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This section has 5 verses.
Titus 3:3-7
3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish,
disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and
pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and
hating one another.
4 But after that the kindness and love of God our
Saviour toward man appeared,
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to his mercy he saved us, by the
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
Ghost;
6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus
Christ our Saviour;
7 That being justified by his grace, we should be
made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
We will begin with the Barclay commentary.
THE DOUBLE DYNAMIC
First, the paraphrase of verses 3-7:
For we too were once senseless, disobedient,
misguided, slaves to all kinds of desires and
pleasures, living in maliciousness and envy,
detestable ourselves, and hating each other. But
when the goodness and the love to men of God our
Saviour appeared, it was not by works wrought in
righteousness, which we ourselves had done, but by
his own mercy that he saved us. That saving act was
made effective to us through that washing, through
which there comes to us the rebirth and the renewal
which are the work of the Holy Spirit, whom he
richly poured out upon us, through Jesus Christ our
Saviour. And the aim of all this was that we might
be put into a right relationship with God through
his grace, and so enter into possession of eternal
life, for which we have been taught to hope.
THE dynamic of the Christian life is twofold. It
comes first from the realization that converts to
Christianity were once no better than their
non-Christian neighbours. Christian goodness does
not make people proud; it makes them supremely
grateful. When Christians looked at others, living
life by the standards of Roman society, they did not
regard them with contempt; they said, as the
Methodist George Whitefield said when he saw the
criminal on the way to the gallows: ‘There but for
the grace of God go I.’
It comes from the realization of what God has done
for us in Jesus Christ. Perhaps no passage in the
New Testament more concisely, and yet more fully,
sets out the work of Christ for us than this. There
are seven outstanding facts about that work here.
(1) Jesus put us into a new relationship with God.
Until he came, God was the King before whom people
stood in awe, the Judge before whom they cringed in
terror, the Ruler whom they could regard only with
fear. Jesus came to tell men and women of the Father
whose heart was open and whose hands were stretched
out in love. He came to tell them not of the justice
which would pursue them forever but of the love
which would never let them go.
(2) The love and grace of God are gifts which no one
could ever earn; they can only be accepted in
perfect trust and in awakened love. God offers his
love to us simply out of the great goodness of his
heart, and Christians never think of what they have
earned but only of what God has given. The keynote
of the Christian life must always be wondering and
humble gratitude, never proud self-satisfaction. The
whole process is due to two great qualities of God.
It is due to his goodness. The word is chre¯stote¯s
and means graciousness. It means that spirit which
is so kind that it is always eager to give whatever
gift may be necessary. Chre¯stote¯s is an
all-embracing kindliness, which produces not only
warm feeling but also generous action at all times.
It is due to God’s love to men and women. The word
is philanthro¯pia, and it is defined as love of
someone as a human being. The Greeks thought much of
this beautiful word. They used it for the kindliness
of good people to their equals, for a good king’s
graciousness to his subjects, for a generous
individual’s active pity for those in any kind of
distress, and especially for the compassion which
made someone pay the ransom for another who had
fallen into captivity.
Behind all this is no human merit but only the
gracious kindliness and the universal love which are
in the heart of God.
(3) This love and grace of God are mediated [removal
of misunderstanding] through the Church. They come
through the sacrament of baptism. That is not to say
that they can come in no other way, for God is not
confined within his sacraments; but the door to them
is always open through the Church. When we think of
baptism in the earliest days of the Church, we must
remember that it was the baptism of grown men and
women coming directly out of the ancient idolatrous
religions. It was the deliberate leaving of one way
of life to enter upon another. When Paul writes to
the people of Corinth, he says: ‘You were washed,
you were sanctified, you were justified’ (1
Corinthians 6:11). In the letter to the Ephesians,
he says that Jesus Christ took the Church ‘in order
to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing
of water by the word’ (Ephesians 5:26). In baptism,
there came the cleansing, re-creating power of God.
Quoted verses:
1 Corinthians 6:11
...but I will read from
verse 9
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit
the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither
fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor
effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor
revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the
kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but
ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
Ephesians 5:26
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the
washing of water by the word,
In this connection, Paul uses two words.
He speaks of rebirth (paliggenesia).
Here is a word which had many associations. After
baptism, converts who were received into the Jewish
faith were treated as if they were little children.
It was as if they had been reborn and life had begun
all over again. The Pythagoreans [puh-tha'guh-REE-uns]
used the word frequently. They believed in
reincarnation and that people returned to life in
many forms until they were fit to be released from
it. Each return was a rebirth. The Stoics used the
word. They believed that every 3,000 years the world
was destroyed in a great fire, and that then there
was a rebirth of a new world. When people entered
the mystery religions, they were said to be ‘reborn
for eternity’. The point is that when we accept
Christ as Saviour and Lord, life begins all over
again. There is a newness about life which can be
likened only to a new birth.
