Titus 1:4 To Titus, my own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. I. THE GRACE OF GOD IS THE WHOLE SUFFICIENCY OF HIS PEOPLE. The first, middle, and last cause of every good thing conveyed unto them, or issuing from them: not once did the Lord enforce this point upon His own people, teaching them by things temporal, their spiritual estate and condition (Deuteronomy 7:7). II. ONLY THEY THAT ARE BY GRACE AND MERCY ACCEPTED OF GOD HAVE THEIR PORTION IN THIS PEACE HERE MENTIONED. 1. Peace, that is all kind of prosperity, is promised only to the godly. They shall prosper in everything; and the apostle pronounceth it, only upon the Israel of God. 2. It is accordingly bestowed upon those only that are justified by faith; seeing they only have peace with God, which is the principal part of it. 3. To show it to be a fruit of God's grace, sundry phrases in Scripture might be alleged; as that it is called the "peace of God," and that God is called the "God of peace"; as also that difference which is worthy to be observed between the salutations of the Old and New Testament. In, the Old Testament, grace and peace are never joined. The ordinary form of salutation was, "peace be with thee," "peace be to this house," "go in peace"; but the apostles, after the mystery of redemption was revealed and perfected before the ordinary salutation, prefix this word — grace, or mercy, or both; that as they are never joined in the Old Testament, so are they never separated in the New, to show that we cannot look to have one of them alone, or separate them, no more than we can safely sunder the branch from the root, or the stream from the fountain. (T. Taylor, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour. |
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