SEV Biblia, Chapter 1:15
Palabra fiel y digna de ser recibida de todos: que el Cristo Jess vino al mundo para salvar a los pecadores, de los cuales yo soy el primero.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - 1 Timothy 1:15
Verse 15. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners] This is one of the most glorious truths in the book of God; the most important that ever reached the human ear, or can be entertained by the heart of man. All men are sinners; and as such condemned, justly condemned, to eternal death. Christ Jesus became incarnate, suffered, and died to redeem them; and, by his grace and Spirit, saves them from their sins. This saying or doctrine he calls, first, a faithful or true saying; pistov o logov, it is a doctrine that may be credited, without the slightest doubt or hesitation; God himself has spoken it; and the death of Christ and the mission of the Holy Ghost, sealing pardon on the souls of all who believe, have confirmed and established the truth.
Secondly, it is worthy of all acceptation; as all need it, it is worthy of being received by all. It is designed for the whole human race, for all that are sinners is applicable to all, because all are sinners; and may be received by all, being put within every man's reach, and brought to every man's ear and bosom, either by the letter of the word, or, where that revelation is not yet come, by the power of the Divine Spirit, the true light from Christ that lightens every man that cometh into the world. From this also it is evident that the death of Christ, and all its eternally saving effects, were designed for every man.
Of whom I am chief] wn prwtov eimi egw. Confounding Paul the apostle, in the fullness of his faith and love, with Saul of Tarsus, in his ignorance, unbelief, and persecuting rage, we are in the habit of saying: "This is a hyperbolical expression, arguing the height of the apostle's modesty and humility and must not be taken according to the letter." I see it not in this light; I take it not with abatement; it is strictly and literally true: take the whole of the apostle's conduct, previously to his conversion, into consideration, and was there a greater sinner converted to God from the incarnation to his own time? Not one; he was the chief; and, keeping his blasphemy, persecution, and contumely in view, he asserts: Of all that the Lord Jesus came into the world to save, and of all that he had saved to that time, I am chief. And who, however humble now, and however flagitious before, could have contested the points with him? He was what he has said, and as he has said it. And it is very probable that the apostle refers to those in whom the grace and mercy of God were, at the first promulgation of the Gospel, manifested: and comparing himself with all these he could with propriety say, wn prwtov eimi, of whom I am the first; the first who, from a blasphemer, persecutor (and might we not add murderer? see the part he took in the martyrdom of Stephen,) became a preacher of that Gospel which I had persecuted. And hence, keeping this idea strictly in view, he immediately adds: Howbeit, for this cause I obtained mercy; that in me FIRST, prwtw, Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern TO THEM which should HEREAFTER, twn mellontwn believe on him to life everlasting. And this great display of the pardoning mercy of God, granted in so singular a manner, at the very first promulgation of the Gospel, was most proper to be produced as a pattern for the encouragement of all penitent sinners to the end of time. If Jesus Christ, with whom there can be no respect of persons, saved Saul of Tarsus, no sinner need despair.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 15. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation , etc.] This is said, lest it should be thought strange, or scarcely credible, that so great a sinner should be saved; as well as to give a summary of the glorious Gospel the apostle was intrusted with; and in opposition to fables, endless genealogies, and vain jangling, and contentions about the law. The doctrine of Christ's coming into the world, and of salvation by him, as it is the sum and substance of the Gospel, so it is a faithful saying; in which the faithfulness of God is displayed to himself, and the perfections of his nature, his holiness, justice, love, grace, and mercy; to his law, which is magnified, and made honourable; to his word of promise hereby fulfilled; and to his Son in carrying him through the work: and the faithfulness of Christ is discovered herein, both to his Father with whom, and to his friends for whom, he engaged to obtain salvation; and the faithfulness of ministers is shown in preaching it, and of other saints in professing it, and abiding by it: it is a true saying, and not to be disputed or doubted of, but to be believed most firmly; it is certain that God the Father sent his Son into the world for this purpose; and Christ himself assures us, that he came for this end; his carriage to sinners, and his actions, testified the same; his works and miracles confirm it; and the numberless instances of sinners saved by him evince the truth of it: and it is worthy of all acceptation; or to be received by all sorts of persons, learned, or unlearned, rich or poor, greater or lesser sinners; and to be received in all ways, and in the best manner, as the word of God, and not man; with heartiness and readiness, and with love, joy, and gladness, and with meekness, faith, and fear, and by all means; for it is entirely true, absolutely necessary, and suitable to the case of all, and is to be highly valued and esteemed by those who do approve and accept of it. It is the Christian Cabala, or the evangelical tradition, delivered by the Father to Christ, by him to his apostles, and by them to the saints, by whom it is cordially received. The apostle seems to allude to the Cabala of the Jews, their oral law, which they say was delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai, and by him to Joshua; and by Joshua to the elders; and by the elders to the prophets; and so from one to another to his times: but here he suggests, that if they would have a Cabala, here is one, that is firm, and true, and certain, and worthy to be received, whereas the Jewish one was precarious, yea, false and untrue. Indeed, sometimes the words of the prophets are so called by them; so that passage in ( Joel 2:13) is called hlbq , Cabala f13 , some thing delivered and received; upon which one of their commentators has these words, whatever a prophet commands the Israelites, makes known unto them, or exhorts them to, is a Cabala.
