August 8, 2024 Daily Dose of Discernment

“There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Very good creation, fall, even better restoration. That's the Bible story summarized. This creation, all of it, was made through Christ and will be restored through Him. The evangelist John declares that in his gospel (John 1:3, 6:39), the apostle Paul echoes it in his letter (Colossians 1:16, 20), and the church father Athanasius seconds their motion in his treatise "On the Incarnation."

That being the case, salvation in no one else but Jesus is not an exclusive statement, as some wrongly see it. On the contrary, it includes all men. Because everyone who ever lived came into existence through the Son of God and is therefore included in what will be restored, which is all things - in heaven and on earth. That's the good news. It's ongoing and we look for and hasten its consummation (2 Peter 3:12).