Latest / Pastor John Piper's answers / What Kind of God Was There Before Creation Titus 3:4–7, Part 1

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What Kind of God Was There Before Creation Titus 3:4–7, Part 1 · Pastor John Piper's answers

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  Speaker 1: This is our first session on Titus three four to seven,
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  Speaker 1: which must be one of the most rich gospel, dense
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  Speaker 1: saving sections in all of the pastoral letters, maybe even
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  Speaker 1: the New Testament. But to set it in context before
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  Speaker 1: I read it, let's look at the entire unit. Remember
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  Speaker 1: that in verses one and two of this chapter, Paul
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  Speaker 1: had told us, or told Titus, to remind us to
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  Speaker 1: be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to
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  Speaker 1: be full of good works, to speak evil of no one,
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  Speaker 1: to be non combative, gentle, meek, And then he gave
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  Speaker 1: this argument, and the argument first, the first step in
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  Speaker 1: the argument was to describe ourselves as foolish and disobedient
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  Speaker 1: and led astray and slaved to passions and passing our
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  Speaker 1: days in malice and envy and despicable and hating one another.
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  Speaker 1: What a horrible picture of the human heart. And Paul
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  Speaker 1: is talking about himself and Titus and all of us.
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  Speaker 1: That's who we are apart from this. So treat people
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  Speaker 1: this way, be this kind of meek, humble, compliant, full
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  Speaker 1: of good works people, because once you were a horrible,
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  Speaker 1: horrible kind of person bought when the kindness. So that's
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  Speaker 1: where we are now. When the kindness and benevolence of
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  Speaker 1: God our Savior appeared, he saved us. I'm just going
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  Speaker 1: to stop right there, because he begins this saving section,
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  Speaker 1: this amazing turnaround by describing what kind of God saved us,
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  Speaker 1: what kind of God exists, what kind of God was
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  Speaker 1: there before the incarnation of Christ, before indeed the entire creation. So, Father,
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  Speaker 1: as we look at the word kindness and benevolence of
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  Speaker 1: God our Savior appearing and taking it back even further
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  Speaker 1: to other parallels in the pastor or letters, would you
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  Speaker 1: open our minds not to resist you, not to misunderstand you,
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  Speaker 1: not to confine you, not to be imbalanced about you,
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  Speaker 1: not to be blind to you and to your kindness
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  Speaker 1: and your benevolence and all the aspects of your glory
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  Speaker 1: that you reveal. Help us not to be blind, but
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  Speaker 1: up in the eyes of our heart to know you.
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  Speaker 1: I pray in Jesus' name, Amen. He mentions two things
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  Speaker 1: about God, actually three if you count this. So here's
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  Speaker 1: God and here's the first thing. He says, God is
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  Speaker 1: kind and here's the second thing benevolent. That word right
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  Speaker 1: there is philanthropia. You hear it in our word philanthropy
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  Speaker 1: means fill us lover or brother or friend of anthropos,
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  Speaker 1: which is anthropology. Man. This is an amazing statement God's
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  Speaker 1: friendliness towards man, God's goodwill towards man. So there is
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  Speaker 1: a kindness and there is a good will. Let's take
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  Speaker 1: this word kindness and fill it out for just a moment.
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  Speaker 1: Here's Ephesians two. God made us alive together with Christ
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  Speaker 1: by grace. You've been saved, and raised us up with
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  Speaker 1: him and seated us with him in the heavenly places
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  Speaker 1: in Christ. So that so we are saved. Christ came
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  Speaker 1: and he saved. Why so that in the coming ages.
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  Speaker 1: That's how long it will take, all the coming eternal
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  Speaker 1: ages will be required for what that He might show
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  Speaker 1: the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us
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  Speaker 1: in Christ. That's got to be one of the most
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  Speaker 1: amazing descriptions of our future in all the Bible. It
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  Speaker 1: will take an eternal sequence of ages for him to
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  Speaker 1: show the fullness and the variety and depth and beauty
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  Speaker 1: and sweetness of the immeasurableness. That's why it takes ages.
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  Speaker 1: It's immeasurable, and it's grace in kindness. So this is
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  Speaker 1: no sma. A word here here's another one, Romans too.
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  Speaker 1: Do you presume on the riches of his kindness and
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  Speaker 1: forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant
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  Speaker 1: to lead you to repentance, But you, because of your
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  Speaker 1: herd and impenitent heart, are storing up wrath for yourself.
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  Speaker 1: On the day of wrath, when God's righteous judgment will
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  Speaker 1: be revealed. 're going to see in just a moment
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  Speaker 1: some more of the fact that if this kindness is spurned,
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  Speaker 1: if people do not abide in this kindness, treasure this kindness,
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  Speaker 1: receive and enjoy this kindness, count this kindness the love
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  Speaker 1: of their lives, then judgment will follow. Kindness in God
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  Speaker 1: does not rule outment. And then let's go to this
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  Speaker 1: word right here. Love of humanity or benevolence. God's benevolence
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  Speaker 1: towards the world is not the kind of thing that
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  Speaker 1: excludes judgment. So for example, here is Ephesians two three.
