1 Timothy 1:14

1:12-17 The apostle knew that he would justly have perished, if the Lord had been extreme to mark what was amiss; and also if his grace and mercy 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 and faithful words, which may be depended on, That the Son of God came into the world, willingly and purposely to save sinners. No man, with Paul's example before him, can question the love and power of Christ to save him, if he really desires to trust in him as the Son of God, who once 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 grace 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.

And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant {12} with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. (12) He proves this change by the effects, because he who was a profane man, has become a believer: and he that did most outrageously persecute Christ, burns now in love towards him.

And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant; the free love of God towards me, in justifying such a guilty creature, and sanctifying such an unholy creature, and afterwards calling me to the office of an apostle, fitting me for it, and trusting me with that great work and employment, abounded beyond all measure and possibility of expression. With faith and love which is in Christ Jesus: Christ working faith in me, enabling me to receive him as the Son of God, and my Lord and Saviour; and to love him, whom I formerly thought I ought to do much against, and his disciples, whom I formerly haled to death, of whom I made havoc, persecuting them to death. He mentions faith and love, the two principal graces, in opposition to the reigning sins in his unconverted state: faith in the doctrine of the gospel, in opposition to his former ignorance and infidelity; and love to Christ and believers, in opposition to his former rage and cruelty against them. And these graces were from Christ, the fruits of his merit, and Holy Spirit.

Was exceeding abundant (ὑπερεπλεόνασεν) Or abounded exceedingly. N.T.o. olxx. oClass. Paul is fond of compounds with ὑπὲρ, which, with a few exceptions, are found only in his writings. In the pastorals there are only three. See 1 Timothy 2:2; 2 Timothy 3:2. With faith For faith as treated in the Pastorals, see Introduction, and sound doctrine, 1 Timothy 1:10.

1 Timothy 1:14 . Ὑπερεπλεόνασε δὲ , and was exceeding abundant ) He explains how he obtained mercy , namely, with faith , etc. The epistles to Timothy, in a peculiar degree, breathe this ‘abundance.’— ἡ χάρις , grace ) by which I obtained mercy , 1 Timothy 1:13 .— Κυρίου , of the Lord ) Jesus.— μετὰ πίστεως , with faith ) Its opposite is, in unbelief , 1 Timothy 1:13 .— καὶ ἀγάπης , and love ) Its opposite, as we have said, are the three, a blasphemer , a persecutor , a despiser . The words, mercy and grace (in 1 Timothy 1:13-14 ), correspond to each other. Unbelief and faith are opposed.

14. And—Greek, "But." Not only so (was mercy shown me), but the grace—by which "I obtained mercy" (1Ti 1:13). was exceeding abundant—Greek, "superabounded." Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound" (Ro 5:20). with faith—accompanied with faith, the opposite of "unbelief" (1Ti 1:13). love—in contrast to "a blasphemer, persecutor, and injurious." which is in Christ—as its element and home [Alford]: here as its source whence it flows to us.

Verse 14. - Abounded exceedingly for was exceeding abundant , A.V. Abounded exceedingly ( ὑπερεπλεόνασε ); only here in the New Testament or elsewhere except "in Psalterio Salomonis Psalm 5 :19, et in fragmento Hermae ap. Fabricium Bibl. Graec., lib. 5. cap. 1" (Schleusuer). But the word is thoroughly Pauline (comp. ὑπεραίρομαι ὑπεραυξάνωὑπερβάλλω ὑπερεκτείνω ὑπερπερισσεύω ὑπεροψόω , and other compounds with ὑπέρ. It is further remarkable, as regards ὑπέρ itself, that of the hundred and fifty-eight times (or thereabouts) that it occurs in the New Testament, one hundred and six are in St. Paul's Epistles, and twelve in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and only forty in all the other books. With faith and love , etc. The grace bestowed upon St. Paul at and after his conversion showed itself in the wonderful faith and love toward Jesus Christ, whom he had previously disbelieved in and reviled, which accompanied that grace ( μετὰ ) and was the fruit of it, and characterized his whole after-life. 1 Timothy 1:14

14 . the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant ] ‘Overflowed its wonted channels,’ and a stream of faith and love in me, having Jesus Christ for its source and life, flowed side by side with this full flood of grace and mercy. The removal of the comma by R.V. after ‘abundant’ leaves the force of the ‘with’ ambiguous, as though the grace abounded with faith. See St Matthew 27:34 , ‘wine mingled with gall,’ 1 Timothy 6:6 , ‘godliness with contentment,’ for this full force of the preposition.

1 Timothy 1:14 . ὑπερπλεονάζειν only occurs here in N.T.; but St. Paul constantly uses compounds with ὑπέρ . The comparative force of the ὑπέρ —grace outweighing sin—is brought out in Romans 5:15 sqq . In these passages at least it is not true, as Ellicott maintains, that ὑπέρ has a superlative ( abound exceedingly ) force. τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν : The expression our Lord (without the addition of Jesus or Jesus Christ ), common in modern times, is rare in N.T. See reff. In 2 Peter 3:15 it is not certain if the reference is to Christ, the Judge, or to the Father who determines the moment of His coming. In Revelation 11:15 God the Father is meant. Faith and love which is in Christ Jesus occurs again in 2 Timothy 1:13 . In both places the singular relative is improperly used for the plural. It is one of the writer’s habitual phrases; and therefore we cannot suppose any special relevance to the context in either of its constituent parts, though here Bengel contrasts faith with the unbelief ; and love with the blasphemer , etc., of 1 Timothy 1:13 . Faith and love , are the inward and outward manifestations respectively of the bestowal and realisation of grace. πίστις ἐν χρ . Ἰησ . occurs Galatians 3:26 , 1 Timothy 3:13 , 2 Timothy 3:15 . πίστις and ἀγάπη are also associated (in this order) in the first six reff.

(14) And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant. —The thought of his Master’s great love to one who once reviled Him so bitterly, and who had spent his strength in trying to undo His servants’ work, seems to have pressed with overwhelming force on St. Paul, who struggled to find words which should express how deeply he felt the loving tenderness which had transformed the cruel persecutor into the favoured Apostle. The Greek word translated “was exceeding abundant” is very rare, and possesses a superlative force. With faith and love.—He sums up the divine mercy showed to him in the three words: grace, faith, and love. Grace, the unspeakable gift of God to him; faith and love, the results of the exceeding abundant gift of grace. Faith: not merely a childlike trust in Christ, but a belief which accepted Christ as the hope of an otherwise hopeless world; and love, which includes love to man as well as love to God, a strange contrast to his former cruelty and hatred; for, instead of blaspheming, now he believed on Him whom he once reviled, and instead of persecuting the followers of Jesus, now, in his great love for them, he spent himself.

Then, overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness that he, the enemy of God, had obtained the mercy and love of God, and conscious, from his own sweet and bitter experiences, what that mercy of God bestowed on a sinner signified, he gave utterance to one of those bright watchwords of the faith, with which the Christians of the first days used to comfort and encourage one another, and which, perhaps, better than any other words, gave expression to the burning thoughts which rose up from his grateful heart.

And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant - That is, in his conversion under these circumstances and in the aid which was afterward imparted to him in his work. With faith and love which is in Christ Jesus - Accompanied with the exercise of faith and love; or producing faith and love. The grace which was imparted to him was seen in the faith and love which it produced; see the notes, 1 Corinthians 15:10.