Charles Ellicott Commentary Titus 3:4

"But when the kindness of God our Saviour, and his love toward man, appeared," — Titus 3:4 (ASV)

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared.—Another thought now wells up in the Apostle’s mind. We ourselves would never have become changed people, had not the kindness of God and His divine love for humankind shown itself. We, indeed, have no ground for self-exaltation, no excuse for haughty treatment of others, either in thought or action; for if we now live other and purer lives than they live, our change to better and higher things was owing to no desert or merit of ours, but solely to the mercy and the love of God.

The changed life is here solely attributed to the manifestation to humankind of the kindness and love of God our Saviour. Here God our Saviour, as in 1 Timothy 1:1, and in several other passages in the Pastoral Epistles, must be understood as “God the Father”; the “kindness” differs from the “love towards man.”

The first signifies generally that divine, measureless, all-comprehensive love which we know is the glorious attribute of God. The second expression tells of the special love which the Almighty has for humankind, and which has been so marvellously shown in the sacrifice and death of the Son of God for us.

The two words—the measureless, divine love which embraces all creation, and the special love of God for humankind—taken together, make up the one idea expressed by the grace that bringeth salvation, of Titus 2:11 of this Epistle. In the rare word philanthropia, the “love of God toward man,” a quiet but very solemn reminder is given to those “Christians” who would have no dealings with their less pure heathen neighbours.

The word applied here to God tells them to love people, even the enemies of their holy religion; they are to obey the heathen magistrate, and to think kindly of and to act courteously towards their heathen neighbour, because God has loved humankind—all humankind. Here, they are to be imitators of the divine pity, copyists of the divine love.