Choice Word: “Eis” (Into)
Choice Word: “Eis” (Into).
CAUTION: SKIM AT YOUR OWN RISK. In this era of amazing advances in technology, there are sometimes unexpected consequences that turn out to be harmful to our Christian faith. One of these harmful improvements is the flood of believers who read scripture online, on the smart phone, on the computer screen. I’m convinced there should be a warning label on every one of the online Bibles… CAUTION: SKIM AT YOUR OWN RISK. So many of us now read the Word like we would read our emails or social media or the daily news. We skim the material hurriedly, superficially, carelessly. We skim the Scripture. Skim-reading the Bible doesn’t really bury the seed very deeply, of course. And in our skimming, we would be more likely to just skip over an important word or phrase without thinking, a word that could be vital to the whole passage. The fact is, the Bible is full of single words or short phrases that are too important to simply gloss over as if it wasn’t there. There are times in the Word when single words are intended to feed us, nourish our faith, stimulate us to think at a deeper level about the biblical text.
There are single words in Scripture that are like stop signs asking us to stop and consider carefully, to pause before moving forward in the reading. This series on my blog will try to unpack some of these power-packed words or phrases in Scripture… Words like: Behold; Rejoice; Truly; Woe; Blessed; Beware; Come; If. And I will attempt to also explore the meanings of some short phrases that are single words in the original biblical language, such as “Himeni” (Here I am); “Shema” (Listen and Do’); “Splagchnizonai” (deeply moved with compassion); “pistence” (believe), and “kal-v’chomer” (How much more). If it is poetically possible to “see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wildflower, and hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour,” as William Blake once imagined, then certainly we readers of Scripture can find a world of meaning in a single word, we can grasp something profound in a simple phrase.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:3).
Focused and Intense. This secret nighttime conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus suggests a very forthright time together for them. They must have been leaning toward each other throughout their discussion on that lonely rooftop. Nicodemus was the one who called the meeting, and was used to giving orders and getting his way. Jesus evidently was his usual gracious and accommodating self and agreed to meet in the dead of the night with no one around. But Jesus took over the meeting right away, answering a question that Nicodemus didn’t even have time to ask! Jesus knew what Nicodemus was thinking and got down to business. During this conversation, Jesus used His special double Amen three different times, underscoring the importance of what He was trying to convey to Nicodemus. Truly, truly, Nicodemus, you have got some solid truth coming your way, says Jesus. Listen to me carefully and try to understand this, Nicodemus, this is literally God’s honest truth! Sure enough, this rather short conversation near the beginning of Jesus’ ministry is sometimes called the most significant conversation in John. That would be debatable, of course, because John is full of significant conversations between Jesus and others. One of them is coming right up with the woman at the well!
Born Again. The concept of being “born again” wasn’t anything new to Nicodemus, since it is an old Jewish concept. According to Judaism at that time, a practicing Jew was said to be “born again” after each of these four occasions: after a bar mitzvah at 13 years of age; after becoming married; after one becomes a rabbi; and after one is named the head of a rabbinic school. After each of those occasions, one is pronounced “born again”. Nicodemus met all four of those requirements to be born again, but of course those requirements were a natural program designed by man. There was nothing supernatural about being born again like that, it was just a natural part of their faith. When Nicodemus heard from Jesus that he needed to be born from above, he didn’t know what to think. Born from above? Yes, said Jesus, only this time it is a spiritual rebirth from above, not an ordinary rebirth according to our religion. Being truly born anew is spiritual and supernatural. Now Nicodemus might be thinking, wait a minute, is God bearing children in His kingdom? Is that what you mean? Obviously, I can’t enter my mother’s womb a second time, so I can’t be born again that away! So Jesus prefaces His next remark with, Truly, truly, this is really important, Nicodemus, so try to understand what I’m saying. Nicodemus was having a hard time tracking with Jesus, because he was stuck with the literal, earth-bound way of thinking, and not at that deeper level that Jesus was trying to engage.
Believing “into” Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world, that He gave us His only begotten Son, that whoever believes into Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16).
“En” and “Eis”. In the New Testament there are two little Greek words used constantly, en and eis. When “in” is intended, then the Greek term “en” is generally used. And when “into” is meant, the term “eis” is used. Eis literally means into or to, and implies motion into, union, and penetration. With that in mind, this is how John 3:15-19, the most popular passage in all of Christendom, could be, and often is, translated:
”… whoever believes in (en) Him, should have eternal life. For God so loved the world (Kosmos) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes into (eis) Him, should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into (eis) the world to judge the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. The one who believes into (eis) Him is not judged; but the one who does not believe has been judged already, because that one has not believed into (eis) the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this now is the judgment, that the light has come into (eis) the world, and mankind loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”
Other examples of this fascinating way of translating eis is John 1:12, “To all who received Him, to those who believed into (eis) His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”
And how about this famous passage at the end of Matthew’s gospel before His ascension, “Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into (eis) the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matt. 28:19).
Believing into Him: This is an apt phrase to use with the brilliant scholar Nicodemus because it implies action, not mere belief; it suggests entering into a union with Christ; it is not a passive phrase in which one believes in Christ’s existence, but then again won’t bother to embrace Him in everyday life, working His words practically into his heart and mind; this phrase implies a movement from a generalized belief that Jesus exists, into a personal commitment to Him; to believe into Jesus is to lean into Him, to intimately join together with Him, to trust Jesus enough to unite yourself into Him through active faith, to place yourself into the spiritual reality of Christ; to believe into Him is to desire have a permanent relationship with Him, finding your human identity in Him; believing into Jesus is to work His words into your heart and mind; it is to prove your allegiance to Him by the biblical standard of both hearing and doing, not just hearing. Believing into Christ means you have asked His Holy Spirit to enter your life, and for you to enter into His.
The More Traditional Version… ‘In Him’. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16-17). To “believe in Him” means to entrust one’s life to the God of Scripture, that what He said and did all through the Bible is true, that there is a commitment to put God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in charge of one’s life and destiny while leaning onto Him daily. “Everlasting life,” the promised eternal life, is all about quality just as much as quantity. Rabbinic tradition focused on the quality of life enjoyed for eternity, not just the idea of living forever. Jesus made it clear in His ministry that eternal life with Him begins the moment one begins to follow Him and accept Him into one’s life. God’s love for the world, everyone, not just the Chosen People, not just the church-goers, everyone in the world, is so deep and indiscriminate that He was willing to sacrifice His Son to death, even for those who might ultimately reject Him. The Greek word for “world” here is “cosmos.” When God says He loves the world, He means the whole wide world.