is much more specific. They used at least three words.
One of their words “BIOS” essentially means biological/physical life. The second word “PSUCHÊ” refers to our soul life or psychological life. The third word “ZOE” was chosen by the writers of the New Testament to refer to the uncreated life of God.
When we believe into Jesus, it is this ever-existing life which is born into us. We are actually “born of God” (John 1:12) and become his sons and daughters. What the new birth is not is our old soul-life receiving permission to live forever. Instead, it is the life of a Divine being (God
himself) being implanted within our human spirit (John 3:6). So we see that gaining “eternal life” is actually getting the life of an eternal being which comes to live within us. It is not our own life living forever.So this translation of the New Testament was undertaken to try to clarify this truth for the benefit of all believers in Jesus Christ. As you might imagine, this truth has many ramifications and benefits which this translation also attempts to convey in a clear way.
(From John 5) “Furthermore, the Father doesn’t judge anyone, but he has committed all judgment to the Son so that everyone will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who doesn’t revere the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.
“Truly, truly I say to you, he who hears my word and is believing the One who sent me has the Father’s eternal life and will not receive the sentence of condemnation, but has crossed over from death into the Father’s immortal life.
“Truly, truly I say to you, the hour is coming and, in fact, has now come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who understand it will receive God’s life. For as the Father has his life in himself, even so also he granted to the Son to have this same life in himself.
“Furthermore, he gave him authority to execute judgment because he is a son of man. Don’t be astonished at this because the time is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out: those who have done good to the resurrection of the Father’s life, and those who lived a careless life to the resurrection of judgment. “I am able to do nothing which originates with myself. As I hear from the Father, I judge, and my judgment is righteous because I don’t seek my own will but the will of him who sent me.
(From 1 Corinthians 14) If then the whole group of called-out ones is assembled together and everyone speaks with an unknown language and some people who are uneducated or unbelieving come in, won’t they say that you are crazy? But if everyone prophesies and someone unbelieving or uneducated enters, he is reproved by all and he is judged by all since the secrets of his heart are being revealed. And so he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.
What is the proper way to conduct your meetings then, brethren? When you come together, each one has a psalm; has a teaching; has a revelation; has a message in an unknown language; has an interpretation. Let everything be done for building up the others.
If anyone speaks in an unknown language, it should be done by two, or at the most three people, with each taking their turn. And someone should interpret. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep quiet in the gathering of the called-out ones. Let him speak to himself and to God.
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