Lessons #81 and 82
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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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Final appeals and Greetings (Titus 3:12-15)
12 As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there. 13 Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need. 14 Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.15 Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.
We have come to conclusion of this epistle in which the primary focus of Apostle Paul was on the task of Titus as a temporary resident pastor in Crete. The apostle charged him with three general tasks: to appoint spiritual leaders for the local churches; to deal with vexing problems that threaten the spiritual life of the church that involve false teachers and general life of the people in Crete; and to provide moral instructions for all groups of people in the church in Crete. Having written about these things in detail, the apostle now ends his epistle with concluding matters that consist of appeals and personal greetings. We will begin our consideration with the appeals of the apostle.
There are two appeals the apostle made in the conclusion of his epistle to Titus although it is possible to consider the explanation the apostle gave in verse 14 as a third appeal or instruction. But because we consider verse 14 as an explanation of what is given in verse 13 as we will demonstrate at the appropriate time, we believe that there are only two appeals in the passage we are about to consider. The first appeal of the apostle is for Titus to come to him at Nicoplois. It is this appeal that is given in the clause of Titus 3:12 do your best to come to me at Nicopolis.
This first appeal of the apostle for Titus to come to him conveys a sense of urgency. This sense of urgency is conveyed in two ways. First, the apostle used an aorist tense in the Greek to issue this appeal to Titus. In this specific context, the aorist tense is used to convey the sense of urgency in the action expected of Titus. Second, the apostle used a Greek word that has the sense of urgency in it. The expression “do your best” is translated from a Greek word (spoudazō) that may mean to be especially conscientious in discharging an obligation. Thus, the Greek word may mean “to be eager” as it is used by the apostle to describe his eagerness to help the poor in Galatians 2:10:
All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
It is in the sense of discharging obligation that the word is used with the meaning “do one’s best” in the instruction to Timothy and so all pastors regarding devotion to the word of God in 2 Timothy 2:15:
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
Still under the concept of discharging an obligation, the word may mean “to make effort” as it is used in the instruction regarding the kind of lifestyle that is expected of those who expect to be in the new heavens and new earth that the Lord will bring about, as recorded in 2 Peter 3:14:
So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
The Greek word may mean to do something hurriedly and so means “to hurry, to hasten, to do quickly” as It is used in Apostle Paul’s request to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:9:
Do your best to come to me quickly,
This command is literally Make haste to come to me quickly. It is in the sense of to hurry to do something that our Greek word is used in the appeal of the apostle to Titus although the meaning “to do one’s best” is implied. Nonetheless, the apostle wants Titus to hurry to come to him at Nicopolis under the right condition that we will get to shortly.
The word “Nicopolis” refers to many cities in the Graeco-Roman world. Thus, it is used to describe three cities in Epirus, Bithynia, and Armenia Minor. The one mentioned here in Titus refers to the city located in Epirus or the on the west coast of Greece. Nicopolis in Epirus was founded by Octavian as a monument to his victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra around 31 B.C. The city was a major transport and communications hub that linked the eastern and western section of the Roman Empire. So, it is to this location the apostle wants Titus to come and meet him.
It is true that the apostle wants Titus to hurry to come to him but his coming is conditional on another event taking place which is the coming of Artemas or Tychicus, as in the clause of Titus 3:12 As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you. The translators of the NIV conveyed the sense of conditional urgency in their phrase As soon as since the Greek used a conjunction (hotan) that may mean “when” as a point of time which is roughly simultaneous to or overlaps with another point of time as the apostle used it to describe the time believers will appear in glory in Colossians 3:4:
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
The word may refer to an extent of time of the same length as another extent or unit of time hence means “as long as, while,” as it is used in 1 Thessalonians 5:3:
While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
The word may pertain to an indefinite point or points of time, which may be roughly simultaneous to or overlap with another point of time with the meaning “whenever, when.” The meaning “whenever” may be used to introduce a statement that is intended to provide explanation related to another sentence, as the word is used to explain when it can be said that a believer loves other believers or children of God in 1 John 5:2:
This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.
