Faithful [is] the word, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom *I* am [the] first.
This verse puts the whole gospel into one sentence. Two questions press on the reader: how far can it be trusted, and how far down does its reach go?
A saying stamped as trustworthy
Paul stamps this saying as trustworthy. One commentator hears two senses in the words that follow, which older translations give as "worthy of all acceptation."
The apostle gives us part of his reason for putting the divine stamp of approval on this saying: "This is a faithful saying. This is worthy of all acceptation." I always feel inclined to interpret that in two ways. First, it deserves wholehearted, absolute acceptance — not ninety-nine per cent, but one hundred per cent. But it is equally true if you take it in this sense: it is worthy of everybody's acceptance.
People believe all sorts of claims from other people. This one comes from God.
It will not deceive or disappoint you. It is true, it is faithful. You have heard and believed thousands of false sayings from the lips of men in your time; your readiness to believe in that respect is amazing. But here is a saying from the lips of God, and it is not false but true, and it is as good as it is true.
Who it is that came
Salvation needed more than a messenger. The One who came was already God the Creator.
He is God, the Creator: eternal in being, almighty in power, infinite in wisdom. And He came into the world to save sinners. Long ago, God sent two angels to judge and destroy the corrupt and guilty cities of the plain. When rebellious men needed rebuke for their sins, He sent His word by holy prophets. But now the time had come — not for judgment, nor for rebuke, but for salvation. Neither angels nor prophets were equal to this great work.
The one footing on which God speaks to us
"To save sinners" is not one theme among many. It sets the only footing on which God speaks to anyone.
The gospel of the grace of God is the revelation of the glory of God in the person and the work of His Son Jesus Christ. The word that is "true and worthy of all acceptance" is this: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." The only ground on which God addresses man in the ministry of reconciliation is that he is a lost sinner.
"Of whom I am the foremost"
Many read the closing phrase as modesty. Older translations render it "chief of sinners," and one writer asks whose record that is.
In reading 1 Timothy 1:15, we are not to think of the feelings of man. We are to think of the record of God, which declares that Paul was "chief of sinners." God says this of no one else. No doubt, in a secondary sense, every convicted heart will feel and own itself the guiltiest it knows of. But this is quite another matter. No matter how bad anyone may be, Paul could say, "I am chief." No matter how far from God a person feels, no matter how deep in the pit of ruin, a voice reaches him from a deeper point still: "I am chief."
Some try to narrow one word or the other. That works against the point of the sentence.
In vain do men seek to limit either "sinners" on the one hand, or "chief" on the other. His very aim is to sweep away all comparison, to overturn all self-righteousness, and to meet all despair. It lays man in the dust and exalts only the Saviour who abased Himself.
"I am," not "I was"
Paul writes "I am," not "I was." One writer explains the present tense:
It is a present sense: what he was accounts for his sense of it.
Why no one is left out
Paul puts his own case to two kinds of people: those working to earn their standing, and those who have given up hope.
He says to the legalists, "You will have to give it all up and let Jesus save you." And he says to the poor despairing sinner, "You may be sinner number two, friend, but you cannot be number one." I was sinner number one, and Jesus saved me. You and I may be numbers two and three, but we cannot be chief. There are not two chiefs — and Paul says, "sinners, of whom I am chief." If number one has been saved, then there is hope for you.
Summary
- Trustworthy — God has stamped this saying as true. It will not deceive or disappoint you.
- For all — Older translations read "worthy of all acceptation." That "all" works two ways: full acceptance, and acceptance by everyone.
- The Sender came Himself — Angels could judge. Prophets could rebuke. Salvation needed the Creator in person.
- One footing — In the gospel God speaks to people on one ground only: they are lost sinners.
- Chief — "I am chief" is God's record, not modesty. It ends all comparison. And if number one was saved, no one is too far down to save.