Titus 3:4 Yet when…

Yet when the kindness and fondness for humanity of our Saviour, God, made its advent…

In very dark tones, Paul painted the moral condition of mankind in the preceding verse. This is because of the great contrast of the “Yet when!” of verse 4 to come true. It is against a pitch black background that “the kindness and fondness of humanity of our Savior God made its advent.” The condition of mankind seemed lost and hopeless, but that is precisely what gives the reversal from verse 4 all the more shine. Verse 4 tells when that turnaround took place (“whe”) and verse 5 tells how it went (“according to His mercy”).

In contrast to the “hating one another” of mankind (:3) is “the kindness… of our Savior God”. Or as older translations say: the lovingkindness. It is mentioned in the same breath with a word we know as philanthropy. Literally it means ‘affection for people’. It explains why our God is Savior: He loves mankind. Not because of their disposition and actions, but in spite of it. God’s heart beats for the crown of His creation: man.

The kindness and humanity of God are not abstractions. It made its advent. The world nailed God’s Son to a pole, but God raised Him up to give Life to that same world. God’s philanthropy knows no bounds!

Delen: