What Is Salvation In Jesus Christ?
What does it mean to be saved by Jesus Christ? To be saved or to receive salvation is more than going to heaven when you die. It is more than eternal life. Is it possible that some of us have the wrong idea or an incomplete idea about salvation? Is this misconception affecting our walk with Christ and our understanding of the gospel? The next group of posts examine these and other questions as we dig deeply into what it means to be ‘sozoed’ (Greek for ‘saved’). We begin with Scripture:
“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That is if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved (sozo). For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved (sozo) . . . For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (sozo)” (Romans 10: 8 – 10, 13 NIV).
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save (sozo) the world through Him (John 3: 16, 17 NIV).
John is telling us Jesus died to save ‘the world’, Kosmos in Greek, which means ‘the whole world, all mankind’, not some ‘chosen’ subset of the world. ‘Whoever’, as in “whoever believes in Him”, means “each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything” (Thayer’s Definition). Jesus died to save every, all human beings, although not everyone will accept and receive this salvation.
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (sozo)” (Acts 4: 12 NIV).
“She will give birth to a son, and you will give Him the name Jesus (the Greek form of Joshua, which means “the Lord saves”), because He will save (sozo) His people from their sins” (Matthew 1: 21 NIV).
“And Jesus said unto him, this day is salvation (soteria) come to this house . . . For the Son of man is come to seek and to save (sozo) that which was lost” (Luke 19: 9, 10 KJV).
“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation (soteria) and leaves no regret (2 Corinthians 7: 10 NIV).
Two of the most important words in the New Testament are ‘saved’ and ‘salvation’. God sent Jesus to “save the world” and “to seek and save that which is lost”. Jesus’ name in Hebrew is Yeshua, which means to deliver, rescue, save. It is derived from the Hebrew name Joshua, which means “The Lord is salvation”. Salvation is one of God’s main purposes for sending Jesus. Jesus rescues us from the life of bondage to satan, disease, death, the flesh, and sin experienced by everyone who lives in the kingdom of the world. He did this through His sacrifice on the cross for everyone, inviting all into a life of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Kingdom of God.
Not only does God save us, but then, to accomplish His plan for creation, God gave His saved people dominion over the earth to release, advance His Kingdom; to save it from satan.
“What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of (earthbound) man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You have crowned him with glory and It honor. You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet” (Psalm 8: 4 – 6 AMP).
God saves. God gives His saved people purpose and the power and authority required to accomplish His purposes. “He called His twelve disciples to Him and gave them authority (exousia, in Greek) to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness (Matthew 10: 1 NIV).
Then, in Jerusalem, just before Pentecost, Jesus tells His disciples, “But you will receive power (dunamis, in Greek) when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1: 8 NLT).
Speaking to His disciples, Jesus said, “I have given you authority (exousia) to trample on snakes and scorpions (‘snakes and scorpions’ represent demons) and to overcome the power (dunamis) of the enemy; nothing will harm you” (Luke 10: 19 NIV).
He calls His saved people His redeemed, “formed into a kingdom of priests who reign on the earth” (Revelation 5: 10 TPT).
Throughout the New Testament, the Greek word sozo is translated as ‘saved’. The Greek word soteria is translated in the New Testament as ‘salvation’. The two words have the same “primal etymology”. Soteria is a noun; sozo is a verb. Sozo is the act that produces the noun, soteria. A similar Greek word, also a noun, is soter, which means ‘savior’ or ‘deliverer’. Together, these three words make up what is called the Soteria Group of words; the basis for the English word ‘soteriology’, which is the study of salvation.
Let’s look more deeply into the meaning of sozo and soteria. For these definitions I am primarily drawing on Strong’s Concordance, Thayer’s Definitions, and the word studies in the Precept Austin series.
Sozo in Scripture describes rescue or deliverance from danger, destruction, or peril. It also means to heal, to deliver from satan and his demons, to keep safe, to save from suffering due to disease, to make well, to make whole, and restore to health. It is used 110 times in the New Testament.
Soteria in Scripture describes restoration to a state of safety, soundness, deliverance, health and well-being, bodily health, and preservation from danger or destruction. It is used 45 times in the New Testament.
Sozo and Soteria – same meaning, different parts of speech. The act of sozo (e.g. “He was sozoed”, i.e. ‘saved’) leads to soteria, or salvation. Together, they describe total salvation – healing and rescue or deliverance from evil – of spirit, soul, and body beginning when I enter and live with Jesus in the Kingdom of God in this life and continuing for eternity in heaven and, ultimately, back here on a restored earth (the new heaven and new earth, Revelation 21).
Most of us think of salvation as a one-time event – accept Jesus as savior and BAM, salvation. In this sense, this salvation is generally interpreted to mean when you die you will ‘go’ to your eternal reward in heaven, and not eternal damnation or hell. Some say, “one and done”. But salvation is more complex than that. It is expressed here, on earth now, and it involves our participation. Salvation is also progressive. I am saved one time. I have been saved; I am being saved; and I will be saved. Salvation is past, present, and future. Consider these Scriptures:
Salvation Past
“For it is by grace you have been saved (sozo)” (Ephesians 2: 8 NIV).
“He saved (sozo) us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously” (Titus 3: 5, 6 NIV).
Salvation Present
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved (sozo) it the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1: 18 NIV).
“Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation (soteria) of your souls” (1 Peter 1: 8, 9 NIV).
Salvation Future
“Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved (sozo) from God’s wrath” (Romans 5: 9 NIV).
“The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daylight . . . Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (Romans 8: 11 – 14 NIV).
In these verses it seems to me that the idea of progressive salvation is nearly identical to sanctification. Both are a journey. Both involve the influence of the Holy Spirit coupled with my decisions and actions. Both involve holiness. Holiness present – “You are “holy and blameless in His sight” (Ephesians 1: 4 NIV); holiness future – “By one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy (Hebrews 10: 14 NIV).
Jesus came to live among us on earth – wholly man and wholly God – to rescue the world from the dominion of darkness – a life in which sin, demons, disease, and death rule. “For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom there is redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1: 13, 14 NIV). He rescues us, He saves us, He redeems us.
Each time we are saved, today, tomorrow, and in the future, we experience resurrection. In our salvation we find new life, hope, joy, peace, and authority and power to continue His work as His disciples. In the salvation of Jesus Christ, we are free to love and be loved. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5: 1 NIV). What a miracle!