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In Titus 2:13-14 Christ is revealed as our great God and Savior.
In verse 14 Paul says that Christ “gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all lawlessness and purify to Himself a particular people as His unique possession, zealous of good works.” The words for us here mean “on our behalf”; they do not mean “instead of us.” To redeem means to buy with a price (1 Cor. 6:20; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 Tim. 2:6). Christ gave Himself for us not only that He might redeem us from all lawlessness but also purify to Himself a particular people for His unique possession. A people for His possession are a peculiar people. This expression is borrowed from the Old Testament (Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 26:18) and denotes a people possessed by God as His unique, peculiar treasure (Exo. 19:5), His own possession (1 Pet. 2:9).
A particular people is a special term in the New Testament. We should be particular not only in the inner life but also in our church practice. We should not follow the system of the world, and we should not make the practice of the church life a common thing that fits our human concept. Both our Christian walk and our practice of the church must be particular.
To be particular is to be different from the common way. Because we are a particular people living on the earth, our walk, our worship, and our service to God must not be common, according to the common system, or on the common course. Of course, there is no need to be purposely peculiar, but if we go on not according to the traditional teachings but according to the Lord’s inner, living guidance, we will automatically be different from the common, worldly system. No matter how good the worldly system may seem to be, it is still according to the course of this age, and therefore it is no doubt of Satan. Our walk and our church practice, however, must be out from God. God must be the source, the nature, and the origin of our particular walk, life, and practice. Whatever we have must be something of God, absolutely different from the worldly system and contrary to the course of this age. The worldly system and the course of the age are of the devil (1 John 5:19), but we are following the inner leading of the Lord; therefore, we are spontaneously different.
In Titus 2:13 Paul speaks of the “appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” The glory of our great God is the glory of the Father (Matt. 16:27), which has been given to the Son (John 17:24) and into which we, as the many sons of God, will be brought (Heb. 2:10). By His wisdom God ordained us before the ages unto this glory (1 Cor. 2:7), and the God of all grace called us and saved us into this eternal glory (1 Pet. 5:10; 2 Tim. 2:10). The weight of this glory is exceedingly surpassing and eternal (2 Cor. 4:17), and with this glory we will be glorified (Rom. 8:17, 30). The appearing of this glory of Christ, our great God and Savior, is the blessed hope that we are awaiting.
In Titus 2:13 Paul says to Timothy, “Awaiting the blessed hope, even the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” According to this verse, the blessed hope is the appearing of Christ in His glory. The appearing of Christ will bring us into full sonship, that is, the redemption of our body, that we may enjoy the freedom of the glory of the children of God, for which we were saved (Rom. 8:21-25). This is the hope of eternal life (Titus 1:2), a hope of eternal blessing, a blessed hope in the eternal life of the Triune God, based on which Paul became an apostle.
Paul also speaks of “our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Through the centuries there have been two schools of interpretation regarding this remarkable, marvelous, and excellent sacred and divine title: (1) that two persons are indicated, God and Christ; (2) that there is but one person, Jesus Christ being our great God and Savior, the deity of Christ thus being asserted. We prefer the second interpretation, with a comma after Savior. This corresponds with the two sacred titles revealed at the birth of Christ: Jesus — Jehovah the Savior — and Emmanuel — God with us (Matt. 1:21-23). Our Lord not only is our Savior but also is God, and not merely God but the great God, the God who is great in nature, in glory, in authority, in power, in deed, in love, in grace, and in every divine attribute. In 1 Timothy 2:5 our Lord is revealed as a man; in Titus 2:13, as the great God. He is both man and God. His appearing in His divine glory will be not only for saving His people into His eternal kingdom, but also for bringing them into God’s eternal glory (Heb. 2:10; 1 Pet. 5:10). Hence, His appearing in His glory is our blessed hope.
In Titus 3:5-7 we see that we may experience and enjoy Christ as the means of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.
Verse 6 says that God poured out the Holy Spirit “upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.” The Holy Spirit, who is the Triune God reaching man, has been not only given to us but poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Savior, to impart to us all the divine riches in Christ, including God’s eternal life and His divine nature, as an eternal portion for us to enjoy.
In verse 5 Paul says, “Not out of works in righteousness which we did but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit.” Works in righteousness refer to works of righteousness done in the element and sphere of righteousness, denoting genuine works of righteousness. Even such genuine works of righteousness are not sufficient to be the basis and condition of our salvation. Only the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, brought to us by God’s mercy, are sufficient to cause us to be saved.
The Greek word for regeneration here is different from that for regenerated in 1 Peter 1:23. The only other place the word is used is Matthew 19:28, where it is used for the restoration in the millennium. Here it refers to a change from one state to another. Being born again is the commencing of this change. The washing of regeneration begins with our being born again and continues with the renewing of the Holy Spirit as the process of God’s new creation, a process that makes us a new man. It is a kind of reconditioning, remaking, or remodeling, with life. Baptism (Rom. 6:3-5), the putting off of the old man, the putting on of the new man (Eph. 4:22, 24; Col. 3:9-11), and transformation by the renewing of the mind (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23) are all related to this wonderful process. The washing of regeneration purges away all the things of the old nature of our old man, and the renewing of the Holy Spirit imparts something new — the divine essence of the new man — into our being. In this is a passing from our old state into a wholly new one, from the old creation into the status of a new creation. Hence, both the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit are working in us continually throughout our life until the completion of the new creation.
Regeneration is a washing in God’s salvation. This washing is a great renewing of the believers by God’s salvation to enable them to eliminate all that is of their natural life and the old creation and to become God’s new creation (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15). The washing of regeneration begins with our regeneration and continues with the renewing of the Spirit, both of which are the aspects of the organic salvation and are matters of life. In the washing of regeneration there is the renewing of the Holy Spirit. Following the washing of regeneration, the Holy Spirit continues to work within us to recreate us that we may become a new creation, thus renewing us.
We need not only the judicial washing by the Lord’s redeeming blood to cleanse us from every sin (Heb. 1:3; 1 John 1:7) but also the organic washing, the washing of regeneration, which begins with our being born again and continues with the renewing of the Holy Spirit. We receive an organic washing by daily experiencing God’s organic salvation. The washing of regeneration washes away the old elements, the old nature, and the old things that are within us; the renewing of the Holy Spirit imparts new elements, a new essence, and new things into us. Both the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit are working in us continually throughout our life until the completion of the new creation so that we may be built up in God’s organic salvation.
Such a washing, such a renewing, in God’s organic salvation is being carried out continually in us by the renewing Spirit spreading into our mind, by our walking in newness of the divine life, and by our being consumed by the environmental sufferings. The renewing in God’s organic salvation is by the renewing Spirit mingling with our regenerated spirit as one spirit to spread into our mind (Eph. 4:22-24) and infuse our inward parts with God’s attributes, which are forever new and never become old, thereby renewing our entire being (5:26-27; Rom. 12:2a). Our God is newness itself. In the entire universe, God alone is new and everything else is old. This God, who is forever new and who never becomes old, infuses His ever-new essence into us to renew our entire being.
The renewing in God’s organic salvation is also by our walking in the newness of the divine life in the resurrection of Christ (Rom. 6:4). In order to walk in newness of life, we need, on the one hand, to put off the old man, and on the other hand, to put on the new man (Eph. 4:22, 24). To put off the old man is to deny and renounce our old self and to apply the cross to the self. Furthermore, we need to put on the new man, that is, to apply what Christ has accomplished in creating the new man, by living and magnifying Christ through the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19-21). This is what it means to walk in newness of life. All these matters are for the renewing Spirit to renew us by imparting the new essence and new element into us that we may be renewed day by day.
The renewing in God’s organic salvation is also by our being consumed by the environmental sufferings for the killing of our outer man and the renewing of our inner man day by day (2 Cor. 4:16). God’s renewing us is accomplished through the consuming by the outward environmental sufferings. Our sufferings are for us to be renewed. Although our outer man is decaying, our inner man is being renewed day by day. In order to renew us, God has arranged all kinds of environments to come to us for a positive purpose, that is, to dispense God’s new essence and new element into us. We should have such a daily subjective experience of our outer man decaying and our inner man being renewed day by day. Through such a renewing we are built up in God’s organic salvation to ultimately become as new as the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2). We are in the process of being renewed day by day with the divine element by the renewing of the Holy Spirit through sufferings to become the New Jerusalem.
In 1 Timothy the church is stressed (3:15-16), in 2 Timothy the Scripture (3:15-16), and in Titus the Holy Spirit. The church is the house of the living God, expressing God in the flesh, and is the pillar and base of the truth, the divine reality of the great mystery — God manifested in the flesh. The Scripture is the breath of God, containing and conveying His divine essence for our nourishing and equipping to make us perfect and complete for His use. The Holy Spirit is the divine person, washing and renewing us in the divine element to make us a new creation with the divine nature, that we might be heirs of God in His eternal life, inheriting all the riches of the Triune God.
In 3:7 Paul goes on to say, “In order that having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” This verse speaks forth the issue and goal of God’s salvation (v. 5) and justification (v. 7), which include the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit (vv. 5-6). This issue and goal are to make us heirs of God according to the hope of eternal life.
According to verse 7, the believers are not merely sons but heirs who are qualified to inherit the Father’s estate (Rom. 4:14; 8:17; Gal. 3:29; 4:7). Such heirs are born (John 1:12-13) of God’s eternal life (3:16). This eternal life enables them not only to live and enjoy God in this age but also to inherit in the coming age and in eternity all the riches of what God is to them. Hence, there is the hope of eternal life. God’s eternal life is our enjoyment today and our hope for tomorrow. According to this hope, we become heirs of God to inherit all His riches for eternity. This is the climax, the eternal goal, of His eternal salvation with His eternal life, which has been given to us by grace in Christ.
Today we are experiencing and enjoying the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, we have the hope of the eternal life to inherit all the riches of God. The riches of God are not merely what we will inherit in the distant future; they should be our present enjoyment. We can enjoy a foretaste of God Himself as our inheritance today because we have the eternal life. Our present enjoyment of this eternal life is a foretaste of God Himself as our eternal inheritance.
Today we should enjoy this foretaste of God as our inheritance; we will then enjoy the full taste of this inheritance in the millennial age and in eternity. Yet if we believers do not enjoy the foretaste of what we will inherit of God, we will miss the full taste in the coming age of the millennium.
In summary, through Christ God poured out the Holy Spirit on us richly to save us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. The basic concept of God’s New Testament economy is to make us a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), and the way God makes us a new creation is to work Himself into our being by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit. Regeneration involves a change by life, with life, and in life and brings in a washing by the divine life as the washing water. The divine life which comes into our spirit to enliven our deadened spirit washes away the dead elements; regeneration washes away the old creation with sin, Satan, the world, and the flesh. The renewing of the Holy Spirit is the continuation of the washing of the regeneration in our spirit. Through regeneration our spirit was renewed, but our soul was not renewed by regeneration. Thus, after regeneration the Spirit continues to renew us by saturating our soul. The renewing of the Holy Spirit is the work of the Spirit to transform us into the image of Christ from glory to glory (3:18). The Spirit renews us in every aspect of our daily living. By this renewing we are gradually being transformed from one degree of glory to another unto glorification. Transformation, that is, renewing, is the way to enter into glorification, in which we will be heirs. At our regeneration we were born children of God by receiving eternal life; this eternal life that we are enjoying brings in a hope to inherit God Himself as the divine inheritance (Rom. 8:14, 17). Through the long process of being renewed unto glorification, we will be heirs to inherit what God promised as a reward in the coming kingdom.
In Philemon 20 Christ is unveiled as the sphere and element for the refreshing of the believers’ inward parts.
Paul asks Philemon to refresh his inward parts in Christ. The word refresh means “soothe or cheer.” Literally, the Greek word rendered “inward parts” means “bowels,” as in verse 7. Since Philemon had refreshed the inward parts of the saints, Paul now asked him to do the same for him in the Lord.
In verse 20 Paul says, “Brother, may I have profit from you in the Lord; refresh my inward parts in Christ.” The Greek word for profit here is onaimen, which is similar in sound to Onesimus (both words meaning “profitable”). Here, this word is an allusion to the name Onesimus. This is a play on words, implying that “since you owe me even your own self, you are an Onesimus to me — hence, you should be profitable to me; that is, you should let me have profit from you in the Lord.”
Onesimus was Philemon’s purchased bondslave who ran away from his master. While he was in prison at Rome with Paul, he was saved through the apostle. Now the apostle sent him back to his master. In verse 20 Paul indicates that since he sent Onesimus — whose name means “profitable” — back to Philemon, in return Philemon now should be a profit to Paul in the Lord. According to verse 20, the profit in the Lord that Paul speaks of refers to being refreshed in his inward parts in Christ Jesus. Since the imprisoned apostle was suffering under persecution, he needed Philemon, a fellow believer, to refresh his inward parts. Yet refreshing Paul’s inward parts cannot be done in or by Philemon himself but in the Lord and in Christ. The profit — being refreshed in his inward parts — that Paul sought from Philemon comes out of the Lord. It is only in Christ that we can be refreshed in our inward parts by the fellow believers. This is to enjoy Christ as the sphere and element for the refreshing of the believers’ inward parts.
