
SOZO
One of the most fascinating words in all of the NT is the Greek word “sozo.”
I was reading today in the book of Acts and stopped at an amazing story in chapter 14.
The Apostle Paul is in Lystra and a crippled man, lame from birth who had never walked, was listening to Paul preach. Verse 9 & 10 says:
Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be made well and Paul called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
There is a little footnote in my Bible beside “made well” that says “Literally: saved.” This is the Greek word sozo. Paul looked at the man and saw that he had faith to be HEALED or sozo.
Jesus uses the word sozo in John 10:9 when He says “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be SAVED.” The beautiful thing about sozo is that NT writers used it in one way, but three different ways. Saved. Healed. Delivered. Sozo is used to express the Victory of the Cross transforming a person’s body, soul and / or spirit.
In the famous story of Luke 8, Jesus meets a demon-possessed man from Gerasenes who is filled with a legion (or 7,000 – 10,000) of demons. In v.36, the Bible says that the man had been MADE WELL or sozo. This man’s soul was dominated by demonic powers, but Jesus offered him “sozo,” peace and victory for his soul.
God’s grace is not only for salvation of your spirit and cleansing from sin. Jesus Christ went to the Cross for the healing (sozo) of your physical body from ALL sickness and disease and Christ offers victory for your soul to be healed (sozo) from sinful patterns of addiction, bitterness, anger, anxiety, sexual immorality, worry, doubt and fear.
What part of your life today needs the sozo of Jesus Christ? His cross releases victory over sin, sickness, demonic powers, bondages, strongholds, illness, bitterness — EVERYTHING that afflicts the human body, soul and spirit.