Lessons #51 and 52
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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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Basis for the instructions on believers’ conduct (Titus 2:11-14)
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
As we have indicated in our last study, the first thing a proper understanding of grace should train or teach us is the avoidance of the lifestyle that is not in accordance with God’s word as stated in Titus 2:12 of the NIV It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions. The translation of the NIV is interpretative since literally, the Greek reads teaching us, that having denied the ungodliness and the worldly desires. The literal translation indicates that the translators of the NIV have interpreted the literal verbal phrase that having denied as to say “No”, which is one way to understand the literal translation since the Greek word used may mean “to say no” in answer to a question as we will note later. To begin with, the word “that” in the literal translation is translated from a Greek conjunction (hina) that has several usages. It may be used as a marker of purpose, leading to the translation “in order that, that.” It can be used as a marker of result in which case it may be translated “so that, that.” It may also be used as a marker of content of discourse with the meaning “that.” It is in this sense of marker of content of a discourse that the word is used in Titus 2:12 to introduce the content of what is to be taught as well as its goal.
The thing to be taught is renouncing of ways of life that are incompatible with the word of God. It is this that is introduced in the literal translation of Titus 2:12 having denied the ungodliness and the worldly desires. The word “denied” which apparently is translated with “to say no” in the NIV is translated from a Greek word (arneomai) that may mean to disclaim association with a person or event hence “to deny, to repudiate, to disown,” as the word is used in 2 Timothy 2:12:
if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us;
The word may mean to refuse to pay attention and so means “to disregard, renounce”, as it is used in the instruction of the requirement for being a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 9:23:
Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
It is true that the translators of the NIV used the meaning “deny” in this passage but what Jesus means is that one who is to be His disciple should disregard self or renounce self. It is in the sense of renouncing something that it is used in Titus 2:12.
There are two things the apostle indicates are the objects of renouncing in the verse we are considering but before we get to them, there is the question of how the Greek participle translated literally “having denied” should be related to the main verb that is translated with the verbal phrase “to live” of the NIV although literally the Greek reads we should live. There are at least two possibilities. The first is to say that it is because we renounce the things specified that we should live the way stipulated in the passage. The second is to take that the renouncing is that which takes place while we live as stipulated. While both make sense in the passage, the grammatical construction that involves the use of aorist participle and an aorist tense in the main verb supports the second interpretation. This means that it is while we renounce the two things mentioned in the passage that we will live in the manner specified in our passage. Put in another way: when we renounce the things listed in the passage we are considering then we are indeed living the way stipulated. Anyway, what are the things we are to renounce as part of living in the way advocated in our passage?
The Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul mentioned the first thing believers are to renounce as “impiety” as in the expression in the NIV of Titus 2:12 to ungodliness. The word “ungodliness” is translated from a Greek word (asebeia) that originally refers generally to contempt for established orders then in restricted meaning referred to refusal to worship the city gods or refusal to perform religious duty. In effect, the word was then taken to mean a lack of reverence for deity and hallowed institutions as displayed in sacrilegious words and deeds hence means “impiety.” Thus, the word is used by Apostle Paul to describe God’s attitude to those who reject the worship of the true God in favor of idolatry as evident in their conduct, as stated in Romans 1:18:
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
The use of the Greek word in our passage conveys that understanding God’s grace should lead us to renounce anything that leads to irreverence towards God. This means that we should renounce any act or speech that implies we have no regard for God. Such an act will involve rejection of God’s word; for when a person rejects God’s word that is because the individual has no respect for Him. No one who reveres the Lord will ignore His word. Thus, we should reject anything that will bring us to the brink of ignoring the word of God.
Another thing, believers are to renounce as part of living in the way advocated in the passage of Titus 2:12 is wrong type of desires as in the phrase of the NIV of verse 12 worldly passions. The adjective “worldly” is translate from a Greek word (kosmikos) that may pertain to the earth as a physical phenomenon so means “earthly”, as it is used to describe the sanctuary in Israel as opposed to the one in heaven in Hebrews 9:1:
Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary.
The Greek word may pertain to interests prevailing on the earth hence means “worldly.” It is in this sense that the word is used in our passage of Titus 2:12 because of the word associated with it, that is, the word “passions” of the NIV that is translated from a Greek word (epithymia) that basically means “desire.” The word “desire” in an and of itself is not wrong. Therefore, on the one hand, our Greek word may mean “longing” in a good sense. Apostle Paul used the word in the good sense to describe his conflicting desires to be with the Lord or to remain on this planet for benefits of believers in Philippians 1:23:
I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;
The sentence I desire to depart of the NIV is literally from the Greek having the desire to depart. It is in the good sense of longing that the apostle used the word to describe his and his team’s desire to see the Thessalonians, as recorded in 1 Thessalonians 2:17:
But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.
On the other hand, our Greek word may mean desire of something that is forbidden or simply inordinate, in which case it may be translated with the meaning “lust”, as the word is used in 1 Thessalonians 4:5:
not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God;
Consequently, it should be clear that our Greek word that means “desire” is not in and of itself a bad thing; it is for this reason that the Holy Spirit directed the apostle to use the Greek adjective, we indicated that in Titus 2:12 means “worldly”, to qualify it as in the phrase worldly passions of the NIV or alternatively worldly desires.
We are instructed to renounce worldly desires. So, what is it that the Holy Spirit tells us that we are to renounce that would indicate we have a proper understanding of the grace of God or God’s kindness that resulted in our salvation? To begin with, we need to emphasize that worldly desire could not possibly mean any and every kind of desire that is associate with this life. For example, to desire to marry is associated with this world but that does not mean it is wrong, especially as marriage is ordained by God. Therefore, the simplest answer to our question is that we are to renounce any desire related to this world that conflicts with the word of God. In other words, we are to renounce every desire that is associated with our sinful nature that leads to rebellion against God. Operating by the desires of the sinful nature or of the flesh towards what is forbidden is that which characterizes the unbeliever as the Holy Spirit states through the pen of Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:3:
All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
The cravings of the sinful nature and the acts that result from them are given by the Holy Spirit through the apostle in Galatians 5:16–21:
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. 19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Anyway, the phrase worldly desires is concerned with the desires of forbidden things, that is, lusts. This being the case we need to briefly comment on lust.
In commenting on lust, we should assert that there are two agents of lusts in us: the sinful nature or flesh and the eyes. This truth is based on what the Holy Spirit tells us through the pen of Apostle John in 1 John 2:16:
For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.
Our assertion that the first agent of lusts in us is the sinful nature or flesh is derived from the phrase the cravings of sinful man that literally reads the desire of the flesh. As we noted previously the word “desire” may be good or bad but in this phrase, it is used in the bad sense so that we can replace the word “desire” with “lust” so that instead of the phrase the desire of the flesh we can translate the lust of the flesh. The Greek word (sarkos) that literally means “flesh” as used in this context refers to “sinful humanity” or that aspect of a person that is often understood as the seat of sin and rebellion to God so that we use the expression “sinful nature.” The Greek syntax indicates that the literal phrase the desire of the flesh should be understood to mean the lust that is from the flesh or “what the flesh lusts after.” In this way, our sinful nature is an agent of lust.
The lusts that come from the sinful nature are those that are natural in a person. For example, it is natural for the body to desire food and sex. Therefore, we can state that sexual lust and lust for material possessions that result in materialism come from the sinful nature. On a second thought, it may appear that sexual lust is associated with the eyes. But before we discuss this, may we remind you that a person born blind who has never seen what the opposite sex looks like still has sexual desires. Anyway, the reason it may appear that the sexual lust is from the eyes is because of our Lord’s declaration in His Sermon on Mount, as recorded in Matthew. 5:28:
I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
What our Lord describes here is the manner of looking at a woman as is demonstrated by the adverb ‘lustfully.’ Of course, the Greek text literally translates the one who keeps looking at a woman for the purpose of desiring her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Our Lord is not saying that you should not look at a woman for that will require that men walk around with their eyes closed but what He is describing is gazing or focusing on a woman such as to cause the sinful nature to desire sex with that person to whom a person is not married. So, you see, that desiring a woman does not come from the eyes but from the body. The body’s desire for sex is normal and natural, as we have previously stated, but it should be carefully handled by not allowing the desire to lead one to all kinds of imagination. In fact, it is because of what it can do, especially to a young person that the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul writes 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.
The basic thing about youthful lusts is the desire to try something that is natural but for which the person is not qualified because the person is not married. The sinful nature works to cause a young person to get involved in sex that is prohibited outside marriage. One of the sad things that we see today even among those who call themselves Christians is that by default parents encourage their children to pursue evil desires. I say by default because parents in this country for the most part expect that after certain age their child should have a girlfriend or a boyfriend. And my question is for what? What is the purpose except that by so doing they are encouraging the young person to allow the lust that come from the sinful nature to function?
The desire for material things that leads to materialism come from the sin nature. The way to understand this is that the desire for food is natural. How do we get food these days? It is through money and so we desire money but often the desire for money is such that people want to have it at the expense of their spiritual life, which is in a sense a mark of materialism. Hence materialism comes from the sinful nature.
