Titus 1:1-4

GREETINGS 1:1-4

Text 1:1-4

1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before times eternal; 3 but in his own seasons manifested his word in the message, wherewith I was intrusted according to the commandment of God our Saviour; 4 to Titus, my true child after a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.

Thought Questions 1:1-4

1.

Someone said, the expression -God's bond servant-' occurs nowhere else at the head of his Epistles.. Is this true? Please take time and thought enough to answer,

2.

Give the meaning of the name apostle; show how it has special reference to Paul.

3.

How could the faith of God's elect regulate the apostleship of Paul?

4.

Is the faith in Titus 1:1 subjective or objective? Explain why you answer as you do.

5.

How does one become one of God's elect?

6.

Does Paul say here that he was appointed an apostle for the purpose of leading the elect into a knowledge of the truth? How did you arrive at your conclusion?

7.

Does the truth lead to godliness or proceed from it?

8.

Are we to understand the hope of eternal life is a part of the truth into which Paul was to lead the elect?

9.

Are we to equate eternal life with heaven? Is eternal life an extension of this present life? Explain.

10.

Is Paul saying here (Titus 1:2) that God had provisions made for the eternal life of His elect even before He created the world?

11.

What has been manifested in due season? (Cf. Galatians 4:4). Please be careful in your answer to this question did God manifest His Son His gospel or His purpose?

12.

What is the commandor commandmentof Titus 1:3?

13.

In what sense was Titus Paul's true child?

14.

Explain the phrase common faith.

15.

Show the distinction in the use of the words grace and peace.

Paraphrase 1:1-4

1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, sent forth by him in order to promote the faith of the Gentiles, the elected people of God, and to persuade them to acknowledge the gospel, whose end is to make men godly and virtuous in every respect;
2 In hope that they shall also obtain that resurrection to eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised to believers of all nations in the persons of Adam and Abraham, long before the Jewish dispensation began.
3 The knowledge of God's promise was long confined to the Jews; but He hath manifested to all, in its proper season, his promise, by the preaching of the gospel, with which I am entrusted by Christ, according to the commandment of God, the original contriver of the method of our salvation:
4 To Titus, my genuine son by the common faith, the faith in Christ which the Gentiles are permitted to have in common with the Jews, I wish gracious assistances, merciful deliverances, and eternal life, from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, the accomplisher of our salvation.

Comment 1:1-4

Titus 1:1. Paul refers to himself as a slave to Jesus Christ in Romans 1:1, Galatians 1:10, Philippians 1:1; but here and only here he identifies himself as a slave of God. Actually there are two characteristics of the Apostle given by himself to himself:

(1) Slave of God, (2) Apostle of Jesus Christ. Paul says he is a slave and an apostle, with the approval of and in agreement with the faith known and believed by the Christians of his day. Such Christians are here called the elect.
Those believers on the isle of Crete, who knew the revealed truth as given by the inspired writers of that day, would immediately accept Paul's apostleship as from Christ, and his service as to God.
Such revealed truth leads to being like God, or godly,
We are aware that the above interpretation is not acceptable to some; however, after a very careful study of both sides of the issue, we feel Paul was saying his service to God and his apostleship from Christ was in agreement with the faith of God's elect, and not for the purpose of inducing faith in the elect. Of course, we believe that elsewhere Paul states that his apostleship was for the purpose of producing faithbut not here.

We refer you to another book in The Bible Study Textbook Series for a study of the expression God's elect: Romans Realized, pp. 155-158. Suffice it to say here that God elects those who elect to follow Him, The choice of election is in the sure knowledge of God and the free will of man at the same time, with no conflict to either.

The use made of this epistle by Titus on the isle of Crete must not be forgotten. Whenever the teaching of Titus is called into question he can refer immediately to this letter, which is in perfect harmony with the faith or the truth. The elect of God who have a knowledge of the truth will accept the message of Paul through Titusthose who do not accept it are in error.

Titus 1:2. Paul was called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ in the hope of eternal life. Paul served God as a slave serves his master in the hope of reward. He will not be disappointed, for the never-lying-God has made this promise of eternal life; indeed, this promise has been in preparation for ages past.

How are we to understand the little expression eternal life? Is this to be equated with heaven? We believe it is. However, it carries the same overtones as the expression of the rich young ruler; (Mark 10:17) he inquired, what must I do that I might inherit eternal life? This young man wanted life that could not be found in morality, The rich young man came to the right source. Jesus came to give us life (John 10:10) and life that is life indeed. Paul found this life here and now; but he knew, as we do, that the largest share of it is yet to come. Enjoying the benefits of life here; having promise of continuing such life in ideal conditions in the new earth; such promise issuing from the undying-God is enough to give incentive to anyone!

How shall we understand the expression before times eternal? Shall we look in the Old Testament for the promise of eternal life? In other wordsdoes the expression refer to the Old Testament age? We rather prefer the thought that God promised to His Son before the foundation of the world, that all who would come through His death would have eternal life.

Titus 1:3. It is through the good news that life and immortality are brought to light. Whereas the offer and hope of eternal life had been in the mind of God before times eternal, He did not announce it until the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4). His word mentioned in Titus 1:3 is to be understood as a synonym for Gospel, in which the promise of eternal life is embodied. To Paul was this message entrusted. What a fearful responsibility; what a high and holy privilege. It was on the Damascus road, Saul of Tarsus was confronted with the subject and object of this message: the subject was Jesus of Nazareththe object was to herald forth the message that Christ Jesus died to save sinners. This commission by Christ Jesus is called here the commandment of God our Saviour. Paul could never forget the heavenly vision and to it he could not be disobedient. Six times in Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus he uses the expression God our Saviour (Cf. 1 Timothy 1:1; 1 Timothy 2:3; 1 Timothy 4:10; Titus 1:3; Titus 2:10; Titus 3:4). Since God is the ultimate source of all that relates to our salvation, it seems appropriate to refer to Him as our Saviour. Paul felt his personal relationship to God as indicated by his use of our Saviour.

Titus 1:4. It has been suggested by some that, since the name of Titus does not appear in the Book of Acts, perhaps Luke left him out for personal reasons. Maybe Titus was Luke's brother, and through a desire to be humble he was not mentioned. The above is only an opinion, but it is a fact that the name of Titus occurs only in the Pauline epistles.

Titus is a true child after a common faith. Was Titus a convert of Paul? We believe he was, but it is only a matter of conjecture. It can not be asserted from this reference. The expression my true child could be one of endearment, as Paul thought of the age of Titus as compared with himself. Paul's hope and life proceeded from the same source as Titusfaith in the Lord Jesus Christ; thus a common faith. We believe, however, that the emphasis here should be on the objective quality of the faith. As measured by the common faith held by all Christians, Titus is a genuine child of God. (Kent)

The greeting here given to Titus is the same as given to Timothy, minus the thought of mercy. It was the sincere concern and prayer of Paul that Titus have the favor and peace of God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour. In verse three God is called Saviour, here Christ Jesus is called by the same name. This is not strange, since both are the source of our salvation. Since the Holy Spirit brought the message of salvation, we could also refer to Him as our Saviour.

Fact Questions 1:1-4

1.

Only in this letter does Paul use an expression of his relationship to God. What is it?

2.

Explain the expression according to the faith of God's elect.

3.

What is the truth as in Titus 1:1 b?

4.

Who are the electhow were they elected?

5.

What was in the hope of eternal lifeGod's elect or Paul? i.e., to whom does this expression refer?

6.

Discuss the meaning of eternal life.

7.

To what does the expression eternal life refer?

8.

How shall we understand the use of the expression His word in Titus 1:3?

9.

Why was Paul so willing to obey the heavenly vision?

10.

Was Titus related to Luke? Why suggest such?

11.

Doesn-'t the use of the term my true child indicate that Titus was a convert of Paul? Discuss.