(14) Who gave himself for us.--(See Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 5:25.) These words take up the thought expressed in the term "Saviour" of the last verse. "Himself," His whole self, as has been well said, "the greatest gift ever given;" "for us," that is, on our behalf.
That he might redeem us from all iniquity.--That He for us might pay a ransom, the ransom being His precious blood. Our Saviour, by the payment of this tremendous ransom--O deepest and most unfathomable of all mysteries!--released us from everything which is opposed to God's blessed will. Here the mighty ransom is spoken of as freeing us from the bondage of lawlessness; elsewhere in the divine books the same ransom is described as delivering us from the penalties of this same breaking the divine law--"alles was der Ordnung Gottes widerstreitet" (Hofmann, Commentary on Titus).
And purify unto himself a peculiar people.--The expression "a peculiar people" is taken from the LXX. translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, where the words occur several times (see Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 14:2); the idea is also purely an Old Testament one. Just as Jehovah wished to establish a people which should belong to Him ("peculiarly His," "His very own"), submitting to His laws, in contrast to the rest of mankind, lawless, idolatrous--so Jesus would set apart and purify for Himself a people, which for His sake should devote itself to God, in contrast to the rest of humanity sunk in selfish sins. As Israel of old lived under the constant impression that they would again behold the visible glory of the Eternal, so His people now should live as men waiting for a second manifestation of His glory.
Zealous of good works.--The man who hopes to see the epiphany of Jesus his Lord and Love in glory will struggle zealously with hand and brain to live his life in such a manner that he may meet his Lord, when He comes in glory, with joy. It was a people composed of such "zealots" of goodness, of men longing for His sake to do their utmost for His cause, that our great God and Saviour wished to purify unto Himself.
Verse 14. - A people for his own possession for a peculiar people, A.V. Who gave himself for us. The resemblance in thought and diction to 1 Timothy 2:3-6 has been already pointed out. "Who gave himself" (ο{ς ἔδωκεν ἑαυτόν) is there expressed by ὁ δοὺςἑαυτόν, and "that he might redeem us" (ἵναλυτρώσηται ἡμᾶς) by ἀντίλυτρον ὑπὲρ πάντων. (For the great truths contained in the words "who gave himself," comp. John 10:11, 17, 18; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 5:2, 25; 1 Peter 2:24; Hebrews 9:14.) The voluntary offering of himself is also implied in the office of our Lord as High Priest (Hebrews 9:11-14). For us (ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν); on our behalf; not exactly synonymous with ἀντὶ ἡμῶν, "in our stead." Both phrases, however, are used of our redemption by Jesus Christ. We find ὑπὲρ in Luke 22:19, 20; John 6:51: 10:11, 15; 11:50-52; 15:13; 18:14; Romans 5:6, 8; Romans 8:32; 1 Corinthians 5:7; 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15, 21; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 5:2, 25; 1 Thessalonians 3:10; Hebrews 2:9; 1 Peter 2:21; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 Peter 4:1; 1 John 3:16: and we find ἀντί in Matthew 20:28 and Mark 10:45, and in αντίλυτρον, 1 Timothy 2:6. The literal meaning of ὑπὲρ is "in defense of," and hence generally "on behalf of," "for the good of." The primary idea of ἄντι is "standing opposite," and hence it denotes "exchange," "price," "worth," "instead," etc. Redeem (λυτρώσηται); as Luke 24:21:1 Peter 1:18; common in classical Greek. In the middle voice, as here, it means "to release by payment of a ransom;" in the active voice, "to release on receipt of a ransom." In 1 Peter 1:18 the ransom price is stated, viz. "the precious blood of Christ;" as in Matthew 20:28 it is "the life of the Son of man." The effect of this redemption is not merely deliverance from the penalty of sin, but from its power also, as appears by the following words: "a peculiar people, zealous of good works," and by the passage in St. Peter above referred to. Purify (καθαρίσῃ); as very frequently in the New Testament of cleansing lepers, the outside of the platter, etc., cleansing the Gentiles (Acts 10:15), putting away all sin (2 Corinthians 7:1), cleansing the Church (Ephesians 5:26), purging the conscience (Hebrews 9:14), etc. The iniquity just spoken of was a defilement; the redemption from iniquity removed that defilement. The blood of Jesus Christ, the price paid for the redemption, was the instrument of cleansing (1 John 1:7, 9). A people for his own possession (καὸν περιούσιον); only here in the New Testament, but frequent in the LXX., coupled, as here, with λαός (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 7:6; Deuteronomy 14:2; Deuteronomy 26:18), to express the Hebrew סְגֻלָּה or עַם סְגֻלָּה, a people the peculiar property, or treasure, of God; "peculiar" being derived from the Latin peculium, one's own private property, reserved for one's own private use. The Authorized Version "peculiar" expresses the sense exactly, and the περιούσιος of our text and of the LXX., from whom it is borrowed, is meant to define either that special reserved portion of a man's property over and above what he spends for ordinary expenses, which nobody can interfere with, or those jewels on which he sets a special value, and places safely in his treasury. In 1 Peter 2:10λαὸς εἰςπεριποίησιν ("a peculiar people," Authorized Version) means the same thing, that being the LXX. translation of the same Hebrew word, סְגֻלָּה, in Malachi 3:17 ("jewels," Authorized Version), "They shall be my reserved portion or possession." The application of the phrase, λαὸν περιούσιον, descriptive in the Old Testament of Israel, to the Church of Christ, is very instructive. The passage in 1 Peter 2:10 is exactly analogous, as is the phrase, "the Israel of God" (Galatians 6:16). Zealous (ζηλωτής); as Acts 21:20; Acts 22:3; 1 Corinthians 14:12; Galatians 1:14. From its special application to those who were zealous for the Law of Moses it became the name of the sect or party of the Zealots who played such a terrible part in the Jewish war (see Luke 4:15). Canaanite (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18) is the Hebrew for Ζηλωτής. Zeal for good works is the indispensable mark of God's peculiar people, the inseparable fruit of the redemption and purification which is by the blood of Jesus Christ (comp. 1 Peter 1:2).
2:11-15 The doctrine of grace and salvation by the gospel, is for all ranks and conditions of men. It teaches to forsake sin; to have no more to do with it. An earthly, sensual conversation suits not a heavenly calling. It teaches to make conscience of that which is good. We must look to God in Christ, as the object of our hope and worship. A gospel conversation must be a godly conversation. See our duty in a very few words; denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, living soberly, righteously, and godly, notwithstanding all snares, temptations, corrupt examples, ill usage, and what remains of sin in the believer's heart, with all their hinderances. It teaches to look for the glories of another world. At, and in, the glorious appearing of Christ, the blessed hope of Christians will be complete: To bring us to holiness and happiness was the end of Christ's death. Jesus Christ, that great God and our Saviour, who saves not only as God, much less as Man alone; but as God-man, two natures in one person. He loved us, and gave himself for us; and what can we do less than love and give up ourselves to him! Redemption from sin and sanctification of the nature go together, and make a peculiar people unto God, free from guilt and condemnation, and purified by the Holy Spirit. All Scripture is profitable. Here is what will furnish for all parts of duty, and the right discharge of them. Let us inquire whether our whole dependence is placed upon that grace which saves the lost, pardons the guilty, and sanctifies the unclean. And the further we are removed from boasting of fancied good works, or trusting in them, so that we glory in Christ alone, the more zealous shall we be to abound in real good works.
Who gave himself for us,.... Not another, or another's, but himself; not merely his own things, but his own self; not the world, and the riches of it, not gold and silver, and such like corruptible things, as the price of redemption; not the cattle on a thousand hills for sacrifice; not men nor angels, but himself; all that belong to him, all that is near and dear, his name, fame, credit, and reputation; his time, strength, and service: all the comforts of life, and life itself; his whole manhood, soul, and body, and that as in union with his divine person; which he gave into the hands of men, and of justice, and to death itself, to be a ransom price of his people, and for a propitiation and sacrifice for their sins, to be paid and offered in their room and stead: not for all mankind, but for many; for us, for all the elect of God, for the church; and who are represented when he gave himself, or died for them, as ungodly, sinners, and enemies: this was a free and voluntary gift, and is an unspeakable one; who can say all that is contained in this word "himself?" it is an instance of the greatest love, of love that passeth knowledge; God, because he could swear by no greater, swore by himself; and Christ, because he could give no greater gift, nor any greater instance of his love, gave himself, for the following ends and purposes:
that he might redeem us from all iniquity: sin brings into bondage and, slavery, redemption is a deliverance from it; sin binds guilt upon the sinner, and lays him under obligation to punishment, and renders him liable to the curse and condemnation of the law; Christ was made sin, and a curse for his people, that he might redeem them from both, and deliver them from the punishment due to sin; which he has done by bearing it in his own, body on the tree, whereby he has redeemed them from all iniquity, that so it shall not be their ruin, or they come into condemnation on account of it; even from original sin, and from all actual transgressions; from all which his blood cleanses, and his righteousness justifies, and which God, for his sake, freely and fully forgives. Christ was called to this work by his Father, to which he agreed; and the plan of redemption being drawn in the everlasting council, and the whole adjusted and fixed in the covenant of peace; promises and prophecies were given out of it, and in the fulness of time Christ was sent, and came to effect it; and he has obtained eternal redemption for us, through the price of his own blood, which could have never been wrought out by any creature; and wherein all the divine perfections are glorified and is a plenteous and complete one; it includes in it, or connects with it, the blessings of justification, peace, pardon, adoption, and eternal life. It follows as another end of Christ's giving himself, or what is a branch of redemption, or consequent upon it,
and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works; all mankind are filthy and unclean by nature, in all the powers and faculties of their souls; nor can they cleanse themselves from their impurity of flesh and spirit, by anything that they can do: Christ has a peculiar people among these, a church whom he loves, and for whom he has given himself, that he might sanctify and cleanse them from their sins; which he has done by shedding his blood for them, and washing them in it, which cleanses from all sin, and he has purified them unto himself, for his own use and service, for his pleasure and delight, and to his glory; that they might be a proper habitation for him now; and that they might be made ready for him, to have the marriage between, him and them consummated; and that they might be presented to himself a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle, and be with him, both in the new Jerusalem state, into which nothing that defiles, or is defiled, enters, and in heaven, to all eternity. Now these people, for whom Christ has given himself, and whom he has redeemed and purifies, are a "peculiar people"; for whom Christ has a peculiar love, in whom he takes a peculiar delight, and to whom he grants peculiar nearness to himself, and bestows peculiar blessings on them, and makes peculiar provisions for them, both for time and eternity; these are Christ's own, his possession, his substance, what he has a special right to by his Father's gift, his own purchase, and the conquest of his grace; and they are a distinct and separate people from all others, in election, redemption, effectual calling, and in Christ's intercession, and will be in the resurrection morn, at the day of judgment, and to all eternity; and they are, as the word also signifies, an excellent and valuable people; they are Christ's portion and inheritance; they are his peculiar treasure, his jewels, whom, as such, he values and takes care of. The Syriac version renders it, "a new people". And they who are redeemed and purified by Christ, through the power of his grace upon them, become a people "zealous of good works"; not in order to their justification and salvation, but in obedience to the will of God, and to testify their subjection and gratitude to him, and for his honour and glory, and for the credit of religion, and the good of men, These not only perform them, but perform them from principles of truth and love, and with a zeal for the glory of God, and the honour of his Gospel; and with an holy emulation of one another, striving to go before, and excel each other in the performance of them.
That he might redeem us from all iniquity.--That He for us might pay a ransom, the ransom being His precious blood. Our Saviour, by the payment of this tremendous ransom--O deepest and most unfathomable of all mysteries!--released us from everything which is opposed to God's blessed will. Here the mighty ransom is spoken of as freeing us from the bondage of lawlessness; elsewhere in the divine books the same ransom is described as delivering us from the penalties of this same breaking the divine law--"alles was der Ordnung Gottes widerstreitet" (Hofmann, Commentary on Titus).
