Ben Fourie

And we have seen and tell others that the Father sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world. 1 John 4:14

The word “save” is explained as “to rescue someone from danger.” It can also be interpreted as “to free someone from bonds.” These meanings of the word explain exactly what God did when he sent his son to be the Saviour of the world. We find the idea of a saviour quite often in the Old Testament, especially when God used someone to deliver His people from an enemy. In Judges 3, we see that the Moabites ruled over Israel for 18 years and when they cried out to God, we read “ ... he sent a man (saviour) to free them.” Even in the lives of individuals we see God acting as saviour. Just think about the immortal words of Job 19:25: “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.” (NIV)

In the New Testament, the concept of a Redeemer or Saviour is invariably linked to Jesus, but always in the context that Jesus was sent by God. 1 Timothy 1:1 says, “From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by order of God our Saviour and Christ Jesus our hope.” Jude verse 25, “– to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord …” Redeeming people is in the end always an act of God as a Trinity, for Father and Son never move without the Holy Spirit.

The theme that runs like the proverbial golden thread through the Bible is that God wants to save us from, what Paul in the letter to the Romans in 7:24 calls, “the body of this death.” The biggest danger ever is a life that is subjected to the laws of sin. Let us use the explanation in the first sentence of the day. God wants to “rescue us from the danger” of eternal death.

He has done it on the cross and in the book of Revelation chapter 5, he is seen as the Lion from Judah’s tribe who conquered sin and death. From his mouth goes forth the double-edged sword of the Word and he wears the golden crown of the everlasting King. With Job, we can be sure our Redeemer lives, and not only ours, for He is the Saviour of the whole world.

Prayer: What a joy to know that you have saved me from a life that would have led to eternal death. Praise be to you for being the Redeemer of the whole world.  Amen