I’ve talked with a number of people who are interested in learning more about Sozo. Interestingly, some are fine with the ministry itself, but are not comfortable with the name…Sozo.
“It sounds so New Age.”
“I wish they’d change the name.”
“I don’t have a problem with the ministry and what occurs, it’s the name I have a problem with.”
To a number of people, the word, sozo, sounds New Age. We prefer to avoid anything New Age, so the name causes some to want to avoid the ministry, though they have no objection to the ministry.
But, is it really New Age? Is the word New Age? No. And, no. My intent here is to explain what the word sozo actually is….what it means…and how it is throughout our belief system in the hope that the word will cease to be a stumbling block. In explaining it, I realize that, just because the word isn’t New Age, doesn’t mean the ministry is not New Age. Sozo ministry is not New Age, nor of the devil. I would submit it is safer than counseling, but articulating my thoughts in this regard is not my intent. You may be ok with the term and still not ok with the ministry. That is your prerogative.
Back to the word….sozo. It is a Greek word found 110 times in the New Testament. Compare that to the number of usages of other Greek words with which we are comfortable: rhema is used 67 times….koinonia, 20 times….ecclesia, 107 times. Zoe, another familiar Greek word meaning life, is used slightly more often, 134 times. Agape, a very familiar Greek word, is used 116 times, not much more than sozo.
Now, I understand that the usage of a particular word doesn’t really tell us much about the word, but it can help us to see that it’s a common word in the Greek New Testament. Anyone who reads Greek would encounter the word on a regular basis. But, what does it mean? It means to save, i.e. deliver or protect (literally or figuratively), to heal, preserve, do well, be (make) whole.
Whenever Jesus, or any New Testament author spoke of salvation, he used the word sozo.
Save(Sozo) yourself, and come down from the cross! Mark 15:30 NASB
Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves[sozo] you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, (1 Peter 3:21 ESV)
But the one who endures to the end will be saved[sozo] (Matthew 10:22 ESV)
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved[sozo] through him. (John 3:17 ESV)
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save[sozo] sinners; of whom I am chief. (1 Timothy 1:15 KJV)
Numerous times, when the New Testament speaks of healing, it uses the word, sozo, to mean healed, made well. In a number of the following passages, the KJV translate it as ‘made whole’.
And Jesus said to him(Bartimaeus), “Go your way; your faith has made you well.[sozo]” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. (Mark 10:52 ESV)
And he said to him(the leper that returned to give thanks) “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well[sozo].” (Luke 17:19 ESV)
Look at the encounter between Jesus and the woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years,
For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well[sozo]” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed[sozo]of her disease. And Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed [sozo] of your disease.” (Mark 5:28, 29, 34 ESV)
It is also used when referring to being delivered of a demon. After Jesus delivers the Gadarene demoniac of his legion of demons, the crowds come out and see the him sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.
And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed[sozo]. (Luke 8:36 ESV)
One of the most interesting usages of the word sozo is found in 1 Corinthians
9:22
To the weak became I as weak, that I might[sozo] gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save[sozo] some. (1 Corinthians 9:22 KJV)
I know the 2nd usage of sozo is a typical translation, save. But, the first use was new to me. Gain is another Greek word unlike sozo, but combined with sozo, bringing a greater meaning to the verse.
Sozo is simply a Greek word that when translated into English means salvation and healing of the entire person…spiritual, emotional and physical. It is not New Age. It only sounds New Age because we are not accustomed to it. Avoiding it or changing the name only serves to keep us unaccustomed to it. It’s still there…throughout the New Testament…..to refer to what Christ purchased for us on the cross.