The grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
Parallel Translations
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The grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
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Neverthelater the grace of oure Lorde was more aboundaunt with fayth and love which is in Christ Iesu.
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But the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and loue, which is in Christ Iesus.
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to 1 Timothy 1:14 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Timothy 1:13 Hold the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
- Ephesians 1:7-8 in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
- 1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was given to me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
- 1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
- Isaiah 55:6-7 Seek Yahweh while he may be found. Call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to Yahweh, and he will have mercy on him, to our God, for he will freely pardon.
- 2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s love, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
- Romans 16:20 And the God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
- 1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
- Exodus 34:6 Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, “Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth,
- 2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich.
- 1 Thessalonians 1:3 remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and perseverance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:8 But since we belong to the day, let’s be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.
- Revelation 22:21 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints. Amen.
- Acts 15:11 But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are.”
- Romans 5:15-20 But the free gift isn’t like the trespass. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. The gift is not as through one who sinned; for the judgment came by one to condemnation, but the free gift came of many trespasses to justification. For if by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; so much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ. So then as through one trespass, all men were condemned; even so through one act of righteousness, all men were justified to life. For as through the one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one, many will be made righteous. The law came in that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace abounded more exceedingly;
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 14 And the grace of our Lord He again…
14 And the grace of our Lord He again magnifies the grace of God towards himself, not only for the purpose of removing the dislike of it and testifying his gratitude, but also to employ it as a shield against the slanders of wicked men, whose whole design was to bring down his apostleship to a lower level. When he says that it abounded, and that, too, beyond measure, the statement implies that the remembrance of past transactions was effaced, and so completely swallowed up, that it was no disadvantage to him that God had formerly been gracious to good men.
With faith and love Both may be viewed as referring to God, in this sense, that God showed himself to be true, and gave a manifestation of his love in Christ, when he bestowed his grace upon him. But I prefer a more simple interpretation, that “faith and love” are indications and proofs of that grace which he had mentioned, that it might not be supposed that he boasted needlessly or without good grounds. And, indeed, “faith” is contrasted with unbelief, and “love in Christ” is contrasted with the cruelty which he had exercised towards believers; as if he had said, that God had so completely changed him, that he had become a totally different and new man. Thus from the signs and effects he celebrates in lofty terms the excellence of that grace which must obliterate the remembrance of his former life.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He proveth this change by the effects, for that,…
He proveth this change by the effects, for that, that he that was a profane man, is become a believer: and he that did most outrageously persecute Christ, burneth now in love towards him.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding…
14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
Ver. 14. Was exceeding abundant] Hath abounded to flowing over, υπερεπλεονασε, as the sea doth above mole hills. "I will scatter your sins as a mist," saith God, "and they shall be cast into the midst of the sea." Note these two metaphors, and despair, if thou canst. Paul was a blasphemer (and so sinned against the first table), be was also a persecutor (and sinned against the second table), he was injurious (and so came near unto the unpardonable sin), and yet he obtained mercy; albeit his ignorance was not invincible, but of a brave disposition. Cheer up therefore and despond not. There is a pleonasm of free grace for thee in other Scriptures, as Eph 2:7; Rom 5:20, but here is a superpleonasm.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant;…
And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant; the free love of God towards me, in justifying such a guilty creature, and sanctifying such an unholy creature, and afterwards calling me to the office of an apostle, fitting me for it, and trusting me with that great work and employment, abounded beyond all measure and possibility of expression.
With faith and love which is in Christ Jesus: Christ working faith in me, enabling me to receive him as the Son of God, and my Lord and Saviour; and to love him, whom I formerly thought I ought to do much against, and his disciples, whom I formerly haled to death, of whom I made havoc, persecuting them to death. He mentions
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faith and love, the two principal graces, in opposition to the reigning sins in his unconverted state: faith in the doctrine of the gospel, in opposition to his former ignorance and infidelity; and love to Christ and believers, in opposition to his former rage and cruelty against them. And these graces were from Christ, the fruits of his merit, and Holy Spirit.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Still our apostle goes on magnifying the transcendent mercy…
Still our apostle goes on magnifying the transcendent mercy and abundant grace of God, that called him first to be a Christian, and then an apostle; and he shows, that this great mercy of God had great effects in him of faith and love, both towards God and his saints.
