Proof: The atonement of Christ is “the testimony,” the proof[1] of God’s heart for the lost (v4). God loved the world and proved it by sending His only begotten Son (John 3:16) on a death mission for sinners (Rom. 5:8). Even though His word is enough (Lk. 16:31; 2 Pet. 1:19) and He needs no witnesses to prove His character, He nonetheless demonstrated His grace to all men in Christ (Titus 2:11). By His eternal plan and at His perfect time,[2] God provided for Himself the Lamb (Gen. 22:8, 14) to refute the devil’s lie (Gen. 3:1-5; John 14:30-31) and to remove every excuse for distrust of God in our hearts. God is compassionate and gracious (Ex. 34:6) and Jesus fully manifested this on the cross. The temporal suffering Jesus relieved on earth is impressive, yet trivial compared to the eternal suffering He swallowed up at the cross. It was at Calvary that Jesus demonstrated God’s love for sinners with finality (John 3:14-16). Who can now doubt God’s tender mercy (Rom. 8:38-39)?
Proclamation: Someone had to proclaim this testimony to the nations for them to taste of this grace. Thus, God commissioned Paul to be a witness (“for this”), herald (“preacher”), envoy (“apostle”), and “teacher” to announce to the world the unsearchable riches of Christ (Eph. 3:8-12).[3] Paul became “the apostle of Gentiles” (Rom. 11:13), a witness not only of Jesus’ resurrection, but also His saving grace (1 Tim. 1:12-16). The spigot of grace was opened with Paul in his time. What kind of conduits of grace shall we be for our generation?
[1]
The word for testimony is mar-tu-ri-on (μαρτύριον), which points to the confirmed
evidence or the proof furnished by a witness. The atonement of Christ is the evidence/proof
of God’s heart for the lost.
[2] For God’s own plan, cf. Gen. 3:15; Eph. 1:4;
2 Tim. 1:9-10; Tit. 1:2-3; 1 Pet. 1:19-20; Rev. 13:8. For
God's own timing, cf. Gal. 4:4; Dan. 9:24-26; Matt. 16:3; Mark 1:15; John
12:23; 17:1.
[3]
Paul was commissioned to this task (Gal. 1:15-16; Acts 9:15; 13:2; 20:24; 22:21;
26:16-18; 2 Tim. 4:17).