Titus 3:4 Commentary and Bible Study

‘But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared.’ What a thought this is! The kindness and love of God, the mighty one, the holy one, the all-powerful one, the one whose presence is a consuming fire, destroying sin from his moral universe. And yet at the same time, he is love, and has this tender-hearted kindness toward man, and Christ has come, and the love of Christ has been shown to us, God’s people. The epiphany word is used for ‘appeared’. It suddenly came like the rising of the sun. That is how it came into most of our lives. Suddenly it dawned on us; suddenly we were illuminated; suddenly we were convicted of our need and sin. Some of us grew up in Christian homes. Some of us knew the gospel through and through, from being tiny children. But there was a time, maybe in teenage, maybe in early twenties – for some it wasn't until late fifties, in spite of a Christian upbringing – when it all dawned on you. The sun rose, and you understood it; you were illuminated and your heart melted instantly, and you went to your knees and felt your need: that is the language here. It appeared when Christ began his ministry; it appeared when he went to Calvary; it appeared at the time of the resurrection; of course, on the Day of Pentecost and the pouring out of the Spirit. There was the dawn of the gospel age. And it appeared in our hearts, suddenly.