Reading Timothy and Titus With John StottSample

A Trustworthy Saying

This “trustworthy saying” is a concise summary of the gospel. First, the content of the gospel is true and trustworthy, in distinction to the speculative nonsense of the false teachers. Second, the offer of the gospel is universal; it deserves to be accepted by all. Third, the essence of the gospel is that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” This statement alludes to both Christ’s incarnation and his atonement. Fourth, the application of the gospel is personal. The universal offer is one thing; its individual acceptance is another.

What did Paul mean when he called himself “the worst of sinners”? He was so vividly aware of his own sins that he could not conceive that anybody could be worse. This is the language of every sinner whose conscience has been awakened and disturbed by the Holy Spirit.

If Paul’s ignorant unbelief in the past was one reason why God had mercy on him, a second was related to the faith of others in the future, so that “Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.” Although Paul’s conversion had a number of unique features, it was also a prototype of all subsequent conversions because it was an exhibition of Christ’s infinite patience. The conversion of Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road remains a standing source of hope to otherwise hopeless cases.

Paul breaks out into a spontaneous doxology in which he makes use of some phrases from an early liturgical form. He addresses God as “the King,” the sovereign ruler of all things, who not only reigns over the natural order and the historical process but has also established his special kingdom through Christ and by the Spirit over his redeemed people. The divine King is “eternal,” beyond the fluctuations of time. He is “immortal,” beyond the ravages of decay and death. He is “invisible,” beyond the limits of every horizon. No one has seen God, but his glory is displayed in the creation and reached its zenith in the incarnate Son. And he is “the only God.” He has no rivals. To this great “King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God,” Paul ascribes what is his due: “honor and glory for ever and ever.” To this doxology all Christians can say “Amen.”

From Reading Timothy and Titus with John Stott by John Stott with Dale and Sandy Larsen.