It's helpful to note that the word 'life' that Jesus was using here is psuche in the Greek, and refers to "animal" or natural" life. By way of contrast, 'zoe' is what I term 'active' life. Both have breath connected with them, but they are entirely different. The first is the natural or animal life; the other is the active, physical life.
Turn with we to Matthew 10:38, 39, where the word psuche is used, and refers to the animal life.
"He that taketh not his cross, and follows ofter Me, is not worthy of Me. He that finds his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for My sake shall find it."
It is interesting that Jesus connects the person dying to self with the cross. We often assume that the cross always refers to an event that happened to Jesus, but it may surprise you to learn that Jesus, when speaking of the cross, always referred to it as our cross and not His. He said,
"If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me." Luke 9:23.
What cross was Jesus referring to? It was the cross of dying to self! What ross did Jesus bear? The same cross: death to self! We read that keeping His glory veiled was the most difficult thing that Jesus undertook. Can you see, then that it was as difficult for Jesus to live on the level of humanity as it is for us to live on the level of divinity?
Now turn with me to Matthew 16:24,25, where Jesus repeats:
"If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, an follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it an whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it."
The word "life" in verse 25 is psuche, the animal or natural life into which we are born.
Jesus told some Greeks about the necessary outcome of the animal nature when He said, "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone". John 12:24. He was telling them that the natural self had to die.
Paul would later tell the Corinthians that we become new creatures in Christ, 2 Corinthians 5:17. What did Paul mean by this? Did he mean a partial change? No. He asserted that when a man or woman is born again--when the eath he was referring to actually takes place--we become new creatures, from th soles of our feet to the top of our heads. That doesn't mean the old man won't show up occasionally, or that we will never stumble; but his appearance only proves that Satan understands the old animal nature and knows how to produce circumstances and situations that are calculated to bring about our downfall.
In the context of what we have learned about "psuche", we can then appropriately translate the verse as follows: "whoever shall save his animal nature shall lose the natural man, and will be completely lost! But whoever shall lose His psuche and is born again for My sake, shall find it--which is what the new birth, and the discovery of the need for it, and the complete surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ, is all about.
Did you understand all of that, it may take reading it again and even again. I've gone over it until I think I get it, but will probably read it again just to be sure that I can remember it. I never thought of it that way but it is a proven principle from the Bible and it makes more sense than to believe that we can die for a friend and thats the dying it's talking about. Dying to self is so much harder to do, to surrender my will and my ways to God is not an easy task but it has to be done if we will be saved at last. Grandma Joan
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