“But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,”
My Notes
What Does Titus 3:4 Mean?
Paul describes the moment of salvation: after — after the foolishness, the disobedience, the slavery to lusts described in verse 3 — the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared. The appearance is like a sunrise after the longest night.
"The kindness and love of God" — two qualities that define the motive for salvation. Not wrath producing rescue. Kindness and love producing it. The saving came from a God who is fundamentally kind and loving.
"Toward man appeared" — the word appeared (epiphaino) means to shine upon, to become visible, to manifest. God's kindness and love were always real. They appeared — became visible, tangible, experiential — at a specific moment.
The appearance is the incarnation — God's kindness and love made flesh in Jesus Christ. The abstract attributes became a person. The kindness walked among us. The love touched us.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How does salvation being motivated by 'kindness and love' rather than just justice change your view of God?
- 2.What does 'appeared' mean — how did God's kindness and love become visible?
- 3.How does 'toward man' describe the direction of God's saving intention?
- 4.Where do you need to see God's kindness appear in your current situation?
Devotional
But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared. After the foolishness. After the disobedience. After the slavery. After the worst of what we were. Then — the kindness and love of God appeared.
Kindness. Not harsh correction. Not grudging rescue. Kindness — the gentle, tender, warm goodness of a God who could have justly condemned but chose to save instead.
Love. Not a theoretical concept. A love that appeared — that showed up, became visible, took on flesh and walked into the human mess. The love was not distant. It appeared.
Toward man. The direction of the kindness and love is toward you. Not away from you. Not around you. Toward — aimed at, directed at, moving in your direction. God's kindness and love have a target, and the target is humanity.
Appeared. The kindness was always real. The love was always present. But at a specific moment in history — in a stable, in a life, on a cross — it appeared. The invisible became visible. The abstract became concrete. The divine became human.
That appearance is the reason you are saved. Not your effort. Not your worthiness. The kindness and love of God appeared. And when it appeared, it saved.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
But after that,.... After all this series and course of wickedness; notwithstanding all this foolishness, disobedience,…
But after that - Greek, when - ὅτε hote The meaning is, that “when the love of God was manifested in the plan of…
But after that the kindness and love of God - By χρηστοτης we may understand the essential goodness of the Divine…
Here is the fourth thing in the matter of the epistle. The apostle had directed Titus in reference to the particular and…
The contrast is striking; God hated the sinners" sins, and the sinners hated one another, but God loved all the sinners…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture