Homily 4 — First Timothy 1, verses 15 and 16

“This is a trustworthy saying, and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But for this reason I received mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might display all his patience, as a pattern to those who would afterward believe in him for eternal life.” [a]

The gifts of God so far exceed human hope and expectation that people often do not believe them. For God has given us things the human mind never looked for and never imagined. That is why the apostles spend so many words on making us believe in the gifts God has granted us. When people receive some great good, they ask themselves whether it is not a dream, because they cannot believe it; and so it is with the gifts of God. What, then, was it that seemed unbelievable? That those who had been enemies and sinners, counted righteous neither by the law nor by works, should at once, through faith alone, be raised to the highest favor. Paul has spoken at length on this point in his letter to the Romans, and here again he speaks at length. “This is a trustworthy saying,” he says, “and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”

Since this was what chiefly drew the Jews, he persuades them not to cling to the law, since they could not reach salvation by it without faith. This is what he contends against. For it seemed unbelievable to them that a man who had wasted his whole former life in empty and wicked deeds should afterward be saved by his faith alone. That is why he says, “It is a saying to be believed.” [b]

But some not only disbelieved it; they even raised objections, as the Greeks do now. “Let us do evil, then, that good may come.” This was the conclusion they drew, to ridicule our faith, from his words, “Where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 3, verse 8, and 5, verse 20). So when we speak to them of hell, they say: “How can this be worthy of God? When a man finds his servant doing wrong, he forgives him and thinks him worthy of pardon — and does God punish forever?” And when we speak of the washing, and of the forgiveness of sins through it, they say that this too is unworthy of God: that someone who has committed countless offenses should have his sins forgiven. What a perverse mind this is! What a quarrelsome spirit it shows! Surely, if forgiveness is an evil, punishment is a good; but if punishment is an evil, then forgiving it is a good. I am speaking according to their notions; by ours, both are good. This I will show at another time, for the present occasion would not be enough for a matter so deep, one that needs careful argument. I must set it before your love at a fitting time. For now let us go on with the subject before us. “This is a trustworthy saying,” he says. But why is it to be believed?

That is clear both from what comes before and from what follows. See how he prepares us for this statement, and then how he dwells on it. He had already declared that God showed mercy to him, “a blasphemer and a persecutor”; that was by way of preparation. And not only did God show mercy, but “he counted me faithful.” So far, he means, should we be from doubting that God showed mercy. For no one who saw a prisoner brought into a palace could doubt whether he had received mercy. And this was plainly Paul’s own situation, for he makes himself the example. He is not ashamed to call himself a sinner; rather, he delights in it, since this is how he can best show the wonder of God’s care for him, and that God had thought him worthy of such extraordinary kindness. [e]

But how is it that here he calls himself a sinner, and even the foremost of sinners, when elsewhere he claims that “as to the righteousness which is in the law” he was “blameless” (Philippians 3, verse 6)? Because compared with the righteousness God has brought about — the righteousness that is truly sought — even those who are righteous by the law are sinners. “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3, verse 23). That is why he does not say righteousness simply, but “the righteousness which is in the law.” A man who has gained wealth seems rich when he is measured against himself, but compared with the treasures of kings he is very poor, the foremost of the poor. So it is here. Compared with the angels, even righteous people are sinners. And if Paul, who carried out the righteousness that is in the law, was the foremost of sinners, what other man can be called righteous? He does not say this to condemn his own life as impure — let no one imagine that. Rather, comparing his own righteousness under the law with the righteousness of God, he shows that it is worth nothing; and not only that, he proves that those who have it are sinners.

Verse 16: “But for this reason I received mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might display all his patience, as a pattern to those who would afterward believe in him for eternal life.” [f]

See how he humbles and lowers himself still further, by naming a new and less flattering reason. To say that he received mercy because of his ignorance does not so much imply that the one who received it was a sinner, or under heavy condemnation. But to say that he received mercy so that no sinner afterward would despair of finding mercy, but that each would feel sure of receiving the same favor — this is humility carried to the extreme. Even when he called himself the foremost of sinners, “a blasphemer and a persecutor,” and “not fit to be called an apostle,” he had said nothing like it.

An example will make this clear. Suppose there is a populous city whose inhabitants are all wicked, some more and some less, but all deserving condemnation. And let one man in that crowd deserve punishment more than all the rest, guilty of every kind of wickedness. If it were announced that the king was willing to pardon everyone, it would not be believed so readily as if they saw this most wicked wretch actually pardoned. Then there could be no more doubt. This is what Paul is saying: God, wanting to give people full assurance that he pardons all their wrongdoings, chose as the object of his mercy the man who was more a sinner than anyone. When I received mercy, he argues, there could be no doubt about the others. As we might say in everyday speech, “If God pardons a man like that, he will never punish anybody.” And so he shows that he himself, though unworthy of pardon, received it first for the sake of the salvation of others. So, he says, since I am saved, let no one doubt that he can be saved.

And notice the humility of this blessed man. He does not say “that in me he might display his patience,” but “all his patience.” It is as though he said: God could not show greater patience in any case than in mine, nor find a sinner who so needed all his pardon and all his patience — not a part of it, as with those who are only partly sinners, but “all” his patience.

“As a pattern to those who would afterward believe.” This is said for comfort and encouragement. But since he had spoken so highly of the Son, and of the great love he has shown, he gives the glory to the Father as well, so that he would not seem to shut the Father out of it. [g]

Verse 17: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

For these things, then, we glorify not the Son only, but the Father too. Here let us argue with the heretics. Speaking of the Father, he says, “To the only God.” Is the Son, then, not God? “The only immortal.” Is the Son, then, not immortal? Or does he not himself possess what he will one day give to us? “Yes, he is God and immortal, but not as the Father is.” What then? Is he of a lower being, and so of a lower immortality? What is a greater and a lesser immortality? Immortality is nothing other than not being subject to destruction. There is a greater and a lesser glory, but immortality does not admit of more or less, any more than there is a greater and a lesser health. A thing must either be destructible or wholly indestructible. Are we human beings, then, immortal as he is? Far from it! Surely not! Why? Because he has it by nature, and we have it as something added to us from outside. Why, then, do you make the difference? “Because the Father is made what he is by no one else, but the Son is what he is from the Father.” This we confess too, and we do not deny that the Son is begotten of the Father without any corruption. And we glorify the Father, Paul means, for having begotten such a Son. So you see that the Father is most glorified when the Son has done great things, for the glory of the Son goes back again to him. And since he begot him almighty, and such as he is in himself, it is no more the glory of the Son than of the Father that the Son is sufficient in himself, sustains himself, and is free from all weakness.

It has been said of the Son, “Through whom he made the worlds” (Hebrews 1, verse 2). Now among us a distinction is drawn between creating and doing the work. One works and toils and carries out the task; another rules. And why? Because the one who carries it out is the inferior. But it is not so there. The rule does not belong to one and the work to the other. When we hear, “Through whom he made the worlds,” we do not shut the Father out of creation; nor, when we say, “To the King immortal,” do we deny rule to the Son. These things are common to the one and the other; each belongs to both. The Father created, in that he begot the Son who creates; the Son rules, as Lord of all created things. For he does not work for pay, or under the orders of others, as workmen do among us, but out of his own goodness and love for humankind. But has the Son ever been seen? No one can claim that. What, then, is meant by “To the King immortal, invisible, the only wise God”? Or what is meant when it is said, “There is no other name by which we must be saved,” and again, “There is salvation in no other” (Acts 4, verse 12)?

“To him be honor and glory forever. Amen.” [j]

Now honor and glory are not mere words. Since he has honored us not with words only but with what he has done for us, let us honor him with works and deeds. Yet this honor benefits us, while it does not reach him. He does not need the honor that comes from us; we do need the honor that comes from him.

So in honoring him we honor ourselves. Whoever opens his eyes to gaze on the light of the sun takes delight himself as he admires the beauty of that star, but he does the sun no favor and adds nothing to its brightness, for it stays what it was. Much more is this true of God. Whoever admires and honors God does it for his own salvation and his own highest good. How? Because he pursues virtue, and is honored by God. For “those who honor me,” he says, “I will honor” (First Samuel 2, verse 30). How, then, is God honored, if he gains nothing from our honor? In the same way that he is said to hunger and thirst. He takes on everything that is ours, so that by every means he may draw us to himself. He is said to receive honors, and even insults, so that we may be afraid. And yet with all this we are not drawn to him!

Let us, then, “glorify God,” and carry God both “in our body and in our spirit” (First Corinthians 6, verse 20). “And how is one to glorify him in the body? And how in the spirit?” The soul is here called the spirit, to distinguish it from the body. But how can we glorify him in the body and in the spirit? A man glorifies him in the body who does not commit adultery or sexual immorality, who avoids gluttony and drunkenness, who does not go after a showy appearance, and who provides for himself only what is enough for health. So too the woman who does not perfume or paint herself, but is content to be as God made her, and adds no device of her own. Why do you add your own embellishments to the work God made? Is his workmanship not enough for you? Or are you trying to add beauty to it, as if you were the better artist? It is not for yourself, but to attract crowds of lovers, that you adorn yourself like this, and so insult your Creator. And do not say: “What can I do? It is not what I want; I have to do it for my husband. I cannot win his love unless I go along with this.” God made you beautiful so that he might be admired even in your beauty, not so that he might be insulted. So do not make him so poor a return, but repay him with modesty and chastity. God made you beautiful to make the tests of your modesty greater. For it is much harder for a lovely woman to be modest than for one who has no such attractions to be courted for. Why does Scripture tell us that “Joseph was handsome in form and good-looking” (Genesis 39, verse 6), if not so that we might admire all the more his modesty joined with beauty? Has God made you beautiful? Why do you make yourself otherwise? It is as though someone were to smear a golden statue with a daubing of mud; so it is with women who use paints. You smear yourself with red and white clay! “But plain women, surely, may fairly resort to it.” And why? To hide their ugliness? It is a useless attempt. When was the natural look ever improved by what is studied and artificial? And why should you be troubled at your lack of beauty, when it is no disgrace? Listen to the saying of the Wise Man: “Do not praise a man for his beauty, and do not loathe a man for his outward appearance” (Sirach 11, verse 2). Let God rather be admired, the best of craftsmen, and not the person, who deserves no credit for being made as he is. [k]

