The full-orbed thought as to the Saviour is gained from the understanding of the life and words of Christ Jesus. In his last talk with his disciples he said: "It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you" (John, 16:7).
Do not these words mean that the Saviour is not the mortal body of the human Jesus which did "go away," but rather that the Saviour is the ever-present Comforter, the gift of infinite Spirit? Something more, then, than a lovable friend, a noble patriot, a self-sacrificing hero, is the Saviour.
Indeed, do not both the Old and the New Testaments turn our eyes not toward man, but toward God as the Saviour? Thus testifies Isaiah: "I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour" (Isaiah, 43:3). Similarly Hosea: "I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no God but me: for there is no saviour beside me" (Hosea, 13:4). So also Paul, who introduces himself as "an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour" (1 Timothy, 1:1). Likewise Jude, who concludes his benediction: "To the only wise God our Saviour" (Jude, 25).
