Sozo

 

 

“Do you know what the Greek word “sozo” means?” Pat, my husband, asked me a week ago. Today’s devotional is the answer to his question.

 

There is much more depth to the Word of God than merely reading a translation. We lose significant understanding if we do not explore the meaning of the original text. We need knowledge because, without it, we will perish (Hosea 4:6). 

 

The New Testament was originally written in Greek, the common language of the Eastern Mediterranean at that time. While some scholars have debated the prospect of certain parts being written in Hebrew or Aramaic, most agree that Greek is the original language.

 

A Greek word in the New Testament that signifies new life for us is “sozo,” and it means “save.” This word impacts not only our eternal destination but also our lives here on earth. However, many Christians believe that what Jesus accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection affects only the spiritual and eternal. 

 

Paul writes: “[Jesus] who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (Galatians 1:4).

 

Not only did Jesus come to save us from our sins and hell, but also from this present evil world. He came to deliver, protect, and provide for us in our physical world today.

 

The Bible clearly conveys this by using the Greek word “sozo” over one hundred times in the New Testament. "Sozo" is a comprehensive term for salvation, often translated as “save” or “saved.” A closer examination of this word reveals that salvation embraces more than just the forgiveness of sins. 

 

The term “sozo” was translated as “save” thirty-eight times concerning the forgiveness of sins. 

 

One example from Scripture is Matthew 1:21: “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save [sozo] His people from their sins.”

 

The term “sozo” appeared fifty-three times translated as “saved,” indicating a completed action linked to the forgiveness of sins. One specific example where this specific Greek word was translated as "healed" is found in Mark 5:23:

 

“[Jairus] begged [Jesus] earnestly, saying, ‘My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed [sozo], and she will live.”

 

Jairus’s daughter actually died; however, Jesus brought her back to life (Mark 5:35-43). Therefore, in this instance, “sozo” or “healed” encompasses both physical healing and resurrection from death.

 

The term “sozo,” which encompasses both the forgiveness of sins and physical healing, also involves deliverance from demons. In Luke 8, we find what those who witnessed Jesus’ deliverance of the demoniac reported to others about it: 

 

“They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed [sozo]” (Luke 8:36).

 

What do we know about this demoniac? He was erratic and uncontrollable; no one could confine him. He frequently broke the chains that restrained him. Sometimes, freedom from demonic influence is crucial for someone to achieve healing. The term “sozo” also represents this liberation.

 

Paul writes in Acts 4:9: “If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well [sozo].”

 

Paul observed a crippled man and recognized that he had the faith to be healed, and so he was. Faith is the means by which we receive the healing benefits of the forgiveness of sins.

 

Another illustration of Jesus’ power to save, manifesting in our lives through healing and the forgiveness of sins, is found in James 5:15: “And the prayer of faith will save [sozo] the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”

 

In Luke 6:9, Jesus understood the thoughts of the scribes and Pharisees:

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save [sozo] life or to destroy?”

 

Jesus healed the man with the withered hand when the religious leaders did not answer His question. Jesus was not merely speaking of the forgiveness of sin; He was referring to the healing of the body.

 

The term “sozo” was also translated as “made whole” or “be whole” in over eleven instances in the New Testament. 

 

An example of this can be found in Mark 5:28, where the woman with the issue of blood speaks: “If I may touch his clothes, I shall be whole [sozo].”

 

Another instance is found in Luke 8:50 when Jesus heard the news that Jairus’ daughter had died. He told Jairus: “Fear not, believe only, and she shall be made whole [sozo]”

 

Jesus was speaking of her physical healing. 

 

Many view salvation as merely the forgiveness of our sins. However, the Greek word “sozo” signifies that it encompasses much more. While the forgiveness of sins is the core purpose of salvation, at the same time that Christ died to secure our redemption from sin, He also freed us from its consequences. He fully restored and liberated us from sickness, disease, despair, and deprivation.

 

2 Corinthians 8:9 reads: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”

 

Jesus became poor so that through His poverty, we might be abundantly supplied. Through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, God has provided us with everything we need in this life and the life to come: forgiveness of sins, healing, deliverance, and His abundant provision. 

 

“His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3).

 

We possess everything we need within ourselves to walk in the truth of His righteousness. We perish because of the truth we do not know. However, when His truth flourishes in our souls, we can understand it, and it will set us free from all the destruction of sin.

 

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers”(3 John 2).

 

I have fought hard to learn this truth, and I am still learning it. As long as I see sickness, despair, and poverty as burdens God has given me, they will continue to weigh me down. The effects of sin will shape my existence rather than the liberating message of salvation through Jesus. 

 

“Don’t allow doubt or fear,” the Holy Spirit constantly reminds me. "Only believe in what I say. Don’t let any unbelief hinder my restoration in you.”

 

I choose your salvation in all its fullness of revelation, Lord Jesus. Thank you for the precious blood you shed for me! I want to honor your gift, believing and speaking all of your salvation in my heart.

 

 

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