What, tell me, are the advantages of beauty? None. It exposes its owner to more trials, mishaps, dangers and suspicions. The woman who lacks it escapes suspicion. The woman who has it, unless she shows great and uncommon restraint, gets a bad name — and, worst of all, the suspicion of her husband, who takes less pleasure in looking at her beauty than he suffers pain from jealousy. Her beauty fades in his eyes through familiarity, while her good name suffers from the charge of weakness, self-indulgence and loose living, and her very soul becomes degraded and full of haughtiness. These are the evils personal beauty is exposed to. But the woman who has no such attraction goes unmolested. The dogs do not attack her. She is like a lamb resting in a safe pasture, where no wolf breaks in to harass her, because the shepherd is at hand to protect her.

The real advantage is not that one woman is beautiful and another plain. The real advantage lies here: that one, even if she is not beautiful, is unchaste, and the other is not wicked. Tell me, where does the excellence of eyes lie? In their being soft and rolling, round and dark, or in their being clear and sharp-sighted? Does the excellence of a lamp lie in its being elegantly shaped and finely turned, or in its shining brightly and lighting the whole house? We cannot say it is not the second, for the first makes no difference, and the second is the real point. That is why we often say to the maid whose job it is, “You have made a bad lamp of it.” So entirely is the use of a lamp to give light. [m]

In the same way, it does not matter what the eye looks like, so long as it does its work fully. We call an eye bad when it is dim or diseased, and when, though open, it does not see. For whatever does not do its proper work is bad — and that is the fault of eyes. And a nose, tell me: when is it a good one? When it is straight, and smooth on each side, and finely proportioned? Or when it is quick to take in smells and pass them on to the brain? Anyone can answer that.

Come, let us make this clear with an example. Take tongs — I mean the tool by that name. We call those well made which can pick things up and hold them, not those that are merely handsome and elegant in shape. So too those are good teeth which are fit for the work of cutting and chewing our food, not those that are beautifully set. And applying the same reasoning to the other parts of the body, we will call those members beautiful which are healthy and do their proper work rightly. So we think any tool, or plant, or animal good, not because of its shape or color, but because it serves its purpose. And the good servant is thought to be the one who is useful and ready to serve us, not the one who is good-looking but dissolute. I trust you now understand how it is in your power to be beautiful. [n]

And since the greatest and most important benefits are enjoyed by all alike, we are at no disadvantage. Whether we are beautiful or not, we all alike look on this universe — the sun, the moon and the stars. We breathe the same air; we share alike in water and in the fruits of the earth. And if I may say something that will sound strange, plain people are healthier than beautiful ones. For the beautiful, to preserve their beauty, do no work, but give themselves up to idleness and soft living, and this weakens the strength of their bodies. The others, having no such worry, give all their attention simply and wholly to active work.

Let us, then, “glorify God, and take him up and carry him in our body” (First Corinthians 6, verse 20). Let us not go after a beautiful appearance; that care is empty and useless. Let us not teach our husbands to admire mere outward form. For if that is your adornment, his very habit of looking at your face will make him easy prey for a prostitute. But if you teach him to love good character and modesty, he will not be quick to stray, for he will see nothing attractive in a prostitute, in whom these qualities are not found, but their opposites. Do not teach him to be captivated by laughter, either, or by loose dress, or you will be preparing poison for yourself. Train him to delight in modesty; and you will do this if your own clothing is modest. But if you have a showy air and a flighty manner, how can you speak to him seriously? And who will not hold you in contempt and ridicule?

But how can we glorify God in our spirit? By practicing virtue, by adorning the soul; for that kind of adornment is not forbidden. So we glorify God when we are good in every respect, and we will be glorified by him far more on that great day. For “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8, verse 18). God grant that we may all share in it, by the grace and love for humankind of our Lord Jesus Christ.