Is God our Savior or is Jesus, and why does it matter?

God Our Savior?

IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING

Throughout the Bible, Old (Psalm 106:21; Isaiah 45:21) and New (1 Tim. 1:12: 2:3; Titus 1:3; 2:10; 3:4) Testaments, we find the phrase God our Savior. This can be confusing. Isn’t Christ our Savior (Phil. 3:20)? Some use this apparent contradiction to claim that Jesus isn’t God or that the Bible is full of conflicting claims. The truth is that both are true.

Who Created the Universe?

We see a similar apparent contradiction in the creation of the universe. Genesis clearly states that God spoke everything into existence. That seems plain enough. Yet Colossians 1:16 says that all things were created by Jesus Christ. Which is it? The answer is both. Once we understand the different roles of the members of the Trinity, we see that they all work together to fulfill the plans of the Father.

We see the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit working together in Genesis 1:26 when God said, “Let Us make man in our own image…” In fact, the Hebrew word for God that is used in Genesis 1 is Elohim, which is plural, indicating more than one. The specific role of the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) in creation is mentioned in Genesis 1:2. The role of Jesus the Son of God in creation remained a mystery until it was revealed by the Apostle Paul to the Church in Colossians.

Who did the Work?

When we say, “My grandfather built his house,” we usually mean that he had it built. He may have done some of the work or none of it. We still say that he built the house. It’s the same with God. He had the universe built, but Jesus Christ made it happen. It’s also the same with Savior. God conceived of the plan for the salvation of mankind, but Jesus was the one to fulfill the plan.

AS I SEE IT

So, what’s the big deal? Why is this important? It’s important because there are many people in this world who claim to believe in God but ignore the work of Jesus, without whose sacrifice on the cross salvation would be impossible. When their belief goes no further than God, they are revealing that they believe in a god of their own imagination. They willingly buy into Satan’s delusion, throwing logic out the window. They assume that the good in their life will outweigh the bad, earning themselves a place in heaven, if it really exists.

A Good Person?

Most people have heard of the Ten Commandments, but few can name more than two or three. Yet, they assume that they have kept them all because they are basically a good person, and that’s good enough for their god. They willingly place themselves under law but fail to realize that law is for the unrighteous and immoral, not the righteous (1 Tim. 1:9). Having created their own god and their own standard, they refuse to believe the truth about themselves and suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). The Bible, however, says just that there is none good, not even one, and our “ticket to heaven” was purchased by Christ on the cross. Therefore, heaven is an absolutely free gift available to all who will repent of their rebellion against God, receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and be born again.

So, is God our Savior? Absolutely. Is Christ our Savior? Absolutely. Does it matter? Absolutely.

Title Photo by Cody Edwards

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ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

Joe Biden’s version of old sayings:

Don’t count your chickens before the fat lady sings.

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