But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
the kindness.
Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Romans 5:20,21 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: …
Ephesians 2:4-10 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, …
love.
Titus 1:3 But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;
Titus 2:10 Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;
appeared.
Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
2 Timothy 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
Hebrews 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
and His love for mankind appeared,
The appearance of God's love for mankind is a reference to the incarnation of Jesus Christ. This event is the ultimate demonstration of divine love, as described in John 3:16, where God gives His only Son for the salvation of the world. The Greek word for "appeared" (epiphaneia) suggests a sudden and glorious manifestation, which aligns with the prophetic expectations of the Messiah's coming. This love is not limited to a specific group but extends to all humanity, fulfilling the promise made to Abraham that through his offspring all nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). The cultural context of the time, with its divisions and hostilities, makes this universal love even more radical and transformative.
Paul signals a dramatic pivot.
• Titus 3:3 has just reminded us of our former slavery to sin; the single word “but” invites us to look away from our failures and toward God’s rescue (Ephesians 2:3-4; Romans 5:8).
• The timing is God’s; salvation did not begin with our reform but with His initiative (John 1:13).
• This “when” anchors redemption in real history—Jesus entered time and space, fulfilling long-awaited promises (Galatians 4:4-5).
God’s heart is gently inclined toward those who deserve the opposite.
• Kindness here points to His gracious disposition that leads sinners to repentance (Romans 2:4).
• “God our Savior” stresses that rescue originates in the Father as much as in the Son (1 Timothy 2:3-4; Isaiah 45:21).
• In Christ, this kindness is shown “in the incomparable riches of His grace” (Ephesians 2:7).
The verse piles on assurance: not only kindness but active affection for humanity.
• John 3:16 declares that this love drove the gift of the Son; 1 John 4:9-10 confirms it found expression in the cross.
• God’s love is universal in extent—“desiring all men to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4)—yet personal in application, reaching each believer.
• The phrase sweeps away every doubt: God’s motives are pure benevolence, not reluctant duty (Psalm 103:11-13).
Divine kindness and love took visible form.
• The same word marks Jesus’ first advent in Titus 2:11—“the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all men.”
• Through the incarnation, the unseen God became touchable (John 1:14); light dawned “for those sitting in darkness” (Luke 1:78-79).
• 2 Timothy 1:10 ties this “appearing” to the defeat of death and the unveiling of life and immortality.
• God’s love is therefore not mere sentiment; it is historical reality in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Titus 3:4 celebrates the moment God’s gracious character broke into our hopeless condition. While we were still lost, God stepped in: His intrinsic kindness and wide-embracing love took bodily shape in Jesus, making salvation a tangible, historical gift. Every believer’s assurance rests on this appearing, not on personal merit, so praise flows to “God our Savior” who loved us first and loved us best.
(4) 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 of ourselves should never have become changed men, had not the kindness of God and His divine love for men 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 man of the kindness and love of God our Saviour. Here God our Saviour, as in 1Timothy 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 man, 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 man--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 men, 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 men--all men. Here are they to be imitators of the divine pity, copyists of the divine love.Verse 4. - When for after that, A.V.; the kindness of God our Savior, and his love toward man for the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man, A.V. Kindness (χρηστότης), used by St. Paul only in the New Testament, and by him frequently in the sense of "kindness," whether of God (as Romans 2:4; Romans 11:22; Ephesians 2:7) or of man (as 2 Corinthians 6:6; Galatians 5:22; Colossians 3:12). In Romans 3:12, where it has the wider sense of "good" or "right," it is the phrase of the LXX., who use χρηστότης for the Hebrew טוב. In like manner, χρηστός is frequently used in the sense of "kind" (Luke 6:35; Romans 2:4; Colossians 3:12; 1 Peter 2:3). This is exactly analogous to the use of κακός and κακία, in the limited sense of "malicious," "malice" (see preceding note to ver. 3). Love toward man (φιλανθρωπία); only here and Acts 28:2 in the New Testament. It occurs repeatedly in the Books of the Maccabees, and is common in good classical Greek. God our Savior (see 1 Timothy 1:1; 1 Timothy 2:3; Titus 2:10, etc.). Appeared (Titus 2:11).