fondness of mankind · noun — nominative singular feminine
God
θεοῦ,theou
G2316
figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
our
ἡμῶνhēmōn
G2257
of (or from) us
Saviour
σωτῆροςsōtēros
G4990
a deliverer · noun — genitive singular masculine
man
φιλανθρωπίαphilanthrōpía
G5363
fondness of mankind
appeared
ἐπεφάνηepephanē
G2014
to shine upon · verb — second aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Ephesians 2:4-10 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Titus 2:10-11 Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
1 Timothy 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that…
Romans 5:20-21 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Romans 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repenta…
2 Timothy 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to li…
Hebrews 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away si…
1 Timothy 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Titus 3:1-8
Here is the fourth thing in the matter of the epistle. The apostle had directed Titus in reference to the particular and special duties of several sorts of persons; now he bids him exhort to what concerned them more in common, namely, to quietness and submission to rulers, and readiness to do good, and to equitable and gentle behaviour towards all men - things comely and ornamental of religion; he must therefore put them in mind of such things. Ministers are people's remembrancers of their duty. As they are remembrancers for the people to God in prayers (Isa 62:6), so are they from God to them in preaching: I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance, Pe2 1:12. Forgetfulness of…
To show how little reason the Cretan Christians had to be proud of themselves, and despise others not Christians (see on Tit 3:2-3). It is to the "kindness and love of God," not to their own merits, that they owe salvation.
kindness--Greek, "goodness," "benignity," which manifests His grace.
love . . . toward man--teaching us to have such "love (benevolence) toward man" (Greek, "philanthropy"), "showing all meekness unto all men" (Tit 3:2), even as God had "toward man" (Tit 2:11); opposed to the "hateful and hating" characteristics of unrenewed men, whose wretchedness moved God's benevolent kindness.
of God our Saviour--Greek, "of our Saviour God," namely, the Father (Tit 1:3), who "sa…
But after that the kindness and love of God - By χρηστοτης we may understand the essential goodness of the Divine nature; that which is the spring whence all kindness, mercy, and beneficence proceed.
Love toward man - Φιλανθρωπια· Philanthropy. It is to be regretted that this attribute of the Divine nature, as it stands in relation to man, should have been entirely lost by a paraphrastical translation. Philanthropy is a character which God gives here to himself; while human nature exists, this must be a character of the Divine nature. God loves man; he delighted in the idea when formed in his own infinite mind, he formed man according to that idea, and rejoiced in the work of his hands; when…
The Church Fathers
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. kindness and love of God our Savior appeared. Through His incarnation. not because of works done by us in righteousness. Not because, Paul says, we live so religiously as to urge him to become incarnate, but because God himself wished to have mercy on us, being unworthy. works done by us. For we did not do it.
Every kind of help comes to our souls through Christ. Various appropriate titles have been devised for each particular kind of care. When he presents a blameless soul to himself, a soul which like a pure virgin has neither spot nor wrinkle, he is called Bridegroom. But when he receives someone paralyzed by the devil's evil strokes and heals the heavy burden of his sins, he is called Physician. Because he cares for us, will this make us think less of him? Or will we not be struck with amazement at our Savior's mighty power and love for mankind, who patiently endured to suffer our infirmities with us and condescended to our weakness? No heaven, or earth, or the great oceans, or all creatures living in the waters and on dry land, or plants, stars, air, or seasons or the vast expanse of the universe can illustrate the surpassing greatness of God's might so well as he has himself. The infinite God, remaining changeless, assumed flesh and fought with death, freeing us from suffering by his own suffering!
Accordingly let those men cease their complaints who with disloyal murmurs speak against the dispensations of God, and babble about the lateness of the Lord's Nativity as if that, which was fulfilled in the last age of the world, had no bearing upon the times that are past. For the Incarnation of the Word did but contribute to the doing of that which was done: and the mystery of man's salvation was never in the remotest age at a standstill. What the apostles foretold, that the prophets announced: nor was that fulfilled too late which has always been believed. But the Wisdom and Goodness of God made us more receptive of His call by thus delaying the work which brought salvation: so that what through so many ages had been foretold by many signs, many utterances, and many mysteries, might not be doubtful in these days of the Gospel: and that the Saviour's nativity, which was to exceed all wonders and all the measure of human knowledge, might engender in us a Faith so much the firmer, as the foretelling of it had been ancient and oft-repeated.
Dictionary and topics
Love Of God, The · Manifested towards: Perishing sinners — Manifested towards: Perishing sinners
Loving-Kindness Of God, The · Is through Christ — Is through Christ
Testimony · 3:4-14; — 3:4-14;
Trinity · 3:16; — 3:16;
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
But after that,.... After all this series and course of wickedness; notwithstanding all this foolishness, disobedience, deception, bondage to sin, envy, malice, and malignity; or "when" all this was, as the word may be rendered, amidst all this iniquity; when these persons were in the full career of sin, and so had done no preparatory works, or had any previous qualifications and dispositions for the grace of God:
the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared; unto them; and the Ethiopic version adds, "unto us". The apostle takes the advantage of the above character of himself, and others in their former state, to set off and magnify the grace of God in their conversion; so c…
Titus 3:4-7
4. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
4. cum autem benignitas et humanitas apparuit salvatoris nostri Dei
5. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
5. non ex operibus iustitiae quae fecimus nos sed secundum suam misericordiam salvos nos fecit per lavacrum regenerationis et renovationis Spiritus Sancti
6. Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
6. quem effudit in nos abunde per Iesum Christum salvatorem nostrum
7. That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope o…
This passage might be a summary or quote from traditional teaching (see 1 Tim 1:15; 2:5-6).
3:4 We should behave toward our compatriots as God acted toward us—in kindness and love. God’s salvation makes this possible. • revealed (literally appeared): The Greek word relates to the coming of Christ (also in 2:11, 13; see study note on 1 Tim 6:14).