Acts 4:12 ... "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."
When Peter healed the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, (Acts 3:1-8), a crowd quickly gathered who were "filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened," (Acts 3:9-11). Peter took advantage of this assembly to preach Christ to them and encourage them to accept the salvation which He offered, (3:12-26). As He continued to speak, the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and the Sadducees took note of the situation and were "greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead," (4:1-2). So they had Peter and John arrested, and on the next day brought them before the Sanhedrin (Jewish High Council) for interrogation about their mission. Their first question was, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?" (v.7). With great boldness Peter answered, "By the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead -- by this name this man stands here before you in good health," (v.10). Then the apostle proceeded to make the declaration about salvation in the initial text above.
We should notice that Peter calls attention to salvation in two spheres of human experience, both of which he attributes to the power of Jesus. First is the matter of the salvation of the physical body, demonstrated in the healing of the lame man. When Peter released the power that performed the cure, he clearly said, "In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene -- walk!" (3:6) In Biblical terminology "by the name of" means" by the power of." Only someone who was authorized to use Jesus' name could direct His power to perform wonders in the physical realm. Jesus authorized His apostles in Matt. 10:8, and when other tried to access Jesus' power by the unauthorized use of His name, their efforts came to naught and almost resulted in their destruction, (Acts 19:13-17).
The second sphere of human experience wherein Jesus' power to save is demonstrated is the spiritual. Man is composed of more than merely a physical body, which is often blighted by disease, injury and dysfunction and needs salvation from these degenerative forces. Man is also composed of a soul, which is continually blighted by the spiritual disease of sin. We are assured in Rom. 3:23 that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." In I Jno. 1:8 we are told that "if we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Although men of medicine have learned ways to save the body from many diseases, men are absolutely powerless to deal with the spiritual disease of sin in the human soul. In Matt. 19:25 Jesus' disciples once asked Him, "Who can be saved?" His answer was, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Man cannot remove sin; only God can do that. It is this aspect of salvation that Peter was speaking of when he declared that "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." Only God can remove sin from the human soul, and He has invested that power in His Son Jesus Christ. When people look elsewhere, or unto anyone other than Jesus, for salvation from sin, their search ends in failure.
In I Pet. 3:21 this same apostle wrote that "baptism now saves you." And in his statement in Acts 2:38 he added that this baptism must be based on repentance and must be "in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins." These statements tell us how and where the power of Jesus to save people from sin is experienced. The person must repent of his sins and submit to baptism in the name of Jesus. Since "all have sinned," it is imperative that "all" respond as soon as possible to have Jesus' power to save applied to their souls.
