1 Timothy 1.13b-Though Paul Was A Sinful Person, He Obtained Grace Because Being In A State Of Rejection, He Acted Due To Unbelief
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday February 15, 2011
1 Timothy: 1 Timothy 1:13b-Though Paul Was A Sinful Person, He Obtained Grace Because Being In A State Of Rejection, He Acted Due To Unbelief
Lesson # 24
Please turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy 1:12.
Next, we will now complete our study of verse 13 by noting Paul’s statement that though he was a slanderer, a persecutor and an insolent person, God treated him with grace because he acted ignorantly in unbelief.
1 Timothy 1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief. (NASU)
“Yet I was shown mercy” is composed of the conjunction alla (ἀλλά) (ah-lah), “yet” and the first person singular aorist passive indicative form of the verb eleeo (ἐλεέω) (el-ay-eh-owe), “I was shown mercy.”
The strong adversative conjunction alla is introducing a statement that stands in direct contrast with the previous causal and concessive clauses.
Therefore, the contrast is between Paul’s pre-conversion character and the Lord being merciful to Him.
In other words, the contrast is between Paul being undeserving and having no merit with God whatsoever because of his pre-conversion character and God treating him better than he deserved.
The apostle is contrasting his own sinfulness and unworthiness with God’s grace.
He is contrasting what he was as the chief of all sinners with what God had done for him.
In 1 Timothy 1:13b, the verb eleeo does not mean “to be shown mercy” or “to receive mercy” but rather “to obtain grace.”
So the verb does not speak of God’s mercy but rather it speaks of God’s grace from the perspective that it is a reflection of His character and nature.
Therefore, Paul is contrasting God’s gracious character with that of Paul’s sinful character before his conversion.
1 Timothy 1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief. (NASU)
“Because I acted ignorantly in unbelief” is composed of the conjunction hoti (ὅτι) (owe-tee), “because” and the nominative masculine singular present active participle form of the verb agnoeo (ἀγνοέω) (ahg-no-eh-owe), “ignorantly” and the first person singular aorist active indicative form of the verb poieo (ποιέω) (pee-eh-owe), “I acted” and the preposition en (ἐν), “in” and the dative feminine singular form of the noun apistia (ἀπιστία) (ah-pee-stee-ah), “unbelief.”
The conjunction hoti is employed with the indicative mood of the verb poieo in order to form a dependent “causal” clause that presents the reason why Paul obtained grace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
He obtained grace “because” being in a state of rejection of the gospel, he acted due to unbelief.
The verb poieo means “to act” and refers to Paul’s action prior to exercising faith in Jesus Christ as his Savior.
In 1 Timothy 1:13b, the verb agnoeo does not mean “to be ignorant” but “to be in rejection” since Romans 10:3 makes clear that unregenerate Israel of which Paul was a part of, rejected the righteousness of God because they zealously sought to establish their own righteousness.
Thus, they never submitted to the righteousness from the Father, namely Jesus Christ.
Romans 10:1 Spiritual brothers, indeed, the desire produced by my own heart and in addition my specific detailed request on behalf of them is always for their deliverance. 2 Because I testify concerning them that they possess a zeal for God, however by no means according to an experiential knowledge. 3 Because they have in the past rejected the righteousness originating from God the Father and continue to do so up to the present moment. In fact, because they have in the past zealously sought to establish their own and continue to do so up to the present moment, they never submitted to the righteousness originating from God the Father. (My translation)
In 1 Timothy 1:13, the verb agnoeo means “to be in a state of rejection” due to unbelief in Jesus Christ as Savior.
It speaks of being in rejection of Jesus Christ as Savior due to unbelief. It thus means to be in rejection of the gospel since the gospel is about Jesus Christ.
This is how it is used in Romans 10:3.
Paul, like the rest of unregenerate Israel did not have an experiential knowledge of God in the sense that they did not personally encounter God through faith as He is revealed in the person and works of Jesus of Nazareth.
They did not have an experiential knowledge of God in the sense that they did not personally encounter God through faith as He is revealed in the pages of their own Old Testament Scriptures so as to be affected by this encounter with God.
The word does not mean “to be ignorant” since the nation of Israel was exposed over and over again as to the manner in which God justified a sinner through their own Old Testament Scriptures, the teaching of Jesus Christ and the apostles.
That Israel did indeed hear about the righteousness of God through the gospel and their own Old Testament Scriptures and rejected it is indicated by Paul’s statements in Romans 10:14-21.
Paul like the rest of unregenerate Israel “rejected” God’s righteousness in the sense that they refused to recognize that the righteousness of God can never be attained by obedience to the Law but rather is received from God as a gift and imputed by means of faith in Jesus Christ, which results in justification.
Thus by implication they rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ since this is the content of the gospel for those sinners who seek to be justified by God.
Paul like the rest of unregenerate Israel was in rejection of the gospel about Jesus Christ due to unbelief since they zealously sought to establish their own righteousness and thus never submitted to the righteousness of God in that they did not obey the gospel and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior so as to receive this righteousness.
The noun apistia is composed of the alpha privative meaning “without” and the noun pistis, “faith,” thus the word literally means, “without faith.”
The word is a cognate of the verb apisteo and in classical Greek, the word can mean, “distrust, unfaithfulness” or “disbelief.”
In 1 Timothy 1:13, the noun apistia means “unbelief” and is used of Paul’s rejection of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It speaks of his unwillingness to trust in Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah and his Savior.
This was due to the fact that like the rest of unregenerate Israel, he zealously sought to establish his own righteousness through obedience to the Law.
This word is the object of the preposition en, which functions as a marker of cause indicating that Paul obtained grace from the Lord because being in a state of rejection (of the gospel), he acted “because of” or “due to” unbelief.
Paul’s zealous pursuit of righteousness through obedience to the Law caused him to reject the gospel and as a result to not exercise faith in Jesus of Nazareth as Savior.
He didn’t see his need for Jesus because he was looking to himself to get right with God.
1 Timothy 1:12 I continually possess gratitude to the One who empowered me, namely Christ, who is Jesus, our Lord because He considered me for Himself as faithful by appointing me for Himself for the purpose of service. 13 Even though I was characterized as being a slanderer as well as a persecutor and in addition, an insolent violent person. But in direct contrast to this, I obtained grace because being in a state of rejection, I acted due to unbelief. (My translation)
When Paul says that he obtained grace because being in a state of rejection, he acted due to unbelief he wants to emphasize the Lord’s grace policy towards him who was a violent and aggressive enemy of the Lord’s prior to conversion.
Thus, he is not attempting with this statement to deny his unbelief was sinful since his sinful behavior was the direct result of his unbelief in the gospel.
Rather, Paul’s statement in verse 13 demonstrates to his readers that the gospel has the power to save even a person like himself who was violently opposed to Jesus Christ and His disciples in contrast to the Law, which can’t.
If you notice, Paul’s unbelief is the reason for his deplorable conduct.
They go hand in hand thus, when he says that he obtained grace because being in a state of rejection, he acted due to unbelief he is in effect saying I obtained grace because of my sinful character since his sinful character was the direct result of his unbelief.
Paul wants not only to magnify God’s grace but also His power, the power that is in the gospel message.
Thus, those pastors in Ephesus who taught false doctrine and sought to be teachers of the Law were failing to appropriate the power of God by rejecting the gospel.
They were also hurting their flocks since the gospel presents how they can be delivered from the power of the sin nature.
No wonder the conduct of these pastors was appalling since only the power of the gospel could transform them and their congregations into obedient children of God in contrast to the Law, which can’t.