“That everyone having emunahin him may have Chayyei Olam.”- John 3:15Orthodox Jewish Bible
I thought it interesting to take a look at the above verse in the Orthodox Jewish Bible. The English text reads: “That everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.” The “him” refers to Jesus. There is more than one-way to look at the word believe in this verse. Believing in something or someone without it making a change in your behavior and subsequently your life is nothing more than intellectual acknowledgment. That is insufficient to gain entrance into God’s heaven.
The Hebrew word ‘emunah’ means much more than simply believing. James 2:19(NLT)says, “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.” Even though the bible says all those who believe Jesus is God will be saved, the meaning of the Jewish word ‘emunah’ means an “innate (or natural) conviction, a perception of truth that transcends, rather than evades, reason.”1Could this be the work of the Holy Spirit during the normal salvation process?
Eternal life isn’t just living with our Heavenly Father forever. The English meaning for the Hebrew Chayyei Olamis “’lasting life’ or ‘a life of eternity’ which refers to living a life focused on matters of eternal importance.”1 So while avoiding the trap of ‘being so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good’, we press on seeking to live in a way that is god-like in that we attempt to emulate our Lord. When we are redeemed, we receive the gift of natural conviction that what we have been told re: Christ and God is absolutely true and worth abiding by. This is accomplished by allowing the Lord to be in the forefront of your thinking and the Holy Spirit guiding the ship. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! rlkeller
Resources: The Life Application Study Bible; the American Heritage Dictionary;
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