Survey of the Letters of Paul: 1 Timothy 1:15
1 Timothy 1:15Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners - This is one of the most
glorious truths in the book of God; the most
important that ever reached the human ear, or can be
entertained by the heart of man. All men are
sinners; and as such condemned, justly condemned, to
eternal death. Christ Jesus became incarnate,
suffered, and died to redeem them; and, by his grace
and Spirit, saves them from their sins. This saying
or doctrine he calls, first, a faithful or true
saying; πιστος ὁ λογος, it is a doctrine that may
be credited, without the slightest doubt or
hesitation; God himself has spoken it; and the death
of Christ and the mission of the Holy Ghost, sealing
pardon on the souls of all who believe, have
confirmed and established the truth.
Secondly, it is worthy of all acceptation; as all
need it, it is worthy of being received by all. It
is designed for the whole human race, for all that
are sinners is applicable to all, because all are
sinners; and may be received by all, being put
within every man’s reach, and brought to every man’s
ear and bosom, either by the letter of the word, or,
where that revelation is not yet come, by the power
of the Divine Spirit, the true light from Christ
that lightens every man that cometh into the world.
From this also it is evident that the death of
Christ, and all its eternally saving effects, were
designed for every man. ~Adam Clarke
Now the John Gill:
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners - Christ came into the world, being sent by
his Father, but not against his will, but with his
free consent: he came voluntarily in the fulness of
time into this sinful world, where he was ill
treated; and this was not by local motion, or change
of place, but by assumption of nature; and the end
of it was, that he might be the Saviour of lost
sinners, as all men are, both by Adam's sin, and
their own transgressions; though he came not to save
all, for then all would be saved, whereas they are
not; and if he came to save them, he must have then
so far lost his end; but he came to save sinners, of
all sorts, even notorious sinners, the worst and
chief of sinners: and the apostle instances in
himself. ~John Gill
Let's move to the final part of this verse.
This from Barnes Notes:
Of whom I am chief - Greek, “first.” The word is
used to denote eminence - and it means that he
occupied the first rank among sinners. There were
none who surpassed him. This does not mean that he
had been the greatest of sinners in all respects,
but that in some respects he had been so great a
sinner, that on the whole there were none who had
surpassed him. That to which he particularly refers
was doubtless the part which he had taken in putting
the saints to death; but in connection with this, he
felt, undoubtedly, that he had by nature a heart
eminently prone to sin; see Romans 7. Except in the
matter of persecuting the saints, the youthful Saul
of Tarsus appears to have been eminently moral, and
his outward conduct was framed in accordance with
the strictest rules of the law; Philippians 3:6;
Acts 26:4-5. After his conversion, he never
attempted to extenuate his conduct, or excuse
himself. He was always ready, in all circles, and in
all places, to admit to its fullest extent the fact
that he was a sinner. So deeply convinced was he of
the truth of this, that he bore about with him the
constant impression that he was eminently unworthy;
and hence he does not say merely that he had been a
sinner of most aggravated character, but he speaks
of it as something that always pertained to him -
“of whom I am chief.” We may remark:
(1) that a true Christian will always be ready to
admit that his past life has been evil;
(2) that this will become the abiding and steady
conviction of the soul; and,
(3) that an acknowledgment that we are sinners is
not inconsistent with evidence of piety, and with
high attainments in it. The most eminent Christian
has the deepest sense of the depravity of his own
heart and of the evil of his past life. ~Barnes
Notes
Now notice the John Gill commentary on this phrase:
of whom I am chief - or "first"; not that he was the
first in time; Adam was the first man that sinned,
though Eve was before him in the transgression: it
is a most stupid notion, that some gave into from
this passage, as if the soul of Adam passed from one
body to another, till it came to Paul, and therefore
he calls himself the first of sinners: but his
meaning is, that he was the first in quality, or the
greatest and chiefest of sinners, not only of those
that are saved, but of all men, Jews or Gentiles;
and this he said not hyperbolically, nor out of
modesty, but from a real sense or apprehension he
had of himself, and his sins, which were made
exceeding sinful to him; or he was the chief of
sinners, and exceeded all others in his way of
sinning, in blaspheming the name of Christ, and
persecuting his saints, otherwise his conversation
was externally moral, and in his own, and in the
opinion of others, blameless: he was no fornicator,
adulterer, thief, extortioner, &c. but in the above
things he went beyond all others, and was a
ringleader in them; and the remembrance of these
sins abode with him, and kept him humble all his
days; he was always ready to acknowledge them, and
express his vileness and unworthiness on account of
them: hence he here says, not "of whom I was", but
"of whom I am chief". Now such sinners, and all
sorts of sinners, Christ came to save from all their
sins, original and actual; from the law, its curse
and condemnation; from the bondage of Satan, the
evil of the world, and wrath to come, and from every
enemy; and that, by his obedience, sufferings, and
death, by fulfilling the law, bearing its penalty,
offering himself a sacrifice for sin, thereby
finishing it, making reconciliation for it, and
bringing in an everlasting righteousness: and a
great Saviour he is, and an only one; a full,
suitable, able, and willing Saviour; a Saviour of
the soul, as well as of the body, and of both with
an everlasting salvation. ~John Gill
Let us conclude in the Treasury of Scripture
Knowledge:
For, "This is a faithful saying":
1 Timothy 1:19
Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some
having put away concerning faith have made
shipwreck:
2 Timothy 2:11
It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him,
we shall also live with him:
For , "and worthy of all acceptation":
John 1:12
But as many as received him, to them gave he power
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on his name:
John 3:36
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life:
and he that believeth not the Son shall not see
life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
1 John 5:11
And this is the record, that God hath given to us
eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
For, "that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners":
Matthew 20:28
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered
unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom
for many.
Acts 3:26
Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus,
sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of
you from his iniquities.
Romans 5:8-10
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood,
we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled
to God by the death of his Son, much more, being
reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
For, "of whom I am chief":
See 1 Timothy 1:13 above and all we say
there.
Ephesians 3:8
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints,
is this grace given, that I should preach among the
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
Job 42:6
Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and
ashes.
For the phrase "I abhor myself" notice the
commentary:
Compared with a pure and holy God, he saw that he
was utterly vile and loathsome, and was not
unwilling now to confess it. “And repent.”
~Barnes Notes
From Adam Clarke, "Compared with thine, my strength
is weakness; my wisdom, folly; and my righteousness,
impurity." ~Adam Clarke
What we abhor is the product rather than the self.
This is not self hatred but our abhoring ourself,
the product of unrighteousness. This is what Paul is
talking about in having seen himself as the chief
sinner. He is speaking to what sin did to his
character.