The second agent of lust is the eyes. We have cited two lusts that come from the sinful nature – sex and materialism; so, we will cite one sin that comes because of the lust from the eyes. Covetousness is a sin that results from the lust from the eyes. The Ten Commandments contains a prohibition against covetousness in Exodus 20:17:
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maid-servant, his ox or donkeys, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
The word “covet” means the same as “lust.” You see, the word “covet” is translated in the Septuagint with a Greek verb (epithymeō) that means “to desire” so that the English translation of the Septuagint of the first command of Exodus 20:17 reads You shall not desire the wife of your neighbor. Without seeing what a neighbor has, it will be difficult to desire it or lust after it. Thus, the lusting for things belonging to one’s neighbor is through the eye gate. As we have indicated, it is only as you see what other people have that you start desiring them to the point that you may become envious or jealous. Therefore, we are commanded not to lust for the things that we see that belong to our neighbors. Thus, it is reasonable to state that most of our evil desires or lusts come from what we see.
In any case, our concern is that understanding of the grace of God should lead to renouncing worldly desires. Hence, we should endeavor to renounce sexual lusts and lust for material things that lead to materialism. Add to these, we should also renounce any desire that leads to rejection of authority as rejection of authority is that which belongs to the sinful nature. It is because of this truth that believers are instructed to obey those in authority, as stated in 1 Peter 2:13:
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority,
Rejection of authority as that which is associated with the desire of the sinful nature is implied in 2 Peter 2:10:
This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings;
This aside, it is important that we renounce any kind of desire that leads to rebellion against God or His word. In any event, the first thing a proper understanding of the grace of God should teach us is the avoidance of the lifestyle that is not in accordance with God’s word. This is, of course, a negative instruction so we proceed to the second thing that is a positive instruction.
The second thing a proper understanding of the grace of God should teach us is to live a lifestyle that is compatible with the word of God. The idea of living a lifestyle that is compatible with the word of God is introduced in the NIV of Titus 2:12 with the verbal phrase to live that literally reads from the Greek we should live. This is because we have a Greek word (zaō) that may mean “to live”, that is, to be alive physically as Apostle Paul used the word to indicate that a person may be physically alive but dead in the sense that the person’s relationship with God is not vibrant in 1 Timothy 5:6:
But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.
How can a person who lives for pleasure be dead while physically alive? The apostle meant that a widow who lives for pleasure while physically alive is spiritually and morally dead, implying she does not please God. Our Greek word may mean to live in a sense of living a life that surpasses normal or physical human experience, that is, the living that belongs to the children of God. It is in this sense that Apostle Paul used our word in describing himself in Galatians 2:20:
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Our Greek word may mean “to live” in the sense of conducting oneself in a pattern of behavior hence means “to behave, conduct oneself in a particular manner,” as the apostle used it to describe the way believers behaved prior to salvation in Colossians 3:7:
You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
The question is in what sense did the apostle use it in Titus 2:12? Certainly, the meaning of living a life that surpasses normal or physical experience is implied but it is the meaning of “to behave” or “to conduct oneself in a particular manner” that is intended in our passage. This meaning is first supported by the last phrase in Titus 2:12 of the NIV in this present age that defines the period in which we now live. It refers to the period that believers are on this planet, especially since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For each believer, it refers to the time beginning from the time of salvation to the time of departure from this life. Secondly, this meaning is supported by the descriptions that follow that deal with the manner of the lifestyle expected of believers who understand God’s grace.
There are three manners of this lifestyle given in our passage of study. A first manner involves being prudent in one’s behavior as in the phrase of the NIV of Titus 2:12 self-controlled. The word “self-control” is translated from a Greek word (sōphronōs) that appears only here in the Greek NT. It is a word that pertains to being prudent hence means “soberly, moderately, showing self-control.” The word is related to a Greek word (sōphrosynē) that Apostle Paul used in instructing believing ladies to exercise good judgment or moderation in the manner in which they dress themselves in 1 Timothy 2:9:
I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes,
The phrase with decency and propriety may alternatively be translated with modesty and self-control, implying that the Greek word used in 1 Timothy 2:9 is similar in meaning to the Greek word used in Titus 2:12. Anyway, the Greek word used in Titus 2:12 may be translated “self-controlled” or “moderately.” Regardless of the word used in translating our Greek word, the manner of the lifestyle advocated is one that involves prudence. In effect, for a person to be self-controlled requires the exercise of prudence or for the person to use wisdom. It is when a person applies wisdom to whatever the situation is that the individual will show restraint as the individual weighs the consequences of the person’s actions or reactions. The point we are stressing is that a lifestyle that will be compatible to the word of God requires an individual to be prudent or sensible in the person’s actions.
A second manner of the lifestyle advocated for those who understand the grace of God is living in a way that conforms correctly to God’s standard. It is this manner that is given in Titus 2:12 of the NIV with the word upright. The word “upright” is translated from a Greek word (dikaiōs) that may pertain to being just or right in a juridical sense hence means “uprightly, justly”; thus, it is the word that is used by one of the criminals on the cross with Jesus Christ to admit that they received what they deserved in Luke 23:41:
We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
It is in this same sense that the word is used to describe Jesus’ attitude while on the cross, according to 1 Peter 2:23:
When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
The Greek word may pertain to the quality of character, thought or behavior of someone hence means “correctly, justly, uprightly, righteously,” as Apostle Paul used the word to describe his conduct and that of his apostolic team while they were in Thessalonica, as recorded in 1 Thessalonians 2:10:
You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.
It is in this sense that pertains to conduct that Apostle Paul used it in our passage of Titus 2:12. Hence, it is expected that whatever a person that understands the grace of God does should be carried out righteously or uprightly in the sense of doing that which conforms to the standard God approves. This means that such a believer should treat others fairly and correctly in a manner that will be pleasing to God.
A third manner the lifestyle advocated for those who understand the grace of God is living in reverence to God by practicing what He requires as given in the Scripture. It is this manner that is given in the phrase of the NIV of Titus 2:12 godly lives. The expression “godly lives” of the NIV is the way its translators rendered a Greek adverb (eusebōs) that means “in a godly manner, piously, religiously.” It is a word that appears only twice in Greek NT and by Apostle Paul. The other occurrence of the word besides our passage is in 2 Timothy 3:12:
In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
Often, some of us describe another as being godly or devout or pious, but what does it really mean? To be godly or pious is to show reverence to God by carrying out His commands. Thus, a person who is godly or who lives in a godly manner is an individual that is committed to practicing truth as revealed in the Scripture. It is important that we understand that the word “godly” has to do with truth as revealed in the Scripture for there are many who claim to be devoted to God but commit atrocities while claiming to be devoted to Him or claiming to be godly. It is only if a person is devoted to Christ and His teaching that we can truly describe an individual as godly or pious. Since being godly is concerned with practicing truth then anyone who understands God’s grace should reflect that in living in accordance with the requirements of the Scripture. In any event, the three manners of living that we have considered are concerned with the second thing a proper understanding of the grace of God should teach us which is to live a lifestyle that is compatible with the word of God.
The two things understanding of the grace of God should teach us that are given negatively in terms of renouncing a lifestyle that is incompatible with the word of God and positively in the sense of living a lifestyle that is compatible with the word of God should characterize believers as they look forward for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We use the word “characterize” because of the Greek word translated in the first clause of the NIV of Titus 2:13 while we wait for is literally from the Greek waiting for because we have a present participle in the Greek. The implication is that there are at least two ways to interpret the participle. It may be interpreted as used by the apostle to provide the reason or the basis we are to live the way stipulated in the passage. In effect, believers are to look forward for the return of Christ because they live the way stipulated in the passage. Another interpretation is that the Greek construction indicates that the action stipulated in the participle is one that takes place the same time as the main action mentioned in the Greek of verse 12 that the translators of the NIV translated to live but literally reads we should live. In other words, the looking forward for the return of Christ should take place as believers live lifestyles that are compatible with the word of God. While the first interpretation makes sense but the flow of the thought in the passage favors the second interpretation in that believers should live in the manner stipulated as they look forward for the return of Christ. But that is not all, the present tense used in the Greek implies that this looking forward to the return of Christ should be such that it forms a habit of believers. In effect, believers should form the habit of looking forward for the return of Christ. We cannot separate living in accordance with the word of God from the attitude of looking forward to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is because if a believer is not looking forward to the return of Christ such an individual would not live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. A person who is mindful of the return of Christ that may take place anytime would be conscious of how the individual lives. It is when we lose sight of the fact that our Lord could return anytime or that we could depart anytime from this world that we do not pay attention to how we live. Anyone who is truly conscious of the fact that the individual can depart from this life anytime or that the Lord could return anytime would be compelled to be mindful of the type of lifestyle the person lives. Indeed, anyone who forms the habit of looking forward for the return of the Lord Jesus would certainly live in accordance with the requirements of God’s word.
There seems to be a general failure in this matter of looking forward for the return of Christ in our days. This is because we believers do not talk much about it. We focus too much on things of this world that begs the question as to how much we are occupied with the thought of the return of Christ. We are concerned with things improving in our nation than we are concerned about the return of our Savior. For a person who is looking forward to His return will not be distracted with the things of this life to the point of being depressed because of the conditions of things of this life. A person who looks forward to something better does not get mired down with depressing situation that may exist in the person’s environment. My point is that we believers at this time do not appear to be occupied with looking forward for the return of Christ because we are distracted with things of this life. The early church lived in expectation of the return of Christ. This is evident in their attitude towards material things. It was because they lived in expectation of the return of the Lord in their lifetime that may explain the reason some in the early church were willing to sell their property in order to give the proceeds to the church. That sort of thing could not happen if they were not looking forward to the speedy return of the Lord Jesus. The fact that the early church lived in anticipation of the return of Christ is reflected by Apostle Paul in his epistles. He had this looking forward to return of the Lord when he wrote to the Corinthians what is recorded in 1 Corinthians 1:7:
Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
To the Philippians, the apostle reveals the same expectation in Philippians 3:20:
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
The fact that the apostle kept writing about this eager expectation of the return of Christ implies that the early believers lived that way. Therefore, we believers should also live in expectation of the return of Christ. For sure, some of us look forward to the return of the Lord but quite often it is because we are in great difficulty or face very unpleasant situation in this life. There is nothing wrong with this expectation per say but we should look forward for the return of our Lord regardless of whether things are going well with us or not.
This expectation of the return of Christ is described first in terms of privileged hope in expression of Titus 2:13 of the NIV the blessed hope. The word “blessed” is translated from a Greek adjective (makarios) that may pertain to being fortunate or happy because of circumstances hence means “fortunate, happy.” It is in the sense of “happy” that Apostle Paul used it to describe the better state of a widow who remains single or who does not remarry in 1 Corinthians 7:40:
In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
When the word is used of God it has the meaning of “blessed”, as in 1 Timothy 1:11:
that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
The Greek word may pertain to being especially favored and so means “blessed, fortunate, happy, privileged.” It is used of humans who are privileged recipients of God’s favor. It is true that our word is often translated “blessed” in most of its occurrences in the Greek text by the translators of the NIV but in some contexts the meaning is that of “privileged.” This meaning best fits the use of our Greek word in Matthew 16:17:
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
Peter is blessed in the sense that he was privileged to have been the recipient of the revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. It is, of course, possible for the meaning “fortunate” to apply here. Even when the meaning “fortunate” is used, the sense may also be that of “privileged”, as it is used in Acts 26:2:
“King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews,
The apostle could have meant that it was a privilege to stand before Agrippa although under the circumstance of defending himself against his fellow Jews. In other passages, the word although rendered “blessed” means “happiness”, as it is used in Acts 20:35:
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
To say that it is more blessed to give than to receive is probably better understood as there is more happiness in giving than in receiving. Some of us know this by experience in the sense that some of us find great joy in giving but find it difficult to receive from others. Thus, it is probably the happiness that is associated with giving that the apostle quoted here in Acts. In our context of Titus 2:13, while there is nothing wrong with the meaning “blessed”, it is probably better to use the meaning “privileged” because of what is involved is only beneficial to those who have received God’s special favor.
It is our contention that the meaning “privileged” is a better word for the Greek adjective we have considered because of the word that it describes, which is hope in the phrase blessed hope of Titus 2:13. The word “hope” is translated from a Greek word (elpis) that may mean “hope, expectation” in the sense of looking forward to something with some reason for confidence respecting fulfillment. Thus, Apostle Paul used it for the expectation of a farmer to reap fruit of his labor in 1 Corinthians 9:10:
Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.
This confident expectation certainly applies to God’s word or promises, as the apostle used it to describe Abraham’s expectation of the fulfillment of God’s promise to him, as recorded in Romans 4:18:
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
The Greek word may mean “hope” in the sense of that which is the basis for hoping as it is used in 1 Thessalonians 2:19:
For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?
The Greek word may mean “hope, something hope for”, as the word is used in Colossians 1:5:
the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel
The hope in this passage refers to eternal reward that is kept safe in heaven for believers so that instead of the word “hope” it may be rendered “what you can hope for.” Of all the meanings of the Greek word translated “hope,” it is the sense of “what is hoped for” that the word is used in Titus 2:13. This understanding will enable us to explain our assertion that it is better to use the meaning “privileged” to describe the word hope. We are out of time and so we will develop this argument in our next study.
08/04/17