Titus 3:6

Tit 3:6. Οὗ) Πνεύματος Ἁγίου—διὰ, through) This depends on He saved, etc., Tit 3:5; as the conjugates saved and Saviour prove. [Through Jesus our Saviour is not to be connected, as in Engl. Vers., with He shed on us.]

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

Tit 3:6 . οὗ ἐξέχεεν : Joe 3:1 (Joe 2:28 ) is the passage alluded to. Cf. in addition to reff. given above, Act 10:45 , Rom 5:5 , Gal 4:6 . The οὗ refers of course to πνεύματ . ἁγ . by attraction, not to ἀνακαινώσεως . All gifts of the Holy Spirit that come through Jesus Christ are a continuation of the Pentecostal outpouring. The aorist is due to the Apostle’s thought of that occasion, although the ἡμᾶς shows that the immediate reference is to the experience of St. Paul and other Christians.

διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ : to be connected with ἐξέχεεν . See Joh 15:26 , Act 2:33 . The finished work of Jesus Christ was the necessary pre-condition to His effusion of the Holy Spirit.

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

Which--the Holy Ghost.

he shed--Greek, "poured out"; not only on the Church in general at Pentecost, but also "on us" individually. This pouring out of the Spirit comprehends the grace received before, in, and subsequently to, baptism.

abundantly--Greek, "richly" (Col 3:16).

through Jesus Christ--the channel and Mediator of the gift of the Holy Ghost.

our Saviour--immediately; as the Father is mediately "our Saviour." The Father is the author of our salvation and saves us by Jesus Christ.

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 6. Which he shed on us abundantly] ου εξεχεεν. Which he poured out on us, as the water was poured out on them in baptism, to which there is here a manifest allusion; but as this was sometimes only sprinkled on the person, the heavenly gift was poured out, not in drops, but πλουσιως, richly, in great abundance.

Through Jesus Christ] Baptism is nothing in itself; and there had been no outpouring of the Holy Spirit, had there been no saving and atoning Christ. Through him alone all good comes to the souls of men.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. Which he shed, (or, whom he shed.) In the Greek, the relative may apply either to the “washing” or to the “Spirit;” for both of the nouns — λουτρόν and Πνεῦμα — are neuter. It makes little difference as to the meaning; but the metaphor will be more elegant, if the relative be applied to λουτρόν the “washing” Nor is it inconsistent with this opinion, that all are baptized without any distinction; for, while he shews that the “washing” is “shed,” he speaks not of the sign, but rather of the thing signified, in which the truth of the sign exists.

When he, says, abundantly, he means that, the more any of us excels in the abundance of the gifts which he has received, so much the more is he under obligations to the mercy of God, which alone enriches us; for in ourselves we are altogether poor, and destitute of everything good. If it be objected that not all the children of God enjoy so great abundance, but, on the contrary, the grace of God drops sparingly on many; the answer is, that no one has received so small a measure that he may not be justly accounted rich; for the smallest drop of the Spirit (so to speak) resembles an ever-flowing fountain, which never dries up. It is therefore a sufficient reason for calling it “abundance,” that, how small soever the portion that has been given to us it is never exhausted.

Through Jesus Christ It is he alone in whom we are adopted; and therefore, it is he alone, through whom we are made partakers of the Spirit, who is the earnest and witness of our adoption. Paul therefore teaches us by this word, that the Spirit of regeneration is bestowed on none but those who are the members of Christ.

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.

(6) Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.—In other words, which—namely, the Holy Ghost—the Father poured abundantly on us through Jesus Christ cur Saviour. The argument continues thus: He (God) saved us first by the laver of regeneration and of renewal of the Holy Ghost, which God—he proceeds to say—shed (or poured out) abundantly on us, and this constant renewal of the Holy Ghost poured out on the heart of each individual believer was owing to the mediation of Jesus Christ, without whose blessed atonement this effusion of the Holy Spirit never had taken place. In this verse the several operations of each of the Persons of the blessed Trinity are clearly set forth.

It is the Father who is ever pouring out upon us the Holy Ghost. It is owing to the Son’s atonement and intercession that this blessed outpouring takes place at all. It is the Holy Ghost poured out on us abundantly who builds us up in the new life, and trains us for the glories of eternity. Here the “Son” is given the same title of “Saviour,” which, in the preceding verse (Tit_3:5), was applied to the “Father.” The appellation belongs to both the First and Second Persons of the blessed Trinity, inasmuch as the Father may be said to have been the architect of our salvation, while the Son was its builder.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. which he shed on us abundantly] More closely in R.V. which he poured out upon us richly; the verb is the same, in the same tense, as in Act_2:33, ‘he hath poured forth this’; the aorist there being used according to Greek idiom of what has just happened, here of God’s objective act once for all, in which all His successive giving was potentially included.

through Jesus Christ our Saviour] ‘As its channel and medium,’ Alford. ‘All the spiritual Blessings of the New birth, and of the New life, are represented as flowing down to us from and out of the one fountain and well-spring of the love of God the Father; and are all derived to us through God the Son, God and Man, Who is the sole channel of all grace to men; and are applied to us personally by the agency of God the Holy Ghost. All these Blessings come to us through the Incarnation of God the Son, Who took our nature and died for us, and washed us from our sins by His blood. And the Incarnation is, as it were, the point of contact at which the Channel of Filial Grace joins on to the Well-spring of Paternal Love. And the point of contact at which the living water of Grace, which flows from the Well-spring of Paternal Love through the Filial channel of Grace, is poured forth into our souls is in the laver of our New Birth in Baptism.’ Wordsworth.

