Lessons #43 and 44
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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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Instructions to various groups of believers (Titus 2:1-6)
1You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. 2 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.
3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. 6 Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.
We digressed to Proverbs 31:13-24 to consider the activities of the capable wife because of our consideration of the third virtue essential in domestic life that older women are to instill on younger women which is that of being always busy in a profitable manner. So, we continue our consideration of the virtues older women are to encourage younger women to cultivate or to possess.
A fourth virtue, older women should encourage younger women to possess is basic goodness in the sense of positive moral qualities of the most general nature. It is this virtue that is given in the verbal phrase to be kind of Titus 2:5. The word “kind” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (agathos) that basically means “good” with several nuances. It can mean “beneficial”, as Apostle Paul used it in cautioning believers regarding their speech in Ephesians 4:29:
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
The phrase helpful for building others up is more literally good for the building up. The word may mean “generous”, as that is the sense of the word in Matthew 20:15:
Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
In our passage, where the concern is domestic life, our Greek word because it concerns proving of moral quality by promoting the wellbeing of a person with whom another has to deal with, it has the sense of desirable qualities necessary to have a healthy family life that involves maintaining proper relationship with members of the household. This being the case, the use of the word “kind” in the NIV is a good way to describe the virtue that older women should encourage the younger women to possess. The older women are to encourage the younger women to become good natured that is evident in kindness and generosity.
A fifth virtue, older women should encourage in younger women is submissiveness to the authority of their husbands. I dare say that majority of marital problems in modern societies can be traced to the lack of this virtue of submissiveness to the husband’s authority and so it is an important virtue that every wife, old or young, should have. But it is particularly important that older women who, presumably because of experience of how beneficial it is to submit to the authority of husbands, possess this virtue should encourage the younger women to have the same. This virtue is presented in the verbal phrase to be subject to their husbands of Titus 2:5. The verbal phrase describes an action that many people today find offensive in the husband-wife relationship, which is wife’s obedience to her husband. The virtue involved in the phrase we are considering is not merely to be submissive which may be a nebulous concept but that of being obedient in the sense that a wife willingly carries out the instructions or the orders from the husband. We are saying that submission is a meaningless word without an order or instruction that need to be obeyed. In other words, no one may claim to be submissive until there is an instruction that is to be obeyed. It is at the point that one receives instruction that submission in form of obedience is tested.
It is important to recognize that “to submit” in the context of authority means “to obey” as we will demonstrate. The expression “be subject” is translated from a Greek word (hypotassō) that literally means “to order oneself under a leader” and so means “to submit” but as we have indicated such a meaning is not always communicative in many contexts of the Scripture. The Greek word has a range of meanings that fit a given context. The word may mean “to obey” when there is the concept of authority involved. In other words, the meaning “to obey” can be used in all passages where our Greek word appears that involve authority figure. Let me give you examples to substantiate this statement. The word is used in describing the relationship of Jesus Christ to His parents in Luke 2:51:
Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
The verbal phrase was obedient to them is more literally was submitting to them. The translators of the NIV captured correctly the meaning of our Greek word as meaning “to obey” since that is the way to understand a child being submissive to the parents. The Greek word is used to describe the relationship of believers to secular or governmental authorities in Romans 13:1:
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Here, to submit to governing authorities certainly means to obey them. It is used to describe the relationship that should exist between the Corinthians and Stephanas, the first convert in Achaia, who is presumed to be a spiritual leader in 1 Corinthians 16:16:
to submit to such as these and to everyone who joins in the work, and labors at it.
The apostle meant that believers in Corinth should obey him and other spiritual leaders as they are those described in the clause such as these and to everyone who joins in the work. We find our Greek word used to enjoin believers to submit to God the Father in Hebrews 12:9:
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
The requirement of submitting to the Father of our spirits is one that demands obedience to God the Father. This means that in this passage “to submit” is the same as “to obey.” The Greek word is also used in describing the relationship between slaves and their masters in 1 Peter 2:18:
Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.
The examples we have cited where our Greek word is used to describe the relationship of a subject to an authority figure reveals that whenever that is the case the meaning of our Greek word that is translated “to submit” should be understood to mean “to obey.” Thus, it is the virtue associated with the inclination to obey orders or instructions from a husband that is intended in the verbal phase of Titus 2:5 to be subject to their husbands.
