Titus 3:4-7

Titus 3:4-7

⁴ But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. ⁶ This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Titus 3: 4-7, a segment that embraces verses 1-8a has the theme of Christian behavior in the world. 

Titus 3:4-7 may be part of an early baptismal hymn, serving a specific rhetorical function in the argument the author develops in this chapter. ⁴ But when the qualities of the divine nature we find in the Torah and prophets, the goodness and loving kindness of God our (all) Savior appeared (epiphany, the actualization of the will of God, as God wills to be the covenant partner of humanity.[1]). These qualities of the divine nature motivate God to act in the way God has acted in Jesus Christ. Such love is a quality of God that leads God to act as our Savior. Yet, we must also remember that God has freely chosen to express such divine love in this way. As Savior, God is the friend of humanity. In fact, the Incarnation suggests that God willed from eternity to be the Savior of humanity. In being for humanity, Christ is doing nothing other than be a reflection of the essence and inner being of God.[2] Caesar Augustus claimed to be savior because he vanquished the enemies of Rome. God is saving us from ourselves, since our sin oppresses us. We need liberation from ourselves. Thus, this interest of God in humanity has an aspect of personal liberation. We can even think of the liberation of humanity as toward adopting the same disposition toward humanity that God has. We are to adopt such “humanistic” virtues as goodness and love toward fellow creatures that God has already shown toward us in Christ.[3] Thus, ⁵ he (God) saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy (ἔλεος, in Hebrew chesed, an expression of covenant loyalty grounded in love that reaches out to the others to draw them into and hold them in relationship).The God who is love (I John 4:8b) reaches out to save us.  We see this divine mercy expressed through the water of baptism of rebirth (παλινγενεσίας, regeneration) and renewal ἀνακαινώσεως, change of heart and life) by the Holy Spirit. This author can tie salvation to baptism. Linguistically, we see here a shift to the present in the idea of participation in eschatological salvation. This means the experience of personal liberation, of which baptism and the present work of the Holy Spirit are central, is an experience of salvation in our personal history in such a way that it anticipates the future consummation of our salvation. This shift makes good sense theologically. This author is closer to the message of Jesus, which announced the saving eschatological future of the rule of God as already present in the preaching of Jesus, than was the Pauline emphasis on salvation from future judgment. As we shall see, reference to a future consummation of salvation indeed persists. Yet, placing the accent on the origin of salvation in the history of Jesus, uniting ourselves with Jesus in his baptism, and its imparting by the gospel and baptism brought a change in the content of its understanding, at least regarding soteria, in comparison with Paul. The primary reference now is not to the deliverance of believers at the coming judgment but on the historical event of rescue from the life of sin for a new life by the Spirit.[4] On an historical note, Reformation theology equated regeneration with justification, with support from this passage, which refers to regeneration as a work of the Holy Spirit in baptism.[5] God (the Father) as the primary actor, for ⁶ This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior (Luke 2:10-11). The reason for this was ⁷so that having been justified (Δικαιωθέντες, to show or be declared righteous) by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal hope. In this way, the author links to baptism an express reference to the righteousness that God imparts to believers by grace.[6]  The word of righteousness through faith relates to baptism. This should remind us to make an effort at relationships within the Christian community in a way that respects the different modes of baptism and what they signify regarding the way believers participate in salvation.[7]

I conclude with a summary. The character of God is such that divine goodness and love overflows to that which God has created. Goodness and love are such that one cannot keep them to oneself. They must show themselves. When they do, they further identify God as our savior. The saving love of God moves toward human beings because is the movement of divine mercy. Therefore, divine love does not rest upon how loving and good human beings are. The presence of love and goodness and love in the world do not rest fully upon human activity. Given the record of human history, we can be grateful for that. Human beings can do nothing to change this disposition of God to show love, goodness, and mercy. We deceive ourselves greatly if we think that we have been so good and loving that God could do nothing else. The waters of baptism symbolize our reception of the mercy of God. The Holy Spirit brings the renewal to our lives that awareness of divine goodness and love will bring into our lives. If it were not for Jesus Christ, we would not experience this renewing presence of the Holy Spirit. All of this suggests that our relationship with God has its foundation in divine grace, providing hope for eternal life.

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[1] Barth, Church Dogmatics IV.1 [57.2] 35.

[2] Barth, Church Dogmatics III.2 [45.1] 218.

[3] Barth, Church Dogmatics IV.3 [71.6.

[4] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 401-2.

[5] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 233.

[6] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 233.

[7] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 235.