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I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief… Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
- 1 Timothy 1:12-13, 17
I’m often incredibly impressed by Paul. He looms so large in the biblical text, accounting for many of the incredible stories in Acts, as well as authoring nearly half of the New Testament books. The man’s a saint. An apostle of Christ. Responsible for many of the first church plants, allowing the Christian faith to spread throughout Africa and Europe. It would be easy for him to look at all those accomplishments—all the good things done for the sake of the gospel—with pride.
But Paul was not impressed with himself. He had a solid grasp of a very important truth: anything good he had done was purely because “the grace of our Lord was poured out on [him] abundantly” (vs. 14). He wasn’t impressed with himself, because he realized that nothing he had done was his work. It had all been done by Christ. It struck me, reading this passage, the way Paul set up the subjects and verbs of many of his sentences. I’ll show you a few. Notice the verbs for which Paul makes himself the subject compared to Christ.
[Christ] has given me strength.
[Christ] considered me… appointing me.
I was a blasphemer, persecutor, violent man.
I was shown mercy.
I acted in ignorance and unbelief.
[Christ] poured out grace.
Christ came to save.
I am the worst [sinner].
Christ displayed patience.
Paul is not impressed with himself at all. He was acutely aware of his faults, his sin, and his need for Christ. The subjects and verbs tell us something. If something was positive and good, it was because Christ was the subject—he performed that action. If it was negative and bad, it was because Paul was the subject. To give any credit to Paul would be entirely out of place. Praising him for his transformation and contributions would be like praising a museum’s tour guide for the incredible work of art on display. Can you imagine praising the tour guide as if he had produced the Mona Lisa? It would be embarrassing! I would want to ask, “You do realize who actually deserves the credit for this painting, right?”
Maybe some of us would prefer to revel in that false praise and glory. I’ve been tempted. Receiving credit and appreciation feels great! But if we are fully aware of the truth, receiving false credit feels horribly awkward. And the truth is that we are like Paul in at least one thing: anything good that comes out of our lives is purely because of the grace of our Lord, poured out abundantly on us. It’s his grace that drives us to worship him, to strive to be like him, to speak a kind word, even to refrain from lashing out! None of it is because we are good, but because his grace transforms us. He deserves the credit.
So may we join with Paul: now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen!
~ Pastor Tim