“This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them. But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life.”
Paul starts this next section by saying “This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance…” It is the first of five times that he uses this phrase or a variation of it in the Pastoral Epistles. It is used to introduce an established teaching of the church. These sayings may have been part of hymns or catechisms, and they were methods to teach the doctrines of the early church. Another word for this is creed, or personal declaration of faith. The New Testament has many of these.
Creeds were very important to the early church. J. Warner Wallace writes in his article “The Importance (and Early Use) of Creeds” ( accessed on Home | Cold Case Christianity), “The writers of scripture believed it was not only important for believers to have faith, but to place that faith in the God accurately detailed in the Scriptures. The Biblical authors understood a saving faith must be placed in the God specifically and uniquely described in the Scriptures.” Let’s look at what many believe to be the earliest creed in the New Testament. “For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time, he also appeared to me” (I Corinthians 15:3-8).
I spent a little time explaining creeds because we live in a post-modern society today. Truth is thought to be personal and subjective. What is true for you may not be true for me. But truth does not work this way. If something is true, it is true for everyone. Wallace writes in his article, “It is in this environment, any credal list is going to become unacceptable to the culture at large, and even Christians are beginning to move away from their traditions as they lose confidence in the objective nature of truth.” He argues for the importance of being grounded in the Word of God and knowing the early Christian creeds. I agree with him whole-heartedly. I am discouraged to see so many people turning away from historic, orthodox Christianity to what they consider a more “progressive” form of Christianity that denies the basics of our faith. It does not have a firm anchor in the Word of God. When truth becomes subjective, it is as if one has their feet firmly planted in mid-air (to borrow a book title from Greg Koukl!). By learning the creeds from the Bible and from our early church fathers, we can have a firm foundation for our beliefs.
Let’s start with today’s trustworthy saying. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Where does this belief come from? Jesus Himself says it. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). And in John, He says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (3:17).
Paul goes on, and this part is not in quotes, so it is not part of the creed, “…and I am the worst of them.” Paul truly believed he was the worst of the sinners. I wrote about his actions against the church in my last post, how he arrested, prosecuted, and killed the early Christians. Here are some of the ways he describes himself in other letters. “For I am the least of the apostles, not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:9). “For you have heard about my former way of life in Judaism: I intensely persecuted God’s church and tried to destroy it” Galatians 1:13) “…regarding zeal, persecuting the church…” (Philippians 3:6a). But Paul does not stay there. Just as he said in verse 13, he repeats it here. “But I received mercy…” He knows he is a sinner, and that nothing he has done or can do can earn his salvation. To the church at Ephesus, he writes this. “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!” (2:4-5).
He does not stop there. He wants Timothy to know why he received mercy. “But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life.” Paul wants others to see him as an example. If God can save him, the worst of sinners, then he can save you. There is nothing you can do that will put you outside of God’s ability to save. Duane Litfin writes in his commentary, “The ultimate sinner became the ultimate saint; God’s greatest enemy became His finest servant. Somewhere in between these extremes fall all the rest. In studying Paul’s pattern, Christians can therefore learn about themselves.”
Paul ends this section with a doxology in verse 17. It is deserving of an entire blogpost, so I will save that for next time.
Grace be with you!
Abundant Joy 