Titus 2:3-6
Titus 2:3
"The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness,
not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things."
Greek students like this verse because it contains a rare triple (hapax
legoumena). That means that there are three Greek words in this verse that
appear nowhere else in the Greek of the New Testament. A word that appears
only once is much harder to interpret than one which appears in many contexts.
"The aged women": (presbutis). "older woman, senior woman"
Again, this is not a reference to elderliness but to seniority.
"likewise": "in the same manner". A reference to the
previous verse and qualifications of older men.
"that they be in behavior": (katasteima) - "a state, a condition,
a manner of life".
This is the only place this word is used in the New Testament. However,
we get some help from Josephus, Plutarch, and a few Greek inscriptions,
and learn that in the first century, the word "behavior" referred
to a person's condition or state.
In modern American, the word "behavior" refers to conduct or manners.
But in the older English of 1611, as in the Greek, "behavior"
referred much more to a life condition, to a person's inner characteristics,
which would, in turn, lead to an outward behavior. Here the KJV is very
close to the Greek when we use the colloquial English of the early 17th
Century (see Oxford English dictionary).
"as becometh holiness": (hieroprepeis), from (hiero), "temple"
+ (prepeis), "suitable", thus, "suitable for the temple",
or "suitable to be used in worship".
This is the second singular occurrence (hapax legoumena) in this verse.
When this word was used to describe a person, it meant "worthy of reverence
or respect". It was used in literature outside the Bible to describe
the conduct of a priest in the Greek temple.
While not found elsewhere in the New Testament, the word is seen in Greek
literature, in Josephus; and in IV Maccabees 9:25 (Septuagint Greek translation),
in the phrase, "...the revered (hieroprepeis) youth let go his life",
referring to a martyr's death.
The older woman is to have a reputation or manner of life that is worthy
of respect as a mature woman of God.
"not false accusers":
This is the plural feminine of (diabolos), "treacherous informers".
The verb form is (diaballw), meaning "to throw through; to throw over;
to defame; to inform against; to bring charges with hostile intent."
(English cognate, "diabolical")
In the N.T., when this word appears in Greek with the definite article (and
in the masculine), (ho diabolos), it refers to Satan, the Devil, "the
accuser" of the brethren.
The godly woman is to have victory over sins of the tongue, particularly,
in this case, the sin of bearing false witness, that is, of being a false
accuser.
1 Tim. 3:11 "Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober,
faithful in all things.
The deacons themselves are to be "grave, not double tongued, not given
to much wine..."
Topic: SINS OF THE TONGUE
"not given to much wine":
This reads the same in English as Tit. 1:7, but the Greek is different.
In 1:7, the word is (paroinos), which means "drunk with wine",
or "quarrelsome when in his cups". There is a discussion in the
notes for 1:7 regarding the use of alcohol by Christians.
Here the phrase is (oinw pollw dedulomenas), and it's interesting to try
to learn the meanings of the Greek words here. That word (dedulomenas) is
form of the verb (doulow). You may remember the noun form (doulos), "servant"
or "slave". In Titus 1:1, Paul calls himself a (doulos) of God.
[At the U.S. Military Academy, first year students are called "doolies",
and they are treated like slaves! Of course, in their remaining years, they
become the masters of each new class of slaves.]
This phrase means "to be in bondage or slavery to wine" or "to
be under the restraint of wine".
The KJV simply does not carry this meaning well at all. The phrase "not
given to much wine" is much weaker than the Greek original.
To be effective in her personal witness for the Lord, and as an adviser
and teacher of younger women, the mature godly woman must not be in bondage
to addictions of the flesh, in particular in this passage, to alcohol.
Drunkenness was a big problem on Crete during this period; that's why it's
mentioned so prominently in this letter.
"teachers of good things": (kalodidaskalos), "one who teaches
good".
This is the third (hapax legoumena) - [by now you know what I mean!]
The importance of the teaching ministry of the older woman is seen in the
next two verses. There are many young women who need the example and godly
wisdom of the senior women in the church. The older woman's advice and teaching
must be backed up with a consistent, holy lifestyle, accompanied by the
ability to teach doctrine that is consistent with the production of divine
good.
Titus 2:4
"That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands,
to love their children,"
This verse begins with a purpose clause (beginning with "that")
that points to the reason for the conditions set up in verse 3.
One of the purposes for having mature, knowledgeable older women is for
the teaching of younger women. These types of mature women are scarce.
Someone has to teach the younger woman how to love her husband and her children.
You can't get what you need from "Dear Abby". That's like leading
a lamb to the slaughter!
"that they may teach the young women to be sober":
Now, the words "they may teach...to be sober" are one word in
the Greek, the verb (swphrwnidzw) -- "to teach to be mentally stable;
to bring someone to his senses". We have seen the adjective form (swphrwn)
in previous verses, so maybe even the Greek is becoming a little more familiar
to you.
Again, the translation "to teach to be sober" does not carry the
weight of the much more comprehensive Greek meaning.
This verb connotes sanity of mind and stability of thinking. There are many
enemies of sanity and mental stability. A young married woman has great
pressures of married life and exhausting work in child rearing. There is
great opportunity for depression and bitterness to creep in. The older woman's
counsel enables the young woman to be occupied with Christ, to see life
"with eternity's values in view", to make decisions from the wisdom
of God's viewpoint.
Topic: MENTAL ATTITUDE
The mature woman will have sanity, clarity of thought, wisdom, edification
in the soul. She will be the picture of Grace. And she will be able to communicate
these things to young women. She is a jewel among women and has an enormous
task in her function as a teacher.
