The Book of Titus: 1:1-4
Remembering Titus’ background, saved and discipled by Paul, helps us understand why he was chosen to minister to the newly planted churches of Crete. Paul knew clear instructions, encouragement, and warnings were needed for these new church leaders. They were in a battle for souls seeped in Greek philosophy leaving out the Creator and Savior of the world. It wasn’t much different from today’s world, living for pleasure, in the here and now, with no hope for an afterlife. Jesus sent Titus for the purpose of teaching these leaders truth in order to lead godly lives attracting unbelievers.
Paul began his letter declaring himself a slave of God (vs. 1), totally swallowed up in His purpose, and a messenger of Jesus Christ to the churches: God’s elect. His desire was to encourage Titus and, therefore, the Cretan Churches, that God has a better way of living than just for yourself today; He has a ‘hope for eternal life’ (vs. 2), a truth that will bring joy and expectation to anyone who will believe. That promise was pre-temporal, before time existed, and outside anything a pagan god could offer.
The truth that God doesn’t lie, He can be trusted, is important to the Cretans who have a reputation (vs. 12) for lying, being evil, and lazy gluttons; Jesus can change all that. He is the Word, God Himself (vs. 3), who came down to earth to pay for our sins thereby rescuing us from punishment well-deserved. His name, Savior (used 6 times in this letter) was specifically chosen to show that we all need rescue, deliverance, and redemption making God our Savior our only hope.
This was a new way of thinking for the Cretans and Titus would be presenting leadership training to clear the path for those truths. Eternal life means we don’t simply live for today but our hope, our confident expectation, is for eternity when we rule and reign with Him in a renewed world. Wow, that’s a very different belief system, polar opposite of what these families were taught, but Titus is just the man for the job. He’d follow Paul’s instructions so that every church leader would understand how vital godly living is to a believer since they are image bearers of Christ. Retraining ourselves to think like, talk like, and act like Jesus remains a challenge for any believer, even now, but through the power of the Spirit we grow in those truths.
Lastly, Paul personalized this letter by calling Titus his son in a shared faith (vs. 4). The word used is ‘koine’ meaning they have a partnership, working together to establish healthy churches. They’ll be filled with the Spirit, His fruit and gifts, which are evidence to the Cretans, or any unbeliever, in order to win them over.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence. 2 Peter 1:3
Comments are closed.