Titus 3:4

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, How little reason the Cretian Christians had to be proud of themselves, and despise others (notes, Titus 3:2). It is to the "kindness and love of God," not to their own merits, that they owe salvation. KINDNESS, [chreestotos] - 'goodness,' 'benignity,' which manifests His grace. LOVE ... TOWARD MAN - teaching us to have such "love toward man" [Greek, philanthropy] (Titus 3:2), even as God had "toward man" (Titus 2:11): opposed to the "hateful and hating" characteristics of unrenewed men, whose wretchedness moved God's benevolent kindness. OF GOD OUR SAVIOUR, ...

Either the principal clause in this sentence is, that “God hath saved us by his mercy,” or the language is elliptical. Thus it will be proper to supply, that they were changed for the better, and became new men, in consequence of God having mercy upon them; as if he had said, “When God regenerated you by his Spirit, then did you begin to differ from others.” But since there is a complete sense in the words of Paul, there is no necessity for making any addition. He classes himself along with others, in order that the exhortation may be more efficacious. 4_But after that the goodness and love towards man appeared _First, it might be asked, — “Did the goodness of God begin to be made known to the world at the time when Christ was manifested in the flesh? For certainly, from the beginning, the fathers both knew and experienced that God was good, and kind, and gracious to them; and therefore...

1-7 Spiritual privileges do not make void or weaken, but confirm civil duties. Mere good words and good meanings are not enough without good works. They were not to be quarrelsome, but to show meekness on all occasions, not toward friends only, but to all men, though with wisdom, James 3:13. And let this text teach us how wrong it is for a Christian to be churlish to the worst, weakest, and most abject. The servants of sin have many masters, their lusts hurry them different ways; pride commands one thing, covetousness another. Thus they are hateful, deserving to be hated. It is the misery of sinners, that they hate one another; and it is the duty and happiness of saints to love one another. And we are delivered out of our miserable condition, only by the mercy and free grace of God, the merit and sufferings of Christ, and the working of his Spirit. God the Father is God our Saviour. He...

Verse 4. _BUT AFTER THAT THE KINDNESS AND LOVE OF GOD_] By χρηστοτης we may understand the _essential goodness_ of the Divine nature; that which is the _spring_ whence all kindness, mercy, and beneficence proceed. _Love toward man _- φιλανθρωπια. _Philanthropy_. It is to be regretted that this attribute of the Divine nature, as it stands in relation to man, should have been entirely lost by a paraphrastical translation. _Philanthropy_ is a character which God gives here to himself; while human nature exists, this must be a character of the Divine nature. _God loves man_; he _delighted_ in the _idea_ when formed in his own infinite mind, he formed man according to that idea, and _rejoiced_ in the work of his hands; when man fell, the same _love_ induced him to devise his redemption, and God the _Saviour_ flows from God the _Philanthropist_. Where _love_ is it will be active, and will

BUT AFTER THAT - Greek, when - ὅτε hote The meaning is, that “when the love of God was manifested in the plan of salvation, he saved us from this state God appeared” after we had sinned in this way, but that when his mercy was thus displayed we were converted from our sins, and made pure in his sight. THE KINDNESS - χρηστότης chrēstotēs - “the goodness, or the benignity.” The word is rendered “goodness” and “good” in Romans 2:4; Romans 3:12; Romans 11:22, thrice; “kindness,”...

EXPOSITION TITUS 3:1 In _subjection _for _subject, _A.V.; _rulers _for _principalities. _A.V.; _to authorities _for _and powers, _A.V. and T.R.; _to be obedient _for _to obey magistrates, _A.V.; _unto _for _to, _A.V. PUT THEM IN MIND (ὑπομίμνησκε); as 2 Timothy 2:14. TO RULERS, TO AUTHORITIES. Many uncials, which the R.T. follows, omit the καὶ, but it seems necessary to the sense. The change from "principalities and powers" to" rulers" and "authorities" does not seem desirable. Ἀρχάι_ _and ἐξουσίαι_ _is a favorite juxtaposition el' St. Paul's (1 Corinthians 15:24; Ephesians 1:21; Ephesians 3:10; Ephesians 6:12;...

BUT AFTER THAT,.... After all this series and course of wickedness; notwithstanding all this foolishness, disobedience, deception, bondage to sin, envy, malice, and malignity; or "when" all this was, as the word may be rendered, amidst all this iniquity; when these persons were in the full career of sin, and so had done no preparatory works, or had any previous qualifications and dispositions for the grace of God: THE KINDNESS AND LOVE OF GOD OUR SAVIOUR TOWARD MAN APPEARED; unto them; and the Ethiopic version adds, "unto us". The apostle takes the advantage of the above character of himself, and others in their former state, to set off and magnify the grace of God in their conversion; so contraries, as black and white, illustrate each other. By "God our Saviour" is not meant the Lord Jesus Christ, though he is commonly designed by our Saviour, and is several times called God our Saviou...

Titus 3:1. _Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men._ Gentleness was not reckoned a virtue among the Greeks; I do not suppose that the people in Crete had ever heard of it before Paul wrote this Epistle to Titus. Among the Romans and the Greeks, it seemed to be a virtue to stand up for your own, to be like a gamecock, who is always ready to fight, and will never miss a chance of fighting; but this Christian virtue of gentleness is a most amiable one, and greatly adorns the doctrine of Christ. The world has run away with this word gentle, and now calls many a person a gentleman who has no right to the name. I wish that every gentleman were indeed a gentleman. It is very significant that Moses, the type of the Lord Jesus under

III. IN RELATION TO THE WORLD AND FALSE TEACHERS CHAPTER 3 _ 1. Instructions (Titus 3:1)_ 2. Warnings (Titus 3:9) 3. Directions (Titus 3:12) Titus 3:1 He asks Titus to remind all believers to be subject to rulers, principalities and powers (Greek: Magistracies and authorities, Romans 13:1), to yield obedience and to be ready for every good work. An ancient historian, Diodones Siculus, speaks of the riotous insubordination of the Cretans. They were to speak evil of no man, nor were they to be contentious, but show all gentleness and all

FURTHER INSTRUCTION ON CHRISTIAN CONDUCT. (_a_) TITUS 3:1 F. BEHAVIOUR TO THOSE OUTSIDE. In his relation with unbelievers the Christian must show (i) towards those in authority, obedience (1 Timothy 2:1 *); (ii) towards his neighbours generally, right-living and forbearance; (iii) towards all alike, meekness.__ (b) TITUS 3:3_ A_. ITS DOCTRINAL BASIS. Any other spirit than that of meekness is ruled out (i) by the character of the believer's own pre-Christian life (Romans 1:28 ff., _cf._ 1 Timothy 1:12 ff.), (ii) b