Jesus was our source of grace

JESUS WAS OUR SOURCEOF GRACE
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
2 Timothy 1:9 9He has savedus and calledus to a holy
life-notbecause of anything we have done but because
of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us
in ChristJesus before the beginning of time,
Salvation Altogether By Grace
BY SPURGEON
“Who has savedus, and calledus with a holy calling, not according to
our works, but according to His own purpose and grace whichwas
given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”
2 Timothy 1:9
IF we would influence thoughtful persons it must be by solid arguments.
Shallow minds may be workedupon by mere warmth of emotion and force of
excitement, but the more valuable part of the community must be dealt with
in quite another manner. When the Apostle Paul was desirous to influence his
son in the faith, Timothy, who was a diligent and earneststudent and a man of
gifts as well as of Divine Grace, he did not attempt to affecthim by mere
appeals to his feelings. Paulfelt that the most effectualway to act upon him
was to remind him of solid doctrinal Truth of God which he knew Timothy
believed.
This is a lessonfor the ministry at large. Certain earnestpreachers are
incessantlyexciting the people, but seldom, if ever, instructing them. They
carry much fire and very little light. God forbid that we should saya word
againstappealing to the feelings–this is most necessaryin its place–but then
there is a due proportion to be observed in it. A religion which is based upon,
sustained, and maintained simply by excitement will necessarilybe very flimsy

and unsubstantial, and will yield very speedily to the crush of opposition or to
the crumbling hand of time.
The preachermay touch the feelings by rousing appeals as the harpist touches
the harp strings, and he will be very foolish if he should neglectso ready and
admirable an instrument. But still, as he is dealing with reasonable creatures,
he must not forgetto enlighten the intellectand instruct the understanding.
And how canhe appealto the understanding better than by presenting to it
the Truth which the Holy Spirit teaches? Scripturaldoctrine furnishes us with
powerful motives to urge upon the minds of Christians.
It seems to me that if we could, by some unreasoning impulse, move you to a
certain course ofaction it might be wellin its way. But it would be unsafe and
untrustworthy, for you would be equally open to be moved in an opposite
direction by other persons more skilledin such operations. But if God enables
us, by His Spirit, to influence your minds by solid Truth and substantial
argument, you will then move with a constancyofpower which nothing can
turn aside. The featherflies in the wind, but it has no inherent powerto
move–and consequentlywhen the gale is over it falls to the ground–such is the
religion of excitement. But the eagle has life within itself and its wings bear it
aloft and onward whether the breeze favors it or not–suchis religion when
sustainedby a convictionof the Truth of God! The welltaught man in Christ
Jesus stands firm where the uninstructed infant would fall or be carried away.
“Be not carried about with every wind of doctrine,” says the Apostle, and
those are leastlikely to be so carried who are well establishedin the Truth as
it is in Jesus.
It is somewhatremarkable–atleastit may seemso to persons who are not
accustomedto think upon the subject–thatthe Apostle, in order to excite
Timothy to boldness–to keephim constantin the faith–reminds him of the
greatdoctrine that the Grace ofGod reigns in the salvation of men! He gives
in this verse–this parentheticalverse as some callit, but which seems to me to
be fully in the current of the passage–he gives in this verse a brief summary of
the Gospel, showing the greatprominence which it gives to the Grace of God,
with the designof maintaining Timothy in the boldness of his testimony for
Christ.
I do not doubt but that a far greaterpower for usefulness lies concealed
within the Doctrines of Grace than some men have ever dreamed of. It has
been usual to look upon doctrinal Truth as being nothing more than
unpractical theory, and many have spokenof the precepts of God’s Word as
being more practical and more useful. The day may yet come when, in clearer
light, we shall perceive that sound doctrine is the very root and vital energyof

practicalholiness, and that to teachthe people the Truth which God has
revealedis the readiestand surest way of leading them to obedience and
persevering holiness.
May the Holy Spirit assistus while we shall, first, considerthe doctrine taught
by the Apostle in this text. And secondly, the uses of that doctrine.
1. Very carefully let us CONSIDER THE DOCTRINETAUGHT BY THE
APOSTLE IN THIS TEXT. Friends will remember that it is not our
objectto preachthe doctrine which is most popular or most palatable.
Nor do we desire to set forth the views of any one person in the
assembly. Our one aim is to give what we judge to be the meaning of the
text. We shall probably deliver doctrine which many of you will not like,
and if you should not like it we shall not be at all surprised! Or even if
you should be vexed and angry we shall not be at all alarmed because
we never understood that we were commissionedto preach what would
please our hearers, nor were expectedby sensible, not to say gracious
men, to shape our views to suit the notions of our audience.
We count ourselves amenable to God and to the text. And if we give the
meaning of the text, we believe we shall give the mind of God and we shall be
likely to have His favor which will be sufficient for us, contradictus who may.
However, let every candid mind be willing to receive the Truth of God if it is
clearly in the inspired Word.
The Apostle, in stating his doctrine in the following words, “Who has saved
us, and calledus with a holy calling, not according to our works, but
according to His own purpose and grace, whichwas given to us in Christ
Jesus before the world began,” declaresGodto be the Author of salvation–
“Who has savedus and called us.” The whole tenor of the verse is towards a
strong affirmation of Jonah’s doctrine, “that salvationis of the Lord.”
It would require very greattwisting–involving more than ingenuity, it would
need dishonesty–to make out salvationby man out of this text! But to find
salvationaltogetherof God in it is to perceive the Truth of God which lies
upon the very surface. No need for profound enquiry. The wayfaring man,
though a fool, shall not err here–the text says as plainly as words cansay,
“Godhas savedus, and calledus with a holy calling.”
The Apostle, then, in order to bring forth the Truth that salvationis of Grace,
declares that it is of God–that it springs directly and entirely from Him and
from Him alone. Is not this according to the teaching of the Holy Spirit in
other places where He affirms over and over againthat the alpha and omega
of our salvationmust be found, not in ourselves, but in our God? Our Apostle,

in saying that God has savedus, refers to all the Persons ofthe Divine Unity.
The Fatherhas savedus. “God has given to us eternal life” (1 John 5:11).
“The Father Himself loves you.” It was He whose gracious mind first
conceivedthe thought of redeeming His chosenfrom the ruin of the Fall.
It was His mind which first planned the wayof salvationby Substitution. It
was from His generous heart that the thought first sprang that Christ should
suffer as the Covenant Head of His people, as said the Apostle, “Blessedbe the
God and Fatherof our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessedus with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. According as He has chosenus in Him
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame
before Him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by
Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the goodpleasure of His will, to the
praise of the glory of His grace, whereinHe has made us acceptedin the
Beloved” (Eph. 1:3-6).
From the heart of Divine compassioncame the gift of the only begottenSon:
“ForGod so loved the world that He gave His only begottenSon, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The Father
selectedthe persons who should receive an interest in the redemption of His
Son, for these are describedas, “calledaccording to His purpose” (Rom.
8:28). The plan of salvationin all its details sprang from the Father’s wisdom
and grace. The Apostle did not, however, overlook the work of the Son. It is
most certainly through the Son of God that we are saved, for is not His name
Jesus, the Savior? Incarnate in the flesh, His holy life is the righteousness in
which saints are arrayed, while His ignominious and painful death has filled
the sacredbath of blood in which the sinner must be washedthat he may be
made clean.
It is through the Redemption, which is in Christ Jesus, that the people of God
become acceptedin the Beloved. With one voice before the Eternal Throne
they sing, “Unto Him that loved us and washedus from our sins in His blood,
unto Him be glory.” And they chant that hymn because He deserves the glory
which they ascribe to Him. It is the Sonof God who is the Savior of men, and
men are not the saviors of themselves. Nordid the Apostle, I am persuaded,
forgetthat Third Personin the blessedUnity–the Holy Spirit.
Who but the Holy Spirit first gives us powerto understand the Gospel? “The
carnalmind understands not the things that are of God.” Does not the Holy
Spirit influence our will, turning us from the obstinacyof our former rebellion
to the obedience of the Truth of God? Does not the Holy Spirit renew us,
creating us in Christ Jesus unto goodworks? Is it not by the Holy Spirit’s
breath that we live in the spiritual life? Is He not to us Instructor, Comforter,

Quickener? Is He not everything, in fact, through His active operations upon
our mind?
The Father, then, in planning. The Sonin redeeming. The Spirit, in applying
the redemption, must be spokenof as the one God “who has savedus.”
Brothers and Sisters, to say that we save ourselves is to utter a manifest
absurdity! We are calledin Scripture “a temple”–a holy temple in the Lord.
But shall anyone assertthat the stones of the edifice were their own architect?
Shall it be saidthat the stones ofthe building in which we are now assembled
cut themselves into their present shape and then spontaneouslycame together
and piled this spacious edifice? Shouldanyone assertsucha foolish thing we
should be disposedto doubt his sanity! Much more may we suspectthe
spiritual sanity of any man who should venture to affirm that the greattemple
of the Church of God designedand erecteditself!
No! We believe that God the Father was the Architect, sketchedthe plan,
supplies the materials, and will complete the work. Shall it also be said that
those who are redeemedredeemed themselves? Thatslaves ofSatan break
their own fetters? Then why was a Redeemerneededat all? How should there
be any need for Jesus to descendinto the world to redeem those who could
redeem themselves? Do you believe that the sheepof God, whom He has taken
from betweenthe jaws of the lion, could have rescuedthemselves? It were a
strange thing if such were the case.
Our Lord Jesus came not to do a work of supererogation, but if He came to
save persons who might have savedthemselves, He certainly came without a
necessityfor so doing. We cannotbelieve that Christ came to do what the
sinners might have done themselves!No, “He has trod the winepress alone,
and of the people there was none with Him,” and the redemption of His people
shall give glory unto Himself only!
Shall it be assertedthatthose who were once dead have spiritually quickened
themselves? Canthe dead make themselves alive? Who shall assertthat
Lazarus, rotting in the grave, came forth to life of himself? If it is so said and
so believed, then, no, not even then, will we believe that the dead in sin have
ever quickened themselves!Those who are saved by God the Holy Spirit are
createdanew according to Scripture–but whoeverdreamed of creation
creating itself? God spoke the world out of nothing, but nothing did not aid in
the creationof the universe! Divine energy can do everything, but what can
nothing do?
Now if we have a new creation, there must have been a creator, and it is clear
that not being, then, spiritually created, we could not have assistedin our own

new creation, unless, indeed, death can assistlife, and non-existence aid in
creation. The carnal mind does not assistthe Spirit of God in new creating a
man, but altogetherregenerationis the work of God the Holy Spirit, and the
work of renewalis from His unassistedpower. Father, Son and Spirit, we,
then, adore, and putting these thoughts together, we would humbly prostrate
ourselves at the foot of the Throne of the august Majestyand acknowledge
that if saved, He alone has saved us, and unto Him be the glory!
We next remark that grace is in this verse rendered conspicuous whenwe see
that God pursues a singular method, “Who has saved us and calledus.” The
peculiarity of the manner lies in three things–first, in the completeness ofit.
The Apostle uses the perfect tense and says, “who has savedus.” Believers in
Christ Jesus are saved. Theyare not lookedupon as persons who are in a
hopeful state and may ultimately be saved, but they are alreadysaved.
This is not according to the common talk of professors nowadays,for many of
them speak of being savedwhen they come to die. But it is according to the
usage of Scripture to speak of us who are saved. Be it known this morning
that every man and woman here is either savedat this present moment, or
lost–andthat salvationis not a blessing to be enjoyedupon the dying bed and
to be sung of in a future state–buta matter to be obtained, received, promised
and enjoyed NOW!God has savedHis saints, mark, not partly savedthem,
but perfectly savedthem. The Christian is perfectly saved in God’s purpose.
God has ordained him unto salvation, and that purpose is complete.
He is saved, also, as to the price which has been paid for him, for this is done
not in part but in whole. The substitutionary work which Christ has offered is
not a certainproportion of the work to be done, but, “it is finished,” was the
cry of the Savior before He died. The Believeris also perfectly saved in his
CovenantHead, for as we were utterly lost as soonas ever Adam fell, before
we had committed any actualsin, so every man in Christ was saved in the
secondAdam when He finished His work. The Savior completedHis work and
in the sense in which Paul uses that expression, “He has savedus.”
This completeness is one peculiarity–we must mark another. I want you to
notice the order as well as the completeness–“who has savedus and calledus.”
What? Savedus before He called us? Yes, so the text says. But is a man saved
before he is calledby Divine Grace? Notin his own experience. Notas far as
the work of the Holy Spirit goes. Buthe is savedin God’s purpose, in Christ’s
redemption, and in his relationship to his covenantHead. And he is saved,
moreover, in this respect–thatthe work of his salvationis done, and he has
only to receive it as a finished work. In the olden times of imprisonment for
debt it would have been quite correctfor you to step into the cell of a debtor

and sayto him, “I have freed you,” if you had paid his debts and obtained an
order for his discharge.
Well, but he is still in prison! Yes, but you really liberated him as soonas you
paid his debts. It is true he was still in prison, but he was not legally there, and
no soonerdid he know that the debt was paid and that receipt was pleaded
before proper authorities, than the man obtained his liberty. So the Lord
Jesus Christ paid the debts of His people before they knew anything about it.
Did He not pay them on the Cross more than eighteenhundred years ago to
the utmost penny? And is not this the reasonwhy, as soonas He meets with us
in a way of Grace, He cries, “I have savedyou. Lay hold on eternallife”? We
are, then, virtually, though not actually, savedbefore we are called. “He has
savedus and called us.”
There is yet a third peculiarity, and that is in connectionwith the calling. God
has calledus with a holy calling. Those whom the Saviorsaved upon the tree
are, in due time, effectuallycalled by the powerof God the Holy Spirit unto
holiness. They leave their sins, they endeavor to be like Christ, they choose
holiness–notout of any compulsion–but from the stress ofa new nature which
leads them to rejoice in holiness, just as naturally as before they delighted in
sin. Whereas their old nature loved everything that was evil, their new nature
cannot sin because it is born of God, and it loves everything that is good.
Does not the Apostle mention this result of our calling in order to meet those
who saythat God calls His people because He foreseestheir holiness? Notso!
He calls them to that holiness–thatholiness is not a cause but an effect–itis
not the motive of His purpose, but the result of His purpose. He neither chose
them nor calledthem because they were holy, but He calledthem that they
might be holy, and holiness is the beauty produced by His workmanship in
them. The excellences whichwe see in a Believerare as much the work of God
as the Atonement itself!
This secondpoint brings out very sweetlythe fullness of the Grace ofGod.
First–salvationmust be of Grace, becausethe Lord is the Author of it, and
what motive but Grace could move Him to save the guilty? In the next place,
salvationmust be of Grace because the Lord works in such a manner that our
righteousness is foreverexcluded. Salvation is completedby God, and
therefore not of man, neither by man. Salvation is workedby God in an order
which puts our holiness as a consequence andnot as a cause, and therefore
merit is forever disowned.
When a speakerdesires to strengthen his point and to make himself clear, he
generallyputs in a negative as to the other side. So the Apostle adds a

negative– “Notaccording to our works.” The world’s greatpreaching is, “Do
as well as you can. Live a moral life and God will save you.” The Gospel
preaching is this–“Youare a lost sinner, and you can deserve nothing of God
but His displeasure. If you are to be saved, it must be by an act of Sovereign
Grace. Godmust freely extend the silver scepterof His love to you, for you are
a guilty wretch who deserves to be sentto the lowestHell. Your best works are
so full of sin that they can in no degree save you–to the free mercy of God you
must owe all things.”
“Oh,” says one, “are goodworks of no use?” Goodworks are of use when a
man is saved–theyare the evidences of his being saved. But goodworks do not
save a man, goodworks do not influence the mind of God to save a man, for if
so, salvationwould be a matter of debt and not of Grace. The Lord has
declaredover and over in His Word, “Notof works, lestany man should
boast.” “Bythe works ofthe Law there shall no flesh living be justified.” The
Apostle in the Epistle to the Galatians is very strong, indeed, upon this point.
Indeed, he thunders it out again, and again, and again! He denies that
salvationis even so much as in part due to our works, for if it is by works,
then he declares it is not of Grace, otherwise Grace is no more Grace. And if it
is of Grace, it is not of works, otherwise work is no more work.
Paul assures us that the two principles of Grace and merit can no more mix
togetherthan fire and water–thatif man is to be savedby the mercy of God–it
must be by the mercy of God and not by works. But if man is to be saved by
works, it must be by works entirely and not by mercy mixed with it, for mercy
and work will not go together. Jesus saves, but He does all the work or none.
He is Author and Finisher, and works must not rob Him of His due. Sinner,
you must either receive salvationfreely from the hand of Divine Bounty, or
else you must earn it by your own unassistedmerits, which is utterly
impossible! Oh that you would yield to the first!
My Brethren, this is the Truth of God which still needs to be preached. This is
the Truth of God which shook allEurope from end to end when Luther first
proclaimed it. Is not this the old thunderbolt which the great Reformerhurled
at Rome–“Justifiedfreelyby His grace, through the redemption which is in
Christ Jesus”? Butwhy did God make salvationto be by faith? Scripture tells
us–“Thereforeit is of faith, that it might be by grace.” Ifit had been by works
it must have been by debt–but since it is by faith we can clearlysee that there
can be no merit in faith. It must be therefore by Divine Grace.
My text is even more explicit, yet, for the eternal purpose is mentioned. The
next thing the Apostle says is this: “Who has savedus, and calledus with a
holy calling, not according to our works but according to His own purpose.”

Mark that word–“according to His own purpose.” Oh how some people
wriggle over that word, as if they were worms on a fisherman’s hook!But
there it stands, and cannot be gotten rid of. God saves His people “according
to His purpose.” No, “according to His OWN purpose.”
My Brothers and Sisters, do you not see how all the merit and the powerof
the creature are shut out here, when you are saved, not according to your
purpose or merit, but “according to His ownpurpose”? I shall not dwell on
this. It is not exactly the objectof this morning’s discourse to bring out in full
the greatmystery of electing love, but I will not, for a moment, keepback the
Truth of God. If any man is saved, it is not because he purposed to be saved,
but because Godpurposed to save him.
Have you never read the Holy Spirit’s testimony: “It is not of him that wills,
nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy”? The Savior said to His
Apostles what He, in effect, says also to us, “You have not chosenMe, but I
have chosenyou, and ordained you, that you might bring forth fruit.” Some
hold one and some anotherview concerning the freedom of the will, but our
Savior’s doctrine is, “You will not come unto Me that you might have life.”
You will not come! Your wills will never bring you! If you do come, it is
because Divine Grace inclined you! “No man cancome unto Me, exceptthe
Father which has sentMe draw Him.” “Whoevercomes to Me I will in no
wise castout,” is a great and precious generaltext, but it is quite consistent
with the restof the same verse–“Allthat the Father gives Me shall come to
Me.”
Our text tells us that our salvation is “according to His own purpose.” It is a
strange thing that men should be so angry againstthe purpose of God. We
ourselves have a purpose–we permit our fellow creatures to have some will of
their own, and especiallyin giving away their own goods. Butis my God to be
bound and fettered by men, and not permitted to do as He wills with His own?
But be this knownunto you, O men that reply againstGod, that He gives no
accountof His actions, but asks ofyou, “Can I not do as I will with My own?”
He rules in Heaven, and in the armies of this lower world, and none canstay
His hand or say unto Him, “What are you doing?”
But then the text, lestwe should make any mistake, adds, “according to His
own purpose and grace.”The purpose is not founded on foreseenmerit, but
upon Divine Grace alone. It is Grace, all Grace, nothing but Grace from first
to last! Man stands shivering outside, a condemned criminal, and God, sitting
upon His Throne, sends the herald to tell him that He is willing to receive
sinners and to pardon them. The sinner replies, “Well, I am willing to be
pardoned if I am permitted to do something in order to earn pardon. If I can

stand before the King and claim that I have done something to win His favor,
I am quite willing to come.”
But the herald replies, “No, if you are pardoned, you must understand it is
entirely and wholly as an actof Grace onGod’s part. He sees nothing goodin
you. He knows that there is nothing good in you. He is willing to take you just
as you are, filthy, and bad, and wicked, and undeserving. He is willing to give
you graciouslywhatHe would not sell to you, and what He knows you cannot
earn of Him. Will you take it?” And naturally every man says, “No, I will not
be saved in that style.”
Well, then, Soul, remember that you will never be saved at all, for God’s way
is salvationby Grace!You will have to confess, if ever you are saved, my dear
Hearer, that you never deservedone single blessing from the God of Grace.
You will have to give all the glory to His holy name if ever you getto Heaven.
And mark you, even in the matter of the acceptanceofthis offered mercy, you
will never acceptit unless He makes you willing! He does freely present it to
every one of you, and He honestly bids you come to Christ and live. But come
you never will, I know, except the effectualGrace which first provided mercy
shall make you willing to acceptthat mercy. So the text tells us it is His own
purpose and Grace.
Again, in order to shut out everything like boasting, the whole is spokenof as
a gift. Notice–lest, (forwe are such straying sheepin this matter), lest we
should still slip out of the field–it is added, “purpose and grace whichHe gave
us.” Not, “whichHe sold us,” “offeredus,” but “which He GAVE us.” He
must have a word here which shall be a death-blow to all merit–“whichhe
gave us”–itwas GIVEN. And what canbe freer than a gift, and what more
evidently of Divine Grace?
But the gift is bestowedthrough a medium, which glorifies Christ. It is
written, “which was given us in Christ Jesus.” We ask to have mercy from the
wellheadof Divine Grace, and we ask not even to make the bucketin which it
is to be brought to us! Christ is to be the sacredvesselin which the Grace of
God is to be presentedto our thirsty lips. Now where is boasting? Why surely
there it sits at the footof the Cross and sings, “Godforbid that I should glory
save in the Cross ofour Lord Jesus Christ.” Is it not Grace and Grace alone?
Yet further, a period is mentioned and added–“before the world began.”
Those lastwords seemto me forever to lay prostrate all idea of anything of
our own merits in saving ourselves, becauseit is here witnessedthat God gave
us Divine Grace “before the world began.” Where were you then? What hand
had you in it “before the world began”? Why, fly back, if you can, in

