Lessons #09 and 10
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual exposition not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GWT = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Paul – his office and purpose (Titus 1:1-3)
... . 3 and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,
We ended our last study with emphasis on the necessity of every believer being involved in preaching of the gospel message because it is through it that God’s promise of eternal life is revealed, as indicated in the phrase through the preaching. We also indicated that Apostle Paul referenced his responsibility of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ as the means of revealing the promise of eternal life that is in Christ Jesus. But this reference we introduced with the promise that we will consider it in this study. So, we consider our warrant for making such reference with respect to the apostle.
Our authority for indicating that the responsibility of revealing of the promise of eternal life through the preaching of God’s word is one that the apostle indicates is his is the vergal phrase the preaching entrusted to me of Titus 1:3. The apostle declared that he has been put in a position of taking care of the preaching of the message that reveals the promise of eternal life, that is, the gospel. The word “entrusted” is translated from a Greek word (pisteuō) that its predominant meaning in the Greek NT is “to believe”, as it is used by Apostle Paul to describe the belief of resurrection cast in the sense of living with Christ in Romans 6:8:
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
The Greek word translated “entrusted” in Titus 1:3 may also mean “to believe in, to trust”, with the implication of total commitment to the one who is trusted, as it is used in the apostle’s short prayer for the Roman believers in Romans 15:13:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Despite these two meanings, the Greek word is used in our passage of Titus 1:3 in the sense of trusting or putting something to the care of another. Apostle Paul was so conscious of the fact that the preaching of the gospel was entrusted to him that he states it several times. Writing to the Galatians, he indicated that preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles is a task given to him, as we read in Galatians 2:7:
On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews.
He informed the Thessalonians that he was entrusted with the preaching of the gospel although he did not envision himself as the only one entrusted with that task, as we can gather from his statement in 1 Thessalonians 2:4:
On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.
The apostle also reminds Timothy that he has been entrusted with the gospel that is no doubt concerned with eternal life that he described with the word “glorious”, indicating its greatness certainly because it contains the promise of eternal life in 1 Timothy 1:11:
that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
Be that as it may, the apostle was never in doubt as to the One who entrusted him with the responsibility of preaching the gospel that contains the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ as we read in the phrase by the command of God our Savior of Titus 1:3. There are two facts the apostle intended to convey in this phrase. A first fact is that his preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ is not really his choice in the sense that he did not one day decide that he wanted to be one who preaches the gospel but that such a responsibility was by divine instruction. You see, the word “command” is translated from a Greek word (epitagē) that appears only in the epistles of the apostle where the word is used seven times with two related meanings. It may mean an authoritative direction or instruction to do something through speech or writing and so means “command, order, injunction”, as it is used, for example, in the context of the gospel Apostle Paul stated he preached in Romans 16:26:
but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him—
The Greek word may mean the right or power to give orders, hence means “authority”, as it is used in encouraging Titus in his work as a pastor in Titus 2:15:
These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
In our passage of Titus 1:3, it is used with meaning of “command.” The apostle prior to being commissioned an apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ was a Rabbi and was preparing to advance in that system. He had no intention of doing another thing but to progress in Judaism and advance Judaism. But at the command of our Lord Jesus Christ everything changed for him. So, it is important for the apostle to keep reminding Titus and so all believers at that time that he was preaching not by choice but by a divine command. He referred to the fact he did not chose to be a preacher of the gospel but one who obeyed a command in his epistle to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 9:17:
If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.
It is true the apostle was commanded to preach the gospel message; even then, such a command is really an act of grace on the part of God. Not everyone is commanded directly by the Lord Jesus to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ as it is a high privilege to do so. The apostle was certainly aware that even the command to preach the gospel of Christ was an act of grace on the part of God since he mentioned the grace of God in making him one that preached the gospel despite his former activity of persecuting the church, as we read in 1 Timothy 1:13–14:
13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
We are stating that although the apostle indicates he was commanded to preach the gospel, that even such a command is an act of grace on God’s part. That a command from God is an act of grace is evident in our salvation. We are saved by obeying God’s command to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Quite often, we listen to the teaching of the word of God commanding us to carry out certain actions, but we choose otherwise. This was not the case with the apostle once the command to preach was issued; he had no choice but to obey. It seems to me that those who are pastors and evangelists should be able to relate to what the apostle is speaking if indeed they are called of God. If a person has other idea of what he wants to do with his life in regard to career and then our Lord commands him, often through events, to become a pastor or an evangelist, then he can understand the apostle. This command to be a pastor or an evangelist should be something that the person should always look back to help encourage him that he is doing what he is doing not by choice but by command of God. It is not uncommon for some pastors to get discouraged because of how members of their congregations’ respond to their ministry to them, but they should ask themselves if they are pastors by God’s command or by their choice. If it is by God’s command, then they ought not to become discouraged.
It is my greatest conviction that God never calls a lazy person to the pastoral ministry or those who have not demonstrated that they can work hard in any endeavor. This is clear from the fact the apostles were fishermen or were in other occupations before the Lord called them. This not true of some pastors and evangelists of our time. My point is that there are many who because there is nothing else to do, decide to attend a Seminary or Bible College as a way of getting into the pastoral ministry or as a way of making a living. It is this kind of person that sees himself as an employee of a local church instead of recognizing that he is under command of the Lord Jesus Christ to do what he is doing. Furthermore, a person who recognizes that he is under a command of the Lord Jesus Christ would have no other choice but to study and teach the word of God without fear of anything or any person. Because of the requirement of the pastoral ministry, a person ought to be very careful in this area not to get into the pastoral ministry without the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am certain that when our Lord issues a command to anyone to become a pastor, the command will be loud and clear that he could not possibly refuse to obey that command. Anyway, I am afraid that there are too many who are in the pastoral ministry without the spiritual gift of teaching and without the command from the Lord Jesus Christ to function in that capacity. We applied the phrase by the command of God our Savior to pastors because, as we will note in course of our study of this epistle to Titus, it is intended for him to serve as a pastor. Therefore, the apostle in using the phrase by the command of God our Savior not only wants Titus to know that he, the apostle, obeyed a command but also that Titus himself should recognize that he obeyed a command to function as a local pastor to the church he was pastoring. In any event, a first fact of the phrase by the command of God our Savior is that the apostle’s preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ is not really his choice in the sense that he did not one day decide he wanted to be one who preaches the gospel but that such a responsibility was by divine instruction.
A second fact that is conveyed in the phrase by the command of God our Savior is that Jesus Christ is God. This fact may not be plain, so let me establish that this truth is indeed what the apostle meant to convey. It is true that the apostle did not use the word Jesus Christ in the phrase by the command of God our Savior, but this is because he wanted to establish this truth of the deity of Christ in an indirect manner before he asserts that truth in a direct fashion when he gets to the thirteenth verse of the second chapter of the epistle. You see, the apostle described God with the phrase our Savior but shortly after writing this phrase he used it to describe Jesus Christ in next verse, that is, Titus 1:4:
To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Someone may argue that I am making a jump into my conclusion. No! We should remember firstly that the apostle wrote under the Holy Spirit and secondly, he was well versed in the OT Scripture having been trained as a Rabbi. The implication of being versed in the OT Scripture is that the apostle knew that the Greek word (sōtēr) translated “savior” in Titus 1:3 while in the Greek world it was used as a title of honor for deserving persons such as physicians or high-ranking officials but in the Septuagint, it was a word that applies only to God. The apostle would have known that in the OT Scripture, God clearly indicated that He is the only Savior, as we read in Isaiah 43:11:
I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior.
It is true that a different Greek word is used for savior in this passage of Isaiah in the Septuagint than the one used in Titus 1:3 but there is no obvious difference between the word used in the Septuagint of Isaiah 43:11 and the one used in Titus 1:3 since it is the participle of the Greek verb (sōzō) that means “to save” that is used in Isaiah 43:11 whereas the noun form is used in Titus 1:3. Furthermore, the same Greek word used in Titus 1:3 is used in the Septuagint to described God as Savior in Isaiah 45:21:
Declare what is to be, present it—let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me.
