An Exegetical Study Of The Lord’s Logion On The “Salvation Of The Psyche” -- By: Jerry Pattillo
Journal: Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society
Volume: JOTGES 28:55 (Autumn 2015)
Article: An Exegetical Study Of The Lord’s Logion On The “Salvation Of The Psyche”
Author: Jerry Pattillo
JOTGES 28:55 (Autumn 2015) p. 21
An Exegetical Study Of The Lord’s Logion On The “Salvation Of The Psyche”1
Minister of Administration
Northwest Bible Church
Dallas, TX
I. Introduction
In Matt 16:25-26 Jesus is speaking to His disciples and makes the following statement:2
For whoever wants to save his psychē will lose it; but whoever loses his psychē for My sake will find it. For what will a man be profited if he gains the whole world and forfeits his psychē? Or what will a man give in exchange for his psychē?
The phrase “salvation of the psychē” is found in five other passages in the Gospels. Two of those are in the parallel accounts of Mark 8:35-37 and Luke 9:24-25. The other occurrences are in Matt 10:39, Luke 17:33, and John 12:25.3 The repetition of the phrase indicates its importance for the Lord.
The phrase is also important because many commentaries give the phrase the meaning of “salvation from eternal damnation.”4 The word
JOTGES 28:55 (Autumn 2015) p. 22
psychē in these commentaries is understood to refer to the immaterial part of man which transcends his earthly life. Thus the phrase which speaks of saving the psychē means the preserving of the person for life after death, and when it speaks of losing the psychē the reference is to the state of eternal damnation in hell. If this is the case, these passages tell the reader what is required for eternal salvation.
The interpretation that holds that it is talking about eternal salvation presents a serious theological problem. The phrase generally occurs within a context of suffering. In Matthew 16, Christ says that those who wish to follow Him must be willing to suffer with Him and deny themselves. If the phrase and this context are interpreted as soteriological, then one must conclude that a requirement for salvation is the willingness to deny...
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