There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:12
I told you in the last Gem that we would continue with this verse for a few more Gems. There are a number of angles to investigate here. In this Gem I would like to focus attention on the concept of no other name by introducing you to two characters – Allos and Heteros. No, they are not Mexican immigrants. They are two Greek words with huge significance to add to the meaning of the passage and the discussion as to whether or not there is another Saviour other than Christ. Below I have given you another list of translation options. Actually I have pruned the list I gave you in the last Gem. I have kept in the list the translations which maintain two mentions of “other” or “another”. Did you notice there are two kinds of “other” in the original language (Greek)? There is “allos” and “heteros”. We know these Greek words because they have come into English in different ways. We all recognise I am sure the “heteros” which plays a part in the word heterosexual. Literally meaning sex with one of another kind. I.e. male and female. The “allo” prefix appears on words like allomorph or allophone yielding the meaning of a form or a sound of a similar kind but with slight variations in form or sound.
The Original
καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἄλλῳ οὐδενὶ ἡ σωτηρία· οὐδὲ γὰρ ὄνομά ἐστιν ἕτερον ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανὸν τὸ δεδομένον ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἐν ᾧ δεῖ σωθῆναι ἡμᾶς.
And no is in other {no one} the salvation neither for name is other under the heaven which given among men by which must {be saved} us
The Translations
- (ASV) And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.
- (BBE) And in no other is there salvation: for there is no other name under heaven, given among men, through which we may have salvation.
- (JUB) Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men in which we can be saved.
- (KJV) Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
- (LITV) and there is salvation in no other One, for neither is there any other name under Heaven having been given among men by which we must be saved.
- (MSG) Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been or will be given to us by which we can be saved, only this one.”
- (Murdock)Neither is there deliverance in any other; for there is not another name under heaven, which is given to men, whereby to live.
- (RV) And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.
- (WEBA) There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved!”
- (Webster)Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved.
The significance here relating to the source of salvation is to say there is no other one, no other person in whom salvation can be found. Salvation is not found in anyone of a similar kind and not found anyone of a different kind. Salvation has not been, is not, and will not be found in anyone else similar to Jesus, nor in anyone else different from Jesus. Jesus Christ is entirely and utterly unique. There is none like Him, neither will there be. And even if there were, salvation is not and will not be found in a similar or in a different person. Only Jesus Christ is the name under heaven by which we must be saved. Do you see that Peter has connected the act of healing and saving together in Jesus? He says in verse 10, “Let me state it clearly – this man was healed by the Name of Jesus and by inference – this man was saved by the Name of Jesus.
Peter goes on in verse 12 to make it even clearer still – you search anywhere under heaven and you will not find a similar or a different Saviour. The One and Only Saviour is Jesus Christ. In fact why don’t you go beyond the earth and under the heavens in your search?
Here is one prophet’s take on the matter:
Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding.
Isaiah 40:2
“To whom will you compare Me? Who is My equal?” asks the Holy One. Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars?
Isaiah 40:25-26
“Who told you from the beginning that this would happen? Who predicted this, making you admit that he was right? No one said a word! I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look! Help is on the way!’ I will send Jerusalem a messenger with good news. Not one of your idols told you this. Not one gave any answer when I asked.
Isaiah 41:26-28
I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no other Savior.
Isaiah 43:11
I am the LORD; there is no other God. I have equipped you for battle, though you don’t even know Me, so all the world from east to west will know there is no other God. I am the LORD, and there is no other.
Isaiah 45:5-6
Consult together, argue your case. Get together and decide what to say. Who made these things known so long ago? What idol ever told you they would happen? Was it not I, the LORD? For there is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Savior. There is none but Me. Let all the world look to Me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other.
Isaiah 45:21-22
My mercy and justice are coming soon. My salvation is on the way. My strong arm will bring justice to the nations. All distant lands will look to Me and wait in hope for My powerful arm.
Isaiah 51:5
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on Him the sins of us all.
Isaiah 53:6
The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins,” says the LORD. And this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the LORD, have spoken!
Isaiah 59:20-21
We saw in the last Gem that Jesus Christ the Messiah fulfilled all the prophecies and promises of God concerning the coming of the Messiah. There is One and One only, who God set apart and testified to us that This is the One. Remember early in the healing of the lame man, there was a clear line of distinction between This One and that one. The Messiah is another category from those He came to save. The Saviour is not one from among those created by God. He is uncreated God Himself. Everything in the plan of God pointed to the time when the Messiah, the Saviour would come. This One was to be God’s means of salvation and restoration of human kind back to the father. Everything about Him was and is unique. Why on earth would you think there is another like Him? He is the One and only Messiah. He is the One and only Son of Man – man as God intended man to be. He is the One and only Son of God – the One who truly represents God on earth. No other has been born as the result of a virgin birth. So stop looking for another or an other or any other option you think there might be.
There is one God. There is also one mediator between God and humans – a human, Christ Jesus.He sacrificed himself for all people to free them from their sins. This message is valid for every era.
1 Timothy 2:5-6
The unanswered questions remaining are:
- Why is there salvation in no other name?
- Why does Christianity make such a bold, exclusive claim?
Stay tuned.
Christmas and Easter are more than dates on a calendar; they mark the coming and going of the most influential man in human history – Jesus.
Ian Vail
When we think of the ideal, we do not add virtue to virtue, but think of Jesus Christ, so that the standard of human life is no longer a code, but a character.
E Stanley Jones
The clearest place you see the greatness and closeness of God is in the person of Jesus Christ.
Anon
The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. We gazed on his glory, the kind of glory that belongs to the Father’s unique Son, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14
One Solitary Life
He was born in an obscure village The child of a peasant woman He grew up in another obscure village Where he worked in a carpenter shop Until he was thirty when public opinion turned against him He never wrote a book He never held an office He never went to college He never visited a big city He never travelled more than two hundred miles From the place where he was born He did none of the things Usually associated with greatness He had no credentials but himself He was only thirty three His friends ran away One of them denied him He was turned over to his enemies And went through the mockery of a trial He was nailed to a cross between two thieves While dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing The only property he had on earth When he was dead He was laid in a borrowed grave Through the pity of a friend Nineteen centuries have come and gone And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race And the leader of mankind’s progress All the armies that have ever marched All the navies that have ever sailed All the parliaments that have ever sat All the kings that ever reigned put together Have not affected the life of mankind on earth As powerfully as that one solitary life.
Dr James Allan Francis © 1926.