Hence, there is no problem in the fact that a participle is used in Isaiah 43:11. Anyway, the apostle was aware that the title “Savior” can only be applied to God and so in applying it to Jesus Christ, he intended to convey that He is God. The apostle is not alone in applying the word “Savior” to Jesus Christ to convey His deity, so did the Apostle Peter, as we can gather from 2 Peter 1:1:
Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
Some scholars interpret the phrase God and Savior Jesus Christ as referring to two persons, that is, to say that the phrase makes a distinction between God and Christ. The arguments presented by these scholars are not convincing. For example, one argument is that in verse two of 2 Peter 1, a distinction is made between God and Christ in the phrase the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. This argument really works better in favor of the view that it is one person that the apostle has in view. For if he meant two persons he would have made it as clear as they claim he did in verse 2. Verse 2 is not concerned with two persons as such but with the Godhead with emphasis on the Lord Jesus Christ, implying that we could translate the phrase the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord of 2 Peter 1:2 as the knowledge of God, that is, of Jesus our Lord. It is therefore better to take the phrase of our God and Savior Jesus Christ of 2 Peter 1:1 as referring to one person; that is, that Peter is declaring Jesus Christ is God. There are at least three reasons to accept this interpretation. First, the Greek grammar permits this interpretation. This is because what we have here is the Greek construction where one definite article connects two nouns. By a rule of Greek grammar (Granville Sharp rule) the two nouns refer to the same person. In fact, we can fully translate the phrase of our God and Savior Jesus Christ of 2 Peter 1:1 as of our God and Savior, namely, Jesus Christ. In this way, we understand that it is the deity of Christ that is in focus here. Second, similar Greek construction is used later in 2 Peter 1:11, that is, the phrase our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There, that is, 2 Peter 1:11, Christ is in view. To say that two persons are view in 2 Peter 1:1 must also mean that two persons are in view in this later phrase, a position that is not attainable. Hence, the conclusion is that one person is in view in 2 Peter 1:1. Third, the fact that Peter assigns glory to Christ in his doxology in 2 Peter 3:18 that reads But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen is an indication that he must consider Christ as God. Glory can only belong to God since Apostle Peter like Apostle Paul was aware that God had indicated that He cannot share His glory with anyone. Therefore, Apostle Peter must have considered Christ as God to ascribe glory to Him. The same thing may be said of Apostle Paul because he assigned glory to the Lord Jesus Christ as he closed his epistle in 2 Timothy 4:18:
The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
The Lord is a reference to Jesus Christ to whom the Apostle Paul assigned glory as He did God the Father in Philippians 4:20:
To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Apostle Paul could not assign glory to the Lord Jesus Christ as he did to God the Father if he did not consider Christ God. To assign the same glory to the Lord Jesus Christ if He were not God would be to share God’s glory with another person, something God says He will not do. In case you are wondering where God indicated that He would not share His glory with another person, it is recorded by Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 42:8:
"I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.
That the Lord here is God can be ascertained by the context of Isaiah’s prophecy, specifically Isaiah 42:5:
This is what God the LORD says-- he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
By the way, it is not only in Titus 1:3 that we find the apostle pen down the phrase by the command of God our Savior. He used the same phrase in his epistle to Timothy, specifically in 1 Timothy 1:1:
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
The phrase God our Savior is a reference to Christ Jesus indicating His deity. A tight proof that the phrase God our Savior should be taken as a reference to the Lord Jesus is that the calling of the apostle was by the Lord Jesus Christ, as we are informed in Acts 9:15–17:
15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Ananias clearly indicated that he was sent by the Lord Jesus Christ who has affirmed that He chose Apostle Paul. So, Apostle Paul understood that the One who appointed him an apostle, with a command, is the Lord Jesus Christ. It is therefore not a surprise that when the apostle defended himself before King Agrippa, he indicated he was appointed to his position and function by the Lord Jesus Christ, as he narrates in Acts 26:15–18:
15 “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. 16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
The apostle who is very conscious of his appointment by the Lord Jesus Christ would not have been unclear when stating the source of the command that he received to be an apostle or to preach the gospel. Thus, when he speaks of God as Savior he must mean the Lord Jesus Christ since that is the member of the Godhead that commanded him directly to preach. Anyway, we have gone through this lengthy argument to support the second fact that is conveyed in the phrase by the command of God our Savior of Titus 1:3 is that Jesus Christ is God. This assertion he made later in verse 13 of the second chapter. With the phrase by the command of God our Savior the apostle ends the identification of himself as the writer of the epistle and so moves to describe the recipient of his epistle.
