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rights' (P Oxy 1.38/18 A.D.49-50), and similarly in the account of a public demonstration
in honour of the prytanis at Oxyrhynchus, the multitude acclaim him . . . . . `Prosperous
praefect, protector of honest men, our ruler!' (ib. 41/22 ii/iii A.D.)" (The Vocabulary of
the Greek Testament by Moulton and Milligan.)
The word was also used of the Ptolemies and the Roman Emperors, one example
in this connection having the phrase (pan) ton sotera, which should be compared with
I Tim. 4: 10:
". . . . . the living God, Who is the Saviour of all (soter panton) men . . . . ."
In this last passage the word soter is given the meaning "Preserver" in the
Englishman's Greek Interlinear Literal Translation, as it is also in F. F. Bruce's
Expanded Paraphrase of the Epistles of Paul:
". . . . . the living God, the Preserver of all mankind, especially of believers."
Considering the context in which these words are found, the translation conveys the
right sense in which the Apostle is using the word. Timothy is urged not to be taken up
with the exercise of the body (for its preservation), but rather to exercise himself with a
view to godliness (7). Not that bodily exercise is wrong, but that it is limited in its
service, whereas godliness is profitable for everything, "since it holds the promise of life
here and now and of life to come" (J. N. D. Kelley's translation of I Tim. 4: 8).
Timothy is reminded that he has his dealings with the God, Who is the Preserver of all
mankind. (No doubt there is much more behind Paul's concern for Timothy than has
been suggested here, for the whole passage seems to be a warning against aestheticism,
characteristic of later Gnosticism.)
Returning then to the clause of the original enquiry, "and he is the saviour of the
body" (Eph. 5: 23), it may be granted in the light of the usage of soter, that although
when applied to the Saviour it must be given a very full sense, it could be true of the
husband in a lesser way. He is to be the preserver and protector of his wife.
Before asking in what way he is to put this role into practice, it is interesting (and
relevant to part of this subject) to note that the idea of salvation may be understood in this
same way in I Tim. 2: 15:
". . . . . she shall be preserved (sozo, related to soter) through child-bearing . . . . ."
Moffatt has, "Women will get safely through childbearing" and Weymouth is
substantially the same. This promise will be considered in a later article.
The husband's role as "protector".
If it is true to say that Eph. 5: 22-33 is a practical passage of Scripture dealing with
the outworking of the husband-wife relationship, then it is also logical to believe that the
Apostle who wrote it included those thoughts which would be helpful in understanding
what was involved in that relationship. It has already been seen that although the clause
in verse 23, "and he is the saviour of the body" must apply in its fullness to Christ