Our Greek word appears in this passage in the Greek but the translators of the NIV did not explicitly translate it since the verbal phrase by loving God and carrying out his commands of the NIV is more literally whenever we love God and keep his commandments. It is in the sense of an indefinite point of time that the apostle used the conjunction in our passage so that it should be translated to reflect that the apostle was not certain of the exact time the action he planned will occur. Thus, the Greek word may be translated “when” or “whenever” or even “as soon as”, as reflected in the NIV and the ISV. That aside, the apostle intended to convey to Titus that he has a plan of sending Artemas or Tychicus to Crete and so as soon as this takes place he expects him to come to him at Nicopolis.
It is not clear whether the apostle meant to send one of two individuals or he meant to send one person with two names. This is because the word “or” is used where one term takes the place of the other. This being the case, it is possible that Artemas is another name for Tychicus; otherwise, Artemas was then an associate of the apostle that is nowhere else referenced in the apostle’s epistles. That aside, Tychicus was a man from the province of Asia that was a member of the apostle’s missionary team since he accompanied the apostle when he went to Jerusalem to deliver to the believers there the gifts from the Gentile churches, as we read in Acts 20:4:
He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.
Tychicus was a reliable teacher of the word of God as the apostle testified about him in Ephesians 6:21:
Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing.
Furthermore, his faithfulness as a teacher may be deduced from the fact that the apostle seemed to send him to the local churches he sent the two individuals, Timothy and Titus, that served as resident pastors to local churches. We say this because the apostle sent him in a sense to replace Timothy in Ephesus as we can deduce from 2 Timothy 4:12:
I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.
Now, in this epistle to Titus, the apostle indicates that he planned to send him to Crete. If Titus is to come as soon as Tychicus arrives that will imply that he would come to replace Titus. Anyway, the time the apostle expects Titus to depart from Crete is when Tychicus or Artemas arrived.
The apostle not only defined loosely the time he expects Titus to come to him, but he provided him a reason to come to him at Nicopolis. It is because he intended to spend the winter in that city as in the last clause of Titus 3:12 because I have decided to winter there. This clause suggests the apostle himself was not yet in Nicopolis because of the adverb “there” instead of “here.” Apparently, the apostle liked to spend the winter probably in a place that did not experience harsh winter conditions. Of course, the apostle is not alone with this preference for that was probably the reason the captain of the ship transporting the apostle to Rome refused to winter in a place called Fair Havens but opted to sail to a place called Phoenix, as implied in Acts 27:12:
Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.
I say that it is probably because the captain wanted to avoid where winter may have been harsh that he opted for another location but there is another more important possible reason, which is that it is God’s plan for the apostle to preach the gospel to the people of the Island of Malta. For if there had been no ship wreck of the ship that was carrying the apostle to Rome, he would not have had the ministry he had in the Island of Malta since it was in this Island that the apostle and those who were traveling to Rome with him boarded a ship that had spent the winter in that Island, as stated in Acts 28:11:
After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux.
Anyway, it is probably because the apostle preferred to stay in a place with mild winter that he also planned to stay with the Corinthians during a specific winter, as we can gather from the record of 1 Corinthians 16:6:
Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go.
There is also another possible reason the apostle planned wintering at Nicopolis; it is because traveling during the winter was difficult and so he would not have great opportunities to travel to preach to people in different places.
The apostle appeals to Titus to come to him, but why did he need him to come? The apostle did not specify his reasons for wanting Titus to join him, but we could deduce about three reasons he wanted Titus to come to him. First, it is to keep the apostle company, probably because he was alone or with few members of his missionary team. There were certainly other believers with the apostle as indicated in verse 15 of Titus 3. However, it will seem that some of these with him may not have been in close association with him as Titus or Timothy. Second, it is probably because the apostle wants to continue to impact truth of the Christian faith to him that he would them pass on to others as we can deduce from what the apostle said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2:
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.
Third, the apostle would have wanted Titus to join him probably because he wants him to assist in his ministry in Nicopolis where he was planning to go. These reasons we have given are not speculations, but they are based on the reasons the apostle stated when he requested his other associate, Timothy, to come to him in 2 Timothy 4:9–13:
9 Do your best to come to me quickly, 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. 11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 12 I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
In this passage, it is implied that the apostle needed Timothy to keep him company for the apostle indicates he only had Luke with him while others have gone to different assignments with Demas clearly deserting the apostle. He wanted Timothy to bring Mark because of his help to the apostle in the ministry, implying that he expects Mark to be involved in his ministry where he was. Of course, there is the other reason that the apostle wanted Timothy to bring his writing materials and texts with him. Based on the reasons of this passage, we are confident that the reasons we gave for the apostle wanting Titus to come to him are indeed valid. In any event, the apostle’s first appeal as he ended his epistle to Titus was for him to come to him as soon as it is possible, that is, as soon as Tychicus or Artemas arrived in Crete.
The second appeal of the apostle to Titus in the ending of his epistle to him concerns rendering help to two men – Zenas and Apollos – in their proposed travel either from or to Crete. It is this appeal that is given in Titus 3:13 Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need.
The instruction Do everything you can to help of the NIV is a good way its translators fully expanded the literal Greek that reads diligently send on. This is because of the meanings of the Greek words used. The word “everything” seems to be the way the translators of the NIV rendered a Greek adverb (spoudaiōs) that pertains to being quick in doing something so that it means “with haste”. It is in this sense of “with haste” that the Greek word is used by Apostle Paul to describe his eagerness to send back Epaphroditus to the Philippians, as we read in Philippians 2:28:
Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety.
The sentence I am all the more eager to send him may alternatively be translated I am sending him with special urgency. The Greek word may also pertain to being conscientious in discharging a duty or obligation hence means “diligently, earnestly, zealously.” It is in the sense of “earnestly” that it is used in the pleading of the Jewish leaders to Jesus in Capernaum on behalf of the Centurion whose slave was sick, as we read in Luke 7:4:
When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this,
Apostle Paul used this word to describe the effort of Onesiphorus to find him during his Roman confinement, as stated in 2 Timothy 1:17:
On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me.
The sentence he searched hard for me is literally he diligently sought me. In our passage of Titus 3:13, the word is used in the sense of “diligently” or “earnestly” so that there is the sense of doing what the apostle requested of Titus in a serious manner.
The apostle’s request given in the NIV in the expression do... you can to help is translated from a Greek verb (propempō) that may mean “to accompany, escort” as it is used to describe a display of love of the believers in Tyre for Apostle Paul and his missionary team in that they escorted him and his team to where they boarded a ship to depart from them on their way to Jerusalem, as recorded in Acts 21:5:
But when our time was up, we left and continued on our way. All the disciples and their wives and children accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray.
Another meaning of the Greek word is that of assisting someone in making a journey so that it means “to send on one’s way” with food, money and other necessities. It is in this sense that the apostle used it to express his expected support from believers in Rome during his planned travel to Spain, as we read in Romans 15:24:
I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.
The apostle’s request for the Corinthians to provide for Timothy when he returns to him from Corinth is expressed using our Greek word, as we read in 1 Corinthians 16:11:
No one, then, should refuse to accept him. Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers.
It is in the sense of support for one’s journey that the apostle also used our Greek word in his second epistle to the Corinthians about helping to support him as he traveled to Judea, as we read in 2 Corinthians 1:16:
I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea.
Thus, the Greek word may mean “to send forth.” It is in the sense of sending someone off prepared for a journey that the word is used in our passage. This preparedness will include helping with money, provisions, supplies or other necessities required for traveling. This is especially important in the ancient world where people did not carry credit cards to purchase what they need in their travels. Thus, it is not unusual that when people traveled they took necessary steps to provide for their needs during their travels. We have an example of this kind of provision with the kindness of the people of Island of Malta where the apostle ministered for a short time due to ship wreck. According to Luke’s record, when the apostle and his team left, the islanders, presumably those who responded to his gospel message, provided for the apostle and his associates, as recorded in Acts 28:10:
They honored us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.
