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Answer
In 1 Timothy 1:15, the apostle Paul summarized the gospel of God’s grace: “This is a trustworthy statement and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost” (NKJV). The enormity of the gift he had received in Christ was most clearly understood by Paul when contrasted with his own profound depravity. Therefore, with sincere gratitude, Paul embraced the designation “chief of sinners.”
One Bible commentator portrays the grace of salvation as “the gift of God. He bestows it ‘without money and without price.’ It is His generous, magnificent gift in Christ Jesus, even to the very foremost of sinners” Exell, J:, ed:, Biblical Illustrator, Vol: 5, entry for Acts 28:28, Baker Book House, 1975.
The term “chief” in 1 Timothy 1:15 (NKJV, KJV) is a translation of the Greek word protos, signifying “first, leading, or ranking above all others.” It is also interpreted as “foremost” (ESV), “worst” (NIV), “worst of them” (CSB), and “worst of them all” (NLT). Paul viewed himself as the foremost, highest-ranking, worst of all sinners. A sinner is someone whose life and actions are contrary or in rebellion to the will and laws of God. Just before his conversion, “Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers” «And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, », (Acts 9:1, NLT).
Paul stated, “I am chief,” not “I was chief of sinners.” As an apostle, he never strayed from the essence of the gospel—that “God demonstrated His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” «But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. », (Romans 5:8,NLT). God’s salvation was always intended for sinners (Matthew 1:21;Mark 2:17). Paul kept his past depravity and ongoing corruption at the forefront of his mind because he saw it as an essential companion to the full apprehension of grace.
Paul testified to the church in Corinth, “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:9-10). To the Ephesians, he said, “Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ” «Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; », (Ephesians 3:8). The more we comprehend the weight and extent of our sinfulness, the better we can grasp the magnitude and scope of God’s forgiveness and grace at work in our lives.
When we recognize and remember the truth about ourselves—our old way of life with our weaknesses and failures, our lack of hope and purpose, and our utter helplessness apart from God—we remain exceedingly humble and grateful for what Christ has done for us. Like Paul, we rejoice and “thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. . . . But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:12-14; NLT).
We don’t beat ourselves up in self-defeating condemnation “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”, (Romans 8:1); instead, we give praise, glory, and honor to God for His generous gifts of mercy “Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.”, (1 Timothy 1:16), grace (Ephesians 3:7; Ephesians 4:7), peace with God “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”, (Romans 5:1), membership in the family of God “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God.”, (Ephesians 2:19), and eternal life in His presence “And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.”, (1 John 2:25).
Some of us may have started out like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable, so profoundly unaware of our sinfulness and need of salvation that we prayed, “I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers” “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.”, (Luke 18:11, NLT). However, in the end, we found ourselves resembling the humble tax collector who “would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” «And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. », (Luke 18:13, ESV).
Paul referred to himself as the “chief of sinners” because, like the tax collector, he was keenly aware of his sinfulness and recognized the great price his Savior had paid for it. This self-awareness is the realization of every individual whose eyes have been opened, whose conscience has been stirred, and whose heart has been touched by the Holy Spirit. It is the humble stance of every believer who admits their complete helplessness and reliance on God for salvation «For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. », (Romans 5:6). It is the confession we all must acknowledge: “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.”
