Salvation Applied by the Spirit

PRAY & INTRO: Who receives credit for your salvation? (Or in the spirit of this Thanksgiving week in the U.S.A. …) Whom do you thank? To whom is gratitude owed for your salvation?

Yes, Paul is abundantly clear in his teaching that we are called to respond in faith (which he describes elsewhere at length—justification by grace, received through faith, apart from works). But the Apostle Paul is emphatic, even when speaking about faith, that our salvation is owing all to God’s grace and mercy and to God’s own activity on our behalf.

This is especially the case in a text from Paul like this one to Titus for the churches in Crete, where the highest stress is placed upon the grace and mercy and activity of God in salvation, so that we will dwell on that truth as motivation to be merciful in our evangelistic living. Not only did God bring salvation to humanity in Christ Jesus (with an emphasis on his grace, 2:11—his goodness and loving kindness, 3:4) and did God accomplish the means of salvation (when Christ atoned for our sin on a cross and rose victorious), but also God himself is credited with mercifully applying salvation to individuals. Our conversion—our transformation—is a work of the Spirit of God.

As we re-read the passage, notice where this thought is picked up at the end of v. 5.

Titus 3:3–8 ESV

3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

Remember from our discussion last week, that the inbreaking of God’s salvation into history (his goodness and loving kindness appearing through Christ Jesus) reaches a more personal level in vv. 5ff. How is God’s saving mercy in Christ Jesus applied to us? What does God have to do for us if we were as v. 3 describes? (what we all are, apart from God’s saving grace) And how will we live out God’s qualities of his goodness and loving kindness?

God’s own Spirit applies salvation in Christ Jesus to sinners, an understanding which leads us to live in gratitude to God by being merciful in good works toward all people.

All lot of the textual discussion and theological thinking (from 5b-7) goes with the first part of this statement: The Holy Spirit applies the salvation accomplished by Christ to such sinners as we once were.

Do you recall that the flow of v. 5 in the Greek is like this?

… not because of works done by us in righteousness

… but according to his own mercy

… he saved us

… through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit

So after “he saved us,” we have a prepositional phrase which describes by what means, or the way in which people experience salvation: through the Holy Spirit spiritually transforming us.

More specifically, Paul pictures the activity God does by the Spirit to wash us, cleanse us of sin (to purify people for himself, 2:14). Such imagery was previously used in the OT to describe the promised new covenant: Ezekiel 36:25-27

Ezekiel 36:25–27 ESV

25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Just as this Ezekiel passage uses concrete pictures that the listener understands in order to express spiritual reality, so too Paul is using the image of washing (bathing) to convey the spiritual work of the Spirit of God to wash away our sin, purifying us and giving us a transformational new beginning (communicated in the twin nouns rebirth and renewal). So also like this Ezekiel text, for Paul the Spirit’s work accomplishes something formative, not only the removal of sin, but the Spirit also renews and re-forms us, giving us a new spiritual life that is truly consecrated to God.

[show v. 5 again]

Regeneration and renewal are synonyms that emphasize the complete overhaul of the effects of sin’s enslavement, the total transformation affected by the Spirit. Regeneration (or rebirth) suggests an act that results in something (which already exists) coming into being afresh, or starting over. And renewal connotes the act of reestablishing something in a like-new and often improved manner. In other words the Spirit’s washing does indeed clean us of the sin for which we are repenting; and at the same time he brings about a positive spiritual transformation in us (reborn/renewed).

Admittedly, it is not perfectly clear from the Greek grammar what the syntax of this phrase should be. Philip Towner shows two possibilities and opts for the second:

[two slides]

The Letters to Timothy and Titus - Philip Towner, NICNT.

1. through the washing of rebirth

and

(through) renewal by the Holy Spirit

2. through the washing of (i.e. that effects) rebirth and renewal,

(which washing is done) by the Holy Spirit

You might ask yourself, why does it matter and why is Jeff bringing it up? It matters if it affects your interpretation of the text, but I suggest that either one of these should actually lead us in the same interpretive direction.

However, some seem to prefer one of these over the other (the first) in order to understand the text according to their theological tradition. For liturgical traditions, one might argue for these as separate, to be (first) baptism and (later) confirmation. Or in pentecostal tradition, to be conversion and (later) baptism in the Spirit. With both of these there are two problems: Paul is conceiving here of something that is spiritual in nature, and a work the Spirit does as a unified whole, not as separate ‘events.’

Since the grammar alone does not give us clarity on the syntax of the sentence, it would seem best to consider the overall point Paul is making, where aspects of God’s saving work on our behalf are considered holistically concerning the Spirit’s role in our transformation and our standing that places us in right relationship to God.

Just so, George Knight, himself an orthodox Presbyterian, argues for the first syntax, but even he still explains that the meaning Paul intends is “inner transformation from two different perspectives,” not at all to be viewed as separate events. -George W. Knight, The Pastoral Epistles: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 1992), 343.

[second one again] And Gordon Fee, recently deceased in 2022, was a NT scholar who remained in the Pentecostal tradition (specifically Assemblies of God) in order to make efforts to biblically reform its excesses. In his commentary on this text, Fee argues for the second syntax precisely because of Paul’s intended meaning. He says, “washing probably alludes to baptism but is in fact a metaphor for spiritual cleansing and not a synonym for baptism itself, the emphasis in the entire phrase being on the cleansing, regenerative work of the Holy Spirit. Thus: “through the ‘washing’ by the Holy Spirit that brings rebirth and renewal.” - Gordon D. Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2011), 205. [emphasis mine]

I explain all of this for two reasons: First, it is relevant to the interpretation of this passage, that we understand these references as the holistic work of God through the Spirit on our behalf (and that we should therefore not use this passage at least to express expectation of separate “events” of the Spirit’s work). Secondly, by way of implication it is relevant to all our study of Scripture, in order to recognize that we do not read and interpret texts in a theological vacuum. We should therefore be alert to our pre-understandings and consider carefully what the text means in the flow of its own context and in consistency with other related passages of Scripture.

Again, the point of this text is the depth of God’s mercy toward us when we were enslaved to sin, that God intervened comprehensively in Jesus to accomplish the work needed (v. 4), and that God intervenes in our own lives by his Spirit to accomplish the spiritual transformation of which we are not capable.

And just how generous is God’s kindness toward us in this work of the Spirit?

Titus 3:6 ESV

6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

“Poured” is a liquid metaphor that communicates a lavish, unrestrained expression of something, in this case of God’s benevolence rather than his wrath. “Richly” or “abundantly” further enhances the degree and amplitude of this free-flowing stream of grace.

We’re no doubt familiar with people verbally and emotionally, even physically, pouring out their wrath… their anger and hatred flowing in a lack of self-control. And even if embarrasses a bit, we can envision ourselves pouring out lavish praise or undying love.

By contrast to us, God is capable of complete self-control and justice in pouring out his wrath against ungodliness and unrighteousness, and in his perfect plan he can remain just and yet generously pour out his kindness by the Spirit.

It shouldn’t surprise us that Paul is keen to continue his washing metaphor with the idea of the Father pouring out the Spirit upon us in lavish grace. Imagine a bath that is a deluge of God’s mercy and grace, a bath that not only washes away sin and its enslaving power over you, but also that reforms you into a spiritual being who can be in right relationship to God and is now spiritually alive and capable of in a manner that pleases him… all because God the Son gave himself to pay the penalty for our sin and rise from the dead in vindication of his person and power to offer us forgiveness of sin and newness of life.

And in that same thought process, notice the activity of the Triune God. The Father pours out the Spirit to apply to us the accomplishment of the Son, Jesus Christ. Don’t miss that Paul again equates God who is our Savior (v. 4) with Jesus Christ as Savior (v. 6), a clear indication of his deity in the Godhead. So too the Spirit is clearly here viewed as deity.

So Paul continues in expressing to what end the Spirit has been poured out on us so richly through our Savior Jesus Christ. What does this work of Christ applied by the Spirit mean for us?

Titus 3:7 ESV

7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Paul is points toward the fact that we become heirs with Christ, assuring our eternal inheritance of life with God.

But having mentioned Jesus as Savior, he adds the Christological grounds of our new standing applied by the Spirit. “So that being,” or “having been,” justified by his grace…. Justification is to be judicially vindicated as having complied with the requirements of God’s righteousness. [repeat] But how can we be acquitted of the sin for which we owe the due penalty and instead be declared as vindicated in regards to God’s righteous requirement?

This is owing all to the achievement of Christ, and not to “any works done by us in righteousness” (v. 4), which means that this justification really is by his grace. Grace is unmerited favor from God. (What did you do to deserve God’s favor? The answer is truly “nothing.”) Grace is therefore understood more specifically in salvation as a gift from God, granted freely without merit on the part of the recipient.

Although Paul doesn’t emphasize faith in this context beyond the mention of “those who have believed” in verse 8 (because the point is to show overwhelmingly how this is all due to God’s mercy and grace), evidence of Paul’s theology that associates justification with faith is abundant. In Galatians and Romans especially, Paul makes clear statements of justification by faith, intentionally contrasting that with any notion of being justified (made righteous in God’s sight) by works of our own, even works according to God’s law.

Thus Paul can say at length in Rom 3:20-31 that we are… “justified by his grace as a gift” (v. 24)… “to be received by faith” (in v. 25). “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (at v. 28)

Since we’re already discussing faith, who are those “who have believed in God” in v. 8? What is faith? Faith is a knowledge of God that actively trusts him, relies upon him, and commits oneself wholly to him. (and that commitment means love and obedience, as defined by the teaching and example of Christ) So now in this eschatological season of history, faith is a knowledge of God that actively trusts him, relies upon him, and commits oneself wholly to him… through Jesus Christ (v. 6).

So whether you lean more calvinist or more arminian in your explanation of the correlation between God’s sovereign election and the individual person’s response in faith, what should be Biblically clear from texts like this one in Titus 3, and Ephesians 2 (among others), is that we receive Christ through grace-enabled faith, that even faith is not without the Spirit’s help. My own understanding and persuasion on this was so thoroughly shaped by Ephesians 1 and 2, when I studied to preach that letter, that I’d encourage you, if you can make time, to visit our sermon resources on the website and listen to the sermons that correspond to Ephesians 1 through Ephesians 2:10.

When you go the sermons page, you’ll need to filter by “series” to find the Ephesians section. Or you can take out your phone right now and use this QR code to link directly to that series. - https://www.bransonbible.org/sermons/series/ephesians -

[show Titus 3:7 again] so that… being justified by his grace… we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

As George Knight explains, the flow of Paul’s thought here is that “The work of the Spirit in transforming and of God’s grace in justifying coalesce in causing those saved to become “heirs of eternal life.” -George W. Knight, The Pastoral Epistles: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 1992), 346.

There is a rich background in the Bible that God not only rescues from something (slavery, and here slavery to sin), but he also saves unto himself and promises the blessing of an inheritance (here viewed as the culmination of salvation in eternal life with God). Our salvation has therefore already had a beginning, but it has not yet reached its completed end. Philip Towner writes, “Christians are heirs in process of coming into their inheritance.” - Philip H. Towner, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2006), 789.

We are already heirs but have not yet received the fullness of our inheritance, even the complete and final death of our sin nature, and a perfect wholeness as God’s creatures who respond rightly to him in all ways.

So the hope of Christians—our assurance and eager expectation, what we look forward to and strain for—is reaching the finish line of our salvation, which is eternal life with God.

Now in the midst of some heady theology, Paul does not let us forget that what we think about God affects how we live.

Titus 3:8 ESV

8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

Regarding this trustworthy or faithful saying, we explained last week that vv. 3-7 or at least 4-7 are either a tradition already present in early Christianity or that this creedal statement has been coined by Paul to be intentionally memorable and repeatable.

As this instruction is to Titus for the churches in Crete, Paul repeats that Titus must speak assertively and confidently about all of this teaching, and to be sure Titus shows them that rightness in our thinking about God should lead to rightness in our living for God.

It seems abundantly clear to me that Paul wants us to respond in overwhelming gratitude to God, to set our minds and hearts in the right place… “so that those who believe in God will be careful to devote themselves to good works.” He brings the whole theological argument back to its practical concern that that the believers in Crete should be marked by merciful good works toward outsiders for the purpose of evangelism.

When we apprehend God’s grace in Christ Jesus applied to us by the Holy Spirit, we gratefully respond in living mercifully toward others, the way we have received mercy.

“These things are excellent and profitable for people.” They are good and beneficial, for both the Christians to understand and live out, as well as for those who will receive such kindness and mercy from God through Christians living evangelistically.

Are you a grateful conduit of God’s mercy and grace through Jesus Christ? Just as we cannot achieve for ourselves what we needed Christ to do for us by the cross and resurrection, so you cannot do the work of God by his Holy Spirit to apply grace-enabled faith and spiritual transformation. But as one made new by God’s mercy and grace, you can now, and you must, respond gratefully to God by being expressions of his mercy toward others.

May God eternal, immortal, invisible… but who intervened in human history through the Lord Jesus Christ, and who has intervened in our own lives by the Holy Spirit… may God make us faithful, Spirit-transformed conduits of his mercy toward all whom he sees fit to place in our sphere of influence… until he finally brings us, and others whom he is saving, into the completion of our salvation—even eternal life with God forever.

PRAY

———