Salvation
through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit
“But when the goodness and
kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us...” (Ti 2:4, 5). Thus does the
apostle Paul recall to Titus the mystery of our religion (cf. 1 Tm 3:16). Thus
does he introduce in the very heart of the epistle, a veritable compendium of
New Testament theology, the epitome of God’s redemptive exercise (Ti 3:4-7). To
a generation caught in the maelstrom of passion and even satanic hatred
appeared God’s mercy incarnate in Christ Jesus and clothed in ‘‘goodness and
loving kindness” (Ti 3:4). Though the Greek usage for ‘‘goodness” appears
frequently in Paul, the particular word for ‘loving kindness” (philanthrōpeia) appears only here. It was
actually much more familiar to the language of Hellenistic cults, especially to
the cult of the ruler. And as in the preceding pericope which celebrated God’s
grace (Ti 2:11-14), certain other terms possess a cultic resonance.
But again it is the tone which is
significant. It enhances the solemnity which pervades this hymn to God’s
manifest mercy. It enhances our sense of the Christian religion’s ageless
mystery. Augustine recalled the text at least fifty times in the course of his
writings. And through the generations the Roman liturgy has set forth its
message of hope on Christmas day.
God has saved us, ‘‘not because
of deeds done in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy” (Ti 3:5). The
argument is Pauline. And that salvation which God works in his mercy waits upon
“‘the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, which he poured
out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Ti 3:5, 6). Now the
washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit refers to Baptism.
Verses 5 and 6 could very well derive from an ancient baptismal hymn. As a
sacrament, Baptism is the very conduit of the Spirit and grace. And in its
appropriation to the Holy Spirit, it is linked to the premier eschatological
reality of the New Testament after Christ. For it is the Holy Spirit which
effects regeneration and renewal in the light of the risen Christ.
Regeneration or palingenesia
in Stoic tradition bespoke a cosmic restoration. In Jewish expectation it
bespoke the renewal of the Messianic age. But here the usage bespeaks that
spiritual rebirth which should issue in eternal life (Ti 3:7). The word may
have been familiar to the mysteries, but the concept is different. Here
regeneration waits upon the Holy Spirit whose largesse touches all, not merely
the initiate. Though the typically Pauline concept of baptism which implies
dying to the old man and rising with Christ (Rom 6:1ff.) is not brought to the
fore here, regeneration bespeaks renewal in the Holy Spirit. And this latter
concept is hardly introduced with the Pastorals. “If anyone is in Christ, he is
a new creation,” Paul had written to the Corinthians (2 Cor 5:17). To be in Christ
is to wait upon the Spirit. For it is the Spirit which would renew men and
women after the likeness of Christ (cf. 2 Cor 3:18). And Christ, embodying that
surpassing goodness and loving kindness which men predicate of a merciful God,
abides our Savior, ‘‘so that we might be justified by his grace and become
heirs in hope of eternal life” (Ti 3:5). Then, as though to conclude a solemn
profession of faith or even a liturgical hymn, the pronouncement is made, “The
saying is sure” (Ti 3:8). (Thomas Buckley, An Apostle to the Nations: The Life
and Letters of St. Paul [Boston: Daughters of St. Paul, 1981], 481-83)
