05/19/2017
An excerpt from our book "Watching From the Wall" that will be available soon (for free) from our ministry website (www.beautifulfeetministries.org)
“SOZO” SALVATION
“Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” James 5:14-16
One of the best ways that we know to teach about God's will regarding healing is to examine the meaning of two familiar words: saved and salvation. The true meaning of these words is often lost on English readers of the New Testament. Most people are amazed and extremely excited when they discover what these words mean.
In the original Greek language, the language in which the New Testament manuscripts were written (along with some Aramaic), the word for save and saved is sozo and the word for salvation is soterion. The Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (with Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries) renders the definition for “save” and “saved” (sozo) as follows: Strong's # 4982 Sozo: to save, i.e. deliver or protect (lit. or fig.):--heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole. The definition for salvation: Strong's # 4992 (soterion) comes directly from the Greek word (soteria), Strong's #4991, which means, rescue or safety (phys. or mor.):--deliver, health, salvation, save, saving.
For man, as the triune being that God created him to be, to be made whole, as “sozo” salvation promises him that he can be, he would need to have access to healing in all three areas of his life–that is spirit, soul (mind, will, emotions), and body. We see healing of spirit, soul, and body present in the following Scripture passage: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities [spirit realm]: the chastisement of our peace was upon him [soul realm]; and with his stripes we are healed [body realm]” (Isaiah 53:4-5). In other words, Jesus died on the Cross that we might be made whole, spirit, soul, and body.
To use the language of healing, we could say that spirit healing is being born again (John 3:3). We could also say that soul realm healing is healing for your mind, will, and emotions. It involves being able to have a sound mind with peace and joy in your life (2 Timothy 1:7; Galatians 5:22). Insane people can be made normal (Luke 8:35; 2 Timothy 1:7), and when evil spirits are involved, according to Mark 16:17, you also have power to deal with that in the Name of Jesus. Most of the time, to receive a healing on any level, one must have a genuine understanding of commanding prayer. (Please refer to that section of this work.)
To conclude this section on “Sozo” salvation, we would like to share some Scriptures with you that we believe you will find amazing. These Scriptures were life changing for us twenty years ago, and we are excited to share them with you. We also suggest that you get a concordance and look up all the Scriptures that contain the words save, saved, and salvation. We believe that you will be amazed at what you find.
We’ll start with James 5:14-15, the Scripture that originally caused us to investigate the meaning of the word saved and the discovery of “sozo” approximately twenty years ago. “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” The Scripture is talking about prayer saving the sick. When you understand the meaning of the word save (sozo), this makes sense. It also makes us excited, as we believe it will you, as well.
Let’s read 1 Timothy 2:15, which has to do with childbearing. “Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity with sobriety.” This Scripture certainly is not saying that every woman who has a child is born again. When you understand the meaning of the word saved (sozo), the Scripture makes sense.
In Mark 5:34, when speaking of the woman with the issue of blood, we read “And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith has made thee whole, go in peace and be whole of thy plague.” The words made whole are in the Greek manuscripts “sozo” or saved.
Before we go on to more Scripture, let’s read 1 Timothy 2:4 which says, referring to God, “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” This should make you shout (if you are reading this, you’re an all) when you realize that saved is “sozo.” Always remember that the answer is Jesus. “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved [sozo]…” (Acts 16:31). It is God’s will that you be made whole, spirit, soul, and body, and He sent Jesus to make that possible.
When the disciples were caught in a storm at sea, they awakened Jesus and said “Lord save [sozo] us; we perish” (Matthew 8:25). Jesus rebuked the wind and calmed the storm, and He will deliver you from danger as well.
The Lord took care of the children of Israel, “…how that the Lord, having saved [sozo] the people out of the land of Egypt,…” (Jude 5). He will take care of you.
We have concentrated on the “sozo” Scriptures that do not involve being born again or saved from our sins. Let us never forget Matthew 1:21 that says, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins,” or 1 Corinthians 15:1-3 “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved [sozo], if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;….”
What amazing “salvation” is provided for us in Jesus. God truly desires you to be saved (sozo).
