1 Tim. 1:12-17 - God's mercy shown to Paul

12 I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry —
13 one who was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief.
14 And the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” — and I am the worst of them.
16 But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate His extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life.
17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

vs. 12 - "I give thanks..." - In these next few verses, 12-17, Paul gives his personal testimony. Paul doesn't usually spend much time on himself in his letters. 1 Cor. 5:19 and Gal. 1:13-2:10 are about the only places he mentions his past. Of course, Luke did a pretty decent job of telling of Paul's conversion and his work as a missionary. See: Acts 9:1-22.

"appointing me to the ministry" - Paul had done nothing (NOTHING!) that would make anyone think he would be a good apostle. Yet, Jesus plucked him off the road to Damascus. As God said about selecting a king for Israel: 1 Sam. 16:7 "Don't be impressed by his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do. People look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." God rejected David's good looking brothers, and chose David while he was still a shepherd. God showed His mercy to Paul. God recognized that Paul, when his heart was given to Jesus would be a faithful worker. God gave him the strength he needed to do the work of an apostle. Paul was thankful that God's mercy was greater than his (Paul’s) sin.

vs. 13 - "blasphemer... persecutor... arrogant..." - Paul's self-analysis. He is honest about himself before he became a follower of Jesus. He did not see himself as a blasphemer, before Christ. In fact, he saw himself as upholding God's word, defending God from blasphemers. Paul thought of Jesus as the 'enemy' of God. He believed the disciples of Jesus were turning their backs on Judaism, rebelling against the Jewish authorities, Jewish Law, and religion. 'They' were the blasphemers! We want to think we are so different from the Jews. They were protective of their religion, defending against all enemies, 'foreign and domestic'. Paul stepped up to do his part in defending his Jewish faith.
He did not hold back, arresting people and executing them for blasphemy. That's where the 'persecutor' comes from.
Paul knew what was right - that is arrogant! I think Paul was seeing himself in the statement, "If someone thinks he knows something, he does not yet know to the degree that he needs to know." 1 Cor. 8:2. Jesus knew that the zeal in Paul, if properly directed, would be good for the church. When he understood rightly, he would work as hard for the church as he did to destroy it.

"... out of ignorance and unbelief" - On the road to Damascus, the blinding light surrounded Paul. He knew it was God talking to him, but he was confused. Acts 9:1-7 The question, "Why are you persecuting me?", was met with confusion. "Who?" Paul asked, since he KNEW he had been apprehended by God. (Who else shows up in a blinding cloud of light?) Paul was hunting down blasphemers. How could he possibly be persecuting God himself? Wasn't he defending God against all comers?
What a shock to his system to have the answer, "Jesus." Notice Paul did not argue with God on this point. He did not try to rationalize his position. One could easily see a "Yeah, but..." coming from Paul. On the other hand, believing intensely in God, and being surrounded by light and having a voice challenge him from that light, he knew and understood he had been wrong, completely and totally wrong. He did not understand because he was ignorant of the facts and truth.

"mercy" - Had Paul known and understood who Jesus was, the Son of God, the Messiah, and still fought against Him, the outcome may have been different. Because Paul did not know, did not understand, he was given another chance. The mercy rather than judgment meant that Paul would become one of the most important missionaries of the first century of the church. His knowledge of the Law and Prophets would make it possible for him to clearly explain why Jesus is the Christ the savior of the world.

vs. 14 - "grace... overflowed" - Instead of the punishment he deserved for attacking God, he received faith and love. Paul could see that he had no standing, no accomplishments that would absolve him of the crimes he committed in God's name. Even ignorance was no mitigating factor - he was guilty and deserved punishment. Instead, love, grace and mercy saved him. It is the same for us, our sin is greater than our ability to pay, but not greater than Jesus's atoning sacrifice. Titus 3:5 he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us in full measure through Jesus Christ our Savior.

vs. 15 - "save sinners" - God's plan, since the Fall, has been to save people from their sin. Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." See also: Psa. 119:176, Jer. 50:6. God understands that most people do not know the way, and are ignorant of the trouble they face. They are lost and do not know the way. He also knows there are many who have heard the truth and choose not to follow. Isa. 48:18 "If only you had obeyed my commandments, prosperity would have flowed to you like a river, deliverance would have come to you like the waves of the sea." Zech. 7:11 "But they refused to pay attention, turning away stubbornly and stopping their ears so they could not hear." Mercy abounds for them also. Ignorance can be as deadly as rebellion. God calls out to all, to come and receive mercy, grace, and love. See Rom. 10:13 "For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them?" How can anyone be saved if they are ignorant of the mercy of Jesus Christ?

"I am the worst of them." - I find this statement astounding. Paul, the missionary, the apostle, the writer of much of the New Testament apologetics - the worst sinner?! Was Paul being aggressively humble? Was he exaggerating for effect? Or did he really believe that his sins of persecuting Jesus were so much worse than the average bloke? I think he did. Paul was such an ardent believer, first in God, and after Damascus, also in Jesus. He was aghast! How he could have been so ignorant as to not have seen that Jesus is the Christ?
Paul was astounded by the grace. He had fought against Jesus, and yet the love and forgiveness overcame his sin and saved him. "Amazing grace. How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!."

vs. 16 - "for this reason" - Why? Why would God do this? The answer is simple: If God can save me, He can save anyone! That is your personal testimony - for any Christian. We all like to think we are not as bad as we really are (a line from the movie "The Talented Mr. Ripley"). We fool ourselves. If Jesus saves me, all can be saved. My life, my sin, my stubbornness all stand between me and a relationship with God. Christ's death on the cross happened almost 2000 years before I was born. Yet when I was formed in Mom's womb, I was a sinner. Christ’s sacrifice paid the price, all of it. There is nothing I could have done that would change that sacrifice, make it unnecessary.
If you have not acknowledged Jesus, and accept Him as Lord and Savior - stop now, repent, confess, and believe. You will receive love, faith, peace and freedom from sin's control over your life. He offers eternal life - a relationship with the One who knows you best and loves you most. Why delay?

vs. 17 “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” - This is a doxology, a hymn of praise. See also: Rev. 4:11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, since you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created!"