The purpose of Paul’s being shown mercy is now stated: it was not for Paul’s sake that he had received salvation; rather it was for the purpose of showing how Christ deals with sinners. If Christ can save the worst of sinners, then he can save and does want to save any sinner.
The connective but at the beginning of this sentence can be interpreted as marking either contrast or continuity. If the former, it marks the contrast between Paul’s own opinion about himself as the worst sinner who is beyond any help, and God’s graciousness toward him. If the latter, the focus is on the reason for mercy being extended to Paul. The sense of the passage is then something like “I am such a sinner that I doubt very much whether I was worth saving at all. But God (or, Christ) has a special purpose in being merciful to me.” This latter interpretation is probably the more likely one and is recommended by this Handbook.
I received mercy translates an aorist passive, with God or Christ as the implicit agent. (For God as agent see Good News Translation; most other translations keep the ambiguity of the text.) For mercy see 1.2 and 1.13, and comments. In those languages that do not use the passive voice, one may follow Good News Translation‘s model making God the agent. Another way to express this clause is “But God showed his mercy (or, kindness) to me.”
For this reason is literally “because of this” (compare New Revised Standard Version “for that very reason”), referring not to what precedes but to what follows. The reason why Paul received mercy is so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience. In me is better interpreted in the sense of “in my case” (compare Good News Translation “in dealing with me”). Foremost (Good News Translation‘s “the worst of sinners”) is the same word used in verse 15 and perhaps means the same thing, that is, not in terms of time but in degree; however, in view of the mention of people who are coming after, foremost may also have the idea here as the first in a series. Regardless of whether Paul is repeating his statement in verse 15 or is conveying the idea of being the first in a series, a translation something like TEV’s will be helpful. One may also express this as “the person who has done more evil than anyone else.” So the first part of the verse may be translated alternatively as “But God showed his mercy to me. He did this for the following reason: that through me (or, in dealing with me), a person who has done more evil than anyone else, Christ Jesus…” or “But since I was worse than anyone else, God had mercy on me” (Contemporary English Version). In languages that do not express comparatives in this way, one may say, for example, “I have done much evil. No other person has ever done evil like this.”
Display can also be translated as “show” (Good News Translation), or “prove” (compare Jerusalem Bible “Jesus Christ meant to make me the greatest evidence”), “demonstrate” (compare Phillips “a demonstration…”). Patience includes not only the idea of never giving up hope in spite of innumerable odds, but also the more positive notion of continuous and determined effort to achieve a prescribed goal.
This patience of Christ is described as perfect; the Greek is literally “all (or, every) patience,” which suggests the idea of completeness or “all encompassing,” hence “full” (Good News Translation), “utmost” (New Revised Standard Version), “inexhaustible” (Jerusalem Bible), “unlimited” (New International Version). Patience may also be expressed as “the ability to put up with (something) for a long time,” “to have a soft heart toward,” or “to be willing to wait.” The clause Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience may also be expressed as “Jesus Christ might show (or, demonstrate) that he has unlimited patience toward me” or “that Christ Jesus may show that, no matter what I do, he would be patient with me.”
The purpose of Christ dealing patiently with Paul is to give an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. The Greek word for example occurs only here and in 2 Tim 1.13 (“pattern”) in the whole New Testament, and literally refers to the line drawings or sketch of an artist. As the Greek word indicates, Paul’s case is more than an example; in fact it is the first instance of its kind (compare New English Bible “the first occasion”). As such it becomes the pattern and standard for succeeding events of the same nature. But Paul’s case is by no means a perfect example; in fact the verse is saying that his case is like an incomplete sketch, in contrast to a complete picture that would describe the case of those who come after Paul. What the passage is trying to convey is that, if people who come after Paul will come to know how Christ has dealt with him, this will not only give them the hope that Christ can also deal with them in an even more gracious way, but will actually lead them to believe in Christ. (So Contemporary English Version “He did this so that others would put their faith in Christ and have eternal life.”) One may also translate “He was patient with me like this so that others might later see what he has done for me and believe in him and receive eternal life.” Believe in this context refers to trust in and commitment to Jesus Christ. In him is literally “upon him”; there may not be a difference in meaning with the more frequent expression “in him,” although in this case Christ is implicitly compared to something, perhaps a foundation or cornerstone, upon which faith is laid. As already indicated, those who were to believe refer to subsequent Christians. Faith in Christ results in eternal life; this term contains both the elements of continuity (eternal, unending) and quality (the life bestowed by Christ in accordance with his promise). Eternal life may also be expressed as “life that has no end,” “continuous life,” and in some languages a verbal expression will be used; for example, “and live forever” or “live without end.”
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• But God showed his mercy to me. He did this for the following reason: that through me, a person who has done more evil than anyone else, Christ Jesus might demonstrate how he would have patience with me no matter what I do. He was patient with me like this so that others later would believe in him and receive eternal life (or, live forever).
Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .