As previously noted, Jesus' name literally means "God saves." The Greek word for Savior is "Soter" and thus the study of salvation is called soteriology.

In the early Church, salvation was understood as union with God. This was the primary focus: union. However, this union was appreciated differently by each of the three primary cultures. There should be no surprise here. First of all, there were varying cultural attitudes and values. But second of all, and most importantly salvation is a multi-faceted mystery. Paul wrote, "I proclaim Jesus Christ, the revelation of a mystery kept secret for endless ages" (Rom 16:25 All quotes are from the Jerusalem Bible unless noted otherwise). Elsewhere one reads about "the depths of the mystery of Christ" (Eph 3:4) which "has been kept hidden in God" (Eph 3:9). Understandably, this rich mystery will be approached and appreciated from various angles, each culture having a predominant emphasis.

The Christian Scriptures teach: "God our Saviour wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth. For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and humanity, himself a human being, Christ Jesus, who offered himself as a ransom for all" (I Tim 2:3b-6a NJB). The Greek word used for Mediator in the NT is "mesites" which means "middle party, middle man." Later, Greek Fathers of the Church called Christ the "methorion" which means "midway point, bridge, boundary" and thus mediator. It is this role of mediator which is perceived differently by Syriac, Greek, and Latin Christians because of underlying presumptions about the nature of sin and its consequences.

The Syriac Perspective

As you recall, the Syriac world is a world of the concrete, focused upon deeds and actions. God is operative within nature and experienced there. The creation is a revelation of the Creator (see Wis 13:1-9 & Rom 1:20). However, through sin this union between Creator and creation has been disrupted and darkened. Sin is the rupture between creation and Creator; it is a break in a relationship. Being human and divine, Jesus Christ brings about the restitution between creation and Creator (see Col 1:15-20, Rom 8:18-25, & Rev 21:1-22:5). God "has put all things under his feet, and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation" (Eph 1:22-23). Jesus is the Cosmic Christ bringing about "the universal restoration of all things" (see Acts 3:20-21). The union between Creator and creation is restored in Christ Jesus.

This is the foundational perspective regarding salvation in Syriac Christianity. The union is a communion, a fellowship with the triune God (see 2 Cor 13:13). Jesus Christ is the methorion, the bridge which embodies the two realms: heaven and earth. He restores peace, the Hebrew Shalom, the Syriac Salaam. As Mediator, Jesus ushers in the New "Jerusalem," the name itself means "Vision of Peace." As High Priest, he makes things right with the world and God, offering up all of creation to God. Paradise is restored (see Gen 2:5-25 & 3:8 along with Isa 11:1-9, Mic 4:1-8, Zec 3:6-10 & 2 Pet 3:13).

The Greek Mentality

The Greek mentality is quite comparable to the Syriac perspective, yet it has a few nuances which become accentuated. For the Greeks, reality is divided between the immaterial and the material realm; the spiritual and the physical. Jesus Christ stands as the bridge between the two, reconciling them within his own person (see Col 1:15-20). Here the Greek emphasis is on Christ being "the image of the unseen God," the creator of "all things visible and invisible." "God wanted all perfection to be found in him and all things to be reconciled through him and for him, everything in heaven and everything on earth" (Col 1:19-20). Thus the Incarnate Word is the Mediator bringing about reconciliation: the Immaterial becomes material, the Invisible-- visible. The scope is truly Cosmic and Universal in a metaphysical dimension. (The Syriac is much more concrete and relational--a harmony within creation recalling Paradise.)

The Greek verb (apokatallasso) used in this quote from Colossians for reconciliation, means to utterly change, to transfer from one state to another. According to Greek theology, reconciliation is a transformation, an exchange is made which brings about a change. (This will be significant when compared to the Latin understanding). Reconciliation not only restores alienated parties to one another, but effects a change bringing about transformation. In Greek theology, sin is primarily understood as an offense which causes alienation. Sin is a personal and psychological reality. Alienation and estrangement are overcome through Jesus Christ. Speaking of the Uncircumcised as "aliens with no part in the covenants with their Promise," (Eph 2:12) the Apostle states, "But now in Christ Jesus, you that used to be so far apart from us [the Circumcision] have been brought very close, by the blood of Christ. For he is the peace between us, and has made the two into one and broken down the barrier which used to keep them apart, actually destroying in his own person the hostility . . . .This was to create one single New Man in himself out of the two of them . . . and reconcile (apokatallasso) them with God" (Eph 2:13-16). Alienation is abolished and reconciliation creates a New Humanity effecting union with God. Humanity's union with God is initialized in the Incarnation and culminated in the Resurrection. Salvation is the establishment of a new creation (see 2 Cor 5:17, Gal 6:15, & Eph 4:22-24). In Greek theology, the Resurrection is the full integration of the material with the Immaterial, the visible with the Invisible; it transcends this reality and ushers the believer into another dimension. The Resurrection is the fruition of apokatallasso, the complete exchange and utter transformation, being transferred from one state to another.

