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1 Timothy 1:15
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15 This is a faithful [pistos] saying, [logos] and [kai] worthy [axios] of all [pas] acceptation, [apodoche] that [hoti] Christ [Christos] Jesus [Iesous] came [erchomai] into [eis] the world [kosmos] to save [sozo] sinners; [hamartolos] of whom [hos] I [ego] am [eimi] chief. [protos] KJV-Interlinear
15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. NASB
At the time of this letter written to Timothy by Paul, very few letters had been written. And there were no cataloging of the letters written thus far, into some sort of formal book had been made either.
The only spreading of the gospel, the only spreading of doctrinal information, was by word of mouth, since the letters previously written by Paul were very few in number.
However, here Paul tells us by the phrase, ‘It is a faithful saying,’ which means that ‘It is well known by everyone.’
These things that we have been studying, and the content of this verse, were common knowledge throughout the region and beyond.
Why did Christ come into the world? And this is a reference to His first advent. He came into the world to save sinners.
He did not come into the world, the first time, to establish His kingdom.
And to save sinners, Christ became a sacrifice in our place, in order to pay the price of sin. Why? Because we couldn’t pay that price and survive. Once death had consumed us, we would be lost forever, and unable to return to life.
However, Christ came into the world, which means that he already existed, He as God, was not born, not created, did not come into existence for the very first time, but came into the world (the sphere of humanity) through the person of Jesus, John 1:9; 3:19; 6:14; 11:27; 12:46; 16:28; 18:37.
So Christ who is God, became a man, the unique person in all of the universe, both God and man together in one person. That is why in Deu. 6:4, it is said, ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord is God, the Lord is unique.’
Lord, is the personal reference for the Son, the second person of the Trinity. The Lord is one, means unique. The Israelis from their very beginning, knew and understood the uniqueness of the Messiah, and why he was coming into the world.
Somewhere along the way, in the last few centuries prior to His birth, as Judaism became the dominate religion, this principle got lost, and the Pharisees and scribes and such, decided that the Lords coming was to establish His Kingdom. They did not see any reason for any necessity of their being saved.
But there were to be two advents of Christ. The first was to save, and then the second was to establish His Kingdom. The first has been accomplished, the Second remains future.
There are several verses speaking to the purpose of His first advent (to save sinners, to provide salvation), Matt 1:21, Matt 9:13, Luke 19:10, Jn. 3:17.
Paul describes himself as one of the worst of the worst of sinners, and if God is able to save him, then God is able to save anyone. There is no one on this earth, no one in history, for whom God could not save. And if you look back in history, then you certainly can find many examples of people who were far worse than you. And God is able to provide the mechanism of salvation for everyone, and He did.
The only deciding factor is, will each individual believe in Christ? And for that, God will not force anyone to believe in Himself, but allows everyone to make up their own mind regarding Him.
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