SEV Biblia, Chapter 3:4
Pero cuando se manifest la bondad del Salvador nuestro Dios, y su amor para con los hombres,
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Titus 3:4
Verse 4. But after that the kindness and love of God] By crhstothv we may understand the essential goodness of the Divine nature; that which is the spring whence all kindness, mercy, and beneficence proceed. Love toward man - filanqrwpia? Philanthropy. It is to be regretted that this attribute of the Divine nature, as it stands in relation to man, should have been entirely lost by a paraphrastical translation.
Philanthropy is a character which God gives here to himself; while human nature exists, this must be a character of the Divine nature. God loves man; he delighted in the idea when formed in his own infinite mind, he formed man according to that idea, and rejoiced in the work of his hands; when man fell, the same love induced him to devise his redemption, and God the saviour flows from God the Philanthropist. Where love is it will be active, and will show itself. So the philanthropy of God appeared, epefanh, it shone out, in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, and in his giving his life for the life of the world.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 4. But after that , etc.] After all this series and course of wickedness; notwithstanding all this foolishness, disobedience, deception, bondage to sin, envy, malice, and malignity; or when all this was, as the word may be rendered, amidst all this iniquity; when these persons were in the full career of sin, and so had done no preparatory works, or had any previous qualifications and dispositions for the grace of God: the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared ; unto them; and the Ethiopic version adds, unto us. The apostle takes the advantage of the above character of himself, and others in their former state, to set off and magnify the grace of God in their conversion; so contraries, as black and white, illustrate each other. By God our Saviour is not meant the Lord Jesus Christ, though he is commonly designed by our Saviour, and is several times called God our Saviour in this epistle; (see Titus 1:3 2:10, 13) and who is truly God, and the only Saviour of lost sinners; and whose kindness and love towards them has appeared in many instances; as in his suretiship undertakings for them, in his assumption of their nature, and in his suffering and dying in their room and stead: and yet it appears from ( Titus 3:6) that God our Saviour here, is distinguished from Jesus Christ our Saviour there; and therefore here must be understood of God the Father; who contrived the scheme of salvation, appointed Christ to be his salvation, and made a covenant with him, in which it secured, and sent him in time to obtain it, and through his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, saves all his people: it is his kindness and love to men that is here spoken of; and which designs not his general and providential goodness and kindness, which extends to the whole human nature, and to all the individuals of it; but his special love and grace shown in his kindness in Christ Jesus; that good will to men the angels sung of at Christ's incarnation; or that free favour and love of God towards elect men, which is sovereign and special, from everlasting to everlasting, unchangeable and unspeakable, which is better than life; the excellency of which cannot be expressed, and which has shown itself in various instances: it is said to have appeared; because it was hid from all eternity in the heart of God, in the thoughts of his heart, in his purposes, counsel, and covenant, and has been made manifest in time; particularly, it has broke forth and showed itself in the mission of Christ into this world, and in redemption and salvation by him; wherein God has manifested and commended his love, and shown forth the exceeding riches of his grace; and also in the effectual calling, which being a time of life, is a time of love, and is owing to the great love of God, and is a fruit and evidence of his everlasting and unchangeable love; and it is this instance and appearance of it, which is here meant, since it follows the account of the state and condition of the saints by nature; and is what was made to them when in this state, by which means they were brought out of it.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-7 - Spiritual privileges do not make void or weaken, but confirm civi duties. Mere good words and good meanings are not enough without goo works. They were not to be quarrelsome, but to show meekness on all occasions, not toward friends only, but to all men, though with wisdom Jas 3:13. And let this text teach us how wrong it is for a Christian to be churlish to the worst, weakest, and most abject. The servants of sin have many masters, their lusts hurry them different ways; prid commands one thing, covetousness another. Thus they are hateful deserving to be hated. It is the misery of sinners, that they hate on another; and it is the duty and happiness of saints to love on another. And we are delivered out of our miserable condition, only by the mercy and free grace of God, the merit and sufferings of Christ and the working of his Spirit. God the Father is God our Saviour. He is the fountain from which the Holy Spirit flows, to teach, regenerate and save his fallen creatures; and this blessing comes to mankin through Christ. The spring and rise of it, is the kindness and love of God to man. Love and grace have, through the Spirit, great power to change and turn the heart to God. Works must be in the saved, but ar not among the causes of their salvation. A new principle of grace an holiness is wrought, which sways, and governs, and makes the man a ne creature. Most pretend they would have heaven at last, yet they car not for holiness now; they would have the end without the beginning Here is the outward sign and seal thereof in baptism, called therefor the washing of regeneration. The work is inward and spiritual; this in outwardly signified and sealed in this ordinance. Slight not thi outward sign and seal; yet rest not in the outward washing, but look to the answer of a good conscience, without which the outward washing wil avail nothing. The worker therein is the Spirit of God; it is the renewing of the Holy Ghost. Through him we mortify sin, perform duty walk in God's ways; all the working of the Divine life in us, and the fruits of righteousness without, are through this blessed and holy Spirit. The Spirit and his saving gifts and graces, come throug Christ, as a Saviour, whose undertaking and work are to bring to grac and glory. Justification, in the gospel sense, is the free forgivenes of a sinner; accepting him as righteous through the righteousness of Christ received by faith. God, in justifying a sinner in the way of the gospel, is gracious to him, yet just to himself and his law. A forgiveness is through a perfect righteousness, and satisfaction is made to justice by Christ, it cannot be merited by the sinner himself Eternal life is set before us in the promise; the Spirit works faith in us, and hope of that life; faith and hope bring it near, and fill with joy in expectation of it.
Greek Textus Receptus
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Vincent's NT Word Studies
4. Kindness (crhstothv). Only here in Pastorals. Elsewhere only in Paul. See on Rom. iii. 12, and on easy, Matt. xi. 30.
Love (filanqrwpia). Love is too vague. It is love toward men; comp. verse 2. Only here and Acts xxviii. 2: filanqrwpwv kindly, Acts xxvii. 3 (note). While it cannot be asserted that the heretical characteristics noted in the Pastoral Epistles point collectively to any specific form of error, it is true, nevertheless, that certain characteristics of the economy of grace are emphasized, which are directly opposed to Gnostic ideas. Thus the exhortation that supplications be made for all men, supported by the statement that God wills that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. ii. 1, 4), is in the teeth of the Gnostic distinction between men of spirit and men of matter, and of the Gnostic principle that the knowledge (epignwsiv) of truth was only for a limited, intellectual class. To the same effect is the frequent recurrence of all, for all, in connection with the saving and enlightening gifts of God (1 Timothy ii. 6; iv. 10; vi. 13; Tit. ii. 11). So here: not only has the saving grace of God appeared unto all (chapter. ii. 11), but it has revealed itself as kindness and love to man as man.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
3:4 {The kindness} (he crestotes). See #Ro 2:4 for this very word used of God as here. {His love toward man} (he filanqrwpia). "The philanthrophy of God our Savior." Old word from filanqrwpos, for love of mankind, in N.T. only here and #Ac 28:2. {Appeared} (epefane). See #2:11 and here as there the Incarnation of Christ. See #1Ti 1:1 for swter with qeos (God).
