Titus, chapter 1, comments

 

Paul had fourteen years of experience in starting churches and missionary work, some commentators say, after his conversion before he returned to Jerusalem. He had only spent two weeks in Jerusalem after his conversion and saw only Peter (see the context of Galatians 2:1). He brought Titus with him from that time of growing in the Lord and doing God’s work when he returned to Jerusalem.

Galatians 2:1 ¶  Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.

Later, Paul would send Titus to the church at Corinth to assist in straightening their doctrine and behavior out.

2Corinthians 8:6  Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also…16  But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you…23  Whether any do enquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellowhelper concerning you: or our brethren be enquired of, they are the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ.

2Corinthians 12:18  I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?

2Corinthians 13:14  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. «The second epistle to the Corinthians was written from Philippi, a city of Macedonia, by Titus and Lucas.»

Titus was very important to Paul, who called him his partner and fellowhelper. As in the letters to Timothy, and here in Titus, Paul gives instructions for pastors (bishops) and other elders of the church so the letters to Timothy and Titus are called Pastoral Epistles. Titus is celebrated in several different kinds of churches and is the patron saint of The U.S. Army Chaplain Corps.

Titus is, at the time of this writing, setting up churches on the island of Crete.

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; 2  In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; 3  But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour; 4  To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Paul’s writings, except for Hebrews, typically contain his name in the first verse of the first letter to a person or a church body.

2Thessalonians 3:17  The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write.

Paul declares himself a servant of God and an apostle sent directly by Jesus Christ Himself whom Paul first encountered in the famous road to Damascus vision we all know from the Acts of the Apostles, we just call Acts. It is the faith of God’s elect, which I have discussed in comments on Romans and 1^st and 2^nd Timothy among other places, those people whom God foreknew would receive Christ, who are His. Paul declares that God’s elect and he himself are in agreement to acknowledging the truth which follows godliness, hoping for eternal life, expecting it, because it is not in God to lie. This eternal life is promised to God’s elect before the world began, especially through the promise of the resurrection, a doctrine inextricably linked to eternal life, life everlasting. While there are statements of it throughout the Bible, in Genesis, Job, Isaiah, Daniel, etc. etc. which we’ve discussed previously, it is now told through the preaching of Christ’s apostles and the rest of the elect of God by the command of Christ. Starting in Genesis describing a tree that bore fruit that produced eternal life we have;

Not only did God plant beautiful, life-giving trees for food in the Garden of Eden but the Tree of Life was there. It is now in the heavenly city.

Revelation 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Revelation 22:2  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations…14  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Eating of the fruit of the Tree of Life restores the body and permits the person to inhabit a physical body forever.

Genesis 3:22  And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

So, clearly this is like some tree you have never seen and has not ever been classified by a scientist. But even after that tree is removed we can see what is promised to God’s elect.

Job 14:14  If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. 15  Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.

Job 19:25  For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: 26  And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: 27  Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

Isaiah speaks of a resurrection.

Isaiah 26:19  Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

Daniel speaks of a resurrection.

Daniel 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Hosea speaks of a resurrection.

Hosea 13:14  I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.

And Jesus makes it clear that the God’s dead have not ceased to exist and the following passage makes it plain that the Jews knew of the resurrection, although some did not believe, as it is today.

Matthew 22:23 ¶  The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, 24  Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 25  Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: 26  Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. 27  And last of all the woman died also. 28  Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. 29  Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. 30  For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. 31  But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32  I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. 33  And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.

John 10:28  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Romans 5:21  That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Matthew 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Paul regards Titus, like Timothy, as his own son in the faith. He wishes him grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Titus 1:5 ¶  For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

So we see that Paul has set Titus up in Crete to straighten out the churches and ordain elders to rule spiritually in the congregations.

Titus 1:6 ¶  If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. 7  For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; 8  But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; 9  Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. 10  For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: 11  Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake. 12  One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. 13  This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; 14  Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. 15  Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. 16  They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Paul repeats his commands for Timothy in establishing the character of a bishop or presiding elder whom we would call a pastor today.

1Timothy 3:1 ¶  This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. 2  A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 3  Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; 4  One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 5  (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) 6  Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7  Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Paul gave Timothy the instructions for the character of a serving deacon, as well.

1Timothy 3:8 ¶  Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; 9  Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. 10  And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. 11  Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. 12  Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 13  For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Please see my comments for these passages in 1^st Timothy for a further explanation of these commands.

These elders, these pastors, need to be convinced of sound doctrine to be able to preach and exhort and to bring over those who deny or contradict the gospel truth Paul has taught. He laments the fact that there are many who pervert the truth, particularly among the Jewish nominal followers of Christ. This has been talked of before as Paul had to deal with Judaizers, who, as today, kept trying to put people back under the Law given to Moses and those, as John declared, deny that Christ came in bodily form, the Gnostics. It is a time of great controversy and some have said that water is polluted the greatest nearest the source. Much of this false teaching, as in the Sophists I talked about previously, has been done for greedy gain.

He then quotes the pagan philosopher, Epimenides, as he has quoted other pagan philosophers before in Acts 17. See my comments there. Paul doesn’t seem to have a very high opinion of the character of the inhabitants of Crete. These people whom he is specifically referring to apparently have done much damage to the establishment of the true faith on the island of Crete. So much of this has already been covered in Acts through 2^nd Timothy. I recommend reviewing those comments. Titus is Paul’s enforcer, so to speak, to straighten out a group of churches that is bordering on great heresy and is plagued by opportunists and liars who are trying to manipulate and use them. The Christian church in this revolutionary age of the last two hundred years is undergoing the very same type of assault by religious predators who lie, twist, and distort the truth for gain.