28th August 2023

‘…all that is necessary for a Christian to know and to live’ ¹

This study is the eighteenth in a series of studies on the books of the New Testament
(Titus – read in 4 minutes)

…in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, but has in due time manifested His word through preaching… Titus 1:2-3 (NKJV)

This epistle has the feeling of being written in a hurry. Apart from being short, there are no long lists of named greetings unlike other epistles, but just a general ‘greet everyone and everyone greets you’ summary. (Titus 3:15). 

Paul quotes a sweeping statement about Cretans from the ancient poet Epimenides – which is not complimentary (Titus 1:12).  Perhaps he had also read, and agreed with, the writings of Polybius and Cicero that it was ‘impossible to find … personal conduct more treacherous or a public policy more unjust than in Crete’ and that the Cretans ‘principles of life are so different that [they] consider piracy and brigandage honourable.’ ²  For Paul to include this  reference suggests he sees the pressures from such a society are a real threat to the people who make up the churches on Crete. This leads to exhortations to live a godly life, used as an anchor for a raft of directions regarding the need for Titus to instruct and reprove those believers under his care, and to choose well-qualified people to support him. (Titus 1:6-9).

These exhortations are built around three references to the incarnation – one in each chapter. In Titus 1:1-4, in a reference to Jesus, Paul talks about God who ‘…has in due time manifested His word through preaching…’. Later, he returns to this theme with, ‘… the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men…” (Titus 2:11), again speaking of ‘our great God and Savior Jesus Christ’ (v.13). And finally, there is Titus 3:4 where Paul writes about that time when, ‘…the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared…’.

Across all three references Paul makes a point of equating Jesus with God, challenging many Jews’ interpretation of the monotheism declared in scriptures. He talks about ‘God our Savior’, ‘our great God and Savior Jesus Christ’ and ‘the love of God our Savior’. 

Another theme is developed through these three references where Paul sets out a series of cause-and-effect relationships. It begins with the incarnation, which, in turn, leads to salvation through Christ, which, in its turn, leads to eternal life. Then all of this expresses itself in the life of a believer in the need to strive to live a godly life and to resist the pressures of the godless society around them. Paul makes these links clear in Titus