Divine Help!!
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, Titus 2:11-12 NASB
Has appeared – Why do you suppose Paul chooses this verb (epiphaínō) rather than the related but more common verb, phaínō? The common verb means almost the same thing, i.e., to appear, to become manifest, to shine. Why choose an uncommon form with the added preposition ĕpi?
There must be a reason.
Well, first we should note that ĕpi is used to intensify. As with all prepositions, it has a wide range of meanings, but Paul often uses it to heighten his idea. It’s like an exclamation point. We should also notice that Paul puts this verb at the beginning of the sentence, literally, “Has appeared for the grace of God.” He wants his readers to recognize the importance of this manifestation. With that in mind, note the comment about the classical use of epiphaínō:
The verb means “to show,” “to show oneself,” “to appear,” the adjective means “visible,” “magnificent,” and the noun means “appearance” in various senses (e.g., a geometrical “surface,” the “appearance” of an enemy, the “front” of an army, or the “renown” of famous people). The group has religious significance with reference to the intervention of the gods to bring divine help. The word thus comes to denote “divine assistance.” [1]
As you can see, it’s not just an appearance. It’s divine rescue! God intervenes with help. The gospel is not merely statements about God and the Messiah. It is immediate, divine intervention. And for his Gentile, Greek-speaking audience, epiphaínō communicates exactly that point. “Has appeared” is, unfortunately for us, not nearly strong enough.
Now that we realize Paul chooses this verb in order to put exclamation points behind divine assistance, we must ask, “What exactly is he talking about?” What is the epiphaínō of the grace of God? Your quick, religious answer is probably, “Well, it’s Jesus, of course” (pardon the use of the name of a non-existent, non-Jew). But is that what Paul means? Does he suggest that the Messiah is, in fact, the required divine intervention? It would seem so. After all, doesn’t he immediately say, “bringing salvation to all men”? And it’s “Jesus” who does that, right? Well, maybe.
The Greek translated “bringing salvation” is sōtēríos. It’s not a verb. It’s a nominative adjective. Like an adjective, it modifies something, in this case “the grace of God.” But it also names what it is, in this case “salvation.” So the grace of God is the salvation of all men, and that grace has appeared (with an !) in some way so that Paul’s Gentile readers will recognize it. Let’s be bold here. The “appearance” of the Messiah is the witness of God’s grace. It isn’t necessarily the Messiah who saves all men but rather the grace of God that shows up in the Messiah. Yeshua is the agent of God’s grace, not the originator. Of course, this is exactly what Gentiles would expect. In Greek thought, sōtēríos is a word about rescue from serious peril. It means saving, keeping alive, benefiting and preserving. Its connection to Hebrew is clear. “In the canon sṓzō (‘to keep,’ ‘to save’) occurs some three-fifths of the time for yšʿ (‘to save,’ ‘to help,’ ‘to free’)”[2] By the way, if it wasn’t already in your mind, the name of the Messiah, Yeshua, is directly connected to this same Hebrew verb.
Christian theologians tend to treat epiphaínō as if it is disguised Christology, i.e., a hidden way to really say “Jesus has appeared.” But as you can see, this is theological interpretation. Paul doesn’t say this. Instead he emphasizes that God initiated something that has shown up and this means that grace is available for all.
Now we just need to know how this changes us. Tomorrow.
Topical Index: epiphaínō, appeared, grace, salvation, sōtēríos, Titus 2:11-12
[1] Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (p. 1246). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans.
[2] Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (p. 1132). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans.
