God's Love for You is Everlasting

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)

In becoming a Christian, the believer acknowledges Christ as Lord and recognizes Christ's saving work. We gain eternal life with all its treasures. We have renewal by the Holy Spirit, and He continually renews our hearts. None of this occurs because we earned or deserved it, it is all God's gift. Renewing of the Holy Spirit is the continual process of Christian living and is enabled by the Holy Spirit, resulting in growth in character and good works.

“not by works of righteousness”: Since Paul has been exhorting Titus to emphasize good works in his ministry with the Cretans, he wants to make it clear that such works have no value in saving a person. Rather, it is solely on the basis of God’s mercy that we are delivered from the penalty of our sin.

Paul summarized what Christ does for us when He saves us. We move from a life full of sin to one where we are led by God's Holy Spirit. All our sins, not merely some, are washed away (Titus 3:5).

“washing of regeneration”: Paul is referring to the work of the Holy Spirit, who in a moment makes a person new by the cleansing of regeneration (the new birth). This new nature is the ground for living the Christian life and performing good deeds. This verse is telling us that regeneration is the washing, not the regeneration of baptism. There is no mention of water baptism here and there certainly is no mention of water baptism being necessary for salvation.

Word Focus: washing of regeneration - (Gk. loutron palingene sias) (Titus 3:5) G3067; G3824: The Greek word for washing can signify the receptacle of washing (the basin) or the act of washing itself. In Eph. 5:26, the only other New Testament occurrence of this word, the natural meaning is washing. Here also the action of washing is presented. Quite simply, the text says that regeneration is characterized by or accompanied by the action of washing. The regenerative activity of the Holy Spirit is characterized elsewhere in Scripture as cleansing and purifying (see Ezek. 36:25–27; John 3:5). The Greek term for regeneration literally means “being born again”—indicating a new birth effected by the Holy Spirit (see John 3:6; Rom. 8:16; Gal. 4:6). Thus God saved us through one process with two aspects: the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit.

“we should become heirs”: God justifies believers so that they might become coheirs with Jesus Christ in His coming reign (see Rom. 8:17; 2 Tim. 2:12).

“the hope of eternal life”: What is this hope that is stored in heaven? First of all, Christian hope is not mere wishing. It is a fervent yearning, confident expectation, and patient waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promises. It is a Christ centered assurance. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead," (1 Pet 1:3).

All three persons of the Trinity are mentioned in these verses because all three participate in the work of salvation. Based upon the redemptive work of His Son, the Father forgives and sends the Holy Spirit to wash away our sins and continually renew us.

It is my prayer Lord that I continue to follow you and give You the honor and glory that You so justly deserve. Lord give me the wisdom and courage necessary to be Your Witness and to fight off the devil when I'm tempted to sin against You. Lord, I continue to lift up other Christian bloggers to you for wisdom and courage to spread the Good News. I pray this all in Jesus' name, the Name above all names. Amen.

References: NKJV Holy Bible, Life Application Bible (NIV), and the Nelson Study Bible.