Lexicon

G4982 - sozo

Strong's: G4982 · BLB lookup Pronunciation: sode'-zo Part of speech: verb Cognates: G4990 - soter, sōtēr, "savior"; G4991 - soteria, "salvation" Hebrew equivalents (LXX): H3467 - yasha, יָשַׁע, "to save / deliver"; the root behind the names Yeshua / Yehoshua / Joshua / Jesus. NT occurrences: ~106

Semantic range (Thayer / BDAG)

To save / rescue from immediate physical danger, from drowning (Matthew 14:30), shipwreck (Acts 27:31), violent attack (Matthew 8:25 "Lord, save us, we are perishing!").
To heal / restore to health, from disease, demon possession, or injury (Matthew 9:21-22; Mark 5:23, 28, 34; Luke 7:50; Acts 4:9). In Greek medical idiom, sōzō is a standard verb for restoration to wholeness.
To preserve / keep safe, from harm or destruction (Matthew 24:22; Hebrews 5:7).
To save in the eschatological / soteriological sense, to rescue from divine judgment, sin, condemnation, hell. The dominant NT theological sense (Matthew 1:21; Romans 10:9; Ephesians 2:8; 1 Timothy 1:15).

The Greek verb is the antonym of apollymi (G622, "to destroy / perish"). This binary undergirds NT soteriology: sōzō / apollymi, saved / perishing, is the fundamental human-condition contrast (cf. John 3.16 mē apolētai all' echē zōēn aiōnion).

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Theological force

The verb's range is theologically significant because the NT writers self-consciously layer the senses. When Jesus says to a healed person "your faith has sōzōed you" (e.g., Mark 5:34, Luke 7:50, Luke 17:19), the immediate sense is healing, but the deeper sense is whole-person salvation. The physical restoration is a sign of the eschatological reality.

The salvation NT sōzō names is comprehensive:

From sin (Matthew 1:21 "He will save His people from their sins")
From wrath / judgment (Romans 5:9 "saved from the wrath of God through Him")
From the body of death (Romans 7:24 "who will save me from this body of death?")
From the present evil age (Galatians 1:4)
For eternal life (Romans 10.13; John 10:9)

The Reformation tense-structure of salvation:

Justification (past tense), "we have been saved" (Ephesians 2:5, 8, perfect)
Sanctification (present tense), "we are being saved" (1 Corinthians 1:18; 15:2, present)
Glorification (future tense), "we will be saved" (Romans 5:9, 10; 13:11, future)

The same verb sōzō covers all three phases, with grammatical tense distinguishing them.

Notable verses

Salvation in the comprehensive theological sense

Matthew 1:21, "He will sōzō His people from their sins", Joseph's annunciation; the name Iēsous (Yeshua) means "YHWH sōzōs"
John 3:17, "God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be sōzōed through Him"
John 10:9, "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be sōzōed"
Acts 4:12, "there is sōtēria in no one else; for there is no other name… by which we must be sōzōed"
Acts 16:30-31, Philippian jailer: "what must I do to be sōzōed?", "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be sōzōed"
Romans 10:9-10, "if you confess… and believe… you will be sōzōed"
Romans 10.13, "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SŌZŌED"
Romans 5:9-10, "sōzōed from the wrath of God through Him… much more, having been reconciled, we shall be sōzōed by His life"
Ephesians 2.8-9, "by grace you have been sōzōed through faith"
1 Timothy 1:15, "Christ Jesus came into the world to sōzō sinners, among whom I am foremost"
2 Timothy 1:9, "who has sōzōed us and called us with a holy calling"
Titus 3:5, "He sōzōed us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness"

Healing / restoration

Mark 5:34, to the woman healed of bleeding: "Daughter, your faith has sōzōed you"
Luke 7:50, to the woman who anointed Jesus: "your faith has sōzōed you; go in peace"
Luke 17:19, to the cleansed leper: "your faith has sōzōed you"
Luke 18:42, to the blind man: "your faith has sōzōed you"
James 5:15, "the prayer offered in faith will sōzō the one who is sick"

Physical rescue

Matthew 8:25, "Lord, sōzō us, we are perishing!" (the storm)
Matthew 14:30, Peter sinking: "Lord, sōzō me!"
Acts 27:20, 31, 44, sailors and shipwreck

Tense-distinguishing salvation

Ephesians 2:8 (perfect: have been saved)
1 Corinthians 1:18 (present: being saved)
Romans 13:11 (future: nearer to us than when we believed, coming salvation)

Patristic / scholarly note

The patristic and Reformation traditions both emphasize the comprehensive scope of sōzō-salvation: Christ saves not merely from hell but for communion with God. The name Iēsous itself encodes the verb's theological force, "YHWH saves", making the personal name of the Savior a confession of sōzō-soteriology.

The Reformation sola fide pivots on Romans 10:9 and Ephesians 2:8, pisteusas sōzēsetai / sesōsmenoi… dia pisteōs, salvation through faith. Calvin (Institutes III.11-18), Wesley (The Scripture Way of Salvation, 1765), and modern Reformed and Wesleyan theologies all pivot here.

J. I. Packer (Knowing God; In My Place Condemned He Stood) and John Stott (The Cross of Christ, 1986) give popular-level evangelical treatments. Anthony Hoekema (Saved by Grace, 1989) systematizes the past/present/future tense-structure.

Verses in this codex

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