1 Timothy 1:12-20--Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners

1 Timothy 1:12-20
English Standard Version

Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners
12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

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Paul again mentions how Jesus appointed him to His service (as an apostle, specifically, the apostle to the Gentiles) despite how wicked he was in the past.  It was not for his own righteousness that he was chosen, but because of God's will and for His good pleasure that Paul was chosen.  He was a blasphemer, persecutor, and an insolent opponent, but God has made him something different.  This is what we call grace, that is, "God's unmerited favor."  Paul has told us in his other epistles that "It is by grace you have been saved, and this not of yourselves.  It is the gift of God, not of works, so that no man may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) Paul was not just saying that about the "little people," but even about himself as an apostle--he was saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

This is the reason that Christ came into the world--to save ruined sinners like you, me, and Paul who had zero chance of being able to save themselves.  Pau in humility identifies himself as the chief of sinners because he knows that he is a Law-breaker who has broken every part of the Law by breaking any part of it.  Not only did Paul receive grace, but now he says that he also received great mercy in that in him being the worst of sinners, he did not get the wrath of God that he deserved.  Instead, God's wrath and justice were poured out on Jesus in our place.  He took all the curses we deserved so that we might receive all the blessings that only He deserved.  This is called double-imputation and is summed up in this verse:  "He who knew no sin became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God.  (2 Corinthians 5:21).  Chief of these blessings is eternal life which belongs to all those who have the Son (which is evidenced by a transformed life where we become Law-keepers instead of Law-breakers).  Those who continue in slavery to sin saying that they "can't not sin" or they "must sin" are giving evidence that they do not belong to Christ and do not have eternal life (a summary of several places in the Gospel of John and the Epistle of 1 John).

You may recognize the doxology that Paul breaks out into here as the words of several different hymns and spiritual songs.  It is the perfect patience of Christ that leads to our eternal life that prompts Paul to break out in doxology.  God is the King of all ages (no one has been King before Him and no one will take His throne away from Him), immortal (He will never die), invisible (we don't see Him, but we know Him by Christ who is God incarnate and by what He does through the Holy Spirit who is at work within us), and He is the only God (no one and nothing else is deserving of our worship).  Paul finishes this section by commanding that all glory and honor both now and forevermore be given to God alone for all these enumerated reasons. 

There is then a sharp transition in the text as Paul directly charges Timothy in accordance with the prophecies made about Timothy (which don't seem to have been recorded for us in Scripture, but Paul and Timothy both knew what they were) to contend for the faith and to be strong and courageous in the face of false prophets and persecution coming from without and within.  Timothy was not to deviate from the true faith as some had done and Paul names some particular individuals who have made metaphorical shipwrecks of their faith and need to be turned over to Satan (probably speaking of being excommunicated for a time) so that they will repent and return to Christ instead of living lives that blaspheme the name of God and His gospel.