Found close to a hundred and fifty times in the New Testament, the Greek verb “zao” means “to be alive,” “to live,” “to live a life,” “recover.”
This word describes both our physical and spiritual existence. Jesus, who had the power to make the dead “live” (Mt. 9:18), said man does not “live” by bread alone (Mt. 4:4). Righteous people “live” (Rom. 1:17) because they have a faith which obeys (Rom. 1:5; 16:26) the “living” God (2 Cor. 3:3). Some “live” a life of sin (Phil. 1:22), but another type of “life” is possible (Gal.
5:25). All can “live” a godly life (2 Tim. 3:12) for their “lifetime” (Heb. 2:15) and thus have a “living” hope (1 Pet. 1:3) through Jesus who is “alive” forevermore (Rev. 1:18). Some have a name which says they are “living” (Rev. 3:1), but in reality, they are spiritually dead.