The Latin Mindset

Regarding the mystery of salvation, the Latin tradition stresses yet another facet: that of redemption. In fact, Latin theology has constructed from the Bible a full blown system. In order to do justice to the Latin view of salvation, before even starting, we need to discuss a related subject: the Economy of Grace. This itself builds on a Greek doctrine, thus we need to take a step back.

The Economy of Grace in Greek Theology

The NT uses the Greek term oikonomia, which simply put means "household operation, stewardship." Oikos is house and nomos is rule, governance. The term is used in several places to refer to stewardship and administration in general (see Lk 16:1-8 and Gal 4:2). But because Christians "are part of God's household" (Eph 2:19) whose steward is primarily Christ (see Heb 3:1-6 & 10:21), there is a stewardship which is operative in the Church. Paul writes, "I suppose you have heard of the stewardship [economy] of God's grace that was given to me for your benefit" (Eph 3:2 NAB). This "economy of grace" is committed to the apostle so that he might "dispense" God's grace to the needy. His apostleship is a stewardship. "People must think of us as Christ's servants, stewards entrusted with the mysteries of God" (I Cor 4:1 see also Col 1:25). Paul claims, I "have been entrusted with this special grace, not only of proclaiming to the pagans the infinite treasure of Christ but also of explaining how the mystery is to be dispensed" (Eph 3:8-9). Peter likewise speaks of the apostolic stewardship of God's grace (see I Pet 4:10). The Greek Fathers understand this "economy of grace" as referring to a dispensation of the ages and God's bounty given to humanity. "He has let us know the mystery of his purposes, the hidden plan he so kindly made in Christ from the beginning to act upon when the times had run their course to the end" (Eph 1:9-10). The footnote in the JB, however, makes the Greek text clearer: "for a dispensation of the times' fullness."

Thus, in the Greek tradition, the "economy (oikonomia) of grace" is understood as God's taking care of the household of faith throughout history.

The Economy of Grace in Latin Theology

The Latin tradition builds upon the Greek. Oikonomia referred to the steward dispensing money for the management of the household. The Latins had no real word for this and so they transliterated the Greek and came up with a new Latin word oeconomia, from which we derive our English word economy. Because Paul had spoken of the "infinite treasure of Christ," in the context of the "economy of grace," this then was interpreted in financial terms, and not without warrant.

The "economy of grace" becomes a watershed for Latin theology. Now one must keep in mind that in the Latin culture, law, order and justice were highly prized. God was seen as the Lawgiver and Just Judge who could enact a penalty upon those who disobeyed him. Consequently, Latin soteriology becomes cast in juridical and economic terminology. Paul's Letter to the Romans, deeply impacted Roman theology. He opened his epistle speaking about justice, a good Roman value (see Rom 1:17) and closed the chapter by cataloging various sins and speaking of "God's verdict" which is death. The next chapter expounds on God's judgment and how sinners are repaid. Then Paul launched into an excursus on the Law and God's justice. Justification comes through faith in Jesus' death. Sinners "are justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as an expiation" (Rom 3:24-25a NAB). This offsets "the wage paid by sin [which] is death" (Rom 6:23). The language is judicial and economic. "God dealt with sin by sending his own Son in a body as physical as any sinful body, and in that body God condemned sin. He did this in order that the Law's just demands might be satisfied" (Rom 8:3-4).

