1 Timothy 1:14

1Ti_1:14

And the grace of our Lord.

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.

1Ti 1:14. Ὑπερεπλεόνασε δὲ, and was exceeding abundant) He explains how he obtained mercy, namely, with faith, etc. The epistles to Timothy, in a peculiar degree, breathe this ‘abundance.’—ἡ χάρις, grace) by which I obtained mercy, 1Ti 1:13.—Κυρίου, of the Lord) Jesus.—μετὰ πίστεως, with faith) Its opposite is, in unbelief, 1Ti 1:13.—καὶ ἀγάπης, and love) Its opposite, as we have said, are the three, a blasphemer, a persecutor, a despiser. The words, mercy and grace (in 1Ti 1:13-14), correspond to each other. Unbelief and faith are opposed.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ti_1:14. The last words might be so explained as to weaken seemingly the divine grace; and therefore the apostle feels bound to set forth its abundant riches.

ὑπερεπλεόνασε δὲ ἡ χάρις κ.τ.λ.] The verb ὑπερπλεονάζειν only occurs here in the N. T., and is not current in classical Greek. The simple πλεονάζειν, with the classic writers, means: to be more, i.e. than the measure demands, therefore to go beyond the measure; but in several passages of the N. T. it has clearly the meaning: become more, therefore increase, grow larger. Comp. 2Th_1:3 (synon. with ὑπεραυξάνειν); Rom_5:20; Rom_6:1 (Meyer: accumulate); so also Php_4:17 and 2Co_4:15 (Meyer has there: become abundant … increase, and here: be increased). The prefix ὑπερ serves, with Paul, to strengthen the idea with which it is joined; thus ὑπεραυξάνει, 2Th_1:3; ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ, Eph_3:20; ὑπερλίαν, 2Co_11:5, al. In Rom_5:20, ὑπερεπερίσσευσεν seems to mean that the ἐπλεόνασεν ἡ ἁμαρτία was surpassed by the χάρις (so Meyer; Hofmann differs). If we assume here this reference of surpassing, we cannot regard ἠλεήθην as the thing surpassed. For χάρις cannot be regarded as something surpassing ἔλεος;[66] but ὑπερ in that case would have to be referred to τὸ πρότερον ὄντα βλάσφημον κ.τ.λ. Hence the apostles meaning in ὑπερεπλεόνασεν would be that grace was manifested to him in abundant measure, far surpassing his enmity (so in a former edition of this commentary); but in that case ἀλλὰ ἠλεήθην κ.τ.λ. would be parenthetical. It is more correct not to assume such a reference here, but to explain ὑπερπλεονάζειν: to go (abundantly) beyond the measure (Plitt, van Oosterzee, Hofmann). The apostle added ὑπερεπλ. ἡ χάρις to ἠλεήθην, because the latter expression did not seem enough to his mind, which was penetrated by the unbounded greatness of the grace he had experienced. It is as though he wrestles with speech in order to find some sufficient expression for the feeling which quite overpowers him (van Oosterzee). The particle δέ belongs to the relation of climax existing between the two clauses, as in Heb_12:6; it corresponds to the English yea or aye in a climax.[67]

ΜΕΤᾺ ΠΊΣΤΕΩς ΚΑῚ ἈΓΆΠΗς] The preposition ΜΕΤΆ with the genitive serves to connect the fact with the points that accompany it. ΠΊΣΤΙς and ἈΓΆΠΗ therefore are, properly speaking, not mentioned as results of the ΧΆΡΙς, but as blessings immediately connected with ΧΆΡΙς. They form, as de Wette says, the subjective side of the condition of grace. Leo is right, therefore, in saying: verbis ΜΕΤᾺ Κ.Τ.Λ. indicatur, Π. Κ. ἈΓ. quasi comites fuisse illius ΧΆΡΙΤΟς (so also Plitt and van Oosterzee); but he is wrong, if he means that Paul added these words to tell in what the grace was manifested as ὙΠΕΡΠΛΕΟΝΆΖΟΥΣΑ.

