Names of Jesus: Savior

As we have explored the names of Jesus that speak of Him as the Son of Man, Son of God, and the Truth each name has been leading up to and preparing us to focus on Jesus as Savior. Over the next couple of months, we will be exploring Jesus’s different names that teach us more specifically about Him as our Savior, beginning with the name Savior itself.

As we study Jesus as Savior through the remainder of this year’s studies, we will learn some of His most important names and roles. These names will help us to better understand His other names as Son of Man, Son of God, and the Truth, and the goal is always to learn more about Him, His role in our lives, and grow in our faith and relationships with Him. If you are here and do not know what it means to have a relationship with Jesus, you are also in the right place! No matter where you are on your personal journey, this is relevant for you.

God takes pleasure in prayer and salvation

In 1 Timothy, the Apostle Paul exhorts, or encourages, Timothy to pray for others, as well as for those in positions of power and authority. He explains that this should be done because it is good and acceptable to God. He then further explains that God wants everyone to be saved and to know the truth. God desires for all to be saved.

Therefore I ^[a]exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, ² for kings and all who are in ^[b]authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and ^[c]reverence. ³ For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time

1 Timothy 2:1-6 NKJV

This doesn’t say all ARE saved, but that He desires all to be saved. He also desires that all come to know the truth, not that all will or do know the truth. So if God desires it, why are all people not saved and why is there so much confusion and conflict about “the truth”?

• Desires – G2309 – thelō
  • to take delight in, have pleasure

• To be saved – G4982 – sōzō
  • to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction
    • one (from injury or peril)
      • to save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health
      • to preserve one who is in danger of destruction, to save or rescue
    • to save in the technical biblical sense
      • negatively
        • to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment
        • to save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance
        • to make one a partaker of the salvation by Christ

God takes pleasure in all people being rescued from danger and destruction, being delivered from the penalties of sin and judgment, and in making all people partakers of salvation through Jesus. It is pleasing to God for us to pray for others, and it is pleasing to God for all to be saved from destruction.

Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for all people

Paul goes on to explain that there is One Mediator between God and men (mankind), and that is Jesus Christ. Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for all. The word for “gave” indicates that He willfully gave as a gift, to supply. He gave Himself as our ransom. This word for ransom means “what is given in exchange for another as the price of his redemption” (G487). Jesus exchanged places with us to pay the price of our redemption so that we did not have to pay the price ourselves. He supplied Himself to pay the wage we owed. He did this as a gift, not unwillingly, not grudgingly.

• Gave – G1325 – didōmi
  • to give
  • to give something to someone
    • of one’s own accord to give one something, to his advantage
      1. to bestow a gift
    • to grant, give to one asking, let have
    • to supply, furnish, necessary things
    • to give over, deliver
      1. to reach out, extend, present
      2. of a writing
      3. to give over to one’s care, intrust, commit
         1. something to be administered
         2. to give or commit to some one something to be religiously observed
    • to give what is due or obligatory, to pay: wages or reward
    • to furnish, endue
  • to give
    • to cause, profuse, give forth from one’s self
      1. to give, hand out lots
    • to appoint to an office
    • to cause to come forth, i.e. as the sea, death and Hell are said to give up the dead who have been engulfed or received by them
    • to give one to someone as his own
      1. as an object of his saving care
      2. to give one to someone, to follow him as a leader and master
      3. to give one to someone to care for his interests
      4. to give one to someone to whom he already belonged, to return
  • to grant or permit one
    • to commission

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Why do I need a Savior?

Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for all of us, but why did He do that? Why was it necessary for Jesus to die in our place? Back in Genesis, we read about the very beginning of creation. God created everything in 6 days and rested on the 7th day after He saw that everything was “very good”. He had created man and woman in His own image, placed them in the Garden of Eden, and put them in charge of the animals and the earth.

One day, a crafty serpent came along and deceived Eve, leading her to question God, which resulted in her and her husband, Adam, performing the first sin of mankind (Genesis 3). Ever since the sin of mankind has been on every single person to ever live.

¹⁸ Therefore, as through ^[a]one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one^[b] Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. ¹⁹ For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

²⁰ Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, ²¹ so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 5:18-21 NKJV

God, being holy, hates sin. Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden of Eden because of their sin causing them to be separated from God and killing their perfect relationship and unity with Him. God in His righteousness also requires justice for sin. Sin is such a serious matter that the penalty for sin is death, therefore all sin is deserving of death.

¹⁷ All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

1 John 5:17 NKJV

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the ^[a]gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23 NKJV

God in His mercy knew we could never pay the price for sin, and did not want us to have to pay that price and be eternally separated from Him. He wants communion with His creation. In His grace, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, to live a sinless human life and die a horrible death carrying the entirety of every single sin to ever be committed in all of existence. He loved us so much that He bore the full weight of the sins of the world to pay the debt that we all owe for our sins.

⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:4-7 NKJV

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV

⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8 NKJV

Because Jesus is God, He had the power to resist sin, to carry the weight of the world’s sins to the cross, and also to rise from the dead 3 days later defeating the power of sin and death. He paid the price for us so that those who believe in His holy and precious works on our behalf, those who have faith in Him as their Savior, would be redeemed. Those who have faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior can receive the forgiveness of God for their sins, are justified through the blood of Jesus, and enter into a personal relationship with God.

⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 NKJV

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified ^[a]freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Romans 3:23-24 NKJV

We all need a Savior because, without Him, we would be eternally separated from God, the source of all that is good, and the One who created us and knows us better than we know ourselves. Faith in the Savior is the only way to eternal life and a personal relationship with God, the Creator of the Heavens and Earth who is working all things together for the good of those who love Him. Not only this, but without faith in the Savior, we miss the blessings, strength, peace, joy, and so much more that comes from a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, ^[a]we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 5:1-2 NKJV

¹² But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be^[a] children of God, to those who believe in his name, ¹³ who were born, not of natural descent,^[b] or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man,^[c] but of God.

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and dwelt^[d] among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son^[e] from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:12-14 CSB

²⁸ We know that all things work together^[a] for the good^[b] of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28 CSB

• Read more: Warning Signs: Don’t Neglect Your Salvation
• Read more: Warning Signs: Don’t Sin Willingly
• Read more: Names of Jesus: Holy Servant
• Read more: How do we test what is pleasing to God?

God desires all to be saved

Because God takes great pleasure in the salvation of each and every human life, He chose to save mankind by sending Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of God, to live a sinless human life on earth, being 100% God and 100% man, and then die the death we deserve.

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. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

John 3:16-17 NKJV

The penalty for those who choose sin over salvation and die in their sin without faith in Jesus as their Savior is eternal separation from God. The penalty for sin is death, and all who choose to remain in their sin will reap the consequence of eternal suffering that never ceases. This is not what God wants for any of us, but unfortunately is what so many choose by denying Jesus as their Savior.

¹⁰ For to this end^[a]we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.

1 Timothy 4:10 NKJV

¹¹ For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, ¹² teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, ¹³ looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

Titus 2:11-14 NKJV

God teaches us His will

God draws all of creation to Himself and reveals Himself through creation. There is not one person or created thing that is not drawn to God, and He is clear that there is no excuse for those who reject Him. He desires all to be saved and gives the option to each and every one of us, revealing Himself, drawing us in, and teaching us about Himself. He does not force it on anyone, but gives us each a choice to come to Him, heed His promptings, seek Him out, or not.

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who ^[a]suppress the truth in unrighteousness, ¹⁹ because what may be known of God is ^[b]manifest ^[c]in them, for God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and ^[d]Godhead, so that they are without excuse, ²¹ because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Professing to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like ^[e]corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

Romans 1:18-23 NKJV

² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2 NKJV

⁸ Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, ⁹ who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, ¹⁰ but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

2 Timothy 1:8-10 NKJV

What does prayer have to do with salvation?

For those who have faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, He gives the gift of the Holy Spirit, each of us is reborn with new spiritual life, and His Holy Spirit indwells us, teaching us, guiding us, and transforming us. He begins the sanctifying work of making us more like Jesus and less like our sinful nature. We have direct access to the power of Jesus that defeated sin and are also given direct access to talk to our Heavenly Father.

While Paul was writing to Timothy to encourage him in his ministry work, he made the point not only about salvation but also of the importance of prayer. Prayer is an essential part of every believer’s life. Those who have faith have access to talk to God, seek His help, give Him praise, and worship Him in Spirit and truth.

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV

We are taught that as followers of Jesus, those who have faith in Jesus as our Savior, should pray for others, leaders around the world in every level, and ourselves. We should worship the Lord, praise Him with thankfulness, lift up the needs of others, and seek His presence and guidance in our own lives. We should also be praying for the salvation of others.

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ^44 [a]But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Matthew 5:43-45 NKJV

God desires all to be saved, and once we are in a personal relationship with our Creator by faith in Jesus we get to play a role in drawing others into the beautiful gift of salvation as well. By praying with and for others we get to participate in God’s plan to draw others to Himself for salvation.

³⁷ Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ³⁸ Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Matthew 9:37-38 NKJV

• Read more: How do you pray strategically?
• Read more: How do you pray scripture?
• Read more: How do you pray intentionally?
• Read more: How do you pray without ceasing?
• Read more: Prayer of Salvation

Have faith in Jesus as your savior

Jesus is at the door every day, every moment, awaiting the turn of the nob and the invitation inside. He will not force the door open, but He will keep knocking. None of us knows the day or the hour He will stop knocking on the door and the last opportunity to invite Him in has just passed by. Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Not because you’re afraid of the eternal consequence, but because of what He has done for your sake while you were still in your sin.

While you were still in your sin, He paid the penalty for your sins. Even before you knew you owed an eternal debt, He paid it in full so that you would not have to suffer from the eternal separation from God. He loves you so much that He humbled Himself to live a human life, resisting sin, and carrying everyone else’s sins to His death on the cross, paying the debt we all owe. He knew then what the future held, from beginning to end. He knew who would come to Him and who would not. He knew every sin you would ever commit and knowing all of that He died in your place because He still loved you so much He wanted to save you from the consequence of your sin. He wanted to give you a way into communion with God.

He has His hand out to you today. I pray you take His hand, accept Him as your Savior, and by faith begin anew with Jesus Christ as your cornerstone and strength.

Dear Lord,

I don’t know who will read this, but You do. You know who needs to hear this today, right now, this minute this second, and I pray over them that you convict their heart and that they humble themselves into Your holy embrace. I pray that today is the day they open the door and invite You in. For those who already know You, I pray that You convict them to share your love, truth, and salvation with the world in all the ways you have called and prepared for them to do. Draw them to You today and teach them of Your holiness, love, mercy, goodness, and grace. Teach them to be Your children, and to grow to become more like You each day. Thank you for drawing them here today, Lord, and thank you for the strength You give each of us, and all You have planned ahead for each and every one of us.

Amen

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