Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ, according to [the] command of God our Saviour, and of Christ Jesus our hope,
Paul opens this letter with a claim of authority. Before he gives one instruction, he names God as Saviour and Christ as our hope. Those three notes shape all that follows about order in God's house.
Apostleship by Command
Paul's other letters open in different ways, and the wording here is deliberate. One writer traces the difference:
The character of the letter explains how it opens. In Romans, Paul is a "called" apostle. In 1 Corinthians he is an apostle "by the will of God." His other letters use other forms again. Here he is an apostle "according to command of God."
That wording settles how we should read the letter. This is not a senior man passing private opinions to a younger one:
Paul's apostleship is no light matter here. His call did not depend on the other apostles at all. It came "according to the command of God." So we are not free to treat his letters as his own convictions. We must recognize them as what God required him to write. They carry the supreme authority of God.
God Our Saviour
Paul at once calls this God our Saviour. The title is rare, and where it appears tells us something:
The expression "God our Saviour" is found only in the First Letter to Timothy and in the letter to Titus. (See 2:3; 4:10; Titus 1:3; 2:10; 3:4.) It shows that God's character towards the world is that of a Saviour, through the work of His Son. His grace, which brings salvation, has appeared to all men. That is a different thing from what was true under the law.
This was not always how God presented Himself:
Here God takes up, in a special way, the character of a Saviour-God toward the world. This principle matters greatly for how we live in the world and how we deal with people. We represent in our religious character a God of love. This was not the case in Judaism. He was indeed the same God; but there He took the character of a Lawgiver.
Why the Title Comes First
You might expect a letter about order in God's house to open with an official title. It does not, and one writer sees weight in that:
A shallow mind might have thought a church title would fit better here, since rule in that sphere fills so much of the letter. But it is not so, and God is as good as He is wise. His authority works through instruments He desires and chooses, and He would have the world see His character as Saviour. Not that all people are saved, of course. Believers are saved, and all are now called to believe on the Lord Jesus and so be saved.
The command and the saving title belong together:
If His authority is affirmed first, it is still not bare authority. It is the authority of the One who is Saviour, in matchless goodness, grace, and compassion.
Christ Jesus Our Hope
Paul does not point to an event or a benefit here. He points to a Person:
Yes, it is Christ — Christ Himself, who is our hope. As individual believers our hope is not death, or the state of happiness that follows it, real and blessed as this is. Our hope is the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to swallow up death in victory.
Salvation already known is not the whole of it. Something still lies ahead:
But salvation known even now and here is not all. We have Him by whom it came as "our hope," even Christ Jesus, who will present us in the glory of God to match His salvation. Oh, how that blessed hope has been lowered!
When Things Decline
The letter goes on to deal with bishops, deacons and church order. Naming God and Christ first keeps hope from resting on any of them:
When decline sets in, it is good for us to know a living God as our Preserver. We should centre our hope not on churches, bishops, deacons, or on any man at all, but on the Lord Himself.
Summary
- Command. Paul is an apostle "by command of God," so the letter carries God's authority, not one man's private opinions.
- Character. The same verse calls Him Saviour. In Israel He took the character of Lawgiver; toward the world He now shows Himself as Saviour.
- Reach. "God our Saviour" appears only in 1 Timothy and Titus. It marks out grace that has appeared to all men, not to one nation.
- Balance. The authority behind the letter is never bare authority. It belongs to the One who is Saviour, in goodness, grace and compassion.
- Hope. The hope is not death, nor a recovered church, nor any man — it is Christ Jesus Himself, who will present us in the glory of God.