Titus 3:6 Generously outpoured

Titus 3:6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour

Titus 3:5 refers to the Holy Spirit and his work of renewing the believer. In the verse following Paul speaks of the Spirit and develops the idea of his being poured out on believers and not just poured out but richly or generously poured out. The reference is no doubt to the initial outpouring at Pentecost and to the way he is poured out at the beginning of the Christian life on each individual believer when he is baptised by the Spirit or born anew. It reminds us of Jesus' statement in John 4:14 that the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. We must not miss that through Jesus Christ our Saviour either which further links what Paul says and what John reports. It is because of Christ and all he has done as our Saviour that the Spirit has been poured out. In John 7:38, 39 which refers again to rivers of living water flowing from within. John clarifies - By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. He clearly links the atonement and what followed with the pouring out of the Spirit when he says Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. The moment a minister forgets about the work of the Spirit he is finished.

1 Timothy 5:24, 25 Knowns, Unknowns

1 Timothy 5:24, 25 The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them.  In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden for ever.

These verses stand alone rather, although the context is the solemn charge to keep these instructions without partiality. There is also the reference to not ordaining elders too quickly, these instructions being most pertinent to that question. The point itself is clear enough. We make assessments about people on the basis of what we know about them. When we make such judgements it is important to remember that The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. The bank robber and the idolater are obvious sinners while the embezzler and the hypocrite are more difficult to detect at first. Further, some men's good deeds are not so obvious either. The anonymous donor and the prayer warrior are doing good with no-one knowing while everyone can admire the stretcher bearer or the eloquent preacher. We cannot know all there is to know at this stage but to bear in mind our ignorance is an excellent thing to do in all sorts of contexts, including making men elders and choosing Sunday School teachers for that matter.

1 Timothy 5:16 Prioritising need

1 Timothy 5:16 If any woman who is a believer has widows in her care, she should continue to help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need.

This is a re-iteration of the sometimes abused principle that charity begins at home. The principle is established earlier in the chapter in verses 3-8 (Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. ... Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.) Paul was quite happy for the church to provide for those in need but not where there were family members who were Christians who could do the job just as well if not better. The order is for the widows to look after themselves, if they could and remarry then rely on other family members if necessary with the church as a last resort. Today the state seeks to playa role in all this too. Such instructions are never intended to be applied in some wooden way so that the church says "we have no responsibility now,  the family is taking care of it" there will always be a mix. The point for pastors and churches is to see that they have some responsibility but not sole responsibility.

1 Timothy 4:14 Don't neglect

1 Timothy 4:14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

Paul here reminds Timothy, not for the first time (see 1 Timothy 4:18) of the time when the elders laid hands on him and he was set aside to his work as part of the apostolic team. The verse is very similar to 2 Timothy 1:6. We are again reminded that when the laying on of hands took place there was prophecy and there was the receiving of the gift necessary to do the work he was due to do. It might have been tempting for Timothy to think that given the prophecy and the laying on of hands by the elders and the fact he now had the gift there was no more to be done. However, Paul tells him not to neglect the gift. No, he must pay attention to it and do all he can to cultivate and stir it up. Of course, Paul and Timothy lived in the days of extraordinary spiritual activity but to this day those called by God and gifted to be pastors and preachers must be careful not to neglect that gift.

1 Timothy 1:13, 14 Shown mercy

1 Timothy 1:13, 14 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

At this point Paul becomes highly autobiographical as he gives thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord for the amazing change that has come in his life and what it has led to. In verse 12 he gives thanks for the strength to change and then that he was considered trustworthy to be given the task of serving God. What adds to it all in Paul's case is that he was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man. He was convinced that it was God's will to engage in what he now saw to be blasphemy and violent behaviour against those he now sought to serve. He suggests that God showed him mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. It is not that his ignorance and unbelief made him innocent but it was one of the mitigating circumstances that led to God being merciful to him. In a further attempt to describe what happened he says The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. It was the abundant pouring out of God's grace that led to him having faith in Christ and love for him, where there had been anything but faith and love previously. We do well to reflect on our past and consider what sins ignorance and unbelief led us into. It is good too to recognise the abundant grace and faith and love we now have in our lives because of God's mercy.

1 Timothy 1:1, 2 To Timothy

1 Timothy 1:1, 2 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope, To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

The opening verses of Paul's first letter to Timothy are typical of his letters. They tell us who the letter is from, who it is to and then add a greeting. Paul identifies himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope. Here the Father is the Saviour, the Son our future hope. He calls Timothy his true son in the faith as although Timothy was brought up with the things of God, it was no doubt only when he first met Paul on Paul's first missionary journey that he came to real New Testament faith. He then worked alongside Paul as would a son under a father doing an apprenticeship in a certain craft. The greeting Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord is of the fullest sort, including not only Greek grace and Hebrew peace but mercy as well. Just as Paul is an apostle by both the command of God our Saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope so the blessing is from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. There are no apostles today but a man may have a son in the faith and we all need Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Older pastors should be open to befriending and helping younger men where that is possible and younger men should respond well to such approaches. Grace, mercy and peace will be the need of all of us to the very end.