Where note, how St. Paul after his conversion abounded and excelled in those graces which were opposite and contrary to the sins committed in his carnal and unregenerate state: he abounds in faith, in opposition to his former unbelief; and in love, in opposition to his former rage and cruelty.
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A Christian’s fruitfulness in grace and holiness after his conversion, ought to bear some proportion to his unfruitfulnes in a sinful state, before conversion; the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love; he now glorifies God by excelling in those graces which were opposite to his former sins.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant,....…
And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant,.... That is, the love of Jehovah the Father; so the Ethiopic version reads, "the grace of God"; of God the Father, since he is distinguished in the text from Jesus Christ. God is abundant in grace and goodness; he is rich and plenteous in mercy; there is an overflow of love in his heart to his chosen people, and in conversion it flows out, and abounds and superabounds; see Rom 5:20.
with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus; these are the effects of the love and favour of God displayed in conversion, or which the grace of God brings along with it, and implants in the soul at that time, as it did in the apostle; for by "faith" is not meant the faithfulness of God to his Son, and to his covenant, oath, and promise, which now began visibly to be made good; nor the faith of the Gospel committed to the apostle's trust, which was an high favour; but the grace of faith, which is a pure gift of God, and a distinguishing instance of his grace; for all men have it not, only his elect; and is a most precious and excellent grace, and of great use and importance: it receives every blessing from Christ, and gives him all the glory; through it much peace, joy, and comfort are enjoyed here, and with it is connected eternal life and salvation hereafter: and by "love" also is meant, not the love with which God loves his people, for that is designed by the grace of our Lord, though there is a very great display of that in conversion, which is a time of love; but the internal grace of love, even love to God, to Christ, and to his people, which the apostle was before destitute of; but now instead of unbelief he had faith, and instead of rage and madness against Christ, and the saints, his soul was filled with love to both. The Arabic version reads, "with my faith, and my love". The phrase, "which is in Christ Jesus", denotes either that the spring of these graces is in Christ, and that they come from him, in whom all fulness dwells; or that he is the object of them, in which they centre, and on whom they are exercised, and particularly that love to the saints was shown for his sake.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain And the grace - Whereby I obtained mercy. Was…
And the grace - Whereby I obtained mercy. Was exceeding abundant with faith - Opposite to my preceding unbelief. And love - Opposite to my blasphemy, persecution, and oppression.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 14. The grace of our Lord was exceeding…
Verse 14. The grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant] The original is very emphatic, that grace of our Lord, υπερεπλεονασε, hath superabounded - it manifested itself in a way of extraordinary mercy.
With faith and love] Not only pardoning such offences, but leading me to the full experimental knowledge of Christianity; of that faith and love which are essential to it; and giving me authority to proclaim it to mankind.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant…
And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant - That is, in his conversion under these circumstances and in the aid which was afterward imparted to him in his work.
With faith and love which is in Christ Jesus - Accompanied with the exercise of faith and love; or producing faith and love. The grace which was imparted to him was seen in the faith and love which it produced; see the notes, 1Co 15:10.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain And--Greek, "But." Not only so (was mercy shown me),…
And--Greek, "But." Not only so (was mercy shown me), but
the grace--by which "I obtained mercy" (Ti1 1:13).
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was exceeding abundant--Greek, "superabounded." Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound" (Rom 5:20).
with faith--accompanied with faith, the opposite of "unbelief" (Ti1 1:13).
love--in contrast to "a blasphemer, persecutor, and injurious."
which is in Christ--as its element and home [ALFORD]: here as its source whence it flows to us.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 14. Grace… exceeding abundant—Or it could not have pardoned…
14. Grace… exceeding abundant—Or it could not have pardoned a guilt like mine.
With faith and love—The blessed response in the forgiven heart to the forgiving grace.
