Paul's Exhortations & Instructions to Brother Timothy 1st Letter Volume 8

Paul Gives Glory to God for His Grace Part 2

1 Timothy 1:13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.  KJV

Now, Paul begins to detail to Timothy (surely this testimony he had told him many times before during their travels together preaching the Gospel) again these words concerning himself and his normal way of life or his normal course of action before he encountered our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ on the Damascus road many years earlier as he writes speaking of himself, "Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief." (1 Timothy 1:13) (KJV). First Pauled called himself a 'blasphemer' and this English word is translated by the Greek word  blasphēmos which means scurrilous, that is, someone who expresses offensive reproach or abusive reproach calumnious, that is, someone who uses denigrating, defamatory, and derogatory statements against man and against God that are harmful and untrue; tending to discredit or malign or specifically being impious and irreverent (against God): - railing. The little English phrase 'a persecutor' is translated by one Greek word diōktēs used this one time only in the entire New Testament meaning a persecutor, that is, someone who pursues or follows after an individual or many people in order to inflict harm to them physically or in other methods, such as emotionally/spiritually or even financially or other ways. The English word 'injurious' is translated by the Greek word hubristēs meaning to exercise violence, that is, abuse: - use despitefully, reproach, entreat shamefully (spitefully); an insulter, that is, maltreater: - injurious.

In other words, Paul in his unregenerate state or condition, that is, before he was born again by God the Holy Spirit, he hated Christ and all Christians and made it his mission to speak against them or rail against them spreading negative information against Christ and His Children that was not true just as he also chased after them in order to do them physical harm thinking this would stop them declaring our Lord Jesus Christ to be Risen from the grave and to be the One and Only True God of Israel and of the Gentile Nations also just as he spoke of himself with these words recorded for us by Dr. Luke in the Book of Acts, "I myself indeed was [once] persuaded that it was my duty to do many things contrary to {and} in defiance of the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is what I did in Jerusalem; I [not only] locked up many of the [faithful] saints (holy ones) in prison by virtue of authority received from the chief priests, but when they were being condemned to death, I cast my vote against them. And frequently I punished them in all the synagogues to make them blaspheme; and in my bitter fury against them, I harassed (troubled, molested, persecuted) {and} pursued them even to foreign cities." (Acts 26:9-11) (Amplified Bible), in like manner how he detailed it to the Galatian Church using these words, "You have heard of my earlier career {and} former manner of life in the Jewish religion (Judaism), how I persecuted {and} abused the Church of God furiously {and} extensively, and [with fanatical zeal did my best] to make havoc of it {and} destroy it." (Galatians 1:13) (Amplified Bible).

Yet despite Paul's zeal to destroy Christ Church, our Lord Jesus Christ looked on this violent, vicious, and volatile sinner persecuting and even killing those redeemed children of His with mercy and turned this man from a persecutor into a saint, so Paul writes to Brother Timothy that despite his actions, he says, 'I obtained mercy' and this little English phrase is translated by one Greek word eleeō meaning to compassionate (by word or deed, specifically by divine grace): - have compassion (pity on), obtain, receive, show mercy. The English word 'ignorantly' is translated by the Greek word agnoeō and I think this is where we get our English word agnostic from, it means not to know (through lack of information or intelligence); by implication to ignore (through disinclination): - be ignorant, not know, not understand, unknown. The English word 'unbelief' is translated by the Greek word apistia which means faithlessness, that is, (negatively) disbelief (want of Christian faith), or (positively) unfaithfulness (disobedience): - unbelief. In other words, the Apostle Paul received mercy/compassion from our Lord Jesus Christ because he was a sinner doing what sinners do in ignorance, that is, because he thought his ritual observance of the Law of Moses (as a Jew) made him right with God, but through his spiritual blindness, he could not see that God had come down to earth as a man, that is, the God/Man Jesus Christ in order to die for all sinners (including Jews), but Paul rejected this truth and consequently it kept him bound up in unbelief which blocked him from seeing who Jesus Christ really was due to the blindness in his inner man being spiritually dead while he was yet very religious in the Jewish faith being a high ranking member of the Sanhedrin.

"The meaning is, that he had reviled the name of Christ, and opposed Him and His cause - not believing that He was the Messiah; and in thus opposing he had really been guilty of blasphemy. The true Messiah he had in fact treated with contempt and reproaches, and he now looked back upon that fact with the deepest mortification, and with wonder that One who had been so treated by him should have been willing to put him into the ministry." Albert Barnes

"Not having considered the nature and evidences of Christianity, and not having believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah, I acted wholly under the prejudices that influenced my countrymen in general. God therefore showed me mercy, because I acted under this influence, not knowing better. This extension of mercy, does not, however, excuse the infuriated conduct of Saul of Tarsus, for he says himself that he was exceedingly mad against them. Let us beware, lest we lose the man’s former crimes in his after character." Adam Clarke

"Unbelief is what made Saul of Tarsus such a hateful persecutor of the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ and it alone kept him from seeing who Jesus Christ really and truly was just as it is with every sinner of every generation or era. Unbelief is the most vile sin that there is eclipsing all other sin, for our Lord, Master, and Savior has already died and shed His Powerful Blood to cleanse any sinner from every other sin, but the sin of unbelief blocks sinners like atheist, agnostics, Buddhist, Hindus, and every other false religious or non-religious belief system, from receiving the power that is inherent in the Blood of the Lamb just as was true for many of those who came out of Egypt with Moses, yet they did not truly believe as it is written concerning them with these words, 'For who were they who heard {and} yet were rebellious {and} provoked [Him]? Was it not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He irritated {and} provoked {and} grieved for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose dismembered bodies were strewn {and} left in the desert? And to whom did He swear that they should not enter His rest, but to those who disobeyed [who had not listened to His word and who refused to be compliant or be persuaded]? So we see that they were not able to enter [into His rest], because of their unwillingness to adhere to {and} trust in {and} rely on God [unbelief had shut them out].' (Hebrews 3:16-19) (Amplified Bible). Remember these words spoken by my Lord Jesus Christ and let them burn into your brain, into your mind, into your conscience, into your spirit, and decline from unbelief or believing that there is some other way to go to Heaven than what He says with these words, 'Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.' (John 14:6) (Amplified Bible)." Did you get that 'except by (through) Me'? I don't care who you are or how you are, because you are not going to Heaven because your 'good' or think you are good or because you have thought yourself to have done a lot of 'good' things via giving money, talent, or time, you can only go to Heaven if and only when you come to the foot of the Cross of Jesus Christ with nothing, but confessing that you are a rotten filthy sinner who needs His Mercy and Grace, get it, good." Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…