Christmas Season · Nativity of the Lord - Christmas Dawn · Year A
Titus 3:4-7
The Kindness of God Appeared
December 25, 2025
Overview & Insights
“He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy.” (Titus 3:5)
These verses form a self-contained unit of formulaic prose, marked off by the trustworthy-saying tag that follows in v. 8, and widely taken to be a baptismal confession the writer is quoting rather than composing. The opening verb is epephane, “appeared”, from the same root as the epiphaneia of 2:11 and 2:13, so the passage is built on the vocabulary of a royal manifestation, and the abstractions it credits to God, chrestotes (kindness) and philanthropia (loving kindness toward human beings), are terms from Hellenistic praise of rulers turned toward the God of Israel. The structure is trinitarian in effect if not in formula: the Father’s mercy, the washing of rebirth and renewal in the Holy Spirit, justification through Jesus Christ. Works done in righteousness are excluded as the ground (v. 5), which is why the fragment reads as Paul at his most concentrated.
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Take it further: Titus 3:4-7
Commentary
Commentary on Titus 3:4-7Commentary on Ti 3:4-7 Working Preacher
Luther Seminary commentary on the goodness and loving kindness of God appearing, the Dawn Mass epistle.
Titus 3:4-7 CommentaryTi 3:4-7 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching
Reformed preaching commentary showing why this baptismal text belongs to Christmas as the appearing of God's mercy.
Enduring Word Bible Commentary Titus Chapter 3Enduring Word Bible Commentary Ti Chapter 3 Enduring Word · David Guzik
David Guzik on salvation not by works of righteousness but by the washing of regeneration.
Titus 3:4 CommentariesTi 3:4 Commentaries BibleHub
Aggregated classic commentary on being justified by grace and made heirs of eternal life.
Titus 3:4 CommentaryTi 3:4 Commentary Precept Austin
Verse-by-verse exposition of Titus 3:4-7 on the kindness of God and the washing of regeneration.
Background & Word Study
Titus 3:4 InterlinearTi 3:4 Interlinear BibleHub
Greek word by word with parsing for kindness (chrestotes) and loving kindness (philanthropia) of God our Savior.
BibleProject: Book of Titus OverviewBibleProject: Book of Ti Overview BibleProject
Animated overview of Titus tracing how grace that trains for godliness anchors this passage.
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