Titus 3:4-5 4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5not by works for righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
These are some of the clearest and most concise verses in the Bible about salvation. Because of God’s grace and saving plan in Christ, there is hope for the chaos of verse 3. God has intervened through grace and created a new possibility in Christ. Paul again (2:11, 13) uses the verb “appear” (epephanē) in reference to this plan. What has appeared are kindness and love. Kindness is one of God’s characteristics and is a manifestation of his grace towards us (Romans 2:4; Ephesians 2:7). The word for love is directly brought over in the English in the word “philanthropy” (philanthrōpia), a “love for humanity.” These terms were also used for virtues of good rulers. The sovereign God has intervened into human history as the benevolent ruler with the message of salvation. When this opening phrase of verse 4 is added to the appearance of salvation in 2:11, it is clear that Jesus Christ is the instrument through whom we experience this gifts of God. God as Savior is an important theme in this letter. Paul calls both God as our Savior (1:3; 2:10) and Jesus as our Savior (1:4; 2:13; 3:6). Both Father and Son provide this salvation.
The key thought of verses 4-7 comes in the phrase, he saved (esōsen) us. This verb comes later in the middle of verse 5. The word order in the Greek emphasizes the condition: salvation does not come by our own effort but by God’s mercy. Paul knew first-hand the futility of trying to be righteous by one’s own effort (Romans 9:30-32; Ephesians 2:9; Philippians 3:4-7). Righteousness (dikaiosynē) is important in the Bible. It is a key characteristic of God who expects those in relationship with him also to have. God reveals righteousness through his commandments. The fundamental problem is that no one can be righteous enough to earn salvation because of the pervasive problem of sin (Romans 3:20, 23). Works of righteousness should be the result of God’s grace in our lives, not the cause. The only source of salvation that can remedy the sin problem is God’s mercy. Mercy (eleos) is an aspect of God’s love and is not deserved but freely given (Ephesians 2:4).
We experience God’s mercy in salvation through a special form of washing. Washing (loutrou) refers to cleansing and purification. This could be in reference to the symbolic cleansing with water through baptism or an inner purification from sin through faith. Outer baptism represents the inner purification. The context of this verse suggests that Paul is thinking of the inner work of the Holy Spirit. The washing of the Holy Spirit results in rebirth (palingenesias). This word is made up of two parts: “to be made” and “again.” It is closely related to the new birth described by Jesus in John 3:5-7. Renewal (anakainōseōs) is almost synonymous with rebirth and refers to the change Jesus brings in the life of a Christian (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 5:17). The source of all three is clear: the Holy Spirit. We are born again by the Spirit. The Spirit brings transformation into the image of the Savior, Jesus, who is the perfect representation and embodiment of God’s plan for humanity. Paul has essentially revealed his Trinitarian thinking in these verses.
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