An Exposition of 1 Timothy 1:15 concerning the Order of Salvation
The Text
1 Timothy 1:12–17 I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry—even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance:
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” —and I am the worst of them.
But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
The Introduction
What is ordo salutis? It is a Latin term used by Lutherans in the mid-1720s, which means "The Order of Salvation."
Why is that so important? Yes, we do know that God is sovereign and exists and operates outside of time. He is not constrained by it because he is the creator of time. Creation is bounded by time, and we, his imagebearers, are not the exception. (We feel this every day of our lives.)
But when God saves, he does save in a logical, particular order. I am not suggesting that God is constrained by logic. He is in the heavens--he can do as he pleases. Yet, we, as his creation, do not get to do as we please. We, as mankind, are called to love God and obey him.
So what does ordo salutis have anything to do with 1 Timothy 1:15?
In the early days of my Christian life — in my WordPress days — I came up with the idea to give thanks to God every day in November. I would take what God has done and list every bit of Scripture I could find that shows who God is and what He has done for us. It started with his attributes — his holiness, goodness, love, mercy, etc. — and provided Scriptural proof texts for those things. Further still, in what God did for us, give the same thanks for all that he has done for us. I called this series Thanksgiving.
What I learned, after creating such a worshipful reference guide, was the term ordo salutis. So I began writing a devotional series on ordo salutis, continuously using Thanksgiving as a reference guide.
Then I migrated from WordPress to the current format, Theologicus.
Of all the series that I migrated, I held off on Thanksgiving and Ordo Salutis. I wanted to add devotions to the Thanksgiving series. And it has been over a decade since Ordo Salutis, so I wanted to go back and rewrite it better.
But if one series begat the other, why not merge them both and make it complete?
Hence, what you are reading may be a published book. For now, a new worshipful series. God has saved us — so let us give thanks to Him, for He alone is good, and His steadfast love is forever.
Amen.