1 Timothy 1:14Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Having said much that is great about God’s love for mankind, that God had mercy on him though he was a blasphemer, persecutor, and oppressor, and did not stop there but granted him other great benefits, the Apostle again confirms what was said against unbelievers. That is, one must not say that freedom of will does not exist.

He adds the following words: “with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” From our side, he says, we brought only one thing: we believed that He is able to save.

Therefore let us love God through Christ. What does “through Christ” mean? It means that He prepared this for us, and not the law.

Do you see of what good things Christ was the cause for us, and of what things the law was the cause? The Apostle did not simply say that grace “abounded,” but that it “superabounded.” Indeed, it truly superabounded when it suddenly brought to adoption those who deserved a thousand punishments.

Here again the preposition “in” (έν) means the same as “through” (διά).

We need not faith alone, but also love. There are now many who believe that Christ is God, yet they do not love Him and do not act as those who love Him should.

Indeed, how do they love Him when they prefer everything to Him: money, fortune, fate, omens, divinations, and sorcery? If we live in such a way that we offend Him, tell me, what love do we have for Him?

If someone has a friend for whom he feels a warm and burning love, let him love Christ at least as much. Let him love at least as much the One who gave His Son for His enemies, without any merit on our part.

Why do I speak of merit? He gave Him for those who committed the greatest crimes, and who dared without any cause to do what should never have been dared.

After countless benefits and care for us, He still did not reject us. On the contrary, He gave His Son for us precisely at the time when we had committed the most lawless deeds.

Yet we, having received such great benefits, having become His friends, and having been counted worthy of all these good things through Him, have not loved Him even as we love our own friends.

What hope remains for us after this? Perhaps you tremble at these words. Would that such deeds made you tremble!

But how is this possible, you say? Do we really not love God even as much as our friends? How is this possible?

I shall try to explain it to you. In truth, I pray that what I say may prove baseless and empty talk. Yet I fear that my words agree with reality.

Look, then. For friends who truly are our friends, many of us often suffer loss. But for Christ no one resolves not only to sacrifice something, but even to be content with what he has.

For a friend we often endure insults and enmity. For Christ no one agrees to endure enmity. On the contrary, everyone says: love without cost, but do not be hated without cost.

We never despise a friend tormented by hunger. But Christ comes to us every day, asking not for much, but only for one loaf. We do not even admit Him to ourselves.

And this happens when foul belching comes upon us, when we are more satiated than is proper, when we overeat, when yesterday’s wine smells from us, and when we give ourselves to excessive pleasures.

Some of us give gifts to harlots, others to parasites, others to flatterers, and others to deformed persons, half-wits, and dwarfs. Yes, people even turn these natural defects into amusement.

We do not envy friends who are truly our friends, and we are not distressed when we see their prosperity. Yet in relation to Christ we are not free even from this passion.

Finally, anyone may observe that friendship has more force among men than the fear of God. Even the wicked and envious man is more ashamed before men than before God.

How is this evident? I will tell you. Although God sees everything that takes place in a man’s heart, the man does not cease plotting. But if he sees another man, he considers himself lost and blushes.

What else shall I say? We go to a friend who is in misfortune, and if we delay even a little, we fear being condemned for it. But upon Christ, often dying in bonds, we do not even look.

Even to friends who believe in Christ we go not because they believe in Him, but because they are our friends.

Do you see, then, that nothing is done from fear of God or from love for God, but everything is done either from friendship or from habit?

We weep and sigh when we see a friend setting out for a foreign land. We sob when we see him dead, though we know that he is not separated from us forever, and that he will be restored to us at the resurrection.

Yet when Christ departs from us every day, or rather, when we drive Christ away from ourselves every day, we do not grieve. On the contrary, offending Him, insulting Him, grieving Him, and doing what displeases Him, we do not even think that we commit any crime.

This would not yet be so terrible if we merely treated Him not as a friend. But I shall prove that we treat Him as an enemy.

How? “The mind of the flesh,” says Paul, “is enmity against God” (Rom 8:7). This way of thinking is constantly present in us.

Christ wishes to come to us, but as soon as He approaches our doors, we drive Him away. This is precisely what evil deeds do. We offend Him every day by our covetousness and rapacity.

A man is praised who enjoys a good reputation because he preaches Christ and benefits the Church. We envy him, because he is doing God’s work. We think that we envy him, but our envy is directed against Christ.

No, you say, we want the benefit to come from us and not from others. Then we want this not for Christ, but for ourselves. If it were for Christ, it should be all the same to us whether it came from us or from others.

Tell me, if a physician had a son in danger of losing his sight, and he himself could not help him, but found another physician who could do it, would he reject him?

By no means. On the contrary, he would say: it is all the same whether it comes from you or from me, only let him be helped.

Why so? Because he has in view not his own benefit, but his son’s.

So also, if we paid attention to what concerns Christ, we would say this: whether through us or through another, only let what is useful be accomplished. “Whether in pretense or in truth,” says the Apostle, “in every way Christ is preached” (Phil 1:18).

Listen to what Moses says to those who wanted to stir him to anger when Eldad and Modad prophesied: “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets” (Num 11:29).

All this comes from thirst for glory. Is it not proper to enemies and adversaries to act in this way?

Has someone spoken an evil word to you? Love him. But how is this possible? It is possible, and very possible, if you wish.

If you love the one who speaks well of you, this is not yet a merit. You do this not for the Lord, but for your own glory.

Does someone harm you? Do good to him. If you do good to the one who has done good to you, you have not yet accomplished anything great.

Have you been wronged and suffered great loss? Strive to repay this with contrary deeds.

Yes, I beg you, let us order our actions in this way. Let us cease doing evil to enemies and hating them. Christ commands us to love our enemies, while we are hostile even to Him Himself, though He loves us.