imagination, to the ancientyears when those venerable mountains, that elder
birth of nature, were not yet formed! Fly back when world, and sun, and
moon, and stars, were all in embryo in God’s greatmind–when the
unnavigated sea of space had never been disturbed by wing of seraph, and the
awful silence of eternity had never been startled by the song of cherubim–
when God dwelt alone.
If you can conceive thattime before all time, that vast eternity–it was then He
gave us Grace in Christ Jesus. What, O Soul, had you to do with that? Where
were your merits then? Where were you yourself? O you small dust of the
balance, you insect of a day, where were you? See how Jehovahreigned,
dispensing mercy as He would, and ordaining unto eternal life without taking
counselof man or angel, for neither man or angelthen had an existence!That
it might be all of Grace He gave us Grace before the world began!
I have honestly read out the doctrine of the text, and nothing more. If such is
not the meaning of the text I do not know the meaning of it, and I cannot,
therefore, tell you what it is. But I believe that I have given the natural and
grammatical teaching of the text. If you do not like the doctrine, I cannot help
it. I did not make the text, and if I have to expound it I must expound it
honestly as it is in my Master’s Word. And I pray you receive what He says,
whateveryou may do with what I say.
II. I shall want your patience while I try to SHOW THE USES OF THIS
DOCTRINE.The Doctrine of Grace has been put by in the lumber chamber.
It is acknowledgedto be true, for it is confessedin most creeds. It is in the
Church of England articles. It is in the confessions ofall sorts of Protestant
Christians, except those who are avowedly Arminian, but how little is it ever
preached! It is put among the relics of the past. It is consideredto be a
respectable sortof retired officerwho is not expectedto see any more active
service.
Now I believe that it is not a superannuated officer in the Master’s army, but
that it is as full of force and vigor as ever. But what is the use of it? Why, first,
it is clearfrom the connectionthat it has a tendency to embolden the man who
receives it. Paul tells Timothy not to be ashamed, and he gives this as a
motive–how can a man be ashamedwhen he believes that God has given him
Grace in Christ Jesus before the world was? Suppose the man to be very poor.
“Oh,” he says, “whatdoes it matter? Though I have but a little oil in the
cruse, and a little meal in the barrel, yet I have a lot and a portion in
everlasting things! My name is not in DoomsdayBook nor in Burke’s
Peerage–butit is in the book of God’s election, and was there before the world
began!”

Such a man dares look the proudest of his fellows in the face. This was the
doctrine on which the brave old Ironsides fed–the men who, when they rode to
battle with the war cry of, “The Lord of Hosts!” made the cavaliers fly before
them like chaff before the wind. No doctrine like it for putting a backbone into
a man, and making him feel that he is made for something better than to be
trod down like straw for the dunghill beneath a despot’s heel. Sneerwho will,
the electof God derive a nobility from the Divine choice which no royal patent
can outshine! I would that Free Grace were more preached, because it gives
men something to believe with confidence.
The greatmass of professing Christians know nothing of doctrine. Their
religion consists in going a certain number of times to a place of worship, but
they have no care for the Truth of God one wayor another. I speak without
any prejudice in this matter–but I have talkedwith a large number of persons
in the course of my very extensive pastorate who have been for years members
of other churches. And when I have askedthem a few questions upon
doctrinal matters it did not seem to me that they thought they were in error–
they were perfectly willing to believe almostanything that any earnestman
might teach them. But they did not know anything–they had no minds of their
own–andno definite opinions.
Our children, who have learned“The Westminster Assembly’s Confessionof
Faith,” know more about the Doctrines ofGrace and the doctrine of the Bible
than hundreds of grownups who attend a ministry which very eloquently
teaches nothing. It was observed by a very excellentcritic not long ago that if
you were to hear thirteen lectures on astronomy or geologyyou might get a
pretty goodidea of what the science was, andthe theory of the person who
gave the lectures–butthat if you were to hear thirteen hundred sermons from
some ministers, you would not know at all what they were preaching about or
what their doctrinal sentiments were. It ought not to be so.
Is not this the reasonwhy Puseyismspreads so, and all sorts of errors have
such a foothold, because ourpeople, as a whole, do not know what they
believe? The doctrine of Election, if well received, gives to a man something
which he knows and which he holds and which will become dear to him.
Something for which he would be prepared to die if the fires of persecution
were againkindled! Better still is it that this doctrine not only gives the man
something to hold but it holds the man! Let a man once have burnt into him
that salvationis of God and not of man, and that God’s Grace is to be
glorified and not human merit, and you will never getthat belief out of him!
It is the rarestthing in all the world to hear of such a man ever apostatizing
from his faith. Other doctrine is slippery ground, like the slope of a mountain

composedof loose earthand rolling stones down which the traveler may slide
long before he caneven get a transient foothold. But this is like a granite step
upon the eternalpyramid of Truth–getyour feet on this–and there is no fear
of slipping so far as doctrinal standing is concerned. If we would have our
churches in England wellinstructed and holding fastthe Truth of God, we
must bring out the grand old verity of the eternalpurpose of Godin Christ
Jesus before the world began!
Oh may the Holy Spirit write it on our hearts!Moreover, my Brethren, this
doctrine overwhelms, as with an avalanche, all the claims of priest-craft. Let it
be told to men that they are savedby God, and they sayat once, “Then what is
the goodof the priest?” If they are told it is God’s Grace, then they ask,
“Then you do not want our money to buy masses andabsolutions?” And down
goes the priest at once!Beloved, this is the battering ram that God uses with
which to shake the gates ofHell! How much more forcible than the pretty
essays ofmany so-calledDivines which have no more powerthan bulrushes,
no more light than smoking flax!
What do you suppose people used to meet in the woods for in persecuting
times? They met by thousands outside the town of Antwerp, and such-like
places on the Continent, in jeopardy of their lives! Do you suppose they would
ever have come togetherto hear that poor milk-and-water theologyof this
age, or to receive the lukewarm milk and water of our modern anti-
Calvinists? Not they, my Brethren! They needed strongermeat, and a more
savory diet to attractthem. Do you imagine that when it was death to listen to
the preacher, that men under the shadows of night, and amid the wings of
tempest would then listen to philosophicalessays, orto mere moral precepts,
or to diluted, adulterated, soulless,theologicalsuppositions?
No! There is no energyin that kind of thing to draw men togetherunder fear
of their lives. So what did bring them togetherin the dead of night amidst the
glare of lightning, and the roll of thunder? What brought them together?
Why, the doctrine of the Grace of God! The doctrine of Jesus and of His
servants Paul, and Augustine, and Luther, and Calvin! Forthere is something
in that doctrine which touches the heart of the Christian and gives him food
such as his soul loves, savorymeat, suitable to his Heaven-born appetite!
To hear this, men braved death and defied the sword! And it we are to see
once againthe scarlethat plucked from the wearer’s head, and the shaven
crowns with all the gaudy trumpery of Rome sent back to the place from
where they came–andHeaven grant that they may take our Puseyite
EstablishedChurch with them–it must be by declaring all the doctrines of the
Grace of God! When these are declaredand vindicated in every place, we

shall yet againmake these enemies of God and man to know that they cannot
stand their ground for a moment where men of God wield the swordof the
Lord and of Gideon by preaching the doctrines of the Grace ofGod.
Brothers and Sisters, let the man receive these Truths! Let them be written in
his heart by the Holy Spirit, and they will make him look up. He will say,
“Godhas savedme!” and he will walk with a constanteye to God. He will not
forgetto see the hand of God in Nature and in Providence. He will, on the
contrary, discern the Lord working in all places, and will humbly adore Him.
He will not give to laws of Nature or schemes ofState the glory due to the
MostHigh, but will have respectunto the unseenRuler.
“What the Lord says to me, that will I do,” is the Believer’s language. “What
is His will that will I follow. What is His Word, that will I believe. What is His
promise, on that I will live.” It is a blessedhabit to teacha man to look up,
look up to God in all things! At the same time, this doctrine of Election makes
a man look down upon himself. “Ah,” he says, “I am nothing! There is
nothing in me to merit esteem. I have no goodnessofmy own. If saved, I
cannot praise myself. I cannot in anyway ascribe to myself honor. Godhas
done it, God has done it.” Nothing makes the man so humble, but nothing
makes him so glad! Nothing lays him so low at the Mercy Seat, but nothing
makes him so brave to look his fellow man in the face. It is a grand Truth of
God! Would to God you all knew its mighty power!
Lastly, this precious Truth is full of comfort to the sinner, and that is why I
love it. As it has been preachedby some it has been exaggeratedand made
into a bugbear. Why, there are some who preach the doctrine of Electionas
though it were a line of sharp spikes to keepa sinner from coming to Christ!
As though it were a sharp, glittering swordto be pushed into the breastof a
coming sinner to keephim from mercy!
Now it is not so. Sinner, whoeveryou may be, whereveryou may be, your
greatestcomfortshould be to know that salvationis by Divine Grace. Why
Man, if it were by merit, what would become of you? Suppose that God saved
men on accountof their merits? Where would you drunkards be? Where
would you swearers be? You who have been unclean and unchaste, and you
whose hearts have cursedGod, and who even now do not love Him–where
would you be?
But when it is all of Grace, why, then, all your past life, howeverblack and
filthy it may be, need not keepyou from coming to Jesus. Christreceives
sinners! God has electedsinners!He has electedsome of the filthiest of
sinners–whynot you? He receives everyone that comes to Him. He will not

castyou out. There have been some who have hated Him, insulted Him to His
face–thathave burned His servants alive, and have persecutedHim in His
members–but as soonas they have cried, “Godbe merciful to me a sinner,”
He has given them mercy at once!
And He will give it to you if you are led to seek it. If I had to tell you that you
were to work out your own salvationapart from His Grace it were a sadday
for you. But when it comes to you yourself–filthy–there is washing for you!
Dead–there is life for you! Naked–there is raiment for you! All undone and
ruined–here is a complete salvationfor you! O Soul, may you have Grace to
lay hold of it, and then you and I togetherwill sing to the praise of the glory of
Divine Grace.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The PowerOf God In The SalvationManifestedBy Jesus Christ To The
World
2 Timothy 1:9-11
T. Croskery
He now proceeds to expound in a glorious sentence the origin, conditions,
manifestations of the salvationprovided in the gospel.
I. THE MANNER IN WHICH THE POWER OF GOD HAS BEEN
DISPLAYED TOWARD US. "Who hath savedus, and calledus with an holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and
grace, whichwas given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."
1. The power of God has been displayed toward us in salvation. God is the
Author of salvationin its most comprehensive sense, as including both its
impetration and its application. The salvationmay be said to precede the
calling, as
(1) it has its origin in the "purpose of God,"
(2) as Christ has procured it by his death.
2. It has been displayed in our calling.
(1) The call is the actof the Father (Galatians 1:6).
(2) It is a "holy calling,"