The Greek indicates that the older women are to instruct the younger women to be in the habit of obeying their husbands. This is because we have a present tense in the Greek that here implies the action envisioned is not one that is complete but is ongoing. Thus, it is expected that younger women should learn to continue to obey their husbands. In other words, they are not to pick and choose what instruction from their husbands they should obey. They should have the mindset to obey their husbands in all things that do not conflict with God’s instruction. We are saying that unless a husband instructs a wife to do something that is contrary to God’s word then she should obey the husband. This is to recognize that no human order should trump God’s word no matter the source of the instruction as per the assertion of the apostles in Acts 5:29:
Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men!
Anyway, the older women should encourage the younger women to live with their husbands in such a way that they respect their authority and submit to it in the sense that they willingly obey the instruction or orders from their husbands. Of course, this responsibility given to older women is premised on the fact that they are themselves living in obedience or submission to their husbands. It will be hypocritical for an older woman to encourage a younger woman to live in obedience to the husband when she does not do the same. Thus, it is important that the older women themselves have formed the habit of obeying their own husbands in their relationship or interaction with them.
It is important to note that the obedience that is expected of the younger women or any woman in marriage is confined to the marriage relationship. In effect, there is no requirement that every woman should obey every man. Instead, the limit of the obedience demanded in our passage is marriage bond. This is because of the phrase their husbands of Titus 2:5. The Greek is quite emphatic that the domain of this obedience is in marriage relationship since the Greek literally reads their own husbands. Why is important to define the domain of the obedience of younger wives or even older wives, you may ask? It is because many men think that every woman is to obey them unquestionably because of a passage such as the one we are considering. This is not the case. The instruction here is limited to marriage relationship. This does not mean that a woman may not obey a man but that kind of obedience is one that is not unique to a woman. Take for example, a woman who is under the authority of another person male or female in a work place is expected to obey the authority figure as a man will do with respect to the affairs of the company or organization. The point we have stated is important because some men have problem when at work place they have women over them. If that happens, a man should recognize that the relationship he has at work place is not the same as he has with a wife and so should not transport what is expected to happen at home to work place. The relationship of men and women in the work place is different in that there is no biblical command that tells women to submit to men in general or in a work place. The implication is that there is a different rule that applies in work place that is different from that of the family situation. In work place, the principle is that everyone should submit to those in authority without distinction. In other words, it does not matter whether the authority figure is male or female, everyone in the company or organization should submit to the one in authority because the Scripture is clear that people should submit to those in authority without any qualification as to who the person in authority is. You see, this demand tests our understanding of authority. People tend to obey an authority when the authority figure is a person they like, or when the person who exercises authority is to their liking. A good example of this is with the law enforcement. Some people have problem accepting the authority from a police man or a sheriff if such a person does not belong to the class of people the individual respects. Such an attitude demonstrates that the one who so behaves does not understand authority. A person who understands authority will submit to it regardless of the person on whom the authority rests. I have illustrated the principle that we are espousing in the past using a husband and wife where; for example, the wife is in a place of authority over the husband in the work place. When that is the case, the husband should submit to the wife’s authority while in the public but once they enter their home, the wife should immediately forget the authority she exercised over the husband in public place and obey the husband as indicated in the passage we are considering. Anyway, the fact we are stressing is that obedience that is required of a wife is confined to marriage. Therefore, wives must obey their husbands regardless of how their husbands may rank when compared to them according to the world standard. By this I mean that a wife may hold a more important job in the society in that she is paid and even respected more than the husband, or she may be more educated than the husband; it does not matter. Once they are in the domain of their marriage which is their household then the wife must obey the husband.
