Salvation!
How about some fresh perspective? You get the same answer whenever you ask the question about the word salvation. Salvation means I get eternal life. Nothing wrong with that answer, just that salvation is so much more.
We have lived way below our potential as Christians. As a result, the possibility of what God promised us when we get saved is still untapped. When we understand the true meaning of the word “saved,” we will realize that God has so much more in store for us. In the Old Testament, the word used for salvation is “Yeshuah.” It is the same word as the name of Jesus in Hebrew. Therefore, whenever you read a passage of scripture in the Old Testament, you can use the word “Yeshuah” when it says salvation.
Yeshuah means Savior, one who sets free, is safe, defends, delivers, preserves, rescues, to be victorious.
In the New Testament, the word for saved is “Sozo.” The meaning of Sozo is much more than just eternal life. Here is a breakdown of the importance of the word Sozo.
saved G4982 σω´ζω
G4982 σ?ζω sozo (173x)
- to save, rescue; to preserve safe and unharmed – Mt. 8:25; 10:22; 24:22; 27:40, 42, 49; 1 Tim. 2:15.
- to bring safely too – 2 Tim. 4:18.
- to cure, heal, restore to health – Mt. 9:21, 22; Mk. 5:23, 28, 34; 6:56.
- to save, preserve from being lost – Mt. 16:25; Mk. 3:4; 8:35.
- to deliver from, set free from – Mt. 1:21; Jn. 12:27; Acts 2:40.
- to rescue from unbelief, convert – Rom. 11:14; 1 Cor. 1:21; 7:16.
- to bring within the pale of saving privilege – Tit. 3:5; 1 Pet. 3:21.
- to save from final ruin – 1 Tim. 1:15.
- to be brought within the pale of saving privilege – Acts 2:47; Eph. 2:5, 8.
- to be in the way of salvation – 1 Cor. 15:2; 2 Cor. 2:15 → heal; rescue; save.
[Mounce Greek Dictionary]
The first revelation God gave us for the word “salvation” or “saved” is Yeshuah. The name of Jesus includes all the possibilities of what it means to be saved. It means to be delivered, set free, healed, be safe, made whole, and protected.
Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved (delivered, set free, healed, be safe, made whole, and protected).
Compare this verse:
Acts 4:12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (delivered, set free, healed, be safe, made whole, and protected).
His name carries the ability to save us completely. Paul adds to this for us when he writes:
Phil. 2:9-11 Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
When we understand the implication and the power in the Name of Jesus, scripture opens up.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (delivered, set free, healed, be safe, made whole, and protected).
God wants the whole world to be restored. So Paul writes to Timothy and says:
1 Tim. 2:3-4 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who desires all men to be saved (delivered, set free, healed, be safe, made whole, and protected) and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
God never saved us just so that we could go to heaven. Instead, he saved us so we could be fully restored and bring heaven to earth. Therefore, we should experience now in our life what it is to be saved, healed, delivered, and blessed. Jesus said this:
John 10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved (delivered, set free, healed, be safe, made whole, and protected) and will go in and out and find pasture.
Here is what the enemy offer, but Jesus offers us so much more.
John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.
Abundantly means superabundant in quantity, superior in quality, and excessive in measure. Expect your life to look like scripture.
Salvation should cause abundance in your life. An abundance of goodness and a lot of persecution. This is not a prosperity Gospel. We do not measure our spirituality with what we have. We fully believe that salvation is more than barely making it; sorry, I am still here; God makes it stop.
You are still going to heaven. You can just start having some of heaven now.