(a) as its Author is holy;
(b) it is a callto holiness;
(c) the calledare enabled to live holy lives.
3. The principle or condition of our salvation. "Notaccording to our works."
(1) Negatively. Works are not
(a) the moving cause ofit, which is the love and favour of God(John 3:16);
(b) nor are they the procuring cause, whichis the obedience and death of
Christ (Romans 3:21-26);
(c) nor do they help in the application of salvation; for works done before our
calling are not good, being without fairly; and works done after it are the
fruits of our calling, and therefore not the cause ofit.
(2) Positively. "But according to his own purpose and grace, whichwas given
us in Christ before the world began." Salvationhas thus a double aspect.
(a) It is "according to the purpose of God." It is a gift from eternity; for it was
"before the world began," and therefore it was not dependent upon man's
works.
(b) It is according to "his grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began." Though those to whom it was given were not in existence, they
existed in Christ as the covenantHead and Representative of his people. They
were chosenin him (Ephesians 1:4).
II. THE MANIFESTATION OF THIS PURPOSE AND GRACE IN THE
INCARNATION AND WORK OF CHRIST. "But manifested now by the
appearing of our SaviourJesus Christ."
1. The nature of this manifestation. It included
(1) the Incarnation; for the Son of God appeared in the fulness of time to
make known the "mystery hid from ages," evenhimself - "the Hope of glory"
- to both Jew and Gentile;
(2) the work of Christ, in the obedience of his life and the suffering of his
death - in a word, the whole work of redemption.
2. The effects of this manifestation. "Who abolisheddeath, and brought to
light life and incorruptibility by means of the gospel."
(1) Its actionupon death. It has abolished or made it of none effect. Deathis
regardedboth in its physical and its ethical aspects.
(a) In its physical aspects, Christhas

(α) deprived it of its sting, and made it a blessing to believers (Hebrews 2:14; 1
Corinthians 15:55), and (β) securedits ultimate abolition (Revelation21:4).
(b) In its ethical aspects,as working through a law of sin and death, Christ has
causedus "to pass from death unto life" in regeneration(1 John 3:14), and
securedus from "the seconddeath" (Revelation2:11).
(2) Its revelationof life and incorruptibility.
(a) Life here is the true life, over which death has no power - the new and
blessedlife of the Spirit. This was, in a sense, knownto the Old Testament
saints; but Christ exhibited it, in its resurrection aspect, afterhe rose from the
dead. It was in virtue of his resurrection, indeed, that the saints of the old
economyhad life at all. But they did not see it as we see it.
(b) Incorruptibility. Not in reference to the risen body, but to the life of the
soul, in its imperishable qualities, in its perfect exemption from death (1 Peter
1:4; Revelation21:4).
(c) The means of this revelationis the gospel, whichmakes this life perfectly
known to men, as to its nature, as to the wayinto it, as to the persons for
whom it is prepared or designed.
III. THE CONNECTION OF THE APOSTLE WITH THIS REVELATION
OF LIFE. "Forwhich I was appointed a herald and an apostle, and a teacher
of the Gentiles." He rehearses his titles of dignity at the very time that he
points to them as entailing suffering upon him. - T.C.
Biblical Illustrator
Who hath savedus, and calledus with an holy calling.

2 Timothy 1:9
The people of Godeffectually calledin time
W. Wilkinson, B. A.
I. We may, in the first place, INQUIRE WHEREIN THIS HEAVENLY AND
HOLY CALLING IS, OR WHAT SUCH ARE REPRESENTED IN
SCRIPTURE AS CALLED TO.
1. They are called, in the first place, it is said, "out of darkness into
marvellous light."
2. And then they are said, again, to be "calledto the obtaining of the glory of
the Lord Jesus Christ." But then they are calledto the knowledge ofJesus as
"the way" to eternal life, and to simple and humble faith in Him, and to see
such glory in Him as shall lead them to find Him to be to them everything they
can need, and possessedofeverything they can receive and enjoy here and for
ever.
II. BUT THEN HOW IS THIS ACCOMPLISHED? We say, by the Spirit; it is
the Spirit's work. But then He condescends to work by means, though He can
work without means or by means, as He pleases. Generallyspeaking,the
means is the Word of God, applied by His own almighty power and influence
to the soul.
III. BUT THEN HOW ARE WE TO TRACE THIS? The text teaches us to
trace it, not to anything in the creature, or any thing that distinguishes those
who partake of that heavenly calling from those who never partake of it, but
to the sovereignand rich and distinguishing grace of the greatJehovah. "Not
according to our works, but according to tits own purpose and grace which
was given us" long before we were born or had any existence, "givenus in
Christ Jesus"our spiritual Head, "givenus in Him before the world began."
You will find this greatchange describedby emblems, which imply altogether
the incapacityof man to accomplishit, and imply that he canhave nothing in
him to deserve it or merit it. It is called, you know, in one place, a resurrection
— what none but God can possibly accomplish.
(W. Wilkinson, B. A.)
Effectualcalling, with its fruits
D. Noel.
I. THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE GOSPEL-CALL.

1. We read in Scripture of an universal or generalcall, directed to all that live
under the gospel. The invitation runs in the most comprehensive terms, that
none may think themselves excluded. Salvationby faith in Christ was first
proposedto the Jews, but upon their peremptory refusalit was offered
without distinction to the Gentiles, who receivedit gladly; from which time
the partition-wall has been broken down, and in every nation, they that fear
God and work righteousness maybe acceptedofHim. But here, it must be
carefully observed, the gospel-callis of a moral nature, and addressedto our
reasonable powers. The blessedJesusdoes not force men into His service by
offering violence to their understanding and will; but convinces the former by
setting the important truths of religion before it in a just and amiable light;
and influences the latter by motives and arguments proper to dispose it to act
agreeable to such conviction. If men complain their powers are broken, and
that of themselves they cannotcomply with the calls of God in His Word, He
has directed them where to seek for necessaryassistance, andhas exalted His
Son Jesus to give repentance, as well as remissionof sins. So that if men finally
refuse the gospelsalvation, it will appear to have been owing more to a want
of will than of power.
2. Besides this generalcall of the gospel, there is a more particular and
personalcall, when the Holy Spirit shines into the mind with such irresistible
light as convinces the judgment, awakens the conscience, andengagesthe will
to a compliance with every part of its duty'.
II. We are to inquire into THE AUTHOR OF EFFECTUALCALLING,
which my text says is GOD. If ministers had the tongues of angels, they could
not of themselves prevail with sinners to believe and obey the gospel. By the
representationthe Scripture gives of the deplorable condition of fallen man, it
is further evident that his effectualcalling must he from God; for it says, that
his under standing is darkened, and "alienatedfrom the life of God." That his
will and affections are under invincible prejudices againstvirtue and
goodness,and strongly biassedto sin and folly; nay, that he is a slave to the
devil, and carriedcaptive by him at his pleasure. Is it not reasonable to
conclude the necessityofa Divine agency, in order to accomplishthe mighty
change? Besides, effectualcalling is compared in Scripture to those wonderful
works that are peculiar to God Himself. It is calleda New Creation, and a
resurrectionfrom the dead; nay, 'tis compared to the mighty power of God,
which was wrought in Christ when He was raisedfrom the dead (Ephesians
1:19).
III. We are now to consider THE PROPERTIES BYWHICH THIS CALL
OF THE SPIRIT IS DESCRIBED.

1. It is secret, Goddoes not call sinners wish an audible voice, but by secret
and powerful impressions upon their souls.
2. It is a personalcall; ministers draw the bow at a venture, but the Spirit of
God directs the arrow to the breast, where it is to enter.
3. Effectualcalling is under the direction of She sovereignwill and pleasure of
God, as to the time, and manner, and means of it. Some are calledinto the
vineyard at the third hour; others at the sixth, and others not till the eleventh
hour. The manner of God's calling men into the kingdom of grace is no less
various. The like variety may be observedin the means of effectualcalling.
Some have been awakenedby a sermon, others by remarkable providence.
Some by reading the Holy Scriptures, or heel,s of devotion; and others by
religious conversation, meditation and prayers.
4. Effectualcalling is without any regard to our works:so says the apostle in
the text, "He has called us not according to our works."
5. The effectual calling of the Holy Spirit is always successful.
IV. We are to considerTHE FRUITS AND CONSEQUENCES OF
EFFECTUALCALLING. Before their conversionthey were in a state of
darkness, slavery, corruption and death; now they are delivered from all this
misery, and made partakers of the privileges of the children of God. But the
more immediate consequences ofeffectualcalling may be comprehended
under these three particulars.
1. The first is, regeneration, orthe new nature.
2. Sanctificationby the Holy Spirit is another consequenceofeffectualcalling.
3. A certain prophet of salvation.
(D. Noel.)
Effectualcalling
T. Boston, D. D.
I. I AM TO SHOW WHAT THE EFFECTUALCALL IN THE GENERAL
IS. All effectualcallis opposedto an ineffectual one. An effectualcallis the
call that gains its real intent; that is to say, when the party calledcomes when
called. To apply this to our purpose, all that hear the gospelare called;but,
1. To some of them it is ineffectual, and these are the most part of gospel-
hearers, "Formany be called, but few chosen" (Matthew 20:10). Theyare

called, invited; but it is but the singing of a song to a deaf man that is not
moved with it (Proverbs 1:24).
2. To others it is effectual, and these are but few (Matthew 20:16).
II. I COME NOW TO SHOW WHO THEY ARE THAT ABE THUS
EFFECTUALLY CALLED. The text tells us that this effectualcall is
according to God's purpose and free grace in Christ.
1. It is men, and not fallen angels, that are called.
2. It is some men, and not others, that are calledeffectually, and these
naturally in as bad and sinful a condition as others (Ephesians 2:12).
3. It is for the most part those who have the least advantages as to their
outward condition in the world (1 Corinthians 1:26-28).
III. I PROCEEDTO SHOW WHENCE AND WHITHER THEY ARE
CALLED WHO ARE EFFECTUALLY CALLED.
1. Calledout of the world that lieth in wickedness(1 John 5:19). And hence
the Church has its name in the propheticaland apostolicalwritings, Ekklesia;
i.e., a company called out from among others, a gatheredcongregation.
2. Calledunto Jesus Christ, and through Him to the blessedsocietyof another
world.
IV. I PROCEEDTO SHOW WHAT MAKES THE CALL EFFECTUALTO
SOME, WHEN IT IS NOT SO TO OTHERS. Negatively.
1. It is neither the piety, parts, nor seriousness ofthose who are employed to
carry the gospel-callto sinners (1 Corinthians 3:7).
2. Neitheris it one that uses his ownfree will better than another does
(Romans 9:6). Positively. We may say in this case, "Notby might, nor by
power, but by the Spirit of the Lord."
V. IT MAY BE ASKED, WHAT NECESSITYIS THERE FOR THEIR
BEING THUS CALLED? The necessityofit is manifest to all that know their
natural case.
1. They are far off (Ephesians 2:13), far from God, and Christ, and all good
(Ephesians 2:12). Hence the callis, "Draw nigh to God."
2. They are hard and fast asleep, and they need this call, "Awake, thou that
sleepest, andarise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light" (Ephesians
5:14).
3. If they were awakenedthey know not where to go to (Acts 2:37).

4. If they did not know where to go to, they are not willing to go thither (John
5:40).
5. If they are willing to go to Christ, yet being awakened, they dare not
venture, guilt so states them in the face, "Thousaidst, There is no hope"
(Jeremiah 2:25).
6. If they durst come, yet they cannot come, unless they be drawn (John 6:44).
VI. I SHALL MORE PARTICULARLY EXPLAIN THE NATURE OF
EFFECTUALCALLING. It is the work of the Lord's Spirit.
1. On the understanding.
(1)An illumination of the soul from Mount Sinai.
(2)An illumination of the soul from Mount Zion.
2. On the will of the sinner. This faculty of the soul needs also a saving work of
the Spirit thereon, being fearfully depraved in the state of nature (Romans
8:7). Now, the Spirit's work on the will is, the renewing of it (Ezekiel36:26).
(T. Boston, D. D.)
Salvationaltogetherby grace
C. H. Spurgeon.
It is somewhatremarkable — at leastit may seemso to persons who are not
accustomedto think upon the subject — that the apostle, in order to excite
Timothy to boldness, to keephim constantin the faith, reminds him of the
greatdoctrine that the grace ofGod reigns in the salvationof men.
I. Very carefully let us CONSIDERTHE DOCTRINE TAUGHT BY THE
APOSTLE IN THIS TEXT.
1. The apostle in stating his doctrine in the following words, "Who hath saved
us, and calledus with an holy calling, not according to our works, but
according to his own purpose and grace, whichwas given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began," declares Godto be the Author of salvation — "Who
hath savedus and called us." The whole tenor of the verse is towards a strong
affirmation of Jonah's doctrine, "that salvationis of the Lord." To saythat we
save ourselves is to utter a manifest absurdity. We are calledin Scripture "a
temple" — A holy temple in the Lord. But shall any one assertthat the stones
of the edifice were their own architect? No:we believe that God the Father
was the architect, sketchedthe plan, supplied the materials, and will complete
the work. Shall it also be said that those who are redeemed, redeemed

themselves? that slaves of Satanbreak their own fetters? Then why was a
Redeemerneededat all? Do you believe that the sheep of God, whom He has
takenfrom betweenthe jaws of the lion, could have rescuedthemselves? Can
the dead make themselves alive?
2. We next remark that grace is in this verse rendered conspicuous whenwe
see that God pursues a singular method — "Who hath savedus and called
us." The peculiarity of the manner lies in three things — first, in the
completeness ofit. The apostle uses the perfect tense and says, "who hath
savedus." Believers in Christ Jesus are saved. This completeness is one
peculiarity — we must mark another. I want you to notice the order as well as
the completeness:"who hath saved us and calledus. What I saved us before
He called us? Yes, so the text says. But is a man savedbefore he is calledby
grace? Notin his own experience, not as far as the work of the Holy Spirit
goes, but he is savedin God's purpose, in Christ's redemption, and in his
relationship to his covenantHead; and he is saved, moreover, in this respect,
that the work of his salvation is done, and he has only to receive it as a
finished work. In the olden times of imprisonment for debt, it would have
been quite correctfor you to step into the cell of a debtor and sayto him, I
have freed you, if you had paid his debts and obtained an order for his
discharge. Well, but he is still in prison. Yes; but you really liberated him as
soonas you paid his debts.
3. When a speakerdesires to strengthen his point and to make himself clear,
he generally puts in a negative as to the other side. So the apostle adds a
negative:"Notaccording to our works." The world's greatpreaching is, "Do
as well as you can, live a moral life, and Godwill save you." The gospel
preaching is this: "Thouart a lostsinner, and thou canst deserve nothing of
God but His displeasure;if thou art to be saved, it must be by an actof
sovereigngrace."
4. My text is even more explicit yet, for the eternal purpose is mentioned. The
next thing the apostle says is this: "Who hath savedus, and calledus with an
holy calling, not according to our worlds but according to His own purpose."
Mark that word — "according to His own purpose." Do you not see how all
the merit and the power of the creature are shut out here, when you are saved,
not according to your purpose or merit, but "according to His own purpose"?
5. But then the text, lest we should make any mistake, adds, "according to His
own purpose and grace."The purpose is not founded on foreseenmerit, but
upon grace alone. It is grace, allgrace, nothing but grace from first to last.

6. Again, in order to shut out everything like boasting, the whole is spokenof
as a gift. Do notice that, "purpose and grace which He gave us" — not "which
He sold us," "offeredus," but "which He gave us."
7. But the gift is bestowedthrough a medium which glorifies Christ. It is
written, "which was given us in Christ Jesus." We ask to have mercy from the
well-headof grace, but we ask not even to make the bucket in which it is to be
brought to us; Christ is to be the sacredvesselin which the grace ofGod is to
be presented to our thirsty lips.
8. Yet further, a period is mentioned and added — "before the world began."
Those lastwords seemto me for ever to lay prostrate all idea of anything of
our merits in saving ourselves, becauseit is here witnessedthat God gave us
grace "before the world began." Where were you then? What hand had you
in it "before the world began"?
II. SHOW THE USES OF THIS DOCTRINE.I would that free grace were
more preached, because it gives men something to believe with confidence.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
God's plan for man's salvation
Samuel Luke.
I. THE ORIGIN OF OUR SALVATION. Three facts claim our notice.
1. It is with God. The last clause of the preceding verse shows to whom the
pronoun "who" refers — "According to the power of God." It is God the
Father to whom the apostle alludes. The Bible everywhere preserves the
distinction betweenthe origin and the means of our salvation. The last it
invariably ascribes to God the Son: the first it as invariably ascribes to God
the Father. In Ephesians 2:4-7 we have a striking instance of this. In ver. 5, it
is "with Christ"; ver. 6, "by Christ"; ver. 7, "through Christ." But all these
expressions are introduced by the statement in ver. 4, "But God, who is rich in
mercy, for His greatlove wherewith tie loved us," etc. And so, in the text, the
apostle says it is "in Christ Jesus";but it originates so entirely with God the
Father, that He is said to have "savedus." This Scripture distinction does
awaywith the only apparently plausible objectionthat has been raisedagainst
the atonementof Christ — viz., that it represents the Father as unwilling to
save sinners, or as needing to be appeased. The eternal Father, and the
suffering Son, are united in one ascriptionof praise. In all our doctrinal
statements, and in all our expressions of praise, let us give honour to both.

2. It is in His own purpose and grace. The idea of a purpose resulting from
grace alone is prominent here. Our salvationnot only originates with God, but
in His gracious purpose alone.(1)It is not the result of necessity. Even acts of
grace are sometimes necessary. The public voice demands them — the
interests of the empire require them — the weaknessofthe government
renders them expedient. Nay, the claims of justice itself may be satisfied, and
grace steps forward. No voice in heaven — on earth — in hell — could have
demanded salvationfor guilty men. Believer, your damnation would not have
tarnished His glory. Your salvationoriginated in His own purpose and
grace.(2)It was not from the impulse of others. A generous heart is sometimes
sluggish. It needs to be excited. One word from another has often stirred to
benevolent action. Our merciful God neededno stimulus. It was not the offer
of Jesus to die for us which roused Him to save us — ii only met His own
gracious desire. No pleading of angels or of men impelled Him. His loving
heart did not wait for either. A few years ago a vesselwas wreckedonthe
coastatScarborough. It was in the night. The signals of distress arousedthe
crew of the lifeboat; the men were on the cliff, looking out and pitying; but the
danger was so greatthat they stirred not. As soonas it was light crowds
gatheredon the spot. One voice was heard. It was the voice of a stranger.
Pointing to the wreck, it appealedto the lifeboat's crew. It reachedthe hearts
of the men. The boat was launched and manned. Soonit returned, bearing the
savedones to the shore. About the same time another wreck occurredon the
same coast. It was the dead of night. A daughter and her father were sleeping
in the lighthouse. The signalof distress awokethe young woman. She saw the
peril. No voice was near to stir her to the deed of mercy. She arousedher
father. Solitary and unstimulated they entered the boat — the wreck was
reached— the wreckedones were borne back in safety. Both deeds were
noble; but you see the difference. The impulse from another stirred the crew
of the lifeboat. No impulse was neededto stir the heart of Grace Darling. All
illustrations must fail us; but we are speaking of Him who needed no impulse
— waited for none — but actedat once from His own gracious purpose.(3)It
was not by the counselof others. The phrase "His own purpose" here is
expressive. The generous heart is sometimes perplexed. It needs no stimulus,
but it needs counsel. Difficulties stand in the way of following out its own
promptings. Its language often is — "Oh! tell me what I can do to save him."
How gratefully it welcomesthe happy thought which removes all its
perplexities. David's heart yearned towards Absalom, but his kingly office
stoodin the way of indulging a father's wishes. How welcome were the
counsels ofthe woman of Tekoah, whenshe threw herselfin his way to plead
for the guilty one. But God was His own counsellorin man's salvation. He had

no counsellorin creation — no architect. He was His own. He has no
counsellorin providence. He needs no minister to advise, or privy council to
deliberate — He is His own. It was yet more true as to man's salvation. It is
"the mystery of His will, according to His goodpleasure, which He hath
pursued in Himself" (Ephesians 1:9). He had no counsellor. No one can divide
the honour with Him.
3. It is not according to our works. The apostle here intends to put goodworks
in their right place; not to set them aside. By "goodworks" he invariably
means not charities alone, howeverbenevolent — nor prayers alone, however
devout: he includes the whole works of a holy life. The daughter of Jairus was
raisedby Jesus. Think you not that, as the thrill of returning life passed
through her veins, her first emotion would be that of love to Him who had
rescuedher from the grave, and that ever after she would be anxious to show
it by every actwhich gratitude prompted? But Jesus raisedher from His own
gracious purpose. Her subsequentacts were the effect, not the cause.
II. THE MEANS OR METHOD OF OUR SALVATION. Three facts deserve
attention.
1. It is in Christ. Paul teaches this: It is "according to His own purpose and
grace";but he adds, "whichwas given us in Christ Jesus." No views of God's
purposes are right, then, which separate them from Christ Jesus. Godhas
revealedno purpose except in Him. His very mercy, full as it is, knows no
channel exceptthrough Him. Mostmen are ready to be saved — nay, wish it.
The hard lessonfor some to learn is, salvationby Christ. Strange that it
should be so. The method which most honours God is the most suited to us.
2. It is by God's calling.
3. This calling is holy. The Apostle Paul has clearly explained his own meaning
(2 Thessalonians2:13, 14). We pause not now to reasonwith those who would
make it a salvation to sin, and not from sin. The text points higher than this. It
is not enough to saythat we are saved in the way of holiness: our very calling
is holy — holy in its design, and holy in its spirit. It breathes spiritual purity,
as well as life into the soul — A portion of the pure atmosphere of heaven
itself. There is no calling by God which is not a holy calling. He stamps His
own image as His own mark upon every soul He calls and saves. There are
three classesto whom we wish especiallyto apply these statements.(1)To
those inquiring after the way to salvation. Inquirer; we compared our text to a
miniature map of the way of salvation. Take care that you follow it. John
Bunyan's "Pilgrim" found his way out of the City of Destructioneasily
enough when alarmed. But his own mistakes, andthe misleadings of others,

led him into many perils. Nor was it until Evangelistmet him the secondtime,
and sethim right, that he found the wicketgate, and the only way to the
CelestialCity. Take this verse with you at the beginning of your journey.
Study it well. It will preserve you from serious perils to your salvation.(2)To
those who objectto God's plan of salvation. Our reference now is to those who
objecton the ground of its supposedtendency. It is thought by some that a
salvationso arrangedwill check a holy life. If rightly viewed, it stimulates to
it. If holiness be not always the result of the doctrine, the cause of failure is not
in the truth, but in the heart on which it falls. When the softfertilising shower
has fallen on your garden, old flowers give fresh signs of life, and new flowers
begin to open their buds. Nay, the seedhitherto buried, but invisible appears.
And yet in one part of the garden you look, and although the same pure rain
has fallen upon it, and the same seedlies buried beneath it, no flowers
appears. The cause is not with the rain, but the soil. It was the doctrine of
salvationby grace whichtransformed the frivolous dissipated young soldier of
Corfu into the consistent, holy, religious hero of the Crimea — Captain
Hedley Vicars.
3. To those who despise or neglectthis salvation. Does its simple easymethod
offend you? How is this? The accomplishmentof greatends by the simplest
means is usually regarded as the greatestachievementof wisdom. This plan is
the result of Divine wisdom alone. No other wisdom could have devised it.
(Samuel Luke.)
A holy calling
Speaker's Commentary.
St. Peter(1 Peter1:15) gives the full force of this epithet: "As He which hath
calledyou is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation."
(Speaker's Commentary.)
God's call
H. C. G. Moule, M. A.
The voice of Divine grace prevailing upon the will. This is the ruling meaning
of "call," "calling," etc.,in the Epistles;while in the Gospels it means no
more, necessarily, than the audible invitations of the gospel(see, e.g., Matthew
22:14).
(H. C. G. Moule, M. A.)

A holy calling
J. Barlow, D. D.
1. Forthe causes ofit are holy; God, Christ, the Spirit, and the Word are all
said to be holy. And the ministers, for the most part, are holy, who be
instruments in this action.
2. And in regardof the end too, and the subjects from which we are called,
and to which we be called, it is a holy calling. Forfirst, We are calledfrom
darkness to light. Secondly, From uncleanness to holiness. Thirdly, From
wickedmen and devils, to the communion of saints and angels. Fourthly, We
are calledfrom earth that is polluted, unto heaven the holy mountain of the
Lord.
3. In the lastplace, this is to teachsuch as are called on this manner to walk
worthy of their calling. Is it a holy calling? live thou holily. Shall a prince plod
in the mire, defile his clothes, and pollute his person, by the base offices of
poor subjects? How unseemly then is it for these holy brethren.
(J. Barlow, D. D.)
Christianity a holy religion
To a young infidel who was scoffing at Christianity because of the misconduct
of its professors,the late Dr. Masonsaid, "Did you ever know an uproar to be
made because an infidel went astray from the paths of morality?" The infidel
admitted that he had not. "Then don't you see," saidDr. Mason, "that, by
expecting the professors ofChristianity to be holy, you admit it to be a holy
religion, and thus pay it the highestcompliment in your power?" The young
man was silent.
Grace does not lightly esteem
Anon.
There is sometimes the thought that grace implies God's passing by sin. But
no — quite the contrary; grace supposes sinto be so horribly bad a thing, that
God cannot tolerate it. Were it in the power of man, after being unrighteous
and evil, to patch up his ways, and mend himself so as to stand before God,
there would then be no need of grace. The very fact of the Lord's being
gracious shows sinto be so evil a thing, that man, being a sinner, his state is

utterly ruined and hopeless, and nothing but free grace will do for him — can
meet his need.
(Anon.)
Salvationby grace
The late Rev. C. J. Latrobe visited a certain nobleman in Ireland who devoted
considerable sums to charitable purposes; and, among other benevolent acts,
had erectedan elegantchurch at his own expense. The nobleman, with great
pleasure, showedMr. Latrobe his estate, pointed him to the church, and said,
"Now, sir, do you not think that will merit heaven?" Mr. Latrobe paused for a
moment, and said, "Pray, my lord, what may your estate be worth a year?" "I
imagine," said the nobleman, "aboutthirteen or fourteen thousand pounds."
"And do you think, my lord," answeredthe minister, "that God would sell
heaven, even for thirteen or fourteen thousand pounds?"
Grace and free will
W. Baxendale.
Mrs. Romaine was once in company with a clergyman at Tiverton, who spoke
with no little zeal againstwhat he called "irresistible grace,"alleging that
"suchgrace would be quite incompatible with free will." "Notat all so,"
answeredMrs. Romaine;"grace operateseffectually, yet not coercively. The
wills of God's people are drawn to Him and Divine things,. just as your will
would be drawn to a bishopric, if you had the offer of it."
(W. Baxendale.)
The sovereigngrace ofGod
Henry IV., King of France, was in every point of view a greatman. It is said
that on an anniversary of his birthday he made the following reflection: "I
was born on this day, and no doubt, taking the world through, thousands were
born on the same day with me, yet out of all those thousands I am probably
the only one whom God hath made a king, How peculiarly am I favoured by
the bounty of His providence!" But a Christian, reflecting on his secondbirth,
may, with greaterreason, adore the free and sovereigngrace ofGod.
COMMENTARIES

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(9) Who hath savedus.—St. Paul now specifies the manner in which the
powerof God has been displayed towards us. This is an inclusive word, and
comprehends all God’s dealings with us in respectto our redemption. (See
Notes on Titus 3:5.) Again, as so frequently in these PastoralEpistles, is the
First Personof the blessedTrinity referred to as the Saviour.
Us.—Pauland Timothy, and all who believe on the name of the Lord Jesus,
are included under “us.”
And calledus with an holy calling.—This explains the means by which God
was pleasedto save St. Paul and Timothy. He calledthem. He—Godthe
Father, to whom the act of calling is regularly ascribed(Galatians 1:6); and
the calling is said to be “holy,” because it is a summons to share in the blessed
communion of Christ (1Corinthians 1:9). There is an inner as well as an outer
calling; the “outer” comes through the preaching of the word, the inner by
means of the voice of the Holy Ghost in the heart.
Not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace.—
We are told in the next clause that “the grace” was givenbefore the world
began; therefore “our works” couldhave had nothing to do with the divine
purpose which was resolvedon by God. As Chrysostomobserves, “No one
counselling with Him, but of His own purpose, the purpose originating in His
own goodness.”Calvin pithily remarks, “If Godchose us before the creation
of the world, He could not have consideredthe question of our works, which
could have had no existence at a period when we ourselves were not.” “But
according to” (in pursuance of) “His own purposes,” with emphasis on
“own”—thatpurpose which was prompted by nothing outward, but which
arose solelyout of the divine goodwill, or goodness, orlove. (See Ephesians
1:11.) The “grace” here is almostequivalent to the “mercy” of Titus 3:5,
“according to His mercy He savedus.”
Which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.—This grace was
“given,” not “destined,” to us. It was given to us, in the person of Jesus Christ,
before time was, and when our Redeemer, in the fulness of time, appeared,
then was it made manifest. “Before the world began”—quite literally, “before
eternal times;” the meaning here is “from all eternity,” before times marked
by the lapse of unnumbered ages.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

1:6-14 God has not given us the spirit of fear, but the spirit of power, of
courage and resolution, to meet difficulties and dangers;the spirit of love to
him, which will carry us through opposition. And the spirit of a sound mind,
quietness of mind. The Holy Spirit is not the author of a timid or cowardly
disposition, or of slavish fears. We are likely to bear afflictions well, when we
have strength and powerfrom God to enable us to bear them. As is usual with
Paul, when he mentions Christ and his redemption, he enlarges upon them; so
full was he of that which is all our salvation, and ought to be all our desire.
The callof the gospelis a holy call, making holy. Salvationis of free grace.
This is said to be given us before the world began, that is, in the purpose of
God from all eternity; in Christ Jesus, for all the gifts that come from Godto
sinful man, come in and through Christ Jesus alone. And as there is so clear a
prospectof eternal happiness by faith in Him, who is the Resurrectionand the
Life, let us give more diligence in making his salvationsure to our souls. Those
who cleave to the gospel, neednot be ashamed, the cause will bear them out;
but those who oppose it, shall be ashamed. The apostle had trusted his life, his
soul, and eternal interests, to the Lord Jesus. No one else could deliver and
secure his soul through the trials of life and death. There is a day coming,
when our souls will be inquired after. Thou hadst a soul committed to thee;
how was it employed? in the service of sin, or in the service of Christ? The
hope of the lowestrealChristian rests on the same foundation as that of the
greatapostle. He also has learned the value and the danger of his soul; he also
has believed in Christ; and the change wrought in his soul, convinces the
believer that the Lord Jesus will keephim to his heavenly kingdom. Paul
exhorts Timothy to hold fast the Holy Scriptures, the substance of solid gospel
truth in them. It is not enough to assentto the sound words, but we must love
them. The Christian doctrine is a trust committed to us; it is of unspeakable
value in itself, and will be of unspeakable advantage to us. It is committed to
us, to be preservedpure and entire, yet we must not think to keepit by our
own strength, but by the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us; and it will
not be gained by those who trust in their own hearts, and lean to their own
understandings.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Who hath savedus; - See the notes at Matthew 1:21. He has brought us into a
state in which salvationis so certain, that Paul could speak ofit as if it were
already done.
And calledus - see the notes at Romans 8:28, Romans 8:30.

With an holy calling - A calling which is in its own nature holy, and which
leads to holiness; compare the Ephesians 4:1 note; Philippians 3:14 note;
Hebrews 3:1 note.
Not according to our works - Titus 3:5; notes, Ephesians 2:8-9. The idea is,
that our ownworks have nothing to do in inducing God to call us. As, when
we become Christians, he does not chooseus because of our works, so the
eternal purpose in regard to our salvation could not have been formed
because he foresaw that we would perform such works as would be a reason
why he should choose us. The whole arrangementwas irrespective of our
deserts.
But according to his own purpose and grace - see the Romans 9:11-13 notes,
16; Ephesians 1:4-5 notes.
Which was given us in Christ Jesus, before the world began - That is, which
he intended to give us, for it was not then actuallygiven. The thing was so
certain in the divine purposes, that it might be said to be already done;
compare the notes at Romans 4:17.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
9. Who … calledus—namely, God the Father(Ga 1:6). The having "saved
us" in His eternalpurpose of "grace, givenus in Christ before the world
began," precedes his actual "calling" ofus in due time with a call made
effective to us by the Holy Spirit; therefore, "savedus" comes before "called
us" (Ro 8:28-30).
holy calling—the actual callto a life of holiness. Heb 3:1, "heavenly calling"
[Tittmann, Greek Synonyms of the New Testament];whereas we were sinners
and enemies (Eph 1:18; 4:1). The call comes wholly from God and claims us
wholly for God. "Holy" implies the separationof believers from the restof the
world unto God.
not according to—nothaving regardto our works in His electionand calling
of grace (Ro 9:11; Eph 2:8, 9).
his ownpurpose—The origination of salvation was of His own purpose,
flowing from His owngoodness, notfor works of ours coming first, but wholly
because ofHis own gratuitous, electing love [Theodoretand Calvin].
grace … given us—in His everlasting purpose, regarded as the same as when
actually accomplishedin due time.
in Christ—believers being regardedby God as IN Him, with whom the Father
makes the covenantof salvation(Eph 1:4; 3:11).

before the world began—Greek,"before the times (periods) of ages";the
enduring ages ofwhich no end is contemplated (1Co 2:7; Eph 3:11).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Who hath savedus; that is, brought us into a state of salvation, and given us a
right to it.
And calledus with an holy calling; and, in order to our obtaining it, hath
effectually called, renewed, and sanctified us.
Not according to our works;not for any merits of ours.
But according to his own purpose and grace;but from his own free love
purposing and decreeing eternal salvationto us, with the means adequate to
it.
Which was given us in Christ Jesus;to be obtained through the merits and
mediation of Jesus Christ.
Before the world began; which purpose of his was before the foundation of the
world was laid, and therefore could not be according to our works, but must
be of his own grace, Ephesians 1:4 Titus 3:5.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Who hath savedus, and calledus,.... And therefore should not be ashamedof
his Gospel, but should readily partake of the afflictions of it, depending on his
powerto support under them. There is a salvation previous to calling: there is
a temporal salvation; a specialprovidence attends the electof God, as soonas
born; God's visitation in a very specialmanner preserves their spirits; they
are kept from many imminent dangers, and some of them from the grosser
immoralities of life; and there is a chain of providences, as the fixing of their
habitations, bringing to such a place, and under such a ministry, with various
other things, ways and methods, which lead on to the effectual calling:and
there is a preservation of them in Christ Jesus, antecedentto calling, Jde 1:1.
God had a mind to save some;he pitched on his own Son to be the Saviour of
them; he put those persons into his hands, where they are safelypreserved; so
as not to be damned, and everlastinglyperish, notwithstanding their fall in

Adam, their original corruption, and actual transgressions, until called by
grace:yea, that spiritual and eternal salvation, which is by Jesus Christ, is
before calling; this was resolvedupon from eternity; a council of peace was
formed; a covenantof grace was made; a promise of life given; persons were
fixed upon to be saved;a Saviour was appointed, and blessings of grace were
put into his hands; and all according to an eternal purpose. Salvation was not
only resolvedupon, but the scheme of it was contrived from eternity, in a way
agreeable to all the divine perfections, in which Satan is most mortified, the
creature abased, and the electeffectuallysaved; nay, salvation is obtained
before calling, Christ being calledto this work, and having undertook it, was
in the fulness of time sentto effectit, and is become the author of it: the thing
is done, and all that remain are the application of it, which is in the effectual
calling, and the full possessionofit, which will be in heaven. The calling here
spokenof is not to an office, nor a mere call by the external ministry of the
word, but a callby specialgrace,to specialprivileges, to grace and glory; and
is an high and heavenly one, and is here calledholy, for it follows,
with an holy calling. The Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions read, "with his
holy calling":the author of it is holy; it is a call to holiness, and the means of it
are holy; and in it persons have principles of grace and holiness implanted in
them; and are influenced to live holy lives and conversations:
not according to our works;neither salvation nor calling are according to the
works of men: not salvation; works are not the moving cause ofit, but the free
love and favour of God; nor the procuring cause of it, but the Lord Jesus
Christ; nor the adjuvant or helping cause of it, for his own arm brought
salvationalone: nor calling; which must be either according to works before,
or after; not according to works before calling, for such are not properly good
works, being destitute of faith in Christ, and proceeding neither from a right
principle, nor to a right end; not according to works after calling, as they are
after it they are the fruits of calling grace, and cannotbe the cause, or rule,
and measure at it:
but according to his own purpose and grace;salvationis according to both: it
is according to the purpose of God; God resolvedupon the salvationof some;
in pursuance of this resolution, he set up Christ as the Mediator;and it being
necessarythat he should be man, this was agreedto, and a body was prepared
him; the time of his coming was fixed, calledthe fulness of time; and his
sufferings and death, with all the circumstances ofthem, were determined by
God. And it is according to grace;the resolution for it, and the contrivance of
it, are owing to the grace ofGod; and which also appears in the making of a
covenant;in setting up Christ as the Mediatorof it; in the mission of him into

this world; and in all the parts and branches of salvation:in the choice of
persons to it; in the redemption of them by Christ; in their justification by his
righteousness;in the pardon of their sins through his blood; in their adoption,
regeneration, sanctification, and eternal glory; and the end of it is the glory of
the grace ofGod. Vocationis also according to both the purpose and grace of
God: it is according to his purpose; the persons called are fixed upon by him;
whom he predestinates he calls;none are called, but whom Godpurposed to
call; and for their calling no other reasoncan be assignedbut the sovereign
will of God, nor can any other reasonbe given why others are not called; the
time of their calling is fixed in the decrees ofGod; and the place where, and
means whereby, and occasionwhereof, allare predetermined by him: and this
is also according to grace;the author of it is the God of all grace;and in it is
made the first discoveryof grace to sinners; nothing out of God could move
him to do it, and so it is sovereigngrace;it is of some men, and not all, and so
is distinguishing grace;it is of sinners, and so is free grace;and it is both to
grace and glory, and so is rich grace:and it is according to grace
which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began; it is a gift, and a
free gift, not at all depending upon any conditions in the creature, and entirely
proceeding from the sovereignwill of God; and it was a gift from eternity;
there was not only a purpose of grace in God's heart, and a promise of it so
early, but there was a real donation of it in eternity: and though those to
whom it was givendid not then personallyexist, yet Christ did, and he existed
as a covenant head and representative of his people; and they were in him, as
members of him, as representedby him, being united to him; and this grace
was given to him for them, and to them in him; in whom they were chosen,
and in whom they were blessedwith all spiritual blessings. The Ethiopic
version reads, "in Christ Jesus, who before the world was";but without any
foundation.
Geneva Study Bible
{4} Who hath savedus, and calledus with an holy calling, not according to
our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was {h} given
us in Christ Jesus {i} before the world began,
(4) He shows with how greatbenefits God has bound us to maintain boldly
and constantlyhis glory which is joined with our salvation, and reckons up
the causesofour salvation, that is, that free and eternal purpose of God, to
save us in Christ who was to come. And by this it would come to pass, that we
would at length be freely calledby Godthrough the preaching of the Gospel,
to Christ the destroyer of death and author of immortality.

(h) He says that that grace was givento us from everlasting, to which we were
predestinated from everlasting. So that the doctrine of foreseenfaith and
foreseenworks is completelycontrary to the doctrine which preaches and
teaches the grace of God.
(i) Before the beginning of years, which has run on ever since the beginning of
the world.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
2 Timothy 1:9. In the series of participial and relative clauses whichhere
follow eachother in the Pauline manner, the apostle details the saving works
of God’s grace, notso much “to bring into prominence the δύναμις Θεοῦ”
(Wiesinger), as to strengthen the exhortation in 2 Timothy 1:8.
τοῦ σώσαντος ἡμᾶς καὶ καλέσαντος κλήσει ἁγίᾳ]This thought is closely
related to the one preceding, since the mention of the divine act of love serves
to give strength in working and suffering for the gospel.
The καλεῖν is placedafter the σώζειν, because the salvation of God, the
σωτηρία, is imparted to man by God through the call. The thought is to be
takengenerally of all Christians, and not merely to be referred to Paul and
Timothy, as severalexpositors think, at the same time explaining κλῆσις of the
specialcallto the office of Christian teacher(Heydenreich).
Κλῆσις in the N. T. constantly denotes the call to partake in the kingdom of
God, the call being made outwardly by the preaching of the gospel, inwardly
by the influence of the spirit working through the word. Κλῆσις and καλεῖν
are similarly joined in Ephesians 4:1.
The added ἁγία defines the κλῆσις more precisely in its nature, not in its
working (de Wette, “hallowing”).
In order to denote the σώζειν[12]and ΚΑΛΕῖΝ as purely acts of God’s grace,
and thus setthe love of God in clearerlight, Paul adds the words:Οὐ ΚΑΤᾺ
ΤᾺ ἜΡΓΑ ἩΜῶΝ, ἈΛΛᾺ Κ.Τ.Λ. The first clause is negative, declaring that
our works were not the standard (ΚΑΤΆ) of that divine activity (comp. Titus