And purify unto himself a peculiar people.--The expression "a peculiar people" is taken from the LXX. translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, where the words occur several times (see Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 14:2); the idea is also purely an Old Testament one. Just as Jehovah wished to establish a people which should belong to Him ("peculiarly His," "His very own"), submitting to His laws, in contrast to the rest of mankind, lawless, idolatrous--so Jesus would set apart and purify for Himself a people, which for His sake should devote itself to God, in contrast to the rest of humanity sunk in selfish sins. As Israel of old lived under the constant impression that they would again behold the visible glory of the Eternal, so His people now should live as men waiting for a second manifestation of His glory.
Zealous of good works.--The man who hopes to see the epiphany of Jesus his Lord and Love in glory will struggle zealously with hand and brain to live his life in such a manner that he may meet his Lord, when He comes in glory, with joy. It was a people composed of such "zealots" of goodness, of men longing for His sake to do their utmost for His cause, that our great God and Saviour wished to purify unto Himself.
that he might redeem us from all iniquity: sin brings into bondage and, slavery, redemption is a deliverance from it; sin binds guilt upon the sinner, and lays him under obligation to punishment, and renders him liable to the curse and condemnation of the law; Christ was made sin, and a curse for his people, that he might redeem them from both, and deliver them from the punishment due to sin; which he has done by bearing it in his own, body on the tree, whereby he has redeemed them from all iniquity, that so it shall not be their ruin, or they come into condemnation on account of it; even from original sin, and from all actual transgressions; from all which his blood cleanses, and his righteousness justifies, and which God, for his sake, freely and fully forgives. Christ was called to this work by his Father, to which he agreed; and the plan of redemption being drawn in the everlasting council, and the whole adjusted and fixed in the covenant of peace; promises and prophecies were given out of it, and in the fulness of time Christ was sent, and came to effect it; and he has obtained eternal redemption for us, through the price of his own blood, which could have never been wrought out by any creature; and wherein all the divine perfections are glorified and is a plenteous and complete one; it includes in it, or connects with it, the blessings of justification, peace, pardon, adoption, and eternal life. It follows as another end of Christ's giving himself, or what is a branch of redemption, or consequent upon it,
and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works; all mankind are filthy and unclean by nature, in all the powers and faculties of their souls; nor can they cleanse themselves from their impurity of flesh and spirit, by anything that they can do: Christ has a peculiar people among these, a church whom he loves, and for whom he has given himself, that he might sanctify and cleanse them from their sins; which he has done by shedding his blood for them, and washing them in it, which cleanses from all sin, and he has purified them unto himself, for his own use and service, for his pleasure and delight, and to his glory; that they might be a proper habitation for him now; and that they might be made ready for him, to have the marriage between, him and them consummated; and that they might be presented to himself a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle, and be with him, both in the new Jerusalem state, into which nothing that defiles, or is defiled, enters, and in heaven, to all eternity. Now these people, for whom Christ has given himself, and whom he has redeemed and purifies, are a "peculiar people"; for whom Christ has a peculiar love, in whom he takes a peculiar delight, and to whom he grants peculiar nearness to himself, and bestows peculiar blessings on them, and makes peculiar provisions for them, both for time and eternity; these are Christ's own, his possession, his substance, what he has a special right to by his Father's gift, his own purchase, and the conquest of his grace; and they are a distinct and separate people from all others, in election, redemption, effectual calling, and in Christ's intercession, and will be in the resurrection morn, at the day of judgment, and to all eternity; and they are, as the word also signifies, an excellent and valuable people; they are Christ's portion and inheritance; they are his peculiar treasure, his jewels, whom, as such, he values and takes care of. The Syriac version renders it, "a new people". And they who are redeemed and purified by Christ, through the power of his grace upon them, become a people "zealous of good works"; not in order to their justification and salvation, but in obedience to the will of God, and to testify their subjection and gratitude to him, and for his honour and glory, and for the credit of religion, and the good of men, These not only perform them, but perform them from principles of truth and love, and with a zeal for the glory of God, and the honour of his Gospel; and with an holy emulation of one another, striving to go before, and excel each other in the performance of them.