Titus 1:1-4
Titus 1:1
Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the
faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after
godliness;
"Paul": the Apostle, author of this letter. This in one of the
pastoral epistles written late in Paul's ministry. He had recently been
on the island of Crete with Titus and had departed, leaving Titus with a
difficult but a very necessary mission, to begin the establishing and building
up of local churches on Crete.
Topic: PAUL THE APOSTLE
"a servant of God": (doulos theou) "a slave belonging to
God". Paul was bent to God's authority and basked in His sovereignty,
as shown in the preamble of several of his epistles.
"and an apostle of Jesus Christ": (apostolos) [parentheses indicate
Greek, transliterated for the e-mail text format. ]
The word "apostle" (apostolos), means "an ambassador; one
who is sent; a delegated authority." The word was used for high-ranking
naval officers in classical Greek times.
An apostle of Jesus Christ was the highest ranking official among the Christian
churches of the first century, 1 Cor. 12:28.
Apostles of Jesus Christ were appointed by God the Father for the purpose
of establishing churches and spreading new truth, Eph. 3:1-10.
There were both the spiritual gift and office of apostleship. The spiritual
gift was the divine enabling to function as an apostle, Eph. 4:11, 1 Cor.
28,29.
The office of apostleship was the authority to function as an apostle, Rom.
1.5, ACTS 1:25, GAL. 2:8.
THE QUALIFICATIONS OF AN APOSTLE
An apostle had to have the spiritual gift of apostleship. The gift was provided
by Jesus Christ after His ascension into Heaven, Eph. 4:8-11. The gift was
imparted by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, 1 Cor. 12:11; Acts
2.
The apostle received his gift and office by the sovereign decision of God
the Father, 1 Cor. 1:1; 12:18; Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:1.
The apostle had to have been an eyewitness of the resurrected Lord, Acts
1:22; 1 Cor. 9:1.
THE CREDENTIALS OF AN APOSTLE
An apostle was endowed with miraculous powers of miracles, Heb. 2:4; 2 Cor.
12:12.
An apostle had success in evangelism, 1 Cor. 9:2; 2 Cor. 3:1-3; Gal. 2:7-9.
An apostle had the capacity to suffer patiently, 2 Cor. 12:12.
THE FUNCTION OF AN APOSTLE
Apostles received and communicated new revelation, Eph. 3:2-6.
Apostles communicated the gospel effectively and people accepted Christ
in response to their preaching, 1 Cor. 9:1; Gal. 2:7-9.
Apostles helped organize local churches and appointed officers, Acts 14:23;
Tit. 1:5.
Apostles trained new believers in doctrine, 1 Thess. 1:5 to 2:12.
Apostles had the authority to administer discipline to believers, Acts 5:1-10;
1 Tim. 1:20; 1 Cor. 4:21; 2 Cor. 13:2.
"according to the faith: (kata), a preposition of criterion or standard,
followed by (pistis), "belief; faith". "Faith is the substance
of that in which we have complete confidence (hoped for), the evidence of
things not seen."
Topic: FAITH
"of God's elect": The elect are those who are chosen as the recipient
of special privilege". [ An English cognate is "eclectic",
from Greek (eklektos)].
Note carefully Eph. 1:3-11. We are chosen in Him and united with Him. These
verses in Ephesians show the privileges and responsibilities of our union
with the Lord Jesus Christ.
--------------------
"and the acknowledging": (epignosis), not just a simple acknowledgement,
but full and applied knowledge in the believer's soul.
As Christians, we have not only understood the gospel academically, we have
also made it a part of our lives by accepting Christ by faith. And the Holy
Spirit has given us spiritual discernment regarding the facts of the gospel.
(epignosis) is the result of a process which begins when a Christian learns
academically (gnosis) a principle of Scripture. Then, when the person accepts
the truth of what he has learned and makes application of it, spiritual
growth, or edification, takes place.
Application is a matter of believing Scripture, obeying the commands, and
claiming the promises, which God has put in His word.
In this manner, over a lifetime of learning Bible truth, a Christian is
edified, "line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there
a little."
For a contrast, see Rom. 1:28 ff on the results of negative volition to
(epignosis).
Topic: EDIFICATION
"of the truth": (aleitheia), the Greek grammar indicates that
the believer's applied knowledge is from the source of truth. Full and applied
knowledge comes from the source of the Word of God. This refers to Bible
teaching learned accurately and categorically under the unhindered teaching
ministry of the Holy Spirit to provide spiritual discernment.
The Word of God is TRUTH!
The Lord Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no man
comes unto the Father but by me" (John 14:6) Any desire to be occupied
with Christ, and to serve Him, must be accompanied by a great desire for
the truth, the Word of God. The acquiring of truth must be the highest priority.
There are many Bible passages that deal with the concept of truth; here
is a sampling:
Psalm 86:11, "Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth; unite
my heart to fear thy name.
Psalm 119:72, "The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands
of gold and silver." Also Psalm 119:127,162.
Prov. 23:23, "Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction,
and understanding."
Examples of eagerness for truth:
The temple worshippers:
Luke 21:37, 38 "Now during the day He was teaching in the temple, but
at evening He would go out and spend the night on the mount that is called
Olivet. And all the people would get up early in the morning to come to
Him in the temple to listen to Him.
The Samaritans:
John 4:39-42, "And from that city many of the Samaritans believed in
Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all
the things that I have done." So when the Samaritans came to Him, they
were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many
more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, "It
is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard
for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world."
Cornelius:
Acts 10:30-33 And Cornelius said, "Four days ago to this hour, I was
praying in my house during the ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before
me in shining garments, and he said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard
and your alms have been remembered before God. Send therefore to Joppa and
invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at
the house of Simon the tanner by the sea.' "And so I sent to you immediately,
and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present
before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord."
The Bereans:
Acts 17:10-13, "And the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away
by night to Berea; and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of
the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for
they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily,
to see whether these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, along
with a number of prominent Greek women and men. But when the Jews of Thessalonica
found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also,
they came there likewise, agitating and stirring up the crowds.
Other passages to read:
Col. 1:9-23; 2:1-8
Eph. 1:17-23; 3:14-19; 4:11-16.
"which is after godliness": or "according to a standard of
godliness", (eusebeia), "inner piety; spirituality".
Topic: GODLINESS
Summary:
Paul carried out his duties as an apostle according to the standard of the
faith of Christian believers, according to the full and applied knowledge
which he had of the Word of God. And from that standard for truth he ministered
according to a character of inner piety.
Titus 1:2
"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before
the world began;"
"in hope" : (elpis) - "utmost confidence" This phrase
fits with the preceding verse. There is confidence in eternal life -- there
is confidence in the plan of God -- this confidence springs up in the life
of the believer who has a full and applied knowledge of the Word of God,
the Truth.
"Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."
Read Rom. 5:1-5 (growth in confidence)
Read Titus 2:11-15 (confidence supports authority)
Topic: HOPE
"of eternal life": life everlasting.
"which God that cannot lie": (ho apseudeis theos), "the non-lying
God"
This phrase deals with the Veracity of God. God never lies. God always deals
honestly with people, He always speaks straight. We may not like the information
we get from God, but we can have confidence in what He says.
The Veracity of the Godhead:
Veracity of the Father - Psa. 31:5; Isa. 65:16; Jer. 10:10; John 3:33; 17:3;
Rom. 3:4
Veracity of the Son - John 1:14; 8:32; 14:6; 1 John 5:20; Rev. 16:7; 19:11
Veracity of the Holy Spirit - John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 5:6
Application of God's Veracity to the Christian - Prov. 6:16,17; Matt. 5:37;
2 Tim. 2:15; 1 John 4:6
Why would Paul tell Titus that God does not lie? After all, this is the
man whom Paul appointed troubleshooter in Crete, so he was as well trained
and doctrinally informed as any of Paul's colleagues. Answer: "The
Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons..."
Lying was the way of life of the Cretans. They were the world's best story
tellers. They were habitual, congenital liars -- so much so that a Greek
word (kreitimadzo), "to Cretanize", meant "to lie like a
Cretan", to tell a whopper.
Imagine trying to teach the Bible to a Cretan. Habitual liars have one thing
in common; they don't believe anyone else. They would have thought that
a teacher was lying to them. And they were already being lied to by false
teachers who were out for their money (see later in chapter 1).
So it was necessary to emphasize the fact that God is perfect Veracity.