3:5). The secondclause is positive, setting forth the principle by which alone
God has guided himself. De Wette is inaccurate in explaining ΚΑΤΆ. as giving
the motive; that is not given by ΚΑΤΆ, but by ἘΞ; comp. Romans 9:11. The
only rule for God in the work of redemption is God’s ἸΔΊΑΠΡΌΘΕΣΙς;
comp. on this Romans 8:28 f.; Ephesians 1:11; Titus 3:5 : ΚΑΤᾺ ΤῸΝ
ΑὙΤΟῦ ἜΛΕΟΝ. ἼΔΙΟς is here emphatic, in order to show that this his
purpose has its ground in himself alone.[13]
καὶ χάριν τὴν δοθεῖσανἡμῖν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ πρὸ χρόνων αἰωνίων] By this
addition still greateremphasis is laid on the thought containedin the previous
words, since the ἰδία πρόθεσις is calleda χάρις which has been already given
us in Christ πρὸ χρόνων αἰωνίων. It is natural to take πρὸ χρόν. αἰων. as
identical with πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων, 1 Corinthians 2:7 (Ephesians 1:4 : πρὸ
καταβολῆς κόσμου), i.e. to regard it as a term for eternity, since the χρόνοι
αἰώνιοι are the times beginning with the creation(so hitherto in this
commentary). Heydenreich and others with this view explain δίδοναι as
equivalent to “destinare, appoint;” but as the word does not possessthis
meaning, it is better to adhere to the idea of giving, but in an ideal
signification, “in so far as that which God resolves in eternity is already as
goodas realized in time” (de Wette). Ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, which is attached
immediately to δοθεῖσαν, denotes Christ Jesus as the mediator through whom
grace is imparted to us, but in such a way that Christ’s mediatorship is
regardedas one provided by God before time was.[14]Butthe expressionπρὸ
χρόν. αἰων. may be otherwise taken. In Titus 1:2, it clearlyhas a weaker
signification, viz. “from time immemorial” (similarly Luke 1:70 : ἈΠʼ
ΑἸῶΝΟς). If the expressionbe takenin that wayhere, ΔΟΘΕῖΣΑΝ may be
explained in the sense that to us the ΧΆΡΙς is already given in the promise
(Titus 1:2 also refers to God’s promise); so Hofmann. In that case, however,
ἘΝ ΧΡΙΣΤῷ ἸΗΣΟῦ is not to be takenin the sense ofmediation, which does
not agree with the addition of ἸΗΣΟῦ to ΧΡΙΣΤῷ, but as Hofmann explains
it: “ΤῊΝ ΔΟΘ. ἩΜ. ἘΝ ΧΡΙΣΤῷ ἸΗΣΟῦ denotes that the grace given us
was given that Christ Jesus might be given us; He, however, has been given us
from the beginning of time, when God promised the Saviour who was to
appear in the personof Jesus.” This view (especiallyon accountof Titus 1:2)
might be preferred to the one previously mentioned. As contrastedwith
ΚΑΤᾺ ΤᾺ ἜΡΓΑ ἩΜῶΝ, stress is to be laid on ΠΡῸ ΧΡΌΝΩΝ ΑἸΩΝΊΩΝ.
If the imparting of the grace is eternal (resting on the eternal counselof God),
it is all the less dependent on the works of man.

[12] De Wette’s assertion, that with Paul God is never the Saviour, is
contradictedby 1 Corinthians 1:21.
[13] Πρόθεσις, as Wiesingerrightly remarks, is not equivalent to
“foreordination,” but to “purpose;” see Romans 1:13; Ephesians 1:9;
Ephesians 1:11[14]Hofmann, in his Schriftbew. I. p. 232, puts forward the
explanation: “It is the eternal conduct of God the Fatherto the Son, in which
and with which there is given to us who are in Christ the grace ofGod
eternally;” but he has since withdrawn it.—Wiesingerremarks that the
πρόθεσις is not to be understood of a purpose in reference to individuals, but
of the purpose in reference to the world, and that every position of the
individual is grounded on this eternal grace presentedto the world in Christ;
but this limitation is in no wayindicated by the context.
Expositor's Greek Testament
2 Timothy 1:9. τοῦ σώσαντος, κ.τ.λ.:The connexion, as has been just
remarked, is that our recognitionat our baptism of God’s saving and calling
grace—He savedus and calledus at a definite point of time (aor.)—oughtto
strengthen our faith in the continuance in the future of His gifts of powerto
us. On the insistence in this group of epistles on God’s saving grace, see notes
on 1 Timothy 1:1; 1 Timothy 2:4.
καλέσαντος κλήσει ἁγίᾳ:To a holy calling, i.e., to a life of holiness, is less
ambiguous than with a holy calling, which might mean “a calling uttered by a
Holy One,” or “in holy language”.κλῆσις does not here mean the invitation
(as in Romans 11:29), but, when qualified as here by an adj., it means the
condition into which, or the purpose for which, we have been called (so ἡ ἄνω
κλ., Php 3:14, ἐπουράνιος κλ., Hebrews 3:1; and cf. 1 Corinthians 7:20). We
have been “calledto be saints,” Romans 1:7, “calledinto the fellowship of
God’s Son,” 1 Corinthians 1:9.
οὐ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα: The sentiment is more clearly expressedin Titus 3:5, οὐκ ἐξ
ἔργων … ἃ ἐποιήσαμενἡμεῖς. There is an echo in both places of the
controversy, now over, concerning works and grace. Perhaps κατά is used in
this clause to mark more vividly the antithesis to the next, κατὰ ἰδ. πρόθ., in
which its use is more normal. See Ephesians 2:8, οὐκ ἐξ ὑμῶν, θεοῦ τὸ δῶρον.

ἀλλὰ κατὰ ἰδίανπρόθεσιν, κ.τ.λ.:The grace in which the divine purpose for
man expresses itselfwas givento mankind before times eternal;mankind,
sons of God, being summed up, concentrated, in the Son of God, whom we
know now as Christ Jesus. In Him was present, germ-wise, redeemed
humanity, to be realisedin races and individuals in succeeding ages.
We have here the same teaching about the Church and Christ as is more fully
given in Ephesians and Colossians (see especiallyEphesians 1:4). In Romans
16:25 the antithesis betweena reality veiled in the past and now unveiled, or
manifested, is expressedin language very similar to that of the passagebefore
us: κατὰ ἀποκάλυψινμυστηρίου χρόνοις αἰωνίοιςσεσιγημένου φανερωθέντος
δὲ νῦν.
πρὸ χρόνων αἰωνίων: expresses the notion of that which is anterior to the most
remote period in the past conceivable by any imagination that man knows of.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
9. who hath savedus] Rather, who savedus; the ‘saving’ and ‘calling’ should
both be referred to the same point of time—viz. Baptism; and 2 Timothy 1:9-
10 are compressedby the Prayer-Book Catechisminto the sentence ‘he hath
calledme to this state of salvationthrough Jesus Christ our Saviour.’ See note
1 Timothy 2:4.
us] Notlimited to Paul and Timothy, but as in the parallelpassage,Titus 3:5,
embracing all the baptised, all who have ‘the faith of God’s elect.’See
generallythe note there. The ‘holy calling’here answers, in its twofoldaspect
of privilege and duty, to the ‘heirs of eternal life,’ and the ‘maintaining of
goodworks,’there.
not according to our works]More exactly, Titus 3:5, ‘not by virtue of works,
works in righteousness,whichwe did,’ but in accordancewith His own
purpose and free gift given to us in Christ Jesus in eternal times gone by; see
note on the parallel clause Titus 1:3, where the phrase ‘eternal times’ is
explained, and the preposition ‘before.’ Theod. Mops. gives well the
connecting thought which carries St Paul here from his appealfor boldness
into another of his exulting Gospelanthems. ‘Take,’he says in effect, ‘take
greatpains, bear long pains—for a gift so great, so age-long.’

Bengel's Gnomen
2 Timothy 1:9. Σώσαντος, who has saved)by conversion;Acts 2:47. There is
here an excellentdescription of the love of the Father, of the grace ofthe
Saviour, and of the whole economyof salvation, for the propagationof which
it is worth while to suffer and die. This salvation is not merely a thing to be
acquired (acquisitiva), but a thing to be applied (applicativa), for this very
reason, that it is so closelyconnectedwith the calling. All the things which are
placed, 2 Timothy 1:9, under κατὰ, in actual fact [in the very act]precede
salvationand calling. Salvation and calling, in point of fact, follow. If a man
comes into the state of being called, this is already the beginning of his whole
salvation;and in this sense calling is a part of salvation: salvationis the whole,
but both are very closelyconnected. The anxiety itself of the Shepherd is prior
to the actualtime of the little sheephearing the voice of the Shepherd.—
κλήσει ἁγίᾳ, with a holy calling) which is entirely from God, and claims us
entirely for God. The holiness and Divine origin of this calling is afterwards
more fully described, especiallyas the epithet ἰδίαν, His own, excludes our
own works.—ἰδίαν, His own) Romans 9:11; Ephesians 2:8; 1 Timothy 6:15,
note.—τὴνδοθεῖσαν, given to us) Before we existed, it was given to us, the
Mediatoreven already at that time receiving it.—ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ—διὰ—
Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, in Christ Jesus—by—ofChrist Jesus)The name Christ is
very skilfully put first when the old economyis mentioned; the name Jesus,
when the new economyis mentioned.—πρὸ χρόνων αἰωνίων, before eternal
ages)Titus 1:2; Romans 16:25, note.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 9. - Savedfor hath saved, A.V.; a for an, A.V.; times eternal for the
world began, A.V. Who saved us, and calledus. The saving was in the gift of
his only begotten Sonto be our Saviour; the calling is the work of the Holy
Spirit drawing individual souls to Christ to be saved by him. (For the power of
God displayed in man's salvation, comp. Ephesians 1:19, 20.)With a holy
calling (comp. Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2). Not according to our works
(see Titus 3:5; Ephesians 2:4-10). His own purpose and grace. If our calling
were of works, it would not be by grace (Romans 4:4, 5; Romans 11:6), but it
is "according to the riches of his grace...according to his goodpleasure which
he purposed in himself" (Ephesians 1:9, 11). Before times eternal (πρὸ χρόνων
αἰωνίων). The phrase seems to have the same generalmeaning as πρὸ
καταβολῆς κόσμου,"before the foundation of the world" (Ephesians 1:4),
where the generalcontext is the same. The phrase itself occurs in Romans
16:25 (χρόνοις αἰωνίοις)and Titus 1:2, in which last place time is indicated
posteriorto the creationof men. In 1 Corinthians 2:7 we have simply πρὸ τῶν

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