God’s Generosity.Titus 3:6-7.
Whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, So that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Dear Aliens and Strangers in this World,
The grace of God and the Holy Spirit are intertwined in that the application of saving grace is by the Holy Spirit. Having talked about the role of the Holy Spirit in the work of regeneration, Paul turns to the source of this boon.
Poured (v. 6). There is a sense in which the Holy Spirit is like a fluid. One soaks whatever one wants to by pouring the fluid onto it. God through Christ has poured the Holy Spirit out onto believers. Not only that, but he has done it liberally. As someone has said, the question is not whether we have enough of the Spirit but whether the Spirit has enough of us. The “shortage” of the Holy Spirit in the church is never a question of his availability but one of the availability of believers to him.
Pardoned (v. 7a). Justification is a wonderful thing. It means that despite our sins, God waives punishment. Grace is not only the mercy of not giving sinners what they deserve but also the generosity of giving them what they do not deserve. We stand before God justified – “just as if we’d never sinned.”
Provisioned (v. 7b). God has provided an eternal inheritance and given us hope for it. Hope in the New Testament is not a wish. No, it is a certainty. Because “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16), we are confident that we are heirs. So our hope is certain and not just a wish. Hope is only found in Christ, though. Everything else is just a wish.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.