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.

Which he shed on us abundantly,.... "Or richly"; either which love he shed abroad in the hearts of those whom he regenerated and renewed by his Spirit; or which water of regeneration, that is, grace, comparable to water, he plentifully shed, and caused to abound where sin had done; or rather whom, or which Holy Spirit, with his gifts and graces, such as faith, hope, and love, and every other, he poured forth in great abundance on them; see Isa 44:3

through Jesus Christ our Saviour; the love and kindness of God the Father our Saviour, comes through him; the mercy of God streams through him; the salvation itself is by, and through him; the grace communicated in regeneration and renovation is out of his fulness; the Spirit himself is given forth from him; and every supply of grace, by which the work is carried on, comes out of his hands; and everything wrought in us, that is well pleasing in the sight of God, is through him; and even the gift of God, eternal life itself.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

Ver. 6. Which he shed] Gr. εξεχεεν, Poured out (as it were by pail fulls) his Spirit (the best thing) upon all flesh (the basest thing), Joe 2:28.

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.

Which he shed on us - Greek, “Which he poured out on us” - ἐξέχην exechēn; see the notes at Act 2:17. The same Greek word is used there as here. It occurs also in the same sense in Act 2:18, Act 2:33.

Abundantly - Margin, as in Greek, “richly.” The meaning is, that the Holy Spirit had been imparted in copious measure in order to convert them from their former wickedness. There is no particular allusion here to the day of Pentecost, but the sense is, that the Holy Spirit had been imparted richly to all who were converted, at any time or place, from the error of their ways. What the apostle says here is true of all who become Christians, and can be applied to all who become believers in any age or land,

Through Jesus Christ our Saviour - See Notes, Act 2:33.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

All presumption of human merits, which have not the grace of Jesus Christ for their principle, is here completely confounded; and the whole glory of our salvation is justly attributed to the mercy of God, through Jesus Christ. A new birth, new creature, new spirit. The effusion of the water upon the body in baptism, is a figure of the salutary effusion of the holy Spirit in the soul to renew it, and to make it a child of God.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Which Holy Spirit, as well for the renewing of us, as for the collation of more common or extraordinary gifts, God poured out upon us

abundantly, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. Which—Refers not to washing, but to Holy Ghost. Spiritually, our regeneration is wrought by the shedding, or affusion, of the Holy Ghost; by parity, corporeally, we are regenerated by the affusion of the baptismal element. If baptism by water is duly to picture and symbolize God’s baptism by the Holy Spirit, the water must be shed by affusion on us.

Abundantly—Literally richly, not only in quantity but in affluent value and gracious liberality.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Poured out upon us richly for shed on us abundantly, A.V Which (ou); viz. the Holy Ghost. It is in the genitive (instead of the accusative o , which is another reading), by what he grammarians call attraction. Poured out (execeen); the same word as is applied to the Holy Ghost in Act_2:17, Act_2:18, Act_2:33, and in the LXX of Joe_2:28, Joe_2:29. Richly (plousiwv); as 1Ti_6:17 Col_3:16 2Pe_1:11. (compare the use of ploutov in Eph_1:7 Eph_2:7) Through Jesus Christ. It is our baptism into Christ which entitles us to receive the Holy Spirit, which we have only in virtue of our union with him. The Spirit flows from the Head to the members. In Act_2:33, 34 Christ is said to have received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, and to have poured it forth upon the Church.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ver. 6. Having named the Holy Spirit as the efficient author of the renovation accomplished in believers, the apostle goes on to indicate, in further proof of the lovingkindness and mercy of God in the matter of our salvation, the copiousness of the gift; it is bestowed, not with a grudging, but with a free and benignant hand: which He poured out (οὗ ἐξέχεεν, the οὗ by attraction with the preceding Πνεύματος ἁγίου, not in any way dependent on λουτροῦ) on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour. The form of expression is derived from the language of Old Testament prophecy (Joe 2:28; Zec 12:10), adopted by the apostles at the commencement of the New Testament church (Act 2:17, Act 2:33, Act 10:45)—language proceeding on the similitude of the Spirit’s grace to quickening and refreshing streams of water. As such He is represented, not simply as given, but as poured out,—nay, poured out richly, in order to convey some idea of the plenteous beneficence of the gift. This rich bestowal is peculiar to New Testament times; and here, as elsewhere, it is expressly connected with the mediation of Christ, who as Saviour has opened the way for it, and Himself sends forth the Spirit as the fruit of His work on earth, and the token of its acceptance with the Father (Joh 14:16, Joh 14:26, Joh 16:7; Luk 24:49; Gal 4:6; Eph 4:7-11). So that the whole Trinity appears here as concurring in the blessed work of our salvation: we are saved by God the Father, through the ministration of His life-giving ordinances, rendered such by the presence and agency of the Holy Spirit; and this, again, proceeds on the ground of what was done for us by Christ as our Saviour, and what He still does in mediating between us and the Father respecting the bestowal of the Spirit. Such a style of representation could never have been used unless Father, Son, and Spirit had been co-ordinate agents in the work of salvation. And as regards the more specific topic in this verse—the, rich outpouring of the Spirit—there can be no doubt that, as the apostle is speaking more immediately of the salvation of individuals, it must be primarily understood with reference to this, though still of this only as a part of that general effusion of the Spirit’s grace which commenced on the day of Pentecost. The individual, in such a case, cannot be viewed apart from the general; and it is needless here to distinguish minutely between the two.

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

Saviour

(See Scofield "Rom 1:16").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That is, which Holy Spirit was in its gifts and graces plentifully poured forth upon us, and dwelleth in us, not essentially, but energetically, illuminating, guiding, strengthening, and confirming of us: and the end of God herein is, That being justified by his grace, that is, by faith in his Son, we should be made heirs of eternal life, according to the hope which the promises of God have given us thereof.

Learn hence, 1. That all the grace which is so plentiful poured forth upon believers, is by the means and mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Learn, 2. That justification being a sinner’s absolution from guilt and punishment by the satisfaction of Christ the Redeemer, is yet an act of special grace and free favour in God, That being justified by his grace.

Learn, 3. That it is the blessed privilege of all justified persons, that they are now heirs to, and shall ere long be possessors of, eternal life; they shall ere long have in hand, what they now possess in hope: Being justified by grace, we are heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. Which. The Holy Spirit. Shed on us abundantly. On the church. On some even in miraculous measure. See Acts 2:1–10.

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.

richly poured the Holy Spirit on us

It is common for New Testament writers to speak of the Holy Spirit as a liquid that God can pour out in large amounts. AT: "gave the Holy Spirit to us generously" (See: Metaphor)

through our Savior Jesus Christ

"when Jesus saved us"

having been justified

This can be stated in active form. AT: "since God has declared us to be without sin" (See: Active or Passive)

we might become heirs with the certain hope of eternal life

The people to whom God has made promises are spoken of as if they were to inherit property and wealth from a family member. (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

God

Holy Spirit

Savior

Jesus

just

grace

eternity

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

6. οὖ ἐξέχεεν ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς πλουσίως, which, sc. the Holy Spirit, He, sc. God the Father, the subject of the whole sentence, poured out upon us richly.

By the ordinary rules of attraction, οὖ is attracted into the case of the immediately preceding genitive, to which it refers.

The verb ἐκχέειν is the verb used to signify the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Act 2:17 (Joe 3:1) and 33. In the former passage the occasion was the Day of Pentecost; here the reference is to that outpouring of grace in baptism which is always pledged to the penitent and faithful soul: cp. Act 2:38.

διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν. This is closely connected with the preceding ἐξέχεεν and not, of course, with the more distant ἔσωσεν of Tit 3:5. The co-operation of all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity in the work of grace is tersely and pregnantly expressed in this short verse. If the Father is σωτήρ (Tit 3:4, see on 1Ti 1:1), so also the Son is σωτήρ, in a sense undreamed of under the Old Covenant.

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.

6.] which (attr.; not = ἐξ οὗ, as Heydenr. οὗ, viz. the Holy Spirit, not λουτροῦ, as even De W. confesses, who yet maintains the dependence of both genitives on λουτροῦ) He poured out (reff.) on us richly (again, it is mere waste of time to debate whether this pouring out be the one general one at Pentecost, or that in the heart of each individual believer: the one was God’s objective act once for all, in which all its subjective exemplifications and applications were potentially enwrapped) through (as its channel and medium, He having purchased it for us, and made the pouring out possible, in and by His own blessed Sacrifice in our nature) Jesus Christ our Saviour (which title was used of the Father above: of Him,—ultimately: of our Lord, immediately: “Pater nostræ salutis primus auctor, Christus vero opifex, et quasi artifex,” as Justiniani in Ellicott, whose own remarks are well worth consulting),

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

6. ἐξέχεεν] recalling Joe 2:28 (ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου) as used by St. Peter in Act 2:17; Act 2:33; so with primary reference to Pentecost, but to Pentecost as an abiding reality affecting each Christian.

πλουσίως] cf. Eph 2:4. “abunde,” Vulg.; “ditissime,” Theod., sufficient for all men (Cf. 2:11), and for all the needs of each: “ad opulentiam sufficit quod, quantulumcunque nobis detur, nunquam deficiat” (Calvin). διὰἸης. Χρ.; cf. Act 2:33. τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν. His work is at once placed on a level with God’s; cf. 2:13 n.

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

Shed [εξεχεεν] . Or poured forth. Only here in Pastorals. Most frequent in Revelation. The pouring out of the Spirit is an 0. T. metaphor. See Joe 3:1, 2, cit. in Act 2:17, 18; Zec 12:10. In Paul the verb occurs but once, of shedding blood, Rom 3:15, cit.

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