1 Timothy 1.15-The First Of Four Trustworthy Statements-Christ Jesus Came Into The World To Save Sinners And Paul Says He Is The Foremost
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday February 17, 2011
1 Timothy: 1 Timothy 1:15-The First Of Four Trustworthy Statements: Christ Jesus Came Into The World To Save Sinners And Paul Says He Is The Foremost
Lesson # 26
Please turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy 1:12.
This evening, we will study 1 Timothy 1:15.
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; 14 and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. 15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. (NASU)
“It is a trustworthy statement” is composed of the nominative masculine singular form of the adjective pistos (πιστός) (pee-stoce), “a trustworthy” and the articular nominative masculine singular form of the noun logos (λόγος) (loe-goce), “statement.”
This expression πιστὸς ὁ λόγος appears five times in the Pastorals, three in 1 Timothy (1:15; 3:1; 4:9), once in 2 Timothy (2:11) and once in Titus (3:8).
The direction and extent of the “sayings” referred to by the formula in 1 Timothy 3:1 and 4:9 are disputed.
Though in the opinion of this author, 3:1 precedes the saying and 4:9 follows it.
However, most expositors agree that in 1 Timothy 1:15 and 2 Timothy 2:11 the formula precedes the saying and that in Titus 3:8 it follows.
These faithful sayings are an articulation of the gospel and an expression of Paul’s apostolic authority and are designed by way of implication to oppose those pastors in Ephesus who sought to be teachers of the Law and taught false doctrine.
In 1 Timothy 1:15, this faithful saying “that Christ came into the world to save sinners” is the heart of the gospel and is an articulation of the gospel as well as an expression of Paul’s apostolic authority.
It is designed to rebuke and refute those pastors in Ephesus who sought to be teachers of the Law and taught false doctrine.
It implicitly rejects the Law as the basis for eternal salvation and as the means of transforming the sinner into an obedient child and servant of God.
This faithful saying in 1 Timothy 1:15 epitomizes what Paul has been saying in verses 12-14 and expresses perfectly the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles.
This faithful statement also echoes the Lord Jesus’ teaching as recorded in the gospels.
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. (NET)
In 1 Timothy 1:15, the adjective pistos is used to describe the statement that Christ came into the world to save sinners and expresses the idea that this statement is an accurate and faithful presentation of the gospel or in other words, a faithful and accurate presentation of God’s message to the entire human race.
The adjective pertains to the fact that this statement is worthy of trust or belief and is dependable and implies that it originates from God and is inspired by Him.
In 1 Timothy 1:15, the noun logos means “statement” or “saying” and denotes a declaration or an assertion, which is identified for the reader by the statement Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς ἦλθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἁμαρτωλοὺς σῶσαι, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”
1 Timothy 1:15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. (NASU)
Not translated is the emphatic use of the conjunction kai (καί) (keh), which is emphasizing that the following statement that Christ came into the world to save sinners deserves full acceptance by all Christians.
“Deserving full acceptance” is composed of the genitive feminine singular form of the adjective pas (πᾶς), “full” and the genitive feminine singular form of the noun apodoche (ἀποδοχή) (ah-poe-thoe-hee), “acceptance” and the nominative masculine singular form of the adjective axios (ἄξιος) (ax-ee-oce), “deserving.”
This expanded phrase “serves as reinforcement stressing the need to affirm as true the cited material when (perhaps) the material did not elicit this affirmation clearly on its own.” (Knight, Faithful Sayings, 29, 144)
The adjective axios is used of the statement that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners and describes it as having a relatively high degree of comparable worth or value or merit to the human race.
The noun apodoche means “acceptance” referring to appropriating by faith the statement that Christ Jesus came into to the world to save sinners.
The adjective pas expresses the degree of acceptance of which this saying is worthy, namely it requires a “full” acceptance by faith.
“That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” is composed of the conjunction hoti (ὅτι) (owe-tee), “that” and the dative masculine singular form of the proper name Christos (Χριστός) (cree-stoce), “Christ” and the dative masculine singular form of the proper noun Iesous (Ἰησοῦς) (yee-soose), “Jesus” and the third person singular aorist active indicative form of the verb erchomai (ἒρχομαι) (air-koe-meh), “came” and the articular accusative masculine singular form of the noun kosmos (κόσμος) (koez-moce), “the world” and the aorist active infinitive form of the verb sozo (σῴζω) (so-zoe), “to save” and the accusative masculine plural form of the adjective hamartolos (ἁμαρτωλός) (ah-mar-tee-toe-loce), “sinners.”
The verb erchomai means “to enter” and is used with reference to the incarnation of the Son of God or in other words, it speaks of the event when the Son of God became a human being in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago.
The noun kosmos refers to all the unsaved inhabitants of the earth who are enslaved to the old Adamic sin nature and to Satan and his cosmic system.
The verb sozo is used of the act of the Lord Jesus Christ delivering the sinner from personal sin, the sin nature, Satan, his cosmic system, condemnation from the Law, spiritual and physical death and eternal condemnation through His voluntary substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths on the cross.
The adjective hamartolos is used of the unregenerate and describes their actions or conduct as violating God’s laws and describes their conduct as not meeting God’s perfect, holy standards.
The word describes the unbeliever or unregenerate person as one who has missed the mark of the absolute perfection of God’s character, which is His holiness that was perfectly manifested in His Son Jesus Christ.
Since the unregenerate person does not measure up to the perfect standards of a holy God, he is an enemy of God.
Hamartolos describes the unregenerate person as being enslaved and thus totally and completely governed by the old Adamic sin nature, which results in real spiritual death, which means that they have no capacity whatsoever to have a relationship and fellowship with a holy God.
“Among whom I am foremost of all” is composed of the genitive masculine plural form of the relative pronoun hos (ὅς) (oce), “among whom” and the nominative masculine singular form of the adjective protos (πρῶτος) (pro-toce), “foremost” and the first person singular present active indicative form of the verb eimi (εἰμί) (ee-mee), “am” and the first person nominative masculine singular form of the pronoun ego (ἐγώ) (eh-go), “I.”
In this relative pronoun clause Paul exemplifies the relevance of this saying by applying it to himself (Towner, page 147).
He makes this correlation explicit by adding these words (Knight, page 102).
By saving Paul, the Lord Jesus Christ provided a specific example and application of this statement that Christ Jesus entered the human race to save sinners.
“It ties the faithful saying into Paul’s argument.” (Mounce, page 56)
The personal pronoun ego, “I” refers of course to Paul and is used for emphasis in a contrast between the rest of unregenerate humanity and Paul in that he was the most prominent of the Lord Jesus Christ’s opponents and that of His church.
Protos means “foremost” and is used in a qualitative sense emphasizing that Paul was the most “prominent” or “foremost” opponent of the Lord Jesus Christ and His church.
It indicates that he was infamous in the church and in heaven. The word is reflecting the immensity of Paul’s sin against the Lord Jesus Christ and His church.
It underscores the grace of the Lord and the power of the gospel in which it can save and transform even those sinners like Paul who were foremost in stridently and violently opposing the Lord Jesus Christ and His church.
Compare this with his statement in 1 Corinthians 15:9.
1 Corinthians 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. (NET)
So in verse 15, Paul is holding himself up as an example of the power of the gospel.
He is an example of the power of Christ’s spiritual and physical deaths to deliver sinners from spiritual and physical death, personal sins, the sin nature, the Devil and his cosmic system and eternal condemnation.
He is holding himself as an example of the power of the gospel to transform a sinner into the image of Christ.
The Law is impotent to save and transform the sinner.
Only the gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to save and transform sinners and Paul is the greatest example of this since he was the most strident and famous of the church’s enemies.
Therefore, in verse 15, Paul is affirming the priority of the gospel with respect to the Law and the authority of this gospel.