SAVIOUR, DELIVERER — one who rescues or preserves, from sōzō, 'to save'. ⚠ It was a loaded political word: Greek cities voted the title sōtēr to benefactors and kings, and the imperial cult hailed Caesar as 'saviour of the world', so its use is never merely religious. In the undisputed letters Paul keeps it almost entirely for Christ; the PASTORAL letters strikingly apply it to God the Father — 'God our Saviour' six times (1 Timothy 1:1; 2:3; 4:10; Titus 1:3; 2:10; 3:4) — one of the marks of their distinctive vocabulary. The Magnificat had already sung it of God, 'my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour' (Luke 1:47), and Jude closes on 'the only God our Saviour' (Jude 25). English 'soteriology', the doctrine of salvation, is built on it. → first discussed at 1 Timothy 1:1