Introduction.
According to a new international version bible, Acts 4:12 states that, “salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” This verse gives a description of salvation source as a centrally placed affair. It clearly shows that the meaning of this verse is not the corporeal healing, but it is the eternal and spiritual salvation (Munck, 1967). The main idea is that Christ is the only person with whom all human beings should present their problems. It is the only place with which we can find peace of mind. No human is supposed to seek salvation from elsewhere. This paper outlines the current and historical interpretation of this chapter across the centuries by from the Christianity point of view.
Acts 4:12 Commentary
Accordingly, Christ is the known and only saviour which made the promise of salvaging the whole world and prophesied a lot of events that were seen practically happening. He saved and redeemed his people from the sin, law and the destructive Satan. He, therefore, insisted that salvation was to be sought in hunger and hoped for in demand. His teachings indicate that this was not to be sought in an individual’s self or any other physical or manmade features, men or angels (Munck, 1967). He explains that this was not to be by a man’s own works. It required the legal righteousness and not by obeying the Law of Moses. It is not to be sought by the light of nature or by observing the traditions of community elders and rich men. There is no other creature, name or person in the world, however, great or show of strength and power that it has, which could be compared to Christ. Light is shed on names which sound holy in the world (Munck, 1967). The names of kings, great men, princes, preachers and ministers in the church, together with the Christians and believers are not to be compared to the Christ at all. One may not make a direct comparison, but we are bound to turn to people who sound righteous as preachers and church ministers when we are overloaded or pressed. We forget that these are human just like us, and on top of this we make a mistake of not recognizing where one should seek salvation.
The name of Jesus, his blood, person and righteousness is the only salvage for any person the world including personalities which bear big and holy names (Beck, 1937). Jesus was given by his father as a sacrifice to save the whole world, an act of matchless love his father had for us. This is a unique act that no one else in this world could do in order to save the situation. This partly explains the uniqueness of the Lord, and why everyone should turn to him and only him when they are oppressed. There is always a need for a shoulder to lean on, but it doesn’t mean we need to put our faith in anything else apart from God (Munck, 1967). Many people across the global world believe in powerful preachers and pastors, and in the end we have got to the point of making religion an economic affair. In most African countries, preachers have developed the habit of asking for tokens in exchange for money, and surprisingly, most people have ended up falling for that (Beck, 1937). God appointed his son to be the salvation of his chosen people, his decrees and purposes, his council and covenant and his messenger so that all of us can believe in him for salvation.
The historical use of the verse and its reliability to the Acts of the Apostles from the principle historical source in the apostolic age is one of the major issues of historians of the early Christianity and most biblical scholars. They debate mostly on the use of this verse and history of the Acts becoming most vehement in the years 1895 and 1915(Beck, 1937). Adolf von Harnack, a German scholar is specifically known for his persistent criticism of the Acts of the Apostles. His criticism had a lot of inaccuracies in them and has been described by modern scholars as an exaggerated hypercriticism. Different attitudes on the history of the Acts have a wide range across scholars of different countries across the world.
The three early writings of the Acts about Jesus being the salvation and the origin of Christianity form the major antiquities of the Jews by Joseph, a Roman Jewish historian. Acts had some accurate information on the society of the first century with respect to the titles held by officials, two assemblies, administrative divisions and the rules that were to be followed by the Jewish temple (Beck, 1937). According to this verse, like many other books of the bible, there are clear distinctions between the early manuscripts of Acts. The two versions that existed are the Alexandrian manuscript and the Western manuscript. According to this interpretation, all humans are supposed to resurrect from the dead and seek for salvation. The message of the Acts to us is that we need to realize our immediate needs. According to this interpretation, he talks about the spiritual resurrection and death but not a natural death. His message to us is that in order to seek for salvation, we all need to personally resurrect our faculties and undertake resurrection of these spiritual faculties in the society. In order to get to salvation, we need proper spiritual leadership and through faith we can be guided to salvation (Beck, 1937). This interpretation clearly denounces people who seek salvation from other denominations apart from Christ himself. We need to realise how great God is, and whoever thinks he is salvaged by earthly belongings or other things that do not translate to the requirements of Christ are spiritually dead and need immediate resurrection. According to this context, salvation is powerful and quick, and in order to obtain it, there is only one channel that leads to it, the Christ.
In this context, the verse is analyzed by first considering the significance of a specific name. Any man will identify themselves in their inner most realm by the use of, “I AM”. Through proper use of this term, they then build a character (Beck, 1937). Therefore, the name of an individual has the power to characterize them. Just the same way we identify ourselves, Jesus also identified himself by standing with the truth and was the only one who held divine power. His enemies at that time claimed that he turned himself as the son of God. Jesus became the power of God, the wisdom of God and the Christ. His name, therefore, is above all other names, and he is the only way to get salvation. According to this view, we also claim health in his name because he is truthful; he is the way we should always follow and he is practically the life that we live. Therefore, when we claim health in the name of Jesus, we claim it in eternal life and, however, hard the situation is we cannot encounter failures, and we can’t be destroyed. The arising question from this analysis is if peace can be realized after salvation. In order to affirm peace, we need to do by calling upon the Prince of Peace. He is the source supply for what we all seek. A man, therefore, needs to save himself by learning to identify himself through I Am with the most limited capacity and power before Christ. He should claim the wisdom, faith, discernment and love that Christ stands for.
The death of Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice and is vital when it comes to this verse. He resurrected, and this is a symbol to all Christians. This was perceived in the ancient way as normal but in real the sense the resurrection of Jesus gives us a wake-up call for all of us to come back to him for salvation (Acts of the Apostles, 1999). He makes a unique sacrifice and his life is taken in order to save the world. In the olden and modern world, which is full of pride and evil, there is no single man who can accept death. People are full of pride and feel that they have the power, but no single soul can sacrifice their life or their children’s life in order to save the world. This makes Christ a unique being that shouldn’t be compared by any other being. He had the power to instil understanding into the human race and the positive forces that led mankind out of sin, death and darkness (Acts of the Apostles, 1999). All these among others are the reasons why we should always consider salvation in our life from Christ who saved the world from sin by taking his own life.
God is revealed to a man when his consciousness is opened and exposed to spiritual understanding of salvation. At this moment, the light of truths begins to glow and shine in the life of a man. Apart from us, Christ is also aware that all human kind needs salvation in their life. No human being or creature is aware of this, but he knows our innermost life and understands why we need salvation. Therefore, he also works on his side using his means to make sure that at one instance, he eventually leads you to salvation. When Christ leads a person to salvation, a new relationship is developed between this individual and God. This is the only relationship which is never broken because we can always rely on Christ after we receive his salvation (Acts of the Apostles, 1999). He keeps an eye on you and never lets goes of his people.
Salvation is a key factor in Christianity, and it doesn’t mean praying for long hours, singing hymns, ministering in big churches and temples or preaching in public. It is heart centred and is a form of communication between an individual and Christ. According to Acts 4, 12, no one understands the humankind better than Christ. This, therefore, gives us a reason we should always turn to him for salvation.
References
The Acts of the Apostles. (1999). Champaign, Ill.: Project Gutenberg.
The Holy Bible. Acts 4:12
Beck, W.E. (1937). The acts of apostles in the revised version. London: University Tutorial Press.
Conzelmann, H. Limburg, J., Kraabel, A. T., Juel, D., Epp. E.J., & Matthews, C. R. (1987). Acts of the Apostles: a commentaryon the Acts of the Apostles. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
Munck, J. (1967). The Acts of the Apostles ( 1st ed.). Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday.
Jackson, F.J. (1931). The Acts of the Apostles. New York: Harper.
