Acts 2:21 … Calling on the Name of the Lord (01/03/17)
“Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved.”
~ Luke (Acts 2:21)
Please note first & foremost that the meaning of this verse depends on what is meant by “the name of the Lord,” and as such, please consider the following quite important points:
01) If by “the name of the Lord” one means God Himself, it is crucial to remember that the specific name of God was never revealed in the Bible* – meaning that to “call on the Name of the Lord” is essentially to call upon The Great Mystery; to humble one’s self before the Great Unknowable – which is indeed a pre-requisite to the acts of purely selfless service that “saves the Soul” thereafter (see Matthew 18:3-4).
02) If by “the name of the Lord” one means Jesus Christ, it is crucial to remember that the English name Jesus actually started out as the Hebrew name “Yehoshua” (essentially meaning “God is our Guide”), and later became the Aramaic “Yeshua” (which meant “He will save” — see Matthew 1:21 “you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins”).
03) Finally, in Matthew 1:22-23 we read that Jesus’ name of origin is actually “Emmanuel” — a name which meant “God is with(in) us”; meaning that to “call on the Name of the Lord” in this sense is to call on the internal Advocate that resides within all sentient beings (see John 14:20-26); the Holy Spirit within that encourages us all to live lives of Love. As such, to literally “call on the Name of the Lord” is not to mentally or verbally pray to God or Jesus, but rather to humbly & Faith-fully embody the essence of their perfect Love (see Matthew 5:48 & John 14:12 et al). And as such, this verse’s deeper meaning exposes the Truth that real Salvation is Grace-fully given “from within” during Love’s doing, not received as a reward “from above” at some point thereafter.
*NOTE that the many specific names given for God in the ancient manuscripts (like “El” in Genesis 31:29, “Elohim” in Genesis 17:7, “El Shaddai” in Genesis 49:24, and “I am who I am” in Exodus 3:14) are actually all names given by fallen angels who were merely posing as God … The true references for the one, true God in the Old Testament are “Adonai” (see Genesis 15:2) and “YHWH” (see Genesis 4) – two names for which a specific meaning has never been known and never been given.
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