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| Titus 3:3 |
| For we ourselves also were sometimes
foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts
and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful,
and hating one another. |
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. Here is the
Matthew Henry Main.
Remember the admonition in verse 2: "To speak evil
of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing
all meekness unto all men. Verse 3 is giving us
reason for this admonition.
We ourselves also were sometimes,
(1.) Foolish; without true spiritual
understanding and knowledge, ignorant of heavenly [spiritual]
things. Observe, Those should be most disposed to
bear with others' follies who may remember many of
their own; those should be meek and gentle, and
patient towards others, who once needed and
doubtless then expected the same. We ourselves also
were sometimes foolish. And,
(2.) Disobedient; heady and unpersuadable,
resisting the word, and rebellious even against the
natural laws of God, and those which human society
requires. Well are these set together, foolish and
obedient. For what folly like this, to disobey God
and his laws, natural or revealed? This is contrary
to right reason, and men's true and greatest
interests; and what so foolish as to violate and go
counter to these?
(3.) Deceived, or wandering; namely, out of
the ways of truth and holiness. Man in this his
degenerate state is of a straying nature, thence
compared to a lost sheep; this must be sought and
brought back, and guided in the right way, Psalm
119:176. He is weak, and ready to be imposed upon by
the wiles and subtleties of Satan, and of men lying
in wait to seduce and mislead.
Quoted verse:
Psalm 119:176
I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy
servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.
(4.) Serving divers lusts and pleasures;
namely, as vassals and slaves under them. Observe,
Men deceived are easily entangled and ensnared; they
would not serve divers lusts and pleasures as they
do, were they not blinded and beguiled into them.
See here too what a different notion the word gives
of a sensual and fleshly life from what the world
generally has of it. Carnal people think they enjoy
their pleasures; the word calls it servitude and
vassalage [dependence; subjection]: they are
very drudges and bond slaves under them; so far are
they from freedom and felicity in them that they are
captivated by them, and serve them as taskmasters
and tyrants. Observe further, It is the misery of
the servants of sin that they have many masters, one
lust hurrying them one way, and another; pride
commands one thing, covetousness another, and often
a contrary. What vile slaves are sinners, while they
conceit themselves free! the lusts that tempt them
promise them liberty, but in yielding they become
the servants of corruption; for of whom a man is
overcome of the same is he brought into bondage.
(5.) Living in malice, one of those lusts
that bear rule in them. Malice desires hurt to
another and rejoices in it.
(6.) And envy, which grudges and repines [discontented]
at another's good, frets at his prosperity and
success in any thing: both are roots of bitterness,
whence many evils spring: evil thoughts and
speeches, tongues set on fire of hell, detracting
from and impairing the just and due praises of
others. Their words are swords, wherewith they slay
the good name and honour of their neighbour. This
was the sin of Satan, and of Cain who was of that
evil one, and slew his brother; for wherefore slew
he him, but of this envy and malice, because his own
works were evil, and his brother's righteous? These
were some of the sins in which we lived in our
natural state. And,
(7.) Hateful, or odious [highly offensive;
repugnant] - deserving to be hated.
(8.) And hating one another. Observe, Those
that are sinful, living and allowing themselves in
sin, are hateful to God and all good men. Their
temper and ways are so, though not simply their
persons. It is the misery of sinners that thy hate
one another, as it is the duty and happiness of
saints to love one another. What contentions and
quarrels flow from men's corruptions, such as were
in the nature of those who by conversion are now
good, but in their unconverted state made them ready
to run like furious wild beasts one upon another!
The consideration of its having been thus with us
should moderate our spirits, and dispose us to be
more equal and gentle, meek and tenderhearted,
towards those who are such. This is the argument
from their own past condition here described.
~Matthew Henry Main
Now an item from the Biblical Illustrator.
We ourselves also were sometimes foolish
The transforming power of the gospel
I. What even Christians were. Their lives and
characters were distinguished by
1. Folly;
2. Disobedience;
3. Liability to deception;
4. Sensuality;
5. Passion [wrong kinds];
6. Unloveliness;
7. Unbrotherliness.
II. What Christians become. Their lives display
1. Humility of spirit;
2. Gentleness in action;
3. Truthfulness in word. ~Biblical Illustrator
Note: The point here is simple. We have all
been examples of that list of seven items we once
were. We now demonstrate the list of the three items
we have become. Therefore we take seriously the
admonition of verse 2.
We now go to the specific commentaries. They break
out this verse in 6 to 9 parts. We will go with the
Barnes and their 9 parts:
1] For we ourselves also.
2] Were sometimes foolish.
3] Disobedient.
4] Deceived.
5] Serving divers lusts and pleasures.
6] Living in malice.
7] Living in envy.
8] Hateful.
9] And hating one another.