The Recipient of the epistle – Titus (Titus 1:4)
To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Following the pattern of writing a letter in the ancient world where the writer first identifies himself and then its recipient, Apostle Paul identified the recipient in the phrase To Titus.
We do not have any information about Titus outside the epistles of Apostle Paul, from which we learn few facts about him. Titus was a Gentile Christian whom Paul took along when he attended the apostolic council in Jerusalem where relationship of the Gentile Christians to ritual aspect of Mosaic Law was settled. Titus was certainly a representative of the church in Antioch as Barnabas and Paul were. We know he attended this apostolic council meeting because Apostle Paul informed us of this fact in Galatians 2:1:
Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also.
Unlike Timothy whom Paul had circumcised probably because his mother was a Jewess, Titus was not circumcised, as the apostle conveyed in Galatians 2:3:
Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.
Titus was a minister of the gospel who worked alongside of Apostle Paul, as the apostle stated in 2 Corinthians 8:23:
As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ.
He certainly was a valuable coworker with Apostle Paul that the apostle was not satisfied when he expected to see him during his preaching work in Troas but did not, as we gather from 2 Corinthians 2:12–13:
12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, 13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.
Because he was disturbed about not finding Titus at Troas, the apostle set out to find him and eventually caught up with him in Macedonia, as stated in 2 Corinthians 7:5–6:
5 For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus,
There is little doubt that Titus was a reliable coworker of the apostle in the ministry that apostle described to the Corinthians Titus’ concern and interest in their spiritual wellbeing, as we can gather from 2 Corinthians 8:16–17:
16 I thank God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. 17 For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative.
The apostle not only commended Titus to the Corinthians but he also boasted about them to Titus, as we read in 2 Corinthians 7:13–15:
13 By all this we are encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you. 14 I had boasted to him about you, and you have not embarrassed me. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting about you to Titus has proved to be true as well. 15 And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling.
Later when there was a rift between the apostle and the Corinthians, it was Titus who effected a reconciliation between them and the apostle. Furthermore, Titus was the person the apostle sent to Corinth to complete the work that pertains to the collection for believers in Judea that the Corinthians had already started, as implied in the apostle’s declaration recorded in 2 Corinthians 8:6:
So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part.
Titus was heavily involved in the ministry of the word as evident in the fact that he went on a mission trip to Dalmatia, as stated in 2 Timothy 4:10:
for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.
Further evidence of his involvement in the ministry and his trustworthiness are provided in the epistle that we are considering since the apostle indicated that he left Titus in Crete to complete important tasks with respect to the local churches there, as implied in Titus 1:5:
The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
According to tradition, it is believed that after the death of Apostle Paul, Titus returned to Crete where he served as a bishop and lived to an old age.
Titus, like Timothy, was highly regarded by the apostle as both dear and the one who is an authentic representation of himself with respect to the teaching of truth. It is this fact that is given in the description of Titus by the apostle in the phrase of Titus 1:4 my true son in our common faith. The adjective “true” is translated from a Greek word (gnēsios) that in the NT may mean “true, legitimate”, as the word is used by Apostle Paul to describe Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:2:
To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Greek word may mean “genuineness”, as that is the sense our word is used by Apostle Paul with respect to the love of the Corinthians, as he stated in 2 Corinthians 8:8:
I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.
The phrase the sincerity of your love is literally genuineness of your love. The Greek word translated “true” in Titus 1:4 may mean “loyal or faithful”, as in Philippians 4:3:
Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
The phrase loyal yokefellow is more literally true yokefellow. However, to understand what the apostle meant in the phrase my true son in our common faith. we will need further background on the use of the Greek word translated “true” and the meaning of the Greek word translated “son.”
In secular Greek, the Greek word translated “true” in Titus 1:4 is used to describe legitimate children, that is, children born in wedlock as opposed to bastards or adopted children. The word, we are told, was used in a religious sense in the first century for those who passed on a revelation to others. Its use extended beyond defining a legitimate child to a broad sense of describing authorized interpreters of a teaching like Aristotle is described “the most authentic disciple of Plato.”[1] This later usage helps our understanding of how the apostle used it with respect to Titus as we will note later but for now we consider the word “son” used in the phrase my true son in our common faith.
The word “son” is translated from a Greek word (teknon) that may mean “child” with various nuances. So, it can refer to an offspring of parents, sometimes without reference to gender, as the Apostle Paul used it in his description of the qualifications of an overseer or pastor in 1 Timothy 3:4:
He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.
The meaning “child” may refer to a spiritual child in relation to master, apostle, or teacher who is dear to the one that uses the term. Therefore, Apostle Paul used it to describe his relationship to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:18:
Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight,
It is in the same sense that the apostle used the word to describe his relationship to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 4:14:
I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children.
The word may also be used to describe members of a congregation, as in 2 John 4:
It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.
The meaning “child” may refer to those who exhibit characteristics of transcendent entities such as believers being described as “children of God” in Philippians 2:15:
so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
The Greek word translated “son” in the NIV of Titus 1:4 may also refer to a class of persons with a specific characteristic hence means “children of”, as Apostle Paul used it to describe believers in Ephesians 5:8:
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light
Of the various usages of the Greek word translated “son” in Titus 1:4, it is the meaning that refers to a spiritual child in relation to master, apostle, or teacher who is dear to the one that uses the term that the word is used in our passage.
Our understanding of the background of the Greek word translated “true” in Titus 1:4 and the meaning of the Greek word translated “son” in the phrase my true son in our common faith enables us to understand what the apostle meant. Some take the view that the apostle in calling Titus his true son meant that he led him to Christ and nurtured him spiritually. This may be well be true but such an interpretation is not clearly supported. So, based on the usages of the Greek words translated “true” and “son”, the apostle meant that Titus was a dear and authentic understudy of him in the spiritual matters. This is to say that Titus was an authentic representative and interpreter of the apostle who would faithfully communicate the truth the apostle taught, having intimately associated with him as a son would with his father. Such description of Titus would lend credibility to him with the Cretans and so better fits the context of the task he was to carry out in Crete. Furthermore, it would mean that he has the apostle’s authority, implying that the believers in Crete should accept his authority, respect him, and obey his teaching, as they would the apostle knowing that he was truly a faithful representative of the apostle and true interpreter of his teaching.
That the apostle’s description of Titus was concerned with spiritual matters is underscored in the phrase in our common faith. The adjective “common” is not used here in the sense of that which is ordinary but in the sense of “shared collectively.” The word “faith” is translated from a Greek word (pistis) with a range of meanings, as we examined in Titus 1:1. For example, we noted it could mean the Christian movement as the apostle used the Greek word in Galatians 1:23:
They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”
The Greek word translated “faith” could also mean the content of what is to be believed, that is, that which is believed, hence “doctrine or belief or teaching”, as it is used by the apostle in 1 Timothy 6:10:
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
In our passage of Titus 1:4, the Greek word translated “faith” could refer to either the trust in Christ or body of doctrine containing the main tenets of Christian teaching. Considering the fact that the apostle probably wanted to boost the acceptance of Titus’ ministry among the Cretans, it is more likely that the apostle had in mind the Christian doctrine so that when he used the phrase in our common faith he meant the shared doctrine of the Christian faith. It is in this shared doctrine that belongs to Christians that Titus was to be considered a faithful representative of the apostle in that he would pass on faithfully the doctrines he had received from the apostle. The point is that the apostle wanted to emphasize the credentials of Titus that should cause believers in Crete to accept his ministry. By the way, it is true that the epistle was addressed to Titus, but it is for the entire church of Christ since its primary content is not private concern of Titus but that of the church. The apostle had to address the epistle to him because he oversaw the local churches in Crete similar to the address of the letters to the seven churches in Asia where the overseers are addressed, as we see for example, in Revelation 2:1:
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands:
The phrase the angel of the church in Ephesus may alternatively be translated the messenger of the church in Ephesus since “angel” here refers to the person who represents the church in Ephesus, and so may be its pastor or overseer.
In any case, the apostle having identified Titus as the recipient of his epistle gave the formula greeting that is often found in his epistles or that of the other NT epistles. For, he says in the last part of Titus 1:4 Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. The word “grace” is translated from a Greek word (charis) with a range of meanings. For example, the Greek word translated “grace” may mean that beneficent disposition toward someone, that is, favor, help or care, goodwill shown or received by another. Grace as a favor that one grants to another without any obligation on the part of the one who grants the favor is reflected in 2 Timothy 1:9:
who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
Grace in this verse is that special favor that God granted us in Christ Jesus. Another meaning of the Greek word translated “grace” in Titus 1:4 is exceptional effect produced by generosity. Thus, when God enabled the Macedonian believers to be generous towards their fellow believers, especially those in Jerusalem, then that enablement or action of God on them is described by Apostle Paul as His grace in 2 Corinthians 8:1:
And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.
In our passage of Titus 1:4, the apostle probably used the Greek word translated “grace” in the sense of God’s enabling gracious care or help to the believer. This meaning is supported by the word “peace.”
The word “peace” is translated from the Greek word (eirēnē) that may mean “harmony in personal relationships, tranquility”, as that was what the Holy Spirit intended for believers as per His instruction through Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:3:
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
The word may mean “freedom from worry” as it is used in a passage we will cite shortly in Galatians 5:22. The Greek word translated “peace” may also mean a state of well-being and so means “welfare, health.” It is in this later sense that the word is used in Titus 1:4, implying that the apostle was concerned with the personal well-being of Titus.
Grace and peace the apostle had in mind with respect to Titus are sourced in the Godhead as in the last phrase from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior of Titus 1:4. By the way, the phrase our Savior is applied to Jesus Christ which supports our assertion that God mentioned in Titus 1:3 refers to Jesus Christ. That aside, the phrase from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior is concerned with two members of the Godhead, the Father and the Son as the source of grace and peace. In all his greetings, Apostle Paul generally indicates that the Father and the Son are the source of grace and peace without any reference to the Spirit. We do not have any definite reason for this practice except perhaps that the Holy Spirit is the agent of administering peace since peace is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
The fact that the apostle never included the Holy Spirit as source of grace and peace does not mean that the Holy Spirit is not also the source of grace and peace for He is, being a member of the Triune God. That all three members of the Godhead, the Father, the Son and the Spirit are the source of grace and peace is evident in the greetings in the book of Revelation that is, Revelation 1: 4–5:
John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
This passage indicates that grace and peace are from the Triune God. It is true that the word “Father” does not appear, but He is the One described in the clause him who is, and who was, and who is to come. This is because the phrase seven spirits before his throne refers to the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ is clearly identified as the source of grace and peace, so the only member of the Godhead not mentioned is the Father who, as we have stated, is described in the clause him who is, and who was, and who is to come. In any event, Apostle Paul was concerned with Titus’ being enabled by God to carry out his function and his well-being. Therefore, you can be sure that God is concerned about enabling you do His will and He is concerned about your well-being as the apostle’s greeting to Titus conveys. With this we have come to the end of the salutation portion of the epistle and we are ready to consider the rest of the epistle.
02/10/17
[1] Spicq, C., & Ernest, J. D. (1994). Theological lexicon of the New Testament (Vol. 1, p. 137). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.