The recipients of this kind of preparation for travel are mentioned in the phrase of Titus 3:12 Zenas the lawyer and Apollos. We do not have any further information on Zenas except that he was a lawyer but even then, we still do not know the kind of lawyer he was. This is because the word “lawyer” is translated from a Greek adjective (nomikos) that may mean “according to law”, as it is used in Titus 3:9:
But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.
The word also refers to one who is learned in the law but in Jewish context, it refers to an interpreter and teacher of the Mosaic Law as the word is used, for example, in Luke 14:3:
Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”
Outside the NT, the word refers to lawyer in the sense of one who is an expert in civil law. In our passage, it is not clear whether Zenas was a lawyer in a Jewish sense or as an expert in civil law of the Roman Empire. The apostle’s request to assist him in his travel suggests that he was going to meet the apostle. If that is the case, it is possible that Zenas was both an expert in Jewish law and civil law so as to be helpful to the apostle in Rome. This is purely speculation since there is nothing in the context that tells us in what sense Zenas was a lawyer. Truly, that is not important because Titus and the apostle knew the man’s credentials. Our knowledge of his expertise does not add anything to us other than to have information regarding this man that was only mentioned once in the apostle’s epistles.
Apollos is another matter, since we have information about him in the NT. He was a Jewish Christian born and educated in Alexandria with excellent knowledge of the OT Scripture but deficient in his knowledge of the Christian teaching so that he was helped by Aquilas and Priscilla when he was in Ephesus, as we read in Acts 18:24–26:
24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.
He worked in Corinth as evident first in the narrative of Acts 19:1:
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples
Then, his work in Corinth is attested from the fact that in the factions that developed in Corinth some claim to belong to him, according to 1 Corinthians 1:12:
What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
The apostle’s mention of Apollos here in his epistle to Titus suggests that he was in Crete with Titus and so it is possible that his request is for Titus to help Apollos to come to him. Again, we cannot be certain of the destination of Apollos but it makes sense to speculate that he and Zenas were to join the apostle probably in Rome or Nicopolis. Of course, some believe both men carried this epistle to Crete. This may be true, but we are not certain. Nevertheless, exact knowledge about their destination does not detract from the principle that the apostle intended to convey regarding helping them with their travel.
Be that as it may, the appeal of the apostle to Titus requires him to carefully provide for Zenas and Apollos regarding their journey. This adequate preparation is conveyed in the last clause of Titus 3:13 and see that they have everything they need. The Greek reads in order nothing to them may be lacking. The sentence they have everything they need of the NIV is the way its translators translated a Greek verb (leipō) that may mean “to be without, to be in need” as it is used to describe a fellow believer who is need in James 2:15:
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
It may mean to be deficient in something that ought to be present for whatever reason hence means “to lack” as the word is used in Jesus’ statement to the rich ruler who implied he has kept the moral requirements of the Law but Jesus in effect tells him he is still deficient in that he is not regenerated as that is what is meant in Luke 18:22:
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
It is this sense of the word that Apostle Paul used it to describe the purpose of Titus being in Crete where the translators of the NIV rendered it with the expression “left unfinished” 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.
In Titus 3:13, it is used in the sense of “to be without, lack.” Thus, the instruction of the apostle to Titus is to ensure that Zenas and Apollos do not lack any of the things they need for their journey.
This second appeal of the apostle to help provide for the travel of Zenas and Apollos raises the question as to why it is Titus’ responsibility to help make such an arrangement. The text does not say but the most logical answer is that it is because the two men in some fashion were involved in the ministry of God’s word. Furthermore, their travel would involve them doing the work of the ministry. This being the case, then it is appropriate for Titus as the resident pastor in Crete to provide for such men. Apparently, it was understood among believers at that time that they had the responsibility of helping traveling missionaries. This point is underscored in the apostle’s epistles to the Romans and Corinthians about helping him that we cited previously and in what Apostle John stated regarding traveling missionaries in 3 John 7–8:
7 It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. 8 We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.
This passage indicates traveling ministers of the word of God refused help from pagans and so it is the responsibility of fellow believers to take care of such workers. It is for this reason the apostle would have considered it Titus’ responsibility to ensure Zenas and Apollos received adequate support for their travel.