"to love their husbands": (philandros), --> "to be husband-loving"
This is the only use of this Greek Word in the NT, but this word was common
in the epitaphs of wives written on tombs.
A tomb inscription of the time of the Emperor Hadrian (3rd Cent.) read,
"Julius Bassus to Otacilia Polla, his sweetest wife. Loving her husband
(philandros) and loving her children (philoteknos), she lived with him unblameably
for 30 years."
"to love their children": (philoteknos) "loving one's children",
having due parental concern.
You wonder why a young woman has to be taught to love her own children.
But for Christians, due parental concern goes far beyond natural maternal
love (which does not have to be taught). The idea in this verse takes into
consideration all of the child's life and concerns itself with everything
that is associated with bringing him up in the nurture and admonition of
the Lord.
This includes child training, education, teaching manners and decorum, respect
for privacy and property, respect for authority, especially the authority
of God, dependence on God, love for the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of
God.
Topic: BIBLICAL GOALS IN TRAINING
CHILDREN
Titus 2:5
"To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own
husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."
"to be discreet": (swphrwn) - "having a sound mind, sensible,
discreet"
Here, (swphrwn) is translated "discreet", rather than "sober"
or "temperate". But it carries the same idea of sensibility and
stability of thinking, one results of which would be discretion.
By the way, the NIV does a good service by consistently rendering (swphrwn)
as "sensible". When you read the NIV with this in mind, you become
aware of the connotation of mental stability and sensibility behind the
thinking and actions of the people described.
"chaste": (hagnos) - "pure, chaste, modest, innocent, blameless".
Both men and women have to be taught about sin, about true love and marriage,
about proper behavior between sexes, so that they can avoid sin and experience
God's blessings in life to the maximum.
Best Bible example - Ruth.
READ Ruth 3:1-11
Topic: THE BIBLE VS SEXUAL PROMISCUITY
"keepers at home": (oikourgos) - "one who is occupied with
domestic affairs".
Proverbs 31 is the best description of the godly wife in her daily life.
I don't even need to comment. The Scripture always provides better examples
and illustrations of doctrine, anyway, and that's always preferable to an
teacher's comments.
"good": (agathos) - "good, profitable, generous, upright".
This young woman will be a channel of blessing, to her husband and family
and to others. She will grow spiritually beyond the selfishness of childhood.
She will be a conduit of the Grace of God. Out of her innermost being will
flow rivers of living water.
"obedient to their own husbands": "to be subject to their
own husbands"
Notice the order in which counsel is to be given. First, LOVE. Then, MENTAL
STABILITY, then PURITY, then HOMEMAKER, finally, subjection to husbands.
It takes spiritual preparation to be willingly submissive to authority,
of whatever type. When a Christian has actually grown somewhat in Christ,
submission is nowhere near so large an issue.
Many novice Christian young women are incensed by the idea of any type of
submission. Maybe they responded poorly to their parents' authority. They
certainly want their freedom now, and they don't want some man, even a husband,
lording it over them.
But the "sensible" Christian woman knows there is much more at
stake, that a much larger plan is involved.
Christian marriage is portrayed in Ephesians 5 as a picture of the relationship
of Jesus Christ to His church. The husband is commanded to love his wife
"as Christ loves the church". The wife is commanded to submit
to her husband as the church does to the Lord.
God intends for Christian marriage to be an object lesson of this spiritual
relationship to an unbelieving and careless world. It is a picture that
must not be marred! If either the husband or the wife fail to fulfill the
commands regarding their responsibilities in marriage, they become stumbling
blocks of the worst kind, because they cloud the Gospel picture.
How does Satan "blind the minds of them who believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto them"? Well, one
way is by tempting Christians to have non-Biblical marriages. And this is
strikingly brought out in the next phrase...
"that the Word of God be not blasphemed": this is (blaspheimew),
"to slander; to dishonor"
This is the naked blade of the Word of God, the "two-edged sword".
The issue is very clear. Marriage is a picture of the Gospel. Failure to
obey the commands regarding marriage brings slander on the Word of God.
If you bring slander on the Word of God, you are in for big trouble!
Jesus said that those who hindered little children from coming to Him would
have been better off if they had been drowned at birth.
"God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come
to repentance." There is every indication in the Bible that the quickest
way to come under severe divine chastisement is to hinder some unbeliever
from receiving Christ!
All of the commands and principles of the Bible regarding marriage, sexual
promiscuity, homosexuality, divorce, are laid out by God for one main reason,
to convince the world to accept Christ as Savior. All other reasons for
chastity, integrity, fidelity, and love in marriage, while important, are
secondary to this.
Titus 2:6
"Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded."
"Young men": from (neoteros), "the young"
"likewise": "in the same manner; in the same way; likewise"
"exhort": (parakalew), "to exhort; to urge"
"to be sober-minded": from (swphrwnew), "to be in one's right
mind; to think sensibly; to be serious. Yet another use of this (now familiar)
word.
Briefly, then, "all of the above" can be applied to young men.
So, without further ado ...
Summarizing the passage:
Titus 2:3, "The senior women, likewise, that they have a manner
of life that is worthy of respect, not treacherous informers, not in bondage
to wine, teachers of divine good."
Titus 2:4, "That they may bring the young women to mental stability,
to love their husbands, to love their children."
Titus 2:5, "Sensible, pure, occupied with home life, generous, being
subject to their own husbands, that the Word of God be not slandered."
Titus 2:6, "Young men likewise exhort to be stable minded."
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