Why should a wife obey the husband? It is because God’s order in creation demands it. We mean that from creation, God indicated that the man should be over the woman in marriage relationship. This truth is conveyed in several ways in the Scripture. Firstly, God allowed Adam to give a name to the wife to indicate she was under his authority. This point may not be that clear, but it is implied that giving a name over an object indicates authority over the object. Thus, to indicate that man has authority over the lower creatures, God assigned to Adam the responsibility of naming them, as stated in Genesis 2:19–20:
19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
Although it is not explicitly stated that the reason Adam named the lower creatures is because he has authority over them but that is implied since in the general summary of creation in the first chapter of Genesis, God indicated mankind has authority over them, as we can gather from Genesis 1:28:
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Thus, it is because mankind should rule over lower creatures that the head of mankind, Adam, was given the assignment to give them names. It is for the same reason of exercising authority over his wife that Adam also gave her a name, as recorded in Genesis 2:23:
The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”
Even after the fall, Adam gave his wife the name Eve, according to Genesis 3:20:
Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
Hence, the fact that Adam was the one who gave name to his wife implies he has authority over her. Adam’s naming the wife may sound trivial to some but to me it is not. When a married woman retains her maiden name in marriage, it is to me a sign that she has not fully accepted the authority of the husband. In other words, she has not allowed the husband to name her as Adam did with Eve. In any event, Adam’s naming of the wife is a first indicator husbands have authority over their wives.
Secondly, God conveyed the idea of a husband’s authority over the wife by a direct instruction of a husband ruling the wife. This was clearly stated after the fall, as we read in
Genesis 3:16:
To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
The sentence he will rule over you is one that conveys the husband’s authority over the wife. There are those who reject this sentence as the basis for asserting that a husband has authority over the wife so that he has the responsibility of ruling her. Their rejection is based on the word “rule” that is translated from a Hebrew word (māšǎl) with three general meanings. It means “to be like, to represent”, as it is used in the petition of deliverance of the psalmist in Psalm 143:7:
Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
Another meaning of the Hebrew word is “to speak in parables, to use a proverb”, as the word is used in Ezekiel 20:49:
Then I said, “Ah, Sovereign LORD! They are saying of me, ‘Isn’t he just telling parables?’”
A third meaning pertains to the act of having control or domination over something or someone and so means “to rule, to have dominion, to control, be in charge, i.e., have a person or entity exercise authority over persons or governments.” It is in the sense of having control that the word is used in Daniel 11:43:
He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Nubians in submission.
The question is to determine in what sense the word is used in Genesis 3:16. Some scholars contend that because the Hebrew word (māšǎl) translated “to rule” also means “to be like” that the sentence Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you of Genesis 3:16 should be translated “your desire will be for your husband, just as his desire will be for you.” This is an unlikely interpretation of the Hebrew word in Genesis 3:16 for at least three reasons. First, the translators of the Septuagint understood the Hebrew word used in the sense of “to rule” so that they used a Greek word (kyrieuō) that means “to exercise authority or have control, to rule” to translate it. Second, the Hebrew form (Niphal) that means “to be like” is nowhere used in Genesis. Third, it is the meaning of “to rule” or “to master” that makes more sense in the context of Genesis 3:16. This is even clearer because the two Hebrew words (tešűqāh) rendered “desire” and (māšǎl) translated “to rule” in Genesis 3:16 are also used in Genesis 4:7:
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”
The Hebrew word that means “to rule” could not possibly mean” to be like” in Genesis 4:7 since it will be meaningless to tell Cain to be like his desire. Thus, it is better to take the Hebrew word to mean “to rule” in both passages of Genesis. Hence, we contend that after the fall, God ensured that the man understood that he has authority over the wife so that he had the responsibility of ruling over her. Anyway, we contend that God conveyed the idea of a husband’s authority over the wife by a direct instruction of a husband ruling the wife.
Thirdly, the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul indicates that man has authority over a woman, not in general sense but in limited sense that concerns marriage relationship, as stated in Ephesians 5:23:
For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
A person may protest that the word “authority” does not appear in the verse and so that we introduced a concept that is foreign to the passage in support of our argument. True, the word “authority” does not appear literally in the sentence the husband is the head of the wife of Ephesians 5:23 but it is figuratively conveyed in the use of the word “head”.
The word “head” is translated from a Greek word (kephalē) that is used in the Septuagint with a range of meanings besides the meaning “head” but let us focus on its use in a figurative sense. It is used for “head” in the sense of a “leader” or a person who occupies a position of superiority in the community in Judges 10:18:
The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, “Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all those living in Gilead.”
The sentence The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other is more literally the people—heads of Gilead—say one unto another. The word is used for a person as a whole, as in 1 Samuel 25:39:
When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise be to the Lord, who has upheld my cause against Nabal for treating me with contempt. He has kept his servant from doing wrong and has brought Nabal’s wrongdoing down on his own head.” Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife.
The phrase on his own head simply means “on him” so that it is clear that the guilt of Nabal is to be on his person. The word can mean “head” in the sense of the “most important one”, especially of stone, as it is used in Psalm 118:22:
The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;
The phrase the capstone is more literally head of a corner. The Hebrew phrase the head of the corner probably refers to the large stone placed at the corner of the foundation, where two rows came together and so some take it to be the keystone or capstone that completed the arch of a structure. Of course, some of our English versions rendered it differently than we have in the NIV. For example, the TEV rendered it the most important of all, the CEB rendered it the main foundation stone, and the NEB as the chief corner-stone.
Our Greek word, like its usage in the Septuagint, is used with a range of meanings in the NT but, as in its usage in the Septuagint, we will focus on the figurative usages as that are more appropriate in its usage in Ephesians 5:23 that we cited. Figuratively, our Greek word is used to denote “superior rank.” Hence, the word “head” is used primarily to indicate Jesus’ pre-eminent status in the church and so has authority not only over the church but over the universe as a whole, according to Ephesians 1:22:
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
There are those who take the word “head” in this passage to mean that Christ is the source or origin of the church. This is possible but there is no evidence that the word “head” should be taken as source or origin in Ephesians 5:23. Besides, it is difficult to conceive of how the man is the source of wife. So, it is best to understand the word as a reference to the pre-eminent status of Christ with respect to the church. Anyway, “superior rank” implies authority so that our Greek word has the concept of authority when used in connection with living beings. This qualification of “living beings” is important because our Greek word can also be used figuratively in connection with things with the meaning “the uppermost part, extremity, end, point.” It is in this sense that our Greek word is used in 1 Peter 2:7:
Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,”
This passage contains quotation from Psalm 118:22 we cited previously so that the phrase the capstone is more literally from the Greek head of corner. The literal word “head” here can mean “end” in the sense of the point where two rows come together. Of course, we have already indicated that the phrase is translated differently in our English versions. In any event, examination of our Greek word translated “head” in Ephesians 5:23 indicates that with respect to persons the word as used in the Greek in connection with our Scripture has the meaning of “leader” or “one with a superior rank.” In our Ephesians 5:23, the sense is that of “someone in charge” so that the Greek word conveys the concept of authority. It is for this reason we indicated the third reason a wife should obey her husband is because he has authority over her.
In any case, believers should be aware that the teaching of the word of God is not so that we have information about what God says but that we glorify Him by doing what He instructs. It is unfortunate that some Christians who attend a local church where they receive good teaching of the word of God often do not realize that possession of information about God’s word is not an end in and of itself but a means towards the goal of spiritual growth that is evident in the conduct of the believer. Therefore, those who teach the word of God should emphasize the importance of practicing what is taught. In other words, believers are to be encouraged to live their lives in accordance with the truth they are taught as that brings glory to God. However, when believers fail to live according to the word of God then we become the reason for unbelievers not to take the word of God seriously or to have respect for God and His word. To ensure that we glorify our God through obedience to His word, the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul conveys that one reason to teach younger women is to ensure that through their conduct no one berates the Christian message. It is this reason that is given by in the last clause of Titus 2:5 so that no one will malign the word of God.
The word “malign” is translated from a Greek word (blasphēmeō) that means to speak in a disrespectful way in such a way as to harm or injure one’s reputation whether human or divine. Thus, on the one hand, when it is used with respect to humans the appropriate meaning is “to malign, to slander”, as it is used in Titus 3:2:
to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.
On the other hand, when the word is used with respect to God the most appropriate meaning is “to blaspheme”, as it is used in Romans 2:24:
As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
In our passage of Titus 2:5, the sense of the word is that slandering or blaspheming something that is sacred given in the phrase word of God. The phrase word of God is to be understood to mean the teaching about God which is also from God. In effect, believers are to conduct their lives so that what the Scripture says about God that is from God will not be slandered or maligned by those who do not believe. We should be aware that it is expected that we should not be the reason someone will find the Christian faith unattractive. In other words, we should never live in a way that allows unbelievers to speak disparagingly about our faith as the Holy Spirit conveyed through Apostle Peter as he warned against falling victim to false teachers in 2 Peter 2:2:
Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
Let me stress again, we should endeavor not to be the reason for unbelievers to berate the Christian faith as they observe our conduct.
There is the question as to what conduct Apostle Paul meant when he wrote the clause so that no one will malign the word of God we are considering in Titus 2:5. The question is whether the apostle was concerned specifically with the last instruction that involves younger wives’ obedience to their husband or all the instructions to be passed on to younger women by the older women. There is a sense that we could say that the entire instruction given to younger women is in view but it is likely that the apostle was thinking of the last instruction of obedience to husbands. We say this because of the teaching of the Christian faith means that there is liberation from sin but some are prone to misunderstand this freedom to mean an over throw of God’s established order of authority in the relationship between husband and wife. Those who think this way do not realize that our freedom in Christ is not for sinful conduct as the Holy Spirit warns us in Galatians 5:13:
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
Consequently, it is possible, as we have today in women liberation movement, that some younger wives would think that being free in Christ means that they are not to submit to the authority of their husbands, especially if they are unbelievers. Such a conduct would be talked about among men in a society where it is expected that wives should submit to the authority of their husbands. We have an example of this kind of talk recorded in the Scripture when Queen Vashti refused to obey her husband, as stated in Esther 1:16–18
16 Then Memucan replied in the presence of the king and the nobles, “Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the king but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces of King Xerxes. 17 For the queen’s conduct will become known to all the women, and so they will despise their husbands and say, ‘King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come.’ 18 This very day the Persian and Median women of the nobility who have heard about the queen’s conduct will respond to all the king’s nobles in the same way. There will be no end of disrespect and discord.
This sort of thing would be the conversation that men in Gentile nations where Christian message has been preached would have if the younger women who respond to the gospel message no longer respected their husbands. The implication will be that unbelieving people would say that the Christian teaching cannot be true because its effect on those women who have believed is rebellion against their husbands. This is further from truth. It is because of the possibility of this taking place that I believe the apostle would have focused more on the instruction concerning obedience to husbands by the younger women. This interpretation is supported by the fact that the Holy Spirit through the apostle focused on respect or obedience to authority when slaves who have become Christians were instructed about their conduct in such a way that will not cause the Christian faith to be maligned, as we read in 1 Timothy 6:1:
All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered.
The apostle mentioned respect here because there is the tendency that a slave who is a believer that knows he is free in Christ may not be careful to obey or respect his master because of the teaching of freedom in Christ that will be misunderstood to mean an overthrow of the order of authority in the society. In any event, there is no doubt that the entire conduct of believing women are important as far as their testimony is concerned but perhaps the most telling of such women’s spiritual life is that of obedience to their husbands. You see, a woman who does not obey the husband shows that she does not have the proper spiritual life as such a person also would not obey God since it is God who instituted the husband’s authority over the wife. I am saying that a spiritually minded wife manifests it in her total submission or obedience to the husband.
As we leave the responsibility assigned to older women with respect to younger women, let me emphasize that older women should be exemplary. For unless, they are exemplary in their being good managers of their family, cooking, doing other chores that are necessary for the smooth running of their homes and of being obedient to their husbands, then they could not possibly encourage the younger women to do what we have considered. Hence, if you are older woman you should ensure that you live in accordance with what we have considered so you will be in a position to help the younger women. You have a unique responsibility that God the Holy Spirit has assigned to you. I say this because, although older men are expected to help encourage younger men who probably did not receive proper training from their fathers before they became husbands but that is not stated in the passage of Titus 2:1-6 that we are considering. Instead, it is the responsibility of older women that is emphasized in our text. This responsibility does not mean that younger women are not taught by the pastor. The pastor is responsible for the general teaching of truth to all members of the congregation. He is also expected to teach about how husbands and wives should relate to each other as believers but the practicality of the relationship between the younger wife and her husband is to be driven home by an older woman who would be encouraging the younger wife from her experience. It is for this reason that we insist that it is essential for the older women to live exemplary life regarding their relationship with their husbands so that they have finer points of application to convey to the younger women as to how they should deal with their husbands and children.
We are confident that older women have a unique role with respect to younger women in encouraging them in their marriage relationships, as we have stated, because we do not have the same kind of assignment directly given to older men that would correspond to that of the older women. In other words, we will expect the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul to instruct older men to teach the younger men as to how they should be good husbands but that is not the case. Instead, the instruction is for Titus and so all pastors to teach younger men. This requirement of Titus teaching the younger men is indicated with the adverb Similarly that begins Titus 2:6 in the NIV.
The word “similarly” is translated from a Greek adverb (hōsautōs) that is a marker of similarity that approximates identity that may mean “in the same way, likewise, similarly.” The Greek adverb was used in verse 3 to indicate that as Titus taught older men certain virtues that he should do the same with older women so that they are in a position to help younger women. The use of the adverb in verse 6 is to indicate that Titus and so all pastors are responsible for instructing young men as they instructed the two previous groups mentioned. We are saying that although older men should take it upon themselves to be encouraging to younger men, it is still the pastor’s responsibility to instruct young men with virtue mentioned in our passage of Titus 2:6. We insist that it is still the responsibility of pastors to instruct those mentioned in this verse because of the word encourage used in verse 6. It is translated from a Greek verb (parakaleō) that may mean “to cheer up,” “to make a strong request for something” but here it means “to urge strongly,” that is, to “to exhort, to encourage.” The Greek indicates that the apostle commands Titus to encourage or to exhort those mentioned but he should do it regularly or repeatedly, implying that the instruction advocated here is one that is to be given again and again as in every instruction given to believers. We generally forget what we are taught at some point in our lives as Christians, so it is important for repeated instruction. It is this that Titus and so all pastors are commanded to do.
Those Titus is encouraged to instruct are described as the young men. The expression “young men” is translated from a Greek adjective (neos) that may mean “new, fresh” but it also pertains to being in the early stages of life and hence means “young”. The Greek form of the word used in our passage may in some contexts where comparison is intended be translated “younger men”, as in 1 Timothy 5:1:
Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers,
In other contexts that respect of older men is in view, it may be translated simply as “young men”, as in 1 Peter 5:5:
Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
In our context, it is used in the sense of “young men.” This usage will include probably young men who have not married and those who have newly married or married not for a long time.
The virtue Titus is to encourage those described as “young men” to possess is given in the NIV in the verbal phrase of Titus 2:6 to be self-controlled. This phrase is translated from a Greek verb (sōphroneō) that may mean to be able to think in a sound or sane manner, hence, “to be of sound mind” as Apostle Paul used it in 2 Corinthians 5:13:
If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.
The word may also mean to be prudent, with focus on self-control and so means “to be reasonable, to be sensible, to keep one’s head.” It is in the sense of being sensible that the word is used in the apostle’s encouragement of how to exercise one’s spiritual gift in Romans 12:3:
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
The verbal phrase but rather think of yourself with sober judgment is more literally but to think so as to be sensible. It is in this sense of being reasonable or sensible that the word is used in our passage so that Titus is to encourage young men to think and live wisely in self-control over their passions and desires. Young men should learn how to think before they act, being mindful that there are consequences to their actions and they should control their passions and desires. The concept of being reasonable is one that is especially needed by young men who are married. They need to be able to keep their emotions in check and act reasonably in dealing with their wives. Those who are single should know how to control their passions especially those that have to do with sexual desires. This will be in keeping with the instruction of the Holy Spirit given through the apostle in 2 Timothy 2:22:
Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
In any event, we have considered the responsibility of Titus and so that of all pastors that involves instructing those who are believers in Christ, mindful of the various age groups so they would know how to conduct themselves. This is important if we are going to have impact in the world of unbelievers. So, you should strive for the virtues we have considered.
07/07/17