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In Christ—And are in our hearts the overflow from him. We love him because he loved us; we are faithful to him because he is “the faithful and true.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 14. the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant]…
14. the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant] ‘Overflowed its wonted channels,’ and a stream of faith and love in me, having Jesus Christ for its source and life, flowed side by side with this full flood of grace and mercy. The removal of the comma by R.V. after ‘abundant’ leaves the force of the ‘with’ ambiguous, as though the grace abounded with faith. See St Mat_27:34, ‘wine mingled with gall,’ 1Ti_6:6, ‘godliness with contentment,’ for this full force of the preposition.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (14) And the grace of our Lord was exceeding…
(14) And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant.—The thought of his Master’s great love to one who once reviled Him so bitterly, and who had spent his strength in trying to undo His servants’ work, seems to have pressed with overwhelming force on St. Paul, who struggled to find words which should express how deeply he felt the loving tenderness which had transformed the cruel persecutor into the favoured Apostle. The Greek word translated “was exceeding abundant” is very rare, and possesses a superlative force.
With faith and love.—He sums up the divine mercy showed to him in the three words: grace, faith, and love. Grace, the unspeakable gift of God to him; faith and love, the results of the exceeding abundant gift of grace.
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Faith: not merely a childlike trust in Christ, but a belief which accepted Christ as the hope of an otherwise hopeless world; and love, which includes love to man as well as love to God, a strange contrast to his former cruelty and hatred; for, instead of blaspheming, now he believed on Him whom he once reviled, and instead of persecuting the followers of Jesus, now, in his great love for them, he spent himself. Then, overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness that he, the enemy of God, had obtained the mercy and love of God, and conscious, from his own sweet and bitter experiences, what that mercy of God bestowed on a sinner signified, he gave utterance to one of those bright watchwords of the faith, with which the Christians of the first days used to comfort and encourage one another, and which, perhaps, better than any other words, gave expression to the burning thoughts which rose up from his grateful heart.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Abounded exceedingly for was exceeding abundant, A.V Abounded exceedingly…
Abounded exceedingly for was exceeding abundant, A.V Abounded exceedingly (uJperepleonase); only here in the New Testament or elsewhere except "in Psalterio Salomonis Psa_5:1-9, et in fragmento Hermae ap. Fabricium Bibl. Graec., lib. 5. cap. 1" (Schleusuer). But the word is thoroughly Pauline (comp. uJperairomai uJperauxanwuJperballw uJperekteinw uJperperisseuw uJperoyow, and other compounds with uJper. It is further remarkable, as regards uJper itself, that of the hundred and fifty-eight times (or thereabouts) that it occurs in the New Testament, one hundred and six are in St. Paul"s Epistles, and twelve in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and only forty in all the other books. With faith and love , etc. The grace bestowed upon St. Paul at and after his conversion showed itself in the wonderful faith and love toward Jesus Christ, whom he had previously disbelieved in and reviled, which accompanied that grace (meta) and was the fruit of it, and characterized his whole after-life.
The super-abounding grace of the Lord to the apostle.
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He now explains how fully he received of God"s mercy in spite of his unbelief.
I THE MERCY OF THE LORD OVERFLOWED IN GRACE ON GOD"S SIDE. "But the grace of our Lord super-abounded." His salvation was of free grace. He had done nothing to deserve it, but rather everything to forfeit his claim upon it. It was grace first that made him a Christian, and then made him an apostle.
II THE MERCY OF THE LORD OVERFLOWED IN FAITH AND LOVE ON MAN"S SIDE. "With faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
1. These two graces are the fruits of grace. When grace abounds, they will necessarily abound.
2. Faith stands in opposition to his old unbelief. It is that grace which receives every blessing from Christ, and gives him all the glory, bringing peace, joy, and comfort into the heart, and ending in eternal life.
3. Love stands in opposition to his former rage and cruelty. He now has love to God and man.
4. His faith and love find their true spring in Jesus Christ, as in him all fullness dwells. T.C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And the grace of our Lord.
1Ti_1:14
And the grace of our Lord.
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The Saviours grace in its freeness and effects
I. Consider the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was this that led Him to remember you in your low estate; to interpose on your behalf; to assume your nature, and to give His life a ransom for many. Surely He hath borne our grief and carried our sorrow. Behold, how He loved him! said the spectators around the grave of Lazarus, when they saw only His tears. Behold, how He loved them! was surely the exclamation of angels, when, at His cross, they beheld His blood. For was He compelled to submit to this undertaking? No. Did we deserve it? When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. In the application, as well as the procuring of our salvation, the grace of the Lord Jesus appears. Means were used; but they derived all their efficacy, and their very being, from Him. But whence sprang this desire? From conviction. What produced this conviction? Reflection. And what produced this reflection? A train of events. And what are events? Providence. And what is Providence? God in action; and God, acting for the welfare of the unworthy, is grace. The progress is equally from the same source. He who quickens us, when dead in trespasses and sins, renews us day by day; and enables us to hold on our way, and wax stronger and stronger. As this laid the foundation, so it will raise the superstructure; and He shall bring forth the top-stone thereof, with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it! But, though all are saved by this grace, some individuals seem to be, in a peculiar manner, the trophies of it; and, were it necessary, we could make, even from the records of Scripture, a marvellous selection of instances. Manasseh; the dying thief; the murderers of the Son of God; the Corinthian converts.
II. This grace is eminently displayed in the conversion of Paul: And the grace of our Lord, says he, was exceeding abundant. Never did His heart pity a more undeserving wretch, or His hand undertake a more desperate case. Perhaps, you say, this made the apostle so humble. It did. But humility is not ignorance and folly. Christians are often ridiculed for speaking of themselves in depreciating terms: especially when they call themselves the vilest of the vile, or the chief of sinners. It is admitted and lamented that such language may be insufferable affectation, and is sometimes used by persons who give ample evidence of their not believing it. When show is a substitute for reality, it is generally excessive.
III. This grace is always productive of suitable influences and effects. In faith and love, says the apostle, which are in Christ Jesus.
1. Divine grace produces faith. Faith is the belief of the gospel; a firm and lively persuasion of the truth of the record that God has given of His Son, accompanied with acquiescence, dependence, and application. It will lead me to have recourse to Him for all I want.
2. Divine grace will equally produce love. To whom? To the Saviour Himself; His name, His word, His day, His service, His ways.
3. Divine grace will produce both these in the same subjects. Faith, according to the apostles order of statement, goes before love; for faith precedes everything in religion--it is an original principle; it is the spring from which flow all the streams of pious temper and practice; it is the root from which grow all the fruits of Christian obedience and affection. But love follows after faith. We are told that faith worketh by love. And how should it be otherwise? Is it possible for me to believe the compassions of the Saviour, and to realize as my own the blessings of His death, and not feel my heart affected? and my gratitude constraining me to embrace Him, and my fellow-Christians, and my fellow-creatures, for His sake? By the latter of these, therefore, you are to evince the reality and genuineness of the former. The subject admonishes Christians. It calls upon you, like Paul, to review the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember where you were, and what you were, when He said unto you, Live! Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. This will prove the destruction of pride and ingratitude. (W. Jay.)
The exceeding abundant grace of God
It is the most difficult thing in the world for a man to speak in a becoming and consistent manner concerning himself. He speaks of himself very humbly and penitently: Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. He speaks also most encouragingly to others: Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first, or in me principally, Jesus Christ might show forth all long suffering for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting.