And if a prophetic command or admonition, then surely: such an evangelical doctrine, as follows, is entitled to this character, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ; Christ came into the world, being sent by his Father, but not against his will, but with his free consent: he came voluntarily in the fulness of time into this sinful world, where he was ill treated; and this was not by local motion, or change of place, but by assumption of nature; and the end of it was, that he might be the Saviour of lost sinners, as all men are, both by Adam's sin, and their own transgressions; though he came not to save all, for then all would be saved, whereas they are not; and if he came to save them, he must have then so far lost his end; but he came to save sinners, of all sorts, even notorious sinners, the worst and chief of sinners: and the apostle instances in himself, of whom I am chief ; or first; not that he was the first in time; Adam was the first man that sinned, though Eve was before him in the transgression: it is a most stupid notion, that some gave into from this passage, as if the soul of Adam passed from one body to another, till it came to Paul, and therefore he calls himself the first of sinners: but his meaning is, that he was the first in quality, or the greatest and chiefest of sinners, not only of those that are saved, but of all men, Jews or Gentiles; and this he said not hyperbolically, nor out of modesty, but from a real sense or apprehension he had of himself, and his sins, which were made exceeding sinful to him; or he was the chief of sinners, and exceeded all others in his way of sinning, in blaspheming the name of Christ, and persecuting his saints, otherwise his conversation was externally moral, and in his own, and in the opinion of others, blameless: he was no fornicator, adulterer, thief, extortioner, etc. but in the above things he went beyond all others, and was a ringleader in them; and the remembrance of these sins abode with him, and kept him humble all his days; he was always ready to acknowledge them, and express his vileness and unworthiness on account of them: hence he here says, not of whom I was, but of whom I am chief. Now such sinners, and all sorts of sinners, Christ came to save from all their sins, original and actual; from the law, its curse and condemnation; from the bondage of Satan, the evil of the world, and wrath to come, and from every enemy; and that, by his obedience, sufferings, and death, by fulfilling the law, bearing its penalty, offering himself a sacrifice for sin, thereby finishing it, making reconciliation for it, and bringing in an everlasting righteousness: and a great Saviour he is, and an only one; a full, suitable, able, and willing Saviour; a Saviour of the soul, as well as of the body, and of both with an everlasting salvation.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 12-17 - The apostle knew that he would justly have perished, if the Lord ha been extreme to mark what was amiss; and also if his grace and merc had not been abundant to him when dead in sin, working faith and love to Christ in his heart. This is a faithful saying; these are true an faithful words, which may be depended on, That the Son of God came int the world, willingly and purposely to save sinners. No man, with Paul' example before him, can question the love and power of Christ to sav him, if he really desires to trust in him as the Son of God, who onc died on the cross, and now reigns upon the throne of glory, to save all that come to God through him. Let us then admire and praise the grac of God our Saviour; and ascribe to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost three Persons in the unity of the Godhead, the glory of all done in by, and for us.
Greek Textus Receptus
πιστος 4103 ο 3588 λογος 3056 και 2532 πασης 3956 αποδοχης 594 αξιος 514 οτι 3754 χριστος 5547 ιησους 2424 ηλθεν 2064 5627 εις 1519 τον 3588 κοσμον 2889 αμαρτωλους 268 σωσαι 4982 5658 ων 3739 πρωτος 4413 ειμι 1510 5748 εγω 1473
Vincent's NT Word Studies
15. This is a faithful saying (pistov o logov). Better, faithful is the saying. A favorite phrase in these Epistles. o P. See 1 Tim. iii. 1; iv. 9; 2 Timothy ii. 11; Tit. iii. 8.
Worthy of all acceptation (pashv apodochv axiov). The phrase only here and ch. iv. 9. Apodoch Past o o LXX. Comp. Acts ii. 41, ajpodexamenoi ton logon received his word. Pashv all or every describes the reception of which the saying is worthy as complete and excluding all doubt.
Came into the world (hlqen eiv ton kosmon). The phrase is unique in the Pastorals, and does not appear in Paul. It is Johannine. See Jas. i. 9; iii. 19; xxi. 27; xii. 46.
To save sinners (anartwlouv swsai). The thought is Pauline, but not the phrase. See Luke ix. 56; xix. 10.
Chief (prwtov). Or foremost. Comp. 1 Cor. xv. 9, and Ephesians iii. 8. This expression is an advance on those.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
1:15 {Faithful is the saying} (pistos ho logos). Five times in the Pastorals (#1Ti 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; Tit 3:8; 2Ti 2:11). It will pay to note carefully pistis, pisteuw, pistos. Same use of pistos (trustworthy) applied to logos in #Tit 1:9; Re 21:5; 22:6. Here and probably in #2Ti 2:11 a definite saying seems to be referred to, possibly a quotation (hoti) of a current saying quite like the Johannine type of teaching. this very phrase (Christ coming into the world) occurs in #Joh 9:37; 11:27; 16:28; 18:37. Paul, of course, had no access to the Johannine writings, but such "sayings" were current among the disciples. There is no formal quotation, but "the whole phrase implies a knowledge of Synoptic and Johannine language" (Lock) as in #Lu 5:32; Joh 12:47. {Acceptation} (apodoces). Genitive case with axios (worthy of). Late word (Polybius, Diod., Jos.) in N.T. only here and #4:9. {Chief} (prwtos). Not en (I was), but eimi (I am). "It is not easy to think of any one but St. Paul as penning these words" (White). In #1Co 15:9 he had called himself "the least of the apostles" (elacistos twn apostolwn). In #Eph 3:8 he refers to himself as "the less than the least of all saints" (twi elacistoterwi pantwn hagiwn). On occasion Paul would defend himself as on a par with the twelve apostles (#Ga 2:6-10) and superior to the Judaizers (#2Co 11:5f.; 12:11). It is not mock humility here, but sincere appreciation of the sins of his life (cf. #Ro 7:24) as a persecutor of the church of God (#Ga 1:13), of men and even women (#Ac 22:4f.; 26:11). He had sad memories of those days.