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  Speaker 1: We all once lived among the sons of disobedience, in
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  Speaker 1: the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of
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  Speaker 1: the body and the mind, and were by nature children
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  Speaker 1: of wrath, like the rest of mankind. All human beings
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  Speaker 1: ever since the fall of man into sin are under
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  Speaker 1: the wrath of God. So now you, if you don't
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  Speaker 1: have a capacity for understanding biblically who God is, you
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  Speaker 1: would think, well, then he's only wrathful, he's only a
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  Speaker 1: He's not only angry. He is angry. He's not only angry,
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  Speaker 1: He's kind and he's benevolent. God is both kind and wrathful.
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  Speaker 1: He is benevolent and wrathful. Consider this amazing statement that
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  Speaker 1: puts the two together in rooms eleven. Note then, the
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  Speaker 1: kindness and the severity of God. That's a good statement,
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  Speaker 1: isn't it. Note them. That's what I'm pointing out. I
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  Speaker 1: want you to note them God's kindness. And I'm stating
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  Speaker 1: it this way because it's almost certain that if I
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  Speaker 1: don't state it as both and people will run with
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  Speaker 1: this word kindness and they will distort the God of
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  Speaker 1: the Bible. The God of the Bible is kind, and
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  Speaker 1: the God of the Bible is severe severity towards those
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  Speaker 1: who have fallen, but kind. God's kindness to you provided
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  Speaker 1: you continue in his kindness. So if you will receive
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  Speaker 1: his kindness, if you will continue in his kindness. That
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  Speaker 1: means if you will trust in his kindness and live
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  Speaker 1: in his kindness, and treasure his kindness and follow the
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  Speaker 1: implications of his kindness, you will know him as a
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  Speaker 1: kind God and not a wrathful or severe God. But
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  Speaker 1: that's who he is. He's both and and the fact
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  Speaker 1: that God has a wrath towards people like this, disobedient, led, astray,
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  Speaker 1: slave to passions, passing our days in malice, envy, despicable, hating.
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  Speaker 1: God's wrath is on us, Paul said, his wrath is
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  Speaker 1: on us. But kindness appeared. What's another word for kindness
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  Speaker 1: and benevo violence? When it appears for the undeserving? What's
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  Speaker 1: another word for that? Here's Paul. In two Timothy one,
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  Speaker 1: God saved us and called us to a holy calling,
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  Speaker 1: not because of works, but because of his own purpose
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  Speaker 1: and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before
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  Speaker 1: the ages began, and which has now been manifested through
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  Speaker 1: the appearing of our savior, Christ Jesus. So when the
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  Speaker 1: kindness and benevolence of God our Savior appeared, means when
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  Speaker 1: grace appeared. It's the same thing as in two Timothy one,
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  Speaker 1: nine and ten, it's called grace appearing. Here's this again
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  Speaker 1: and tied us to eleven. The grace of God has appeared,
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  Speaker 1: bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce on Godliness.
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  Speaker 1: So when kindness and benevolence appeared, grace appeared. Two Timothy
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  Speaker 1: and Titus now to eleven. It's called grace. This kindness,
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  Speaker 1: in this benevolence are called grace, because, as you can
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  Speaker 1: see in verse three, we are so horribly undeserving of
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  Speaker 1: being treated kindly and benevolently. God did not forsake his
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  Speaker 1: kindness when human beings fell into sin. The form that
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  Speaker 1: his kindness now takes is grace. Another word for it
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  Speaker 1: in the pastoral letters is life. Life was promised before
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  Speaker 1: the ages and then appeared. Here's Titus one Paul, a
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  Speaker 1: servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for
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  Speaker 1: the sake of the faith of God's elect and their
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  Speaker 1: knowledge of the truth which accords with Godliness in the
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  Speaker 1: hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised
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  Speaker 1: before the ages. So he is a God who intends
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  Speaker 1: before there are any galaxies, any humanity, any creation, he
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  Speaker 1: promises eternal life, and then at the proper time it
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  Speaker 1: is manifested. That's what it means when it says, when
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  Speaker 1: the kindness and benevolence of God, our savior appeared, life appeared.
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  Speaker 1: He brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel,
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  Speaker 1: he says, and it's called Christ. Christ appeared great. Indeed,
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  Speaker 1: we confess for Timothy three sixteen is the mystery of godliness.
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  Speaker 1: He was manifested in the flesh. That's the same word
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  Speaker 1: as appeared. So now we have in verse three a
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  Speaker 1: description of how undeserving we are. But he saved us.
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  Speaker 1: Who saved us, He the God of kindness and benevolence
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  Speaker 1: and grace and life, and Christ, he is God, our Savior.
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  Speaker 1: It is good to meditate on the kind of God
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  Speaker 1: that created the universe, that existed for all eternity before
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  Speaker 1: he came and did any of this. He was a
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  Speaker 1: certain kind of God. Meditate all the kind of God
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  Speaker 1: that really exists, and then reveals himself as a savior
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  Speaker 1: in Jesus Christ, by grace, manifesting kindness and benevolence, by
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  Speaker 1: his appearing to undeserving people,