Salvation Viewed from God's Side
Bp. Jackson. Titus 3:4-7 But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared,… In this passage, which is a brief but pregnant epitome of the gospel, the scheme of man's salvation is regarded only from the side on which it is wholly God's work, without taking note of the conditions and qualifications which, however much they too are God's work, are required from the cooperation of man. The apostle was dwelling on the truth that the change referred to in ver. 3 is not due to ourselves or our own merit, but to God's grace. He therefore had no occasion to allude here to the qualifications or stipulations required at baptism, nor to the faith by which man is justified, nor to "the working out his own salvation," which is one of the instruments by which the Holy Ghost renews us day by day, nor to the holiness which is the character and badge of the heirs of eternal life. All this is needed; but, viewed from God's side, it is not by anything which man has done or could do, but by His own free mercy that God has saved him. (Bp. Jackson.) Parallel Verses KJV: But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, WEB: But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared,