1 Timothy 1:15 - "This is a faithful saying and worthy
of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of
whom I am chief."
In one of the last letters that Paul wrote before he died he refers to himself as the chiefest among sinners. It's interesting to look at the way that Paul's view of himself changed throughout his life. Before his conversion, Saul of Tarsus was traveling to Damascus to arrest Christians. At that point in his life he was a very religious person. He talks about his credentials according to the flesh in Philippians 3:4-6 where he says - "Although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless." Saul was a very religious very zealous man, he was a full blooded Hebrew of a very respectable tribe and the things that he believed affected his actions. He says that according to the righteousness which is in the law he was found blameless.
That was his opinion of himself before his conversion, however after the Lord struck him to the ground in Acts chapter 9 and he surrendered his life to the Lord Jesus Christ, God began to use him and his view of himself as a young believer is found in 1 Corinthians 15:9 where he says - "For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God." He says he was the least of the Apostles, so he lists himself among those who were taught by Jesus Himself. After a few more years growing closer to the Lord he was inspired to write the letter to the Ephesians in which he refers to himself in this way: Ephesians 3:8 - "To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ." So he goes from considering himself "blameless", to "the least of the Apostles" and now "the very least of all saints." But he isn't finished yet. In his letter to Timothy Paul says in chapter 1 verse 15 - "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." Notice, Paul doesn't say, "of whom I was chief" He says, "of whom I am chief." Something must be terribly wrong. From the time before Paul's conversion to the time of his death he went from being blameless to being the chiefest among sinners. It would appear that throughout Paul's life he continued to get worse and worse in his own opinion and to get further and further from God, but that's not the case.
As Paul grew closer to the Lord his view of himself became more and more accurate. When we see God for who He really is and our understanding of Him gets more accurate, the way that we see ourselves is going to change. Paul wasn't drifting away from the Lord, he was actually getting closer to Him. And when He saw Himself in comparison with God he realized the truth about himself. Let me put it this way, when he saw how big God was he would realize how small he was. And as his relationship with God grew, God just kept getting bigger and he just kept getting smaller.This is true for each one of us. The closer we get to God, the more accurate our view of ourselves will become.
It's an amazing thing that, though we think too highly of ourselves and too low of God, that He loved us anyway and came into this world to save a bunch of sinners like us.
1 Timothy 1:15 - "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."
In one of the last letters that Paul wrote before he died he refers to himself as the chiefest among sinners. It's interesting to look at the way that Paul's view of himself changed throughout his life. Before his conversion, Saul of Tarsus was traveling to Damascus to arrest Christians. At that point in his life he was a very religious person. He talks about his credentials according to the flesh in Philippians 3:4-6 where he says - "Although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless." Saul was a very religious very zealous man, he was a full blooded Hebrew of a very respectable tribe and the things that he believed affected his actions. He says that according to the righteousness which is in the law he was found blameless.
That was his opinion of himself before his conversion, however after the Lord struck him to the ground in Acts chapter 9 and he surrendered his life to the Lord Jesus Christ, God began to use him and his view of himself as a young believer is found in 1 Corinthians 15:9 where he says - "For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God." He says he was the least of the Apostles, so he lists himself among those who were taught by Jesus Himself. After a few more years growing closer to the Lord he was inspired to write the letter to the Ephesians in which he refers to himself in this way: Ephesians 3:8 - "To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ." So he goes from considering himself "blameless", to "the least of the Apostles" and now "the very least of all saints." But he isn't finished yet. In his letter to Timothy Paul says in chapter 1 verse 15 - "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." Notice, Paul doesn't say, "of whom I was chief" He says, "of whom I am chief." Something must be terribly wrong. From the time before Paul's conversion to the time of his death he went from being blameless to being the chiefest among sinners. It would appear that throughout Paul's life he continued to get worse and worse in his own opinion and to get further and further from God, but that's not the case.
As Paul grew closer to the Lord his view of himself became more and more accurate. When we see God for who He really is and our understanding of Him gets more accurate, the way that we see ourselves is going to change. Paul wasn't drifting away from the Lord, he was actually getting closer to Him. And when He saw Himself in comparison with God he realized the truth about himself. Let me put it this way, when he saw how big God was he would realize how small he was. And as his relationship with God grew, God just kept getting bigger and he just kept getting smaller.This is true for each one of us. The closer we get to God, the more accurate our view of ourselves will become.
It's an amazing thing that, though we think too highly of ourselves and too low of God, that He loved us anyway and came into this world to save a bunch of sinners like us.
1 Timothy 1:15 - "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."
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