Titus, part 1
"Paul, a
servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and
the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness--a faith and knowledge
resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised
before the beginning of time, and at his appointed season he brought his word
to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our
Savior" (Titus 1:1-3, NIV)
Paul's letter to Titus
is the last of the so-called "pastoral" epistles. They're
called "pastoral" because in them, Paul is passing on words of wisdom
to his young protégés Timothy and Titus. He is training them up in the
ways of pastoral ministry because Paul has placed both Titus and Timothy in
charge of local churches. The letter to Titus contains much the same
information that Paul's first letter to Timothy contains; leading to the
conclusion that Paul probably wrote these two letters within a relatively short
period of time of one another. They both contain exhortations to appoint
qualified leaders (elders) within the church, and they both contain suggestions
on how to deal with people within the church. But in these opening
verses, Paul mentions in passing some great Christian truths that deserve to be
"unpacked."
"Paul, a servant of
God and an apostle of Jesus Christ." In this opening phrase,
Paul identifies himself in two ways: as a servant of God and as an apostle of Jesus Christ.
Servant is the Greek word doulos and it means slave. Paul considered himself a
slave to God. Now in today's culture, slavery carries extreme negative
connotations. However, in the ancient world, slavery was a way of
life. Slaves comprised most of the workforce in the
It is interesting to
note that the Bible never condemns slavery--never. There is not one verse
in the Bible that says slavery is a moral evil that should be stamped
out. The Bible always deals with slavery as a fact of life. Now the
Bible does provide guidelines for slavery. In the Pentateuch (the first
five books of the Bible), there are guidelines for slave ownership (Ex 21:2-11;
Lev 25:39-55; Dt 15:1-18). It was not uncommon for someone who had un-payable
debts to sell himself into slavery to work off the debt. Jewish law
prescribed the unconditional release of all slaves after six years of service.
In New Testament times,
slaves were considered part of the family (which is why in Ephesians and
Colossians, the instructions given to slaves always follows the instructions
given to husbands, wives and children), and were often better off than free
laborers because they enjoyed the benefits of being part of the family. A
servant, if he so wished, could offer to remain with his master. The
slave who did so was marked and became a slave for life. This voluntary
servitude was usually borne out of a love for one's master. This is the
kind of slavery the Apostle Paul speaks of when he refers to himself as a slave
of God.
The Apostle recognizes
that it was God who rescued him out of his life of slavery to sin, and out of
love and gratitude he gladly offers his life to his new master. This is
evident in Romans when Paul says, "But now that you have been set free from sin
and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the
result is eternal life" (Romans 6:22). Paul earlier
in Romans reveals the truth that we're all slaves to something; it is either a
slavery to sin or a slavery to God's righteousness.
Paul also refers to
himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ. The word apostle
basically means a messenger or a representative. The important thing to
note is that Paul is an apostle of Jesus Christ. Paul was specially
commissioned by Christ in Acts 9. He received his ministry and authority
from Jesus Christ himself. When he spoke, he spoke as an official
representative of Jesus Christ. Paul was divinely appointed.
"For the faith of
God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness." Paul's mission
statement is summed up in this verse. He was a divinely appointed
emissary of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect. Paul was commissioned in
order to bring the gospel--the truth that leads to godliness--to God's
elect. We have in this verse, the concept of God's divine election of
those who are to be saved. I don't want to delve into a full treatment of
the doctrine of election, but suffice it to say that this doctrine is all
throughout the Bible.
"A faith and
knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie,
promised before the beginning of time." Paul was to bring
faith and knowledge to God's elect. Here we see the ground of this
message that Paul was to bring to the people. Saving faith and knowledge
in the Lord Jesus Christ is grounded in the hope of eternal life. I've
probably mentioned it before, but Biblical hope is not like worldly hope.
Worldly hope is akin to a "pie-in-the-sky" wishing for something that
is not expected to come about. Worldly hope is like buying one lottery
ticket and hoping to win. Biblical hope is much, much stronger. It
is an expectant
hope; it is a looking forward to something that is expected to come
about. Our saving faith and knowledge rests on the expectant hope of
eternal life, which itself rests on the immutable word of God. God, who does not lie,
promised this hope of eternal life before the beginning of time.
This is a certainty which is only waiting for the time of fulfillment.
"At his appointed
season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by
the command of God our Savior." This verse just
highlights the fact that the promise of eternal life to the elect was always
part of God's plan. God's plan is what theologians call progressive revelation;
i.e., it is a plan which is revealed over a period of time. In Galatians,
Paul points out the fact that Jesus Christ arrived at exactly the right time in
God's plan of redemptive history (cf. Galatians 4:4). The writer of
Hebrews says that God has revealed Himself through various times and in
various ways (cf. Hebrews 1:1). Paul is just part of God's plan of
revelation. Throughout the Pauline letters, we see that Paul occasionally
reveals what he calls mysteries. Mystery has a special meaning in the
N.T. It refers to revealed truth that was before withheld, but is now
coming to light. Paul was an instrument of new revelation to God's
people.
Summing up, Paul was
God's slave and a chosen instrument to reveal his plan of salvation--faith in
His Son Jesus Christ--to His elect. God's elect are those individuals
whom God chose before the foundations of the world (cf. Ephesians 1:4) to
receive the saving faith and knowledge of the truth that leads to
godliness. This faith and knowledge rests firmly secure on the foundation
of the hope of eternal life promised by God--who cannot lie. The bottom
line is the more we delve into the workings of our salvation, the more we
realize that God is working all things according to the purposes of His good
will (cf. Ephesians 1:11), and as the Bible says, our only response is to give
God the glory and praise (cf. Ephesians 1:6).