The language in Romans is economic. Redemption literally means to buy back. The theme of redemption is Pauline (see I Cor 1:30). Paul preached about "the Beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Col 1:14 NAB). You "were sealed with the promised holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God's possession" (Eph 1:13-14 NAB). The language is clearly economic. But redemption is also sacrificial, expiatory as in Romans 3:25. "He has entered the sanctuary once and for all, taking with him not the blood of goats and bull calves, but his own blood, having won an eternal redemption for us" (Heb 9:12). The redemption is the purchasing of a people for God (see I Cor 6:20, 7:23, Gal 3:13 & Acts 20:28). This is found in an early Christian hymn regarding the sacrificial lamb (see Rev 5:9 as well as Rev 14:3-4). The Apostle Peter preached the same theme: "Remember, the ransom that was paid to free you from the useless way of life your ancestors handed down was not paid in anything corruptible, neither in silver nor gold, but in the precious blood of a lamb without spot or stain, namely Christ" (I Pet 1:18-19). Mark's Gospel which recounts the preaching of Peter, records Jesus as saying: "The Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mk 10:45, also found in Mat 20:28).

Consequently, the Roman tradition accentuates a term linked with Jesus' mediatorship: ransom. "There is only one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as ransom for all" (I Tim 2:5-6 NAB). Ransom is an economic term. The price that Jesus paid with his blood offsets the debt of sin. The Our Father aka Lord's Prayer, refers to sin as a spiritual debt (see Lk 11:4 and Mat 6:12). The motif of redemption/ransom is combined in the following verse: "This makes him the mediator of a new covenant, so that, now that a death has occurred to redeem the sins committed under an earlier covenant, those who have been called to an eternal inheritance may receive the promise" (Heb 9:15 NJB). The debt of sin is paid by the Mediator. "In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace" (Eph 1:7 NAB). Verse ten then speaks of the "economy."

Thus the Latin perspective regarding salvation is the following: Jesus pays back to the Father a debt owed by humanity; he redeems people for God and pays the just penalty owed to God because of human disobedience in breaking God's Law. Sin is disobedience and salvation is legal and economic redemption. Mediation is between God the Just Lawgiver and wicked sinners who have broken God's commandments. Thus in Latin theology, Christ's Death on the Cross is the centerpiece.

This remains true for Catholic and Protestant theology, whereas in Eastern Orthodox theology salvation takes place through the Incarnation and Resurrection. A brief comparison of the three cultures will highlight their particular understandings.

This generalization, however, is not to say that the Eastern tradition ignores the Passion and Cross and that the Western tradition disregards the Incarnation and Resurrection. What is being underscored here is the predominant focus of each tradition's soteriological system. For the East, the Cross is celebrated as a paradox. By Christ's death he conquered Death (see I Cor 15:54-57). Immortality tasted mortality. The sinless One became sin so that the unholy might become holy (see 2 Cor 5:19-21). He who hung the heavens, was hung from a Cross on earth (see Eastern liturgy). The Cross was necessary to arrive at the Resurrection. On the other hand, for the West, the Incarnation was necessary in order to have a Sacrifice on the Cross (see Mat 1:21, Lk 2:29-34 & Heb 10:4-10). And the Resurrection bears witness to the Crucified Lord of Glory (see I Cor 2:8 & Lk 24:36 40). Each culture emphasized a special facet of the mystery; the danger lies in when one is over-emphasized to the exclusion of all others.

The Incarnation

A brief word needs to be said about the Incarnation and the Eastern soteriological system. According to Gregory of Nyssa, Maximus the Confessor and other Greek Fathers, the Incarnation would have taken place even if Adam and Eve had never sinned. Isaac the Syrian held the same view, as did later Syriac writers. The purpose of the Incarnation was to achieve intimate union between God and humanity. This is salvation, the fullest expression of love. God's plan was for the two to become one and form a New Humanity (confer Eph 2:15 read in light of Eph 4:13 & I Cor 15:45 53).

In contrast to this is the Latin tradition, at least the part that prevailed. During the Easter Liturgy in the Roman Church, the Exultet is sung. The following is an excerpt: "O Happy Fault, O necessary sin of Adam which gained for us so great a Redeemer." According to the Latin mindset, there never would have been an Incarnation unless Adam and Eve had sinned. The Eastern tradition finds this line of thinking totally offensive and in fact, several Popes had condemned it as well. Nevertheless, ever since the split between East and West, this section of the Exultet stands as part of the Roman liturgy. There is a Latin saying "lex orandi, lex credendi," "The rule of prayer is the rule of faith." The liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church reflects its theology.

From the Eastern perspective, God's desire and reason for the Incarnation was loving intimacy, not punishment for sin. The Sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb, while foreknown by God, was not the primary motivation for the Incarnation. The East accentuates God's mercy over God's justice; the West is vice versa.