By ΠΊΣΤΙς Κ. ἈΓ. Ἡ ἘΝ ΧΡ. Ἰ. we are not to understand Gods faithfulness and love in Christ, nor the apostles endeavour to bring others to faith and love; nor, again, is ἘΝ to be explained by ΔΙΆ or by ΕἸς. The words Τῆς ἘΝ ΧΡ. Ἰ. are added to Τῆς ἈΓΆΠΗς, and mark the love as one that has its ground and middle-point in Christ (Matthies); cf. 2Ti_1:13. It is doubtful whether the addition is to be referred also to ΠΊΣΤΕΩς (for this Matthies, Plitt, van Oosterzee; against it, Hofmann); since ΠΊΣΤΕΩς does not properly require it, it might be better to limit the reference to ἈΓΆΠΗς.[68] In contrasting his former ἈΠΙΣΤΊΑ with his present increasing ΠΊΣΤΙς Κ. ἈΓ. (Heydenreich), Paul does not lose sight of the heresy which did not effect ΟἸΚΟΝΟΜΊΑ ΘΕΟῦ ἘΝ ΠΊΣΤΕΙ (1Ti_1:4), and had not the ἈΓΆΠΗ (1Ti_1:5) as its goal.

[66] Chrysostom: οὐκ ἐτιμωρήθην· ἠλεήθην γὰρ, ἀρʼ οὖν τοῦτο μόνον, καὶ μέχρι τούτου ὁ ἔλεος, τοῦ μὴ δοῦναι τιμωρίαν; οὐδαμῶς· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἕτερα πολλὰ καὶ μεγάλα, διὰ τοῦτο φησίν· ὑπερεπλ. ἡ χάρις, δηλῶν, ὅτι ὑπερέβη καὶ τὸν ἔλεον τὰ δῶρα· ταῦτα γὰρ οὐκ ἐλεοῦντός ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ φιλοῦντος καὶ σφόδρα ἀγαπῶντος. Similarly Leo. In this view the force of ἠλεήθην is arbitrarily weakened.

[67] Hofmann explains δέ as ranking another fact with the one already mentioned; but in ἠλεήθην and ὑπερεπλ. ἡ χάρις we have not two different facts, but one and the same factthough expressed in two different ways.

[68] Hofmann alleges against the connection with πίστεως, that ἐν would have a different meaning when joined with πίστεως; according to Eph_1:15; Col_1:4; but his reason is without force, as this other reference is here cut off by the intervening ἀγάπης.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ti 1:14 . ὑπερπλεονάζειν only occurs here in N.T.; but St. Paul constantly uses compounds with ὑπέρ . The comparative force of the ὑπέρ grace outweighing sin is brought out in Rom 5:15 sqq . In these passages at least it is not true, as Ellicott maintains, that ὑπέρ has a superlative ( abound exceedingly ) force.

τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν : The expression our Lord (without the addition of Jesus or Jesus Christ ), common in modern times, is rare in N.T. See reff. In 2Pe 3:15 it is not certain if the reference is to Christ, the Judge, or to the Father who determines the moment of His coming. In Rev 11:15 God the Father is meant.

Faith and love which is in Christ Jesus occurs again in 2Ti 1:13 . In both places the singular relative is improperly used for the plural. It is one of the writer’s habitual phrases; and therefore we cannot suppose any special relevance to the context in either of its constituent parts, though here Bengel contrasts faith with the unbelief ; and love with the blasphemer , etc., of 1Ti 1:13 . Faith and love , are the inward and outward manifestations respectively of the bestowal and realisation of grace.

πίστις ἐν χρ . Ἰησ . occurs Gal 3:26 , 1Ti 3:13 , 2Ti 3:15 . πίστις and ἀγάπη are also associated (in this order) in the first six reff.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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. Text via Bolls.life.

And--Greek, "But." Not only so (was mercy shown me), but

the grace--by which "I obtained mercy" (Ti1 1:13).

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.

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.

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.

(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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ver. 14. But the grace of our Lord superabounded— ὑπερεπλεόνασεν—not merely manifested itself in an act of mercy, and exhibition of undeserved goodness, as in the case of ordinary sinners, but overflowed, in a manner, its wonted channels, and like a mighty flood poured its gifts of love into his bosom. And with the wonderful grace received, the apostle couples the frame of mind awakened by it: with faith and love that are in Christ Jesus—the fruit, certainly, of the grace bestowed, yet, as De Wette justly notes, not indicated here precisely as the fruit, but rather as the concomitants of grace—the subjective side of a work of grace. While he continued a stranger to the grace of Christ, he was also without faith, in unbelief; and so far from being animated by a spirit of love, he pursued a course of blasphemy, persecution, . and outrage. But with grace came also faith and love, because by grace he was brought into living fellowship with Christ, the causal source and nourisher of both. There is a singular pregnancy in the passage, and also a profound Christian feeling pervading it, which leads the apostle to find all his springs in Christ, and in Christ as at once the embodiment of sovereign redeeming mercy, and the grand medium of its communication to the soul. In the strongest possible form he here again utters the confession, “By the grace of God I am what I am” (1Co 15:10; Eph 3:8).

Patrick Fairbairn — An Exposition of Ezekiel (1851), Jonah (1849), and The Pastoral Epistles (1874) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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.

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.

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.

14. ὑπερεπλεόνασεν. A rare word, not found elsewhere in N.T. or in the LXX.; it occurs in the Psalms of Solomon, 1Ti 5:19, and in Hermas, Mand. 1Ti 1:2. St Paul shews a marked inclination in all four groups of his letters for verbs compounded with ὑπέρ, e.g. ὑπεραυξάνω (2Th 1:3); ὑπερβαίνω (1Th 4:6); ὑπερεκτείνω (2Co 10:14), ὑπερεντυγχάνω (Rom 8:26); ὑπερνικάω (Rom 8:37); ὑπερυψόω (Php 2:9); ὑπερφρονέω (Rom 12:3); all of which are ἅπαξ λεγὁμενα in the N.T. Compare with the present passage ὑπερεπερίσσευσεν ἡ χάρις (Rom 5:20).

The simple title ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν, without the addition of Ἰησοῦς χριστός either before or after, is only used by St Paul here and at 2Ti 1:8; cp. Heb 7:14.

μετὰ πίστεως κ.τ.λ. Faith and love are the characteristic concomitants of the grace of our Lord. The best gifts of the grace which is from Christ are faith in Him, and love which, centred in Him, necessarily embraces all the members of that human family whose brotherhood is revealed in the Fact of the Incarnation. There is an intimate connexion between them; ἀγάπη μετἀ πίστεως is part of St Paul’s benediction at the close of the Ephesian letter (Eph 6:23); the breastplate ‘πίστεως καἰ ἀγάπης’ is part of the Christian panoply (1Th 5:8); it is indeed through ‘love’ that ‘faith’ manifests itself most plainly; cp. Gal 5:6, πίστις διʼ ἀγάπης ἐνεργουμένη. see on 1Ti 1:5 and Tit 2:2.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14.] but (contrast still to his former state, and epexegetical of ἠλεήθη;—not to ἠλεήθ.,—‘not only so, but,’ as Chr., De W., al.) the grace of our Lord (His mercy shewn to me—but not in strengthening me for His work, endowing me with spiritual gifts, &c., as Chr., al.: for the ἠλεήθην is the ruling idea through the whole, and he recurs to it again ver. 16, never having risen above it to that of his higher gifts) superabounded (to be taken not comparatively, but superlatively, see Rom 5:20, note) with (accompanied by) faith and love (see the same pauline expression, Eph 6:23, and note there) which are (τῆς probably improperly used by attraction for τῶν: there is no reason why πίστις as well as ἀγάπη should not be designated as ἐν χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ) in (as their element, and, as it were, home) Christ Jesus (all these three abounded—grace, the objective side of God’s ἔλεος to him:—Christian faith and love—the contrast to his former hatred and unbelief,—God’s gifts, the subjective side. This is much better than to regard μετὰ πίστεως καὶ ἀγάπης as giving that wherein the χάρις ὑπερεπλεόνασεν):

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. ὑπερεπλεόνασε] Here only in N.T., but found in Ps.-Sol 5:19; cf. Rom 5:20 ὑπερεπερίσσευσεν ἡ χάρις. ὕπερ = “above its usual measure,” rather than “rising higher than my sin.” This v. was the origin of the title of Bunyan’s autobiography, Grace Abounding.

μετὰ πίστεως] In contrast with ἀπιστία: ἀγάπης in contrast with βλ. καὶ δι. καὶ ὑβριστήν: cf. Tit 3:3.

τῆς ἐν χτῷ. Ἰησοῦ] Not the love shown by Christ Jesus, which is already implied in ἡ χάρις, but the true love which Christians feel, cf. 5 supra, and which is only felt in union with Christ, and is a reflection of His love; cf. Joh 15:9 μείνατε ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ τῇ ἐμῇ.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Was exceeding abundant [υπερεπλεονασεν] . Or abounded exceedingly. N. T. o. o LXX o Class. Paul is fond of compounds with uJper, which, with a few exceptions, are found only in his writings. In the pastorals there are only three. See 1Ti 2:2; 2Ti 3:2. With faith. For faith as treated in the Pastorals, see Introduction, and sound doctrine, ver. 10.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.