1] For we
ourselves also.
For we ourselves - All of us, whether Jews or
Gentiles, were, before our conversion to Christ,
foolish, disobedient, and deceived. There is no
doubt that the apostle felt he could include himself
in the above list, previously to his conversion. The
manner in which he persecuted the Christians, to
whose charge he could not lay one moral evil, is a
sufficient proof that, though he walked according to
the letter of the law, as to its ordinances and
ceremonies, blameless, yet his heart was in a state
of great estrangement from God, from justice,
holiness, mercy, and compassion. ~Adam Clarke
2] Were
sometimes foolish.
Foolish - Without understanding - ignorant of God,
his nature, his providence, and his grace. ~Adam
Clarke
3] Disobedient.
Disobedient - To law, to parents, to civil
authority, to God. This is the natural character of
the human heart. ~Barnes Notes
Disobedient - Unpersuaded, unbelieving, obstinate,
and disobedient. ~Adam Clarke
Disobedient - both to the law of God, and Gospel of
Christ; disbelieving the truths of the Gospel, and
not subjected to the ordinances of it,
notwithstanding the evidence with which they came,
and the miracles by which they were confirmed.
~John Gill
4] Deceived.
Deceived - By the great enemy, by false teachers, by
our own hearts, and by the flattery of others. It is
a characteristic of man by nature that he sees
nothing in its true light, but walks along amidst
constant, though changing and very beautiful
illusions. Every one who is converted feels, and is
ready to confess, that before conversion he was
deceived as to the comparative value of things, as
to the enjoyment which he expected to find in scenes
of pleasure and riot, and often in what seemed to
him well-formed plans. ~Barnes Notes
Disobedient - both to the law of God, and Gospel of
Christ; disbelieving the truths of the Gospel, and
not subjected to the ordinances of it,
notwithstanding the evidence with which they came,
and the miracles by which they were confirmed.
~John Gill
5] Serving
divers lusts and pleasures.
Serving divers lusts and pleasures - Indulging in
the various corrupt passions and propensities of the
soul. We were so under their influence that it might
be said we were their servants, or were slaves to
them; that is, we implicitly obeyed them. ~Barnes
Notes
Serving divers lusts and pleasures - Being in a
state of continual thraldom [bondage]; not
served or gratified by our lusts and pleasures, but
living, as their slaves, a life of misery and
wretchedness. ~Adam Clarke
Serving divers lusts and pleasures - the lusts of
the flesh are many and various, which promise
pleasure to them that obey them, though that is but
imaginary, and very short lived, and which subjects
persons to bondage and slavery; for such who indulge
to these things, are overcome by them, led captive,
and brought into bondage, and are the servants of
sin, vassals and slaves to their own corruptions;
and such these saints had been, here spoken of:
~John Gill
6] Living in
malice.
Living in malice - Greek, “in evil” - that is, in
all kinds of evil; see the notes at Romans 1:29,
where the word is rendered maliciousness. ~Barnes
Notes
Quoted verse:
Romans 1:29 ...interesting verse as it
speaks primarily to those falling back to the old
ways.
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication,
wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of
envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers.
Living in malice and envy - Spending our life in
wickedness and envy - not bearing to see the
prosperity of others, because we feel ourselves
continually wretched. ~Adam Clarke
7] Living in
envy.
And envy - Displeasure at the happiness and
prosperity of others. ~Barnes Notes
Living in malice and envy - they had not only malice
and envy in their hearts against their fellow
creatures, but practiced it in their lives; yea,
their lives were a continued series of malice and
envy. ~John Gill
8] Hateful.
Hateful - This word does not elsewhere occur in the
New Testament. It means that our conduct was such as
to be worthy of the hatred of others. Of whom,
before his conversion, is not this true? ~Barnes
Notes
9] And hating
one another.
And hating one another - There was no brotherly
love; no true affection for others. There was
ill-will felt in the heart, and it was evinced in
the life. This is an apt description of the state of
the heathen world before the gospel shines on it,
and it may be regarded as the characteristic of all
men before conversion. They have no true love for
one another, such as they ought to cherish, and they
are liable constantly to give indulgence to feelings
which evince hatred. In contentions, and strifes,
and litigations, and wars, this feeling is
constantly breaking out. All this is suggested here
as a reason why Christians should now be gentle and
mild toward those who are evil. Let us remember what
we were, and we shall not be disposed to treat
others harshly. When a Christian is tempted to
unkind thoughts or words towards others, nothing is
more appropriate for him than to reflect on his own
past life. ~Barnes Notes
So, speak evil of no one. Be gentle. Understand what
you were like prior to Godly calling and conversion
by the Word of God. Maintain yourself in the
character of Jesus Christ. Have compassion and
understanding for those not yet called. These are
the lessons of verse 3. |
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