There is another issue with the appeal of the apostle to Titus regarding helping Zenas and Apollos; it concerns the means of accomplishing the appeal. In other words, how would Titus fulfill such a requirement? This question tells us that there is more that happened with such resident pastors like Titus and Timothy regarding their support by the local congregations they served that are not disclosed in the Scripture directly only indirectly from understanding that believers were expected to take care of their teachers, as we read, for example, in Galatians 6:6:
Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
Anyway, in answering our question, we should bear in mind that Titus was a temporary resident pastor and certainly would have little means of providing for these two men. The implication is that the appeal of the apostle to Titus is really an appeal for him to function as the leader of the local churches in Crete. This means that he is the one that would organize the local churches to provide support for these two men. He was to spearhead collections that would be necessary to help these men. We mean that as the leader of the church in Crete at that time, Titus was to appeal to believers to provide support for these men. In other words, he is to function as the apostle himself functioned among the Gentile churches with regard to providing help to the church in Judea. Titus was certainly aware that the apostle had spearheaded the contribution delivered to the church in Judea since he was part of that effort, as indicated in 2 Corinthians 8:6–7:
6 So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7 But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
This passage indicates that Titus was assigned the responsibility of helping the Corinthians to complete their collection that was to be sent to the church in Judea. This being the case, we can say that Titus already had experience on how to do that sort of thing. It is this experience that the apostle was banking on when he made the appeal to him to provide for Zenas and Apollos. The implication of this expectation of the apostle for pastors or spiritual leaders is that they are the ones that should lead their congregations with respect to benevolence. They are to identify those who should be true recipients of generosity of their local congregations as well as encourage believers in that congregation to graciously support those who are in need. Pastors should communicate to believers to share what they have based on their willingness to do so as the Holy Spirit states in 2 Corinthians 8:12:
For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
Since it is willingness to give that is more important than the amount, then each believer should be reminded to give as he or she determines not under any kind of pressure. That is, a pastor should never pressure anyone to give in order to help the needy or to support the ministry, but he should communicate clearly that it is important to do so as part of the believer’s responsibility. Once that has been communicated then each should determine what to give, as stated in 2 Corinthians 9:7:
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Anyway, it is our interpretation that the apostle in his second appeal to Titus to provide support for the travels of Zenas the lawyer and Apollos that he meant for him to arrange for collection from the local churches in Crete that will be used in such an endeavor. This interpretation is supported by what the apostle writes next to Titus in verse 14.
It is our interpretation that when the apostle appealed to Titus to provide for the travels of Zenas the lawyer and Apollos that he intended for Titus to take up collections from believers in Crete for that purpose. As we indicated, this interpretation is supported by what the apostle writes in the first part of Titus 3:14 Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good.
The translators of the NIV with their translation Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good imply that verse 14 is independent from what preceded it. This is not correct since the literal Greek reads And let learn also our (people) to be devoted themselves to good works. The Greek has two particles that were not translated in the NIV but reflected in our literal translation. The first Greek particle (de) used may mean “and, but”. However, in our passage, it is used to link verse 14 with verse 13 so that it should be translated either “then” or “that is.” The use of “then” may be understood to imply that Titus’s response in verse 13 leads to what is stated in verse 14. The use of the expression “that is” implies that verse 14 provides an explanation to what is expected of Titus in verse 13. It is probably this second meaning that is adopted by the translators of the NET that begins verse 14 as Here is another way that our people can learn to engage in good works. The use of the word “here” in the NET would suggest that it is the support of Zenas and Apollos mentioned in verse 13 that is another way believers in Crete will learn to engage in good works. The point is that the first Greek particle used in verse 14 indicates that it is linked to verse 13 and not independent of it. The second Greek particle (kai) used is often translated “and” in our English versions but it has several other usages. In our passage, it may mean either “and so” to indicate that verse 14 introduced the result that came from the action of collection implied in verse 13 or “also” to indicate that verse 14 states that which is related to verse 13 although not necessarily of the same significance or function. An implication of the use of “also” is that believers in Crete in addition to Titus should help support these two men. Anyway, it is probably its use to introduce result that is intended in our passage. Again, regardless of how the second particle is interpreted, it indicates that verse 14 is intended to be linked to verse 13 hence our interpretation that the implied collection required of Titus in verse 13 is explained in verse 14 as to its result.
There are at least three reasons to accept that our interpretation that links verse 14 to verse 13 is indeed correct. First, it is unlikely the apostle was rehearsing his instruction concerning good works in such a short space as he had already indicated to Titus to emphasize it in Titus 3:8:
This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
Second, the learning the apostle had in mind in our passage is that which comes from experience. This is because the word “learn” used in the sentence of the NIV Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good is from a Greek word (manthanō) that may mean “to learn” in the sense of gaining knowledge or skill by instruction from a teacher, as it is used in 1 Timothy 2:11:
A woman should learn in quietness and full submission.
But the word may also mean “to learn” in the sense of to appropriate to oneself through experience or practice, as the apostle used it to convey he learned to be content in whatever the situation is in Philippians 4:11:
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
It is in this sense of learning by experience that the apostle used it in Titus 3:14. The sense being that the apostle meant to convey to Titus that when believers in Crete make contributions to the needs of Zenas and Apollos they would learn by experience how to do good works. In fact, the apostle implies that that is one of the ways to learn by experience to do good works since he expects repeated learning by experience on the part of believers because he used a present tense in the Greek. Third, the apostle refers to the concept of meeting needs in the clause of Titus 3:14 in order that they may provide for daily necessities. The phrase for daily necessities is literally for the necessary needs. The apostle did not specify whose daily necessities are in view probably because he wanted to convey to believers in Crete that their contributions meet the needs of the two men in question but also by their experience of good works they would meet their own needs and that of other believers.
That aside, the apostle intended that through the experience of doing good works such as providing the needs of others, believers in Crete would become spiritually productive instead of being unproductive. In other words, a result of good works is that of being spiritually productive. It is this that is given in the last verbal phrase of Titus 3:14 and not live unproductive lives. Literally the Greek reads in order that not they may be fruitless. The word “fruitless” is translated from a Greek adjective (akarpos) that here means “useless” or “unproductive.” A believer avoids living unproductive life if such a person is engaged in good works. Thus, giving to the needy is an example of good works that is expected of believers. The implication of verse 14 is that pastors should endeavor to provide opportunities for members of the local churches to do good works of helping the needy. With this implication the apostle ends his instructions and appeals to believers in this epistle, and so he signs off with greetings.
The ending greetings of the epistle come from two sources directed to two targets. The first source consists of those with the apostle as we read in the first sentence of Titus 3:15. Everyone with me sends you greetings. The apostle did not mention the names of those with him when he wrote but Titus would have knowledge of those the apostle meant as he is the first target of the greeting so that there is nothing for us to gain by knowing the identity of those with the apostle. The second source of greetings directed to the second target, that is, believers in Crete is the apostle. It is this that is given in the sentence Greet those who love us in the faith. The clause those who love us in the faith is a reference to believers in the Lord Jesus Christ in Crete for they are the ones that love the apostle and his team. Of course, it is possible that the apostle meant believers who are faithful to the Lord and so exclude the false teachers and those who cause division in the local churches. In any case, the apostle follows this greeting with his usual formula that is a prayer-wish he uses quite often to end his epistles in the last expression of Titus 3:15 Grace be with you all. Grace the apostle has in mind is God’s favor that he wished to rest on the believers in Crete. He realized that there is nothing that can compare to God’s favor resting on a believer. A person who is the recipient of God’s favor is indeed a blessed individual. Hence, we can understand the reason the apostle wished God’s grace on believers in Crete. With this prayer-wish the apostle ends his epistle to Titus. As we end the epistle, let me remind you that its purpose is to ensure that believers live lifestyles that depict faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, I challenge you to apply all the doctrines we have considered in this epistle so that you will bring glory to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
11/17/17