Sunday, October 7, 2018

I, even I, am Jehovah; and besides me there is no saviour. 


Question: The Bible says that ONLY God is our savior (Hos 13:4, Isa 43:11,45:21, etc.). How can it be then, that the Bible repeatedly says that Jesus Christ is our savior (Lk 2:11, Phil 3:20. Tit 2:13, 3:6, 2Pet 1:1, 2:20, 3:18, etc.)?

Reply: For the same reason Jehovah raised up saviours in the past:

"And when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, he raised for them a savior, Othniel, son of  Caleb's younger brother, Kenaz." Judges 3:9, 15 NAB

"...he raised for them a savior, the Benjaminite Ehud" Judges 3:15

"Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their adversaries, who distressed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours who saved them out of the hand of their adversaries." Neh 9:27

 Why, the very name "Jesus" points to God as the source of salvation. It means "Jehovah Is Salvation" and thus honors the Father as the Saviour to whom even the Son looked.

The Bible as a whole thus makes it clear that there is but one Saviour, Jehovah God. All others who have rightly been called saviours, including Jesus Christ, are not rival saviours. Rather, they were willing to be used by Jehovah God in this capacity. Hence, those desiring to gain divine approval must acknowledge that salvation proceeds from the Father through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

"This is good and pleasing to God our Saviour; who will everyone to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, there is also one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human." 1Tim 2:3-5 NAB

"Some translations render the Hebrew word for ‘savior’, (yasha, in Strong’s Concordance, “Hebrew And Chaldee Dictionary”, word number 3467), when used in reference to men, by the English ‘deliverer’. Are they attempting to disguise the fact that Jehovah and men are identified by the same designation?" Nelson Herle

1 comment:

  1. Once again Heinz for posting another interesting tidbit which I hope opens a discussion.

    ReplyDelete