Exposition of Paul’s Letter
to
TITUS
LESSON 2: SETTING THE STAGE
Review
Paul’s letter to Titus is a life-changing
message for us today. Paul calls the
Church to integrate right beliefs with everyday practice. We learn that empowered by the Spirit Christians
can transform their culture by living lives of integrity.
We were reminded that integrity is a
determination of the heart. Integrity
is the unwavering determination in the heart to do right no matter what.
Text Titus
1:1–4 (ESV)
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake
of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords
with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never
lies, promised before the ages began 3 and at the proper time
manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted
by the command of God our Savior; 4 To Titus, my true child in a
common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Exposition
Titus 1:1–4 (ESV)
His Credentials
Paul, as he does in many of his letters
starts by identifying himself. His
primary identification is:
a.
A servant of God. The
translation servant is taken from the
Greek word δοῦλοσ1 pronounced ‘doo·los’. It literally means slave. It comes on good authority[1]
that from the 16th Century English translators preferred the word
“servant” over slave because of the stigma that is attached to it. Renown Greek
scholar Gerhardt Kittel writes, ““There is no need to
trace the history of this word, there is no need to discuss the meaning of this
word, it has never meant anything in any usage but slave.” What is true of Paul is true of every
Christian[2].
b.
An apostle. Generally, an
apostle simply means “messenger”.
Specifically, in a Christian sense, an apostle is a person designated by God to speak and act with
special authority. Paul’s apostleship was unique though. Paul was categorized
with similar credentials as the original Twelve. Paul
can rightfully be called an apostle because he fulfilled the same three basic
requirements the specially-selected twelve original disciples met. Those to be
considered for this awesome responsibility had to have been personally called
by Christ, taught by him directly for several years, and seen him alive after
his resurrection (Acts 1:17, 22, 25).
So as a slave, Paul lays the groundwork
that he is not acting on his own, but is willing submission to his Master. As an apostle, his words that are in
accordance with Christ are authoritative and irrefutable. He then explains his
mission.
His Mission
“for
the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which
accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who
never lies, promised before the ages began 3 and at the proper time
manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted
by the command of God our Savior.”
This is a complicated but exciting
sentence. Notice the relationship of the
clauses in this sentence:
“for
the sake of the faith of God’s elect
and their knowledge of the
truth,
which accords with godliness, 2
in hope of eternal life,
which God, who never lies, promised
before the ages began
3 and at the proper time manifested
in his word through the preaching
with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our
Savior.”
So, we see clearly that Paul’s call and
appointment are on behalf of God’s elect.
Who are God’s elect? They are those
who God has graciously chosen for
salvation (2 Thessalonians 2:13[3]);
who have experienced the work of the Holy Spirit and have personally believed
the Gospel.
This call though is in
relation to their “knowledge of the truth”.
This is a phrase common to Paul.
Note:
·
1 Timothy
2:4 (ESV), 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth.
·
2 Timothy
2:25 (ESV), 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may
perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,
·
2 Timothy
3:7 (ESV), 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge
of the truth.
Now this “knowledge”
is the truth which is in keeping with godly living, which leads to eternal
life.
This “knowledge” is a
truth that come from God who always tells the truth. It is a truth that was at one time promised,
but is now “manifested”. Now we ask the
question, “What truth was hidden, but promised and is now seen in its
fulfillment?” Answer: The Gospel. Where do we see this Gospel message on
display? His Word.
Recap: So, Paul is making it clear that God has
called him to encourage the faith of Believers and to further their understanding
of the Gospel. This is the Gospel that
promotes godly living and leads to eternal life. This is the Gospel coming to us from the God
who never lies. This is the Gospel once
unseen but now displayed clearly in His Word.
Then Paul writes that he has been commanded and entrusted to proclaim
this Gospel.
“That life-giving
message was committed to Paul as a divine trust. He could never escape the
wonder that this assignment should be given to him, unworthy as he was (1Cor
15:9; Eph 3:8; 1Tim 1:11-13). The personal pronoun is deliberately emphatic,
"I on my part was entrusted with" this message. His call was for him
a very personal, irreversible experience.”[4]
His Recipient
“To Titus, my true child in a common
faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.”
(Titus 1:4, ESV)
The personal and kind
reference to Titus as a “true child” is literally “legitimate son” (compare 1
Timothy 1:2). It probably indicates that Titus was lead to Christ by Paul. It certainly implies that Titus was a
genuine, sincere Believer. In short,
Titus is:
- One of Paul's closest associates,
mentioned 13 times in the New Testament
- A Gentile convert to Christianity who
accompanied Barnabas and Paul to the Jerusalem Council; although he is an
uncircumcised Greek, he is not compelled to be circumcised (Gal
2:1-3).
- Paul tells the Corinthians that Titus is
"my brother" (2Corinthians 2:13) and "my partner
and co-worker for you" (8:23).
- Titus later serves as Paul's messenger to
the Christian communities in Macedonia and Achaia, esp. in
Corinth (2Corinthians 7:5--8:24; 12:18).
- He may also have preached in Dalmatia
(modern Albania & Bosnia; 2Tim 4:10),
Paul refers to him as
a son in the “common faith”. He is not a genuine biological son, he is a
genuine spiritual son. They both shared
the same faith, the same spiritual values. This speaks volumes but at the time
it also honored the Gospel truth that the Jewish and Greek cultures could both
be included in the “common faith” of Christianity.
To Titus Paul greets
with the phrase that is common to Paul: “Grace and peace from God the Father and
Christ Jesus our Savior.” You should
note that grace (Gr charis)
was the common Greek greeting, just as peace (Heb shalōm) was the
ordinary Hebrew salutation. Together
this unites the Testaments and points to the blessings that were promised and
fulfilled in Christ to all Christians.
Likewise, as we have received the blessings of the Old Covenant
promises that come from the Father through the New Covenant blessings that are
fulfilled by the Son, Paul rests his greeting on "God our Father AND the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
Paul’s mission has been clearly
identified. That is, to encourage the faith of Believers and to further
their understanding of the Gospel. He makes a more-than-obvious hint about that
Gospel in his opening greeting. He says
that it is a Gospel that promotes godly living and leads to eternal life.
Is there any other Gospel?
We will not be
surprised when we will soon read:
“For the grace of God has appeared,
bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and
worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the
present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our
great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from
all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who
are zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11–14, ESV)
Questions
[1] https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/GTY129/servant-or-slave
[2] “But thanks be to God, that you who were once
slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching
to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become
slaves of righteousness.” (Romans 6:17–18, ESV)
[3] “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you,
brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be
saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.” (2
Thessalonians 2:13, ESV)
[4] Expositor's Bible
Commentary, The, Pradis
CD-ROM:Titus/Exposition of Titus/I. Salutation (1:1-4)/A. The Writer (1:1-3),
Book Version: 4.0.2
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