Titus 3.7-The Christian is an Heir and Can Confidently Expect to Experience Eternal Life Because They Have Been Justified By God's Grace
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday August 17, 2014
Titus: Titus 3:7-The Christian is an Heir and Can Confidently Expect to Experience Eternal Life Because They Have Been Justified By God’s Grace
Lesson # 33
Please turn in your Bibles to Titus 3:1.
Titus 3:4 But when the kindness, yes the love for mankind originating from the Savior who is our God was manifested, 5 He saved us, by no means on the basis of meritorious actions as constituting its source. In other words, on the basis of human self-righteousness which we ourselves have done. But rather on the basis of His mercy as constituting the standard, by means of a washing produced by regeneration, specifically, a renovation produced by the Spirit who is holy, 6 whom He poured out upon us in full measure through Jesus who is the Christ, our Savior. 7 The divine purpose was accomplished so that we became heirs in order that we can confidently expect to experience eternal life because we have been justified by this His grace. (My translation)
Titus 3:4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior 7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (NASB95)
“So that...we would be made heirs” presents both the purpose and the result for God the Father saving the Christian through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ and on the basis of His mercy and by means of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.
It emphasizes that the Father’s purpose for saving the church age believer was so that they would become His heirs and it also emphasizes the result of the Father saving the church age believer was that the Christian was made an heir.
In other words, the Father’s intention to make the Christian His heir was accomplished in time.
“Heirs” is the noun klēronomos (κληρονόμος), which is used with reference to the Christian being an heir of the Father since Paul is using this word in the context of the Christian’s justification.
The benefits which the Christian will receive in the future as a result of being made an heir of God include a resurrection body which they will receive at the resurrection of the church as well as rewards at the Bema Seat if they were faithful in time.
It also includes entrance into the millennial kingdom and the new heavens and new earth as well as the new Jerusalem.
Since being an heir of God is directly tied to the promises given to Abraham that appear in Genesis 12:1-3, 6-9; 13:14-18; 15:1-6, 18-21; 17:1-8; 22:15-18 and that God awards the inheritance promised to Abraham to those who exercise faith in Christ who are in union with His Son through faith, being an heir means that the Christian will inherit the earth and experience the millennial reign of Christ.
“According to the hope of eternal life” is composed of the following: (1) preposition kata (κατά), “according to” (2) noun elpis (ἐλπίς), “hope” (3) noun zōē (ζωή), “of life” (4) adjective aionios (αἰώνιος), “eternal.”
The noun elpis means “confident expectation” of eternal life in the sense that the Christian can have a confident expectation that they have been entered into an eternal relationship with the triune God and will live with God forever.
It also means that the Christian can confidently expect to experience eternal life now in time and for all of eternity.
This confident expectation is the direct result of having been declared justified by the Father as a result of their faith in His Son Jesus Christ and which faith made them an heir of God.
The noun elpis is the object of the preposition kata which is a marker of purpose indicating that the Christian was made an heir so that they can confidently expect to experience eternal life in the present and into eternity future.
The noun zōē means “life” which is modified by the adjective aiōnios, which means “eternal.”
The noun zōē, “life” functions as an objective genitive meaning that it functions semantically as the direct object of the verbal idea implicit in the noun elpis, “confident expectation,” which can be converted into the verbal form elpizō, “to confidently expect.”
The adjective aiōnios means “eternal” and speaks of the quality of this life in that it is the life of God who is eternal by nature.
This expression contains the figure of metonymy meaning that eternal life is put for experiencing eternal life indicating that the Christian became an heir of God in order that they can confidently expect to experience eternal life now in the present and for all of eternity because they have been justified by God’s grace.
“Being justified by His grace” is composed of the following: (1) verb dikaioō (δικαιόω), “being justified” (3) noun charis (χάρις), “the grace” (4) demonstrative pronoun ekeinos (ἐκεῖνος), “His.”
The verb dikaioō also refers to the doctrine of justification since it refers to a judicial act of God whereby He declares a sinner to be righteous as a result of crediting or imputing to that person His righteousness the moment they exercised faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
Consequently, God accepts this sinner and enters them into a relationship with Himself since they now possess His righteousness.
The participle form of the verb dikaioō is a causal participle which indicates the Christian became an heir in order that they can confidently expect to experience eternal life now in the present and for all eternity “because” they were justified by God the Father’s grace policy.
The noun charis, “grace” refers to God the Father’s grace policy and functions as a dative instrumental of means indicating that God’s grace policy was the means by which the Christian was declared justified.
The demonstrative pronoun ekeinos is pointing back to what Paul taught in Titus 3:4-6 and is identifying the work of the Son and the Spirit as constituting the Father’s grace.
Titus 3:7 The divine purpose was accomplished so that we became heirs in order that we can confidently expect to experience eternal life because we have been justified by this His grace.
Titus 3:7 is a purpose-result clause which presents both the purpose and the result for God the Father saving the Christian through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ and on the basis of His mercy and by means of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.
It emphasizes that the Father saved the church age believer in order that they would become His heir and also emphasizes the result of the Father saving the church age was that they became an heir.
In other words, the Father’s intention to make the Christian His heir was accomplished in time at their conversion.
Since being an heir of God is directly tied to the promises given to Abraham that appear in Genesis 12:1-3, 6-9; 13:14-18; 15:1-6, 18-21; 17:1-8; 22:15-18 and that God awards the inheritance promised to Abraham to those have faith in Christ, being an heir means that the Christian will inherit the earth.
Heirship for the church believer is through being in union with Christ (Ephesians 2:12-13; 3:5-6).
Being a heir of the Father is the result of being adopted by the Holy Spirit in the family of God, the moment the Christian was declared justified through faith in Christ which is indicated by Paul’s statements in Romans 8:15-17a.
“In order that they can confidently expect to experience eternal life” in Titus 3:7 indicates that the purpose for which the Christian was made an heir by the Father when they were declared justified through faith in Jesus Christ was so that they can confidently expect to experience eternal life now in the present and for all of eternity.
In other words, so that they can confidently expect to experience an eternal relationship with the triune God and living in fellowship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit now in time and for all of eternity.
This confident expectation is the direct result of having been declared justified by the Father as a result of their faith in His Son Jesus Christ and which faith made them an heir of God.
Eternal life in Titus 3:7 refers to the eternal life the sinner receives from God as a gift at the moment of their conversion when they exercised faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
In other words, it speaks of the eternal relationship the Christian entered into the moment they were declared justified through faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
They experience eternal life for the first time at their conversion.
When they sin they don’t experience this eternal life.
However, through the confession of sin they are restored to fellowship and experiencing eternal life which is maintained by obedience to the Word of God.
In Titus 3:7, “because we have been justified” presents the reason why the Father made the Christian an heir in order that they can confidently expect to experience eternal life now in the present and for all of eternity.
It refers to the judicial act of God at the Christian’s conversion whereby He declares them to be righteous as a result of crediting or imputing to them His righteousness the moment they exercised faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
Consequently, God accepts them and enters them into a relationship with Himself since they now possess His righteousness.
“By this His grace” presents the means by which the Christian was declared justified by God the Father indicating that it was by means of His grace which was manifested through the work of the Son and the Spirit which is indicated by Paul’s statements in Titus 3:4-6.