Acts 4:12 "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven..."

“There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”—Acts 4:12

Comment:

As is consistently the case throughout the New Testament, particularly the Gospel of John, it is necessary to be clear on the distinctions between “Jesus,” “Jesus Christ” and “the Christ.” Jesus is the Jewish teacher from Nazareth whom the disciples had followed for many years. “The Christ” is the name with which Jesus describes the indwelling Presence of God that is our spiritual truth. “Jesus Christ” is the term we use in recognition that Jesus not only understood and taught the Christ, he surrendered so fully to his own spiritual Power that he became that Power in human expression—he became Jesus Christ, fully human and fully divine. “The Christ” is the truth of our own identities as well, but we have not yet been able to become the Christ in expression as Jesus did. That is precisely what we must do in order to achieve the new dimension of spiritual consciousness Jesus describes as “the kingdom of heaven.” We must follow his example and his teachings to allow our own Christ nature to express through this human experience.   In the passage from Acts, Peter has been expressing his own Christ nature by healing others. When he is challenged, he explains that “someone who was sick and [now is] healed … is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ.” It is by aligning himself with the Christ Presence of God, which Jesus taught and demonstrated, that Peter is able to heal others. It is by aligning ourselves with the Christ—the Presence of God within us that Jesus taught, demonstrated, and urged us to find and express—that we, too, can heal the expressions of false belief and affirm the new kingdom consciousness.   Much grief has been caused, and much spiritual energy misspent, by people who have chosen to understand this passage as applying only to Jesus of Nazareth. They have thereby felt justified in judging, punishing and killing others whose paths to spiritual realization and expression did not exactly match theirs. Nothing could be further from the message of Jesus Christ—or the infinite love and acceptance with which he shared that message. The spiritual principle of the Christ is a universal principle—it is the true identity of every individual. For me, Jesus Christ is the best, clearest and most patient guide I have found to understand and express my own Christ energy. Others may find their way to that universal spiritual principle through the guidance of other teachers. What matters is that we achieve and embrace the Christ—the truth of our spiritual unity. For through no other name but the Christ can we embrace our spiritual purpose and transform this human experience.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed