In 1 Timothy 1:12-17 Christ is revealed as the Savior of sinners.
In verse 15 Paul says, “Faithful is the word and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost.” This verse reveals that Christ the Savior saved Paul, who considered himself the foremost sinner (v. 16). In verse 13 Paul says of himself, “Who formerly was a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insulting person; but I was shown mercy because, being ignorant, I acted in unbelief.” A blasphemer is one who blasphemes God, and a persecutor is one who persecutes man. Saul of Tarsus, a strict Pharisee (Acts 22:3; Phil. 3:4-5), could never have blasphemed God. But he did speak evilly of the Lord Jesus. Here he confessed that this was blasphemy. This indicates that he believed in the deity of Christ. Saul of Tarsus persecuted the church in an insulting, destructive way (Acts 22:4; Gal. 1:13, 23), just as the insulting Jews persecuted the Lord Jesus (Matt. 26:59, 67). Paul also says that he was ignorant and acted in unbelief. To be ignorant means to be in darkness, and unbelief comes from blindness. Saul of Tarsus was in darkness and acted in blindness when he opposed God’s New Testament economy. Yet Christ Jesus, as the Savior of sinners, came into the world, into the fallen human race, to save this foremost sinner.
Christ came into the world to be our Savior by incarnation (John 1:14). He was God incarnated that He might save us through His death and resurrection in His human body. In coming to save sinners, Christ took the sinners as His object. His heart is to save us, the sinners in the world. He came into the world to save us from our sins and to give us His divine life (Matt. 1:21; John 10:10). In the local churches this should be constantly announced as the glad tidings.
In 1 Timothy 1:16 Paul declares, “Because of this I was shown mercy, that in me, the foremost, Jesus Christ might display all His long-suffering for a pattern to those who are to believe on Him unto eternal life.” This verse indicates that Christ saved Paul through the mercy of God. Saul of Tarsus, the foremost among sinners, became a pattern to sinners, showing that sinners can be visited by God’s mercy and saved by the Lord’s grace. In verse 13 Paul testifies that he was shown mercy. Saul, a blasphemer and a persecutor, first was shown mercy and then received grace (v. 14). Mercy reaches farther toward the unworthy one than grace does. Because Saul was one who blasphemed God and persecuted man, God’s mercy reached him before the Lord’s grace did.
In verse 14 Paul says, “The grace of our Lord superabounded with faith and love in Christ Jesus.” Christ saved Paul not only through God’s mercy but also His grace. The Lord’s grace, coming after God’s mercy, visited Saul of Tarsus and not only abounded but superabounded in him with faith and love in Christ. One day he received mercy and grace from the Lord not only to believe in Him but also to love Him. The Lord’s grace superabounded with faith and love in Christ to the apostle Paul for his dynamic and excellent salvation that he might be one of the greatest apostles.
We have been given faith to believe into Christ, and we have been given God’s love to love the Lord Jesus. In the Gospel of John we are taught that we need to believe into Christ the Son (1:12) and love Him (14:23). The Gospel of John presents these as the two requirements for us to participate in the Lord. The Lord is within us to be our faith and our love.
Apart from the grace of God, none of us could have faith and love in Christ. It is a wonder that we can believe in Jesus and love Him whom we have never seen (1 Pet. 1:8). It is not a small thing for a sinner to believe in Christ and continue in loving Him. To love Jesus is a miracle of the superabounding grace.
Faith and love are products of the Lord’s grace. Mercy and grace come to us from the Lord; faith and love return to the Lord from us. This is a spiritual traffic between the Lord and us. Through faith we receive the Lord (John 1:12), and through love we enjoy the Lord whom we have received (14:21, 23; 21:15-17). We need to have faith and love to match His grace so that we may enjoy Christ as our great Savior.
In 1 Timothy 1:16 Paul speaks of believing on Christ “unto eternal life.” The uncreated life of God is the ultimate gift and topmost blessing given by God to those who believe on Christ. Christ’s salvation is unto eternal life. The word unto in verse 16 means “resulting in.” When we enjoy Christ as our great Savior and receive His wonderful salvation, the result of this enjoyment is eternal life. Now we may enjoy this eternal life in our daily living.
In verse 12 Paul declares, “I give thanks to Him who empowers me, Christ Jesus our Lord, that He has counted me faithful, appointing me to the ministry.” By His saving grace, Christ not only appointed the apostle to the ministry and commissioned him with God’s economy outwardly but also empowered him inwardly to carry out His ministry, fulfill His commission, and serve Him faithfully. This is altogether a matter of life in the Spirit.
In verse 17 Paul says, “Now to the King of the ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” Paul’s praise to God in this verse is related to the decline of the church. The church may decline, deteriorate, and become degraded, but God is incorruptible. He remains the same. He is the King of eternity. In spite of the church’s decline, Paul had a strong faith with an absolute assurance that the God in whom he believed, the One who had entrusted him with the gospel, is the King of the ages, incorruptible, unchangeable, and worthy of honor and glory.
Christ’s saving grace empowers us to serve Him faithfully for the honor and glory of the King of the ages. The One who is the King of the ages is incorruptible, invisible, and the only God forever; our being saved by the divine life will give honor and glory to the King.
In 1 Timothy 2:5-6 Christ is presented as the Mediator of God and men.
In verse 5 Paul says, “There is one God and one Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” In this verse Paul tells us that there is one Mediator of God and men. A mediator is a go-between. The one Mediator is the man Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus was God from eternity (John 1:1). In time He became a man through incarnation (v. 14). While He was living on earth as a man, He was also God (1 Tim. 3:16). After resurrection He was still man, as well as God (Acts 7:56; John 20:28). Because He is both man and God, He is the only One qualified to be the Mediator, the go-between, of God and men.
In 1 Timothy 2:6 Paul tells us that Christ “gave Himself as a ransom for all.” Christ gave Himself for the accomplishing of redemption for all men. This was necessary in order that He might be our Mediator. He is qualified to be the Mediator between God and man, not only in His divine and human person but also in His redemptive work. Both His person and His work are unique.