I. The grace of God as the only source of hope and salvation to guilty and apostate man.
1. The very terms of this proposition suppose that man is in a guilty and apostate state. The effectuation of that great scheme into which the angels desired to look, the contrivance of infinite mercy, is of grace: Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might become rich. The application of the Divine contrivance for mans recovery is of grace. The Holy Spirit, the third person in the glorious Trinity, stands engaged in the economy and covenant of mercy, to take of the things of Christ, and show them unto us. The completion of this great and glorious work is of grace. Were we to trace the whole process from the commencement to the perfection of it, it would be seen that in every step the grace of God is manifested to be exceeding abundant. Now, do consider that this is the only source of hope and salvation for guilty man. Tell me of any other if you are able. Will you talk to me of penances, and pilgrimages, and bodily austerities?
II. In the circumstances attendant upon the conversion and salvation of the apostle paul, this grace was exceeding abundant.
1. This will appear, in the first place, if you consider his previous character. He was, before, an impious blasphemer, a treacherous persecutor, an injurious reviler. What does this prove? That where a man is not chargeable with gross immoralities, yet the sins of the mind, the intellect, the temper and disposition of the heart, may stand out in the sight of God in the most odious, the most culpable, and in the most guilty form.
2. In the second place, the grace of God was exceeding abundant towards this apostle, if you consider the period of time at which he thus became the subject of renewing and converting mercy. It was at the very moment when, with impetuous fury, he was proceeding to Damascus under the authority of the high priest to make havoc of the Church of God.
3. In the third place, the exceeding abundant grace of God was conspicuously manifest in the completeness of the change which was produced on his condition and character. It was a very remarkable change, because Paul the disciple presents a contrast so direct, so strong, and so striking, to Saul of Tarsus. Once more, the grace of God was exceeding abundant toward him if you consider the subsequent employment to which he was appointed, the eminent qualifications with which he was endowed, and the great success which attended him in his apostolic career.
III. The character to which the grace of God will always form those who are the subjects of it. With faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. The two grand characteristics of the apostle antecedently to his conversion, were his unbelief and his malignity. Now the character to which he was wrought by the operation of Divine grace on his heart, exhibits an entire contrast to these two characteristic qualities; for you find in him faith taking the place of unbelief, and love taking the place of malevolence; he becomes an entirely changed man, the principles of his whole conduct are completely altered. In closing this subject--
1. It offers hope to the most hopeless; I say hope to the most hopeless, because we have discovered that the grace of God is the spring and the source of mans salvation.
2. Let us examine, pointedly and seriously, whether we know anything of the grace of God which we have seen exemplified in so remarkable and transcendent a degree in the conversion of the apostle Paul. Has this grace reached your heart?
3. What gratitude do we owe for the manifestation of this grace, for the revelation of it to our sinful world? If the sun could be extinguished and blotted out from yonder heavens, it would be a less calamity inflicted on the natural world than if the doctrines of grace were banished from the Christian system. Let us close, therefore, by considering the animating and exhilarating prospect which the grace of God opens beyond the grave. (G. Clayton.)
Abundant grace.
Grace and its fruits are, you perceive, the two themes of the apostles thankfulness, as they should be the two great themes of our thankfulness.
I. Consider, in the first place, the grace of our Lord, which was exceeding abundant. If there was one theme on which Paul dwelt oftener, and lingered longer than others, it was this theme of Divine grace. He took pleasure in giving it prominence, and securing for it attention. It was with him a great central truth, from which other truths radiated, and towards which they again converged. It was a seminal truth, a seed out of which other truths sprang and grew. It was a foundation truth, on which he continued to build a structure of strength and holiness and beauty. In this respect, all saints are very much alike. By grace are ye saved. Grace is one form of Divine love. I say one form, because there are others. God loves Himself. He loves His perfect works--the high intelligencies that surround His throne. But this is a love of complacency. Grace is pity--it is love unconstrained by any governmental necessities--unmerited by any moral qualifications. It is worthy of notice that Paul characterizes the grace of God to himself as exceeding abundant. He adds one term to another for the purpose of expressing his sense of its freeness and fulness. This is a proper way of speaking. Nothing but grace, nothing but exceeding abundant grace, could have moved God to give His only begotten Son for the forgiveness of sins; nothing less than grace, exceeding abundant grace, could have converted and saved Isaac the son of faithful Abraham, and Samuel, for whom the devout Hannah prayed, and Solomon, brought up in the house of the man after Gods own heart, and Timothy, who had known the Scriptures from a child. However great our religious advantages, or excellent our character, or refined and elevated our tastes, the heart by nature is corrupt, and the life is bad, and nothing short of exceeding abundant grace can purify the former and rectify the latter. After all it comes to this, that every Christian finds in his own conversion the most illustrious manifestation of the grace of God. There is another peculiarity in Pauls language which we must not overlook. He speaks of the grace shown in his salvation as the grace of our Lord. By our Lord he evidently means the Lord Jesus Christ. Elsewhere he attributes his salvation to the Father; he recognizes, also, the sovereign agency of the Holy Spirit; here he refers, in an especial manner, as in other places, to our Lord Jesus Christ. He calls himself Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ; he says, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me. It was Christ who sent him to preach the gospel; and when in prison he was the prisoner of Jesus Christ; he could do all things through Christ, who strengthened him; he could say, with truth, I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ. For me to live is Christ. What a comment all this is on his saying to the Corinthians, For I am determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. The grace of our Lord, towards us and in us, has been exceeding abundant.
II. Now, let us consider the fruits of grace, of which Paul speaks--Faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. These two elements of Christian character are put, if you will look at the chapter, in opposition to the apostles previous character. Speaking of himself, in the preceding verse, he says, I, who was before a blasphemer, a persecutor, and injurious, did it ignorantly in unbelief, but now, instead of unbelief and blasphemy there is simple, yet strong faith, and instead of persecution and injury, there is ardent, self-denying love. Look at the reality and strength of the faith! It overturned all the prejudices of the mind fortified by parental example and early education. It made him bold as a lion in the advocacy of the Redeemers cause, before the philosophers and monarchs of the age. How ardent and consuming was this mans love. His love to Christ led him to renounce friends and fame; it burned out the old enmity of his heart against Jesus, and filled him with a consuming zeal. It prompted him to undertake the most arduous labours, it enabled him to endure hardships by sea and land, and to brave persecution by his countrymen. It was the great secret of his life and labours. What mean ye to weep and to break my heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. And to this supreme love to Jesus Christ, there was united a warm affection for His followers, a tender compassion for all mankind. He loved and enkindled love. Such were the fruits of a Divine grace in the apostle Paul, and just in proportion as that grace is in our hearts, will these fruits appear in us. Like causes produce like effects. Let us try ourselves to see whether or not we are partakers of the grace of God in truth. Observe, for a moment, the order in which the apostle places these Christian virtues--faith and love. Faith first, love second. We find this order in other parts of his writings; they are not by chance here--Faith which worketh by love. Let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love. You see how natural this order is. The sinner has, first, a believing apprehension of Christ. There can be no real love to Christ, or love to men for His sake, without faith in Him. You may admire His character, but you cannot feel that personal obligation and attachment which He demands. Burke could appreciate to some extent the philanthropic career of Howard; Pollock and Cowper could sing his praises; but how vastly different from their emotions towards the great philanthropist, was the love cherished by the prisoners whose lot he alleviated, and the distressed whose sorrows he removed. Remember this also--If you profess faith, you will show it by love. Faith which worketh by love. If you desire to know whether you believe in Christ, ascertain this by asking whether you love Christ. Paul mentions only faith and love as the fruits of Divine grace in Him. Not that these were the only fruits produced, but because these are the chief, and where these are found all the others will surely be found with them. The Christian virtues hang together like grapes in clusters. Where you find faith and love you will find also obedience, patience, purity, meekness, and everything that is excellent and of good report. (W. Walters.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 14. And the grace of our Lord abounded. In…
14. And the grace of our Lord abounded. In the mercy shown to him, for his eyes were opened, he became a believer and was filled with love of Christ.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.