May the Lord not allow this, you say. In words we all say this, but in deeds not all of us act so. Sin blinds us so much that even what cannot be endured in words is endured in actions.

Therefore, though late, let us withdraw from those things that hinder and harm our salvation, so that we may receive what should be received by Christ’s friends.

“I desire,” He says, “that where I am, they also may be with Me, to behold My glory” (Jn 17:24). May we all be counted worthy to receive it, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, dominion, and honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Who was the Apostle before? By his own confession, he was formerly a blasphemer of God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. He was an ardent persecutor of Christians, more embittered than all his contemporaries, and a relentless, stubborn offender against them (Gal 1:13-14).

Breathing threats, he was not content with the sufferings of Christians in Jerusalem. No, having armed himself with letters of recommendation, he pursued them throughout Palestine and even beyond its borders, to Damascus.

But in him there was such burning zeal, not according to knowledge, but according to the false disposition of mind in the Pharisaic school. The Lord saw his gifts and his zeal, and turned them to the benefit of His Church.

The holy Apostle says: the Lord, despite my cruelty, had mercy on me, because in Judaism I acted this way ignorantly, in unbelief (1 Tim 1:13). From this the Apostle became convinced that the Lord Jesus does not desire the death of the sinner (Ezek 18:32), but came to have mercy on and save every kind of sinner.

"With faith and love" means the faith and love in which I advanced through Christ. I advanced in them, on the one hand, through my own zeal and effort, and on the other, through Christ's help and His cooperation in my perfection.

I know that I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God (1 Cor 15:9). Yet I acted ignorantly (1 Tim 1:13). For I thought that the preaching of Christ was the violation of the law.

I did not know that He came to fulfill the law, not to violate it (Matt 5:17). But the grace of our Lord was revealed in me abundantly.

Do you see his humility? He is not content with calling himself a blasphemer and persecutor. He also shows that he did this with particular fierceness. I brought blasphemy to the highest frenzy. For this I was worthy of every punishment, but I was not punished, because I received mercy."

But was this all? Did mercy extend only so far as your not bearing punishment? No. God not only freed us from the punishment threatening us, but also made us righteous, sons and brothers, friends and heirs.

Therefore he says, "grace abounded exceedingly," expressing the thought that these gifts surpassed the limits of mercy. For to act in this way belongs not only to one who shows mercy, but to one who loves and is wholly devoted.

On our part, he says, we contributed only this: we believed that He is able to save us. For we need not only faith, but also love. Even now there are many who believe that Christ is God, yet do not love Him and do not act as those who love Him should.

"St. Paul's heart was not corrupted. He was zealous for the law because in the word of the law he saw the glory of God Who gave the law. Therefore it was only necessary to change his conviction.

He had to see that God's glory now lay not in the word of the law, but in the glory of the Gospel. This changed his way of acting. From a persecutor it made him an even more zealous spreader of the Gospel he had persecuted.

This was accomplished by the Lord's appearing to him" (Bishop Theophan).

In this way Timothy too could act upon the adherents of the law, directing their proper attention to the replacement of the law by the Gospel, and of punishments according to the law by grace.

This latter grace should not be excluded from the circle of gifts that abounded toward Saint Paul. This is clear from the direct connection of these words with the preceding discourse, where the apostle gives thanks to the Lord for trusting him and appointing him to the ministry of the gospel economy. This is precisely the apostolate.

Our interpreters chiefly dwell on the gifts of grace common to all Christians. Chrysostom says: “He says, I received mercy. But was this all you received? Did mercy extend only so far, that you did not bear punishment? No. It extended to many other great benefits. For God not only freed us from the threatened punishment, but also made us righteous, sons, brothers, friends, heirs, and co-heirs. Therefore he says, grace abounded exceedingly, expressing the thought that these gifts surpassed the limits of mercy. For to act thus belongs not merely to one who has mercy, but to one who loves and is wholly devoted.”

Grace abounded, he says, with faith and love. The one called believed, and having believed, he loved. Faith and love drew down superabundant grace. They made the heart a spacious vessel for receiving superabundant grace.

“By these words the apostle showed what he contributed from himself to what he had received. For, having received grace from above, he contributed faith and love. He believed sincerely, loved with all fervor, and did not cease to burn with this love.”

Here too, as above, Chrysostom draws a conclusion concerning the participation of free will in the work of salvation. He says: “Having said much about God’s love for mankind, that God had mercy on him, though he had been a blasphemer, persecutor, and oppressor, and not only did not stop there but counted him worthy of other great benefits, the apostle again confirms what was said against unbelievers. That is, one must not say that freedom of will does not exist. He adds the following words: with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. For our part, he says, we contributed only this: that we believed He could save us and loved Him. For we need not faith alone, but also love. I add this because there are now many who believe that Christ is God, yet do not love Him and do not act as those who love Him should.”

“In Christ Jesus” refers both to love and to faith. It means that faith and love were in the spirit of Christ, according to the gospel economy, and were Christian.

According to Chrysostom, “in Christ” is the same as “through Christ.” Yet he understands “through Christ” as “according to the economy of Christ.” “What does through Christ mean?” he asks. And answers: “That He was the cause of this for us, and not the law.” That is, He was the cause that grace should abound for each person with faith and love. For such is the economy of Christ.

Therefore Chrysostom further concludes: “Do you see of what blessings Christ was the cause for us, and of what things the law was the cause?”

Let us add this: therefore it was fitting for the apostle to pour out his gratitude to the Lord, who made him not only a Christian, but also an Apostle of Christianity. By pouring out such gratitude, he teaches everyone that now no one should turn to the impoverished source of the law, but hasten to the superabundant source of grace in Christ Jesus.