"promised": (epaggellw), a Greek verb for a contractual promise;
hence, "to promise to undertake something, to underwrite something"
See Romans 4:20-25
"before the world began": This is provision for every detail of
life, which God planned completely in eternity past.
Eph. 1:3, We are "...chosen in Him before the foundation of the world."
So, Paul is saying that his ministry is according to faith, characterized
by godliness, and from a mental attitude of complete confidence in eternal
life, which an absolutely truthful God had promised from before man was
even created.
Titus 1:3
"But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which
is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior:"
This verse shows that the method for communicating the "truth"
of verse 1 and the "promise" of verse 2 is by means of "preaching".
"But hath manifested": (phaneroo) "to reveal; to make known;
to show; to teach; to pass on by word of mouth".
In the Greek of 100 A.D. this word was used both for written and oral communication.
--------------------
"in due times": "his own time", referring to God's own
time, a technical word used to mark differences in divine administration.
--------------------
"his word": (logos), the Word of God, the Truth the Bible, the
Mind of Christ.
--------------------
"through preaching": (keirugma), "by means of heralding;
public teaching; inculcation"
Topic: PREACHING
--------------------
"which is committed unto me": (pisteuo), from the same root as
"faith". Here it means "entrusted".
The word of truth, the preaching ministry, is entrusted by God to Paul.
Compare: Gal. 2:7 !!; 1 Thess. 2:4; 1 Tim. 1:11
--------------------
"according to the commandment": The teacher is strictly accountable
to God and operates under strict rules in his teaching.
--------------------
"of God our Savior": a reminder that the basis of our stability
is Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of the Father. He represents us
in heaven; our position is "in Christ".
The Lord revealed His word to Paul at the proper time and entrusted to him
the task of preaching the truth, holding him accountable to Himself as God
and Savior.
Titus 1:4
"To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace,
from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior."
"to Titus": the recipient of the epistle.
Facts concerning Titus:
* He was a Gentile, Gal. 2:3.
* He was a beloved friend and helper of Paul, 2 Cor. 2:13; 7:6,13.
* He was a messenger of the church of Corinth, 2 Cor. 8:16-18.
* He was a companion of Paul and Barnabas on a journey to Jerusalem, Gal. 2:1
* He was assigned as missionary pastor to Crete by Paul, Titus 1:5
* He was in Rome with Paul during Paul's second imprisonment, 2 Tim. 4:10
Titus was a man of sturdy character, a very mature believer. He was tough
in his mental attitude, indicated by the nature of the task he was assigned.
On Crete there are some traditional recollections of Titus. One Greek legend
says that he was the nephew of a pro-consul of Crete, another that he was
a descendant of King Minos. The cathedral of Megalo-Castron on the north
of the island was dedicated to him. Titus's name was the watchword of the
Cretans when fighting against the Venetians during the Dark Ages.
In one of the prayers in Latin in the Greek Orthodox church on Crete there
is the phrase "Sancte Tite, tu nou adjuva", "St. Titus, pray
for us."
"my own son":
This phrase sparked some debate in times past as to whether Titus was the
natural son of Paul. Some have stated that Paul was married and Titus was
his son. Others say that Titus was the illegitimate son of Paul. We can
lay this to rest by reference to Gal. 2:3, which states that Titus was Greek
and was criticized for not being circumcised as an adult in order to avoid
offense to Judaisers. If he had been Paul's son, he would not have been
Greek; and he would already have been circumcised as an infant.
The phrase refers to Titus position as the spiritual son of Paul.
"after the common faith": (kata koinein pistin), "according
to the faith common" to all believers. Titus was Paul's spiritual son
in the sense that Paul led Titus to Christ (probably) and discipled him.
"grace and peace": a common greeting in letters of all sorts in
Roman times.
But grace and peace is ...
"from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior."
Summarizing the passage:
Titus 1:1 "Paul, God's personal slave, and an ambassador of Jesus Christ,
according to the faith of those selected by God for special privilege, from
the full, applied knowledge of the truth, which is the standard for inner
piety."
Titus 1:2 "In the utmost confidence in the eternal life which the non-lying
God promised before the world began."
Titus 1:3 "But has in his own time made known his Word by means of
public teaching, which is entrusted unto me according to the commandment
of God our Savior."
Titus 1:4, "To Titus, my own son after the common faith, grace and
peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior."
|