He speaks of a renewing. It is as if life were worn
out and, when someone discovers Christ, there is an
act of renewal, which is not over and done with in
one moment of time but repeats itself every day.
(4) THE grace and love of God are mediated to men
and women within the Church, but behind it all is
the power of the Holy Spirit. All the work of the
Church, all the words of the Church, all the
sacraments of the Church have no effect unless the
power of the Holy Spirit is there. However well a
church is organized, however splendid its ceremonies
may be, however beautiful its buildings, all is
ineffective without that power. The lesson is clear.
Revival in the Church comes not from increased
efficiency in organization but from waiting upon
God. It is not that efficiency is not necessary; but
no amount of efficiency can breathe life into a body
from which the Spirit has departed.
(5) The effect of all this is threefold. It brings
forgiveness for past sins. In his mercy, God does
not hold our sins against his sins. ‘Man,’ said
Augustine, ‘look away from your sins and look to
God.’ It is not that we should live our lives
without being perpetually repentant for our sins;
but the very memory of our sins should move us to
wonder at the forgiving mercy of God.
(6) The effect is also new life in the present.
Christianity does not confine its offer to blessings
which shall be. It offers us here and now life of a
quality which we have never known before. When
Christ enters into our lives, for the first time we
really begin to live.
(7) Last, there is the hope of even greater things.
Christians are men and women for whom the best is
always still to be; they know that, however
wonderful life on earth with Christ may be, the life
to come will be greater still. Christians are people
who know the wonder of the forgiveness of past sins,
the thrill of present life with Christ, and the hope
of the greater life which is yet to come.
~Barclay Commentary
Now to the other commentaries. We will begin with
the general and move to the specific. We will begin
with the Matthew Henry Main commentary which covers
1-8. I am breaking in where it discusses verse 6.
(8.) Here is the manner of God's communicating this
Spirit in the gifts and graces of it; not with a
scanty [scant in amount]
and niggardly [nig-erd-lee-reluctant
to give] hand, but most freely and
plentifully: Which he shed on us abundantly. More of
the Spirit in its gifts and graces is poured out
under the gospel than was under the law, whence it
is eminently styled the ministration [attendance,
aid, service] of the Spirit, 2
Corinthians 3:8. A measure of the Spirit the church
has had in all ages, but more in gospel times, since
the coming of Christ, than before. The law came by
Moses, but grace and truth by Jesus Christ; that is,
a more plentiful effusion [pouring
forth] of grace, fulfilling the promises
and prophecies of old. Isaiah 44:3, I will pour
water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the
dry ground. I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and
my blessing upon thy offspring: this greatest and
best of blessings, an effusion of grace, and of the
sanctifying gifts of the Spirit. Joel 2:28, I will
pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; not on Jews only,
but Gentiles also. This was to be in gospel times;
and accordingly (Acts 2:17-18, Acts 2:33), speaking
of Christ risen and ascended, having received of the
Father the promise of the Holy [Spirit],
he hath shed forth (says
Peter) this that you now see and hear:
and Acts 10:44-45, The Holy [Spirit]
fell on all those that heart the word, Gentiles as
well as Jews. This indeed was, in a great measure,
in the miraculous gifts of [God
through] the Holy [Spirit],
but not without his [God's]
sanctifying graces also accompanying many if not all
of them [all of them].
There was then great abundance of common gifts of
illumination, outward calling and profession, and
general faith, and of more special gifts of
sanctification too, such as faith, and hope, and
love, and other graces of the Spirit. Let us get a
share in these. What will it signify if much be shed
forth and we remain dry? Our condemnation will but
be aggravated the more if under such a dispensation
of grace we remain void of grace. Be filled with the
Spirit, says the apostle; it is duty as well as
privilege, because of the means which God in the
gospel is ready to bless and make effectual; this is
the manner of God's communicating grace and all
spiritual blessings under the gospel - plentifully;
he is not straitened towards us, but we towards him
and in ourselves.
Note: "Great
abundance of common gifts of illumination, outward
calling and profession [your
duties], and general faith, and of more
special gifts of sanctification too, such as faith,
hope and love [fruits of
the Spirit]." This is what our being in
the salvation process is all about. We see the
"great abundance" in our life experience and in our
putting everything into the hands of God daily.
Quoted verses:
2 Corinthians 3:8
How shall not the ministration [attendance,
aid, service] of the spirit be rather
glorious?
Isaiah 44:3
For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and
floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit
upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:
Joel 2:28
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will
pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and
your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall
dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
Acts 2:17-18
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith
God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh:
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and
your young men shall see visions, and your old men
shall dream dreams:
18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will
pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall
prophesy:
Acts 2:33
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted,
and having received of the Father the promise of the
Holy Ghost [Spirit],
he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
Acts 10:44-45
44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost
[Spirit] fell on
all them which heard the word.
45 And they of the circumcision which believed were
astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that
on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the
Holy Ghost [Spirit].
(9.) Here is the procuring cause of all, namely,
Christ: Through Jesus Christ our Saviour. He it is
who purchased the Spirit and his saving gifts and
graces. All come through him, and through him as a
Saviour, whose undertaking and work it is to bring
to grace and glory; he is our righteousness and
peace, and our head, from whom we have all spiritual
life and influences. He is made of God to us [meaning
God the Father set Jesus Christ in position of
Saviour] wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. Let us praise God
for him [Christ]
above all; let us go to the Father by him, and
improve him to all sanctifying and saving purposes.
Have we grace? Let us thank him [Christ]
with the Father and Spirit [the
power of God] for it: account all things
but loss and dung for the excellency of the
knowledge of him, and grow and increase therein more
and more. ~Matthew Henry
Main
Now to the Matthew Henry Concise:
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 [rude, mean]
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 is the
fountain from which the Holy Spirit flows, to teach,
regenerate, and save his fallen creatures; and this
blessing comes to mankind through Christ. The spring
and rise of it, is the kindness and love of God to
man. Love and grace have, through the Spirit, great
power to change and turn the heart to God. Works
must be in the saved, but are not among the causes
of their salvation. A new principle of grace and
holiness is wrought, which sways, and governs, and
makes the man a new creature. Most pretend they
would have heaven at last, yet they care not for
holiness now; they would have the end without the
beginning. Here is the outward sign and seal thereof
in baptism, called therefore the washing of
regeneration. The work is inward and spiritual; this
is outwardly signified and sealed in this ordinance.
Slight not this outward sign and seal; yet rest not
in the outward washing, but look to the answer of a
good conscience, without which the outward washing
will avail nothing. The worker therein is the Spirit
of God; it is the renewing of the Holy [Spirit].
Through him we mortify sin, perform duty, walk in
God's ways; all the working of the Divine life in
us, and the fruits of righteousness without, are
through this blessed and holy Spirit. The Spirit and
his saving gifts and graces, come through Christ, as
a Saviour, whose undertaking and work are to bring
to grace and glory. Justification, in the gospel
sense, is the free forgiveness of a sinner;
accepting him as righteous through the righteousness
of Christ received by faith. God, in justifying a
sinner in the way of the gospel, is gracious to him,
yet just to himself and his law. As forgiveness is
through a perfect righteousness, and satisfaction is
made to justice by Christ, it cannot be merited by
the sinner himself. Eternal life is set before us in
the promise; the Spirit works faith in us, and hope
of that life; faith and hope bring it near, and fill
with joy in expectation of it.
~Matthew Henry Concise
Quoted verse:
James 3:13
Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among
you? let him shew out of a good conversation his
works with meekness of wisdom.
Now to the specific commentaries. This verse is
primarily in two parts:
1] Which he shed on us abundantly. [some
breakout the word, "abundantly."]
2] Through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
1] Which he
shed on us abundantly.
Which he shed on us -
Greek, “Which he poured out on us”
~Barnes Notes
Abundantly - Margin, as
in Greek, “richly.” The meaning is, that the Holy
Spirit had been imparted in copious measure in order
to convert them from their former wickedness. There
is no particular allusion here to the day of
Pentecost, but the sense is, that the Holy Spirit
had been imparted richly to all who were converted,
at any time or place, from the error of their ways.
What the apostle says here is true of all who become
Christians, and can be applied to all who become
believers in any age or land.
~Barnes Notes
Which he shed on us abundantly
- Οὑ εξεχεεν· Which he poured out on us, as the
water was poured out on them in baptism [full
immersion], to which there is here a
manifest allusion. The heavenly gift was poured out
richly, in great abundance.
~Adam Clarke with minor editing by me
Which he shed on us abundantly
- "Or richly"; either which love he shed abroad in
the hearts of those whom he regenerated and renewed
by his Spirit; or which water of regeneration, that
is, grace, comparable to water, he plentifully shed,
and caused to abound where sin had done; or rather
whom, or which Holy Spirit, with his gifts and
graces, such as faith, hope, and love, and every
other, he poured forth in great abundance on them;
see Isaiah 44:3 [already
quoted above].
~John Gill
2] Through
Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Through Jesus Christ -
Baptism is nothing in itself; and there had been no
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, had there been no
saving and atoning Christ. Through him alone all
good comes to the souls of men.
~Adam Clarke
Through Jesus Christ our
Saviour - the love and kindness of God the
Father our Saviour, comes through him; the mercy of
God streams through him; the salvation itself is by,
and through him; the grace communicated in
regeneration and renovation is out of his fulness;
the Spirit [itself]
is given forth from him; and every supply of grace,
by which the work is carried on, comes out of his
hands; and everything wrought in us, that is well
pleasing in the sight of God, is through him; and
even the gift of God, eternal life itself.
~John Gill
This John Gill commentary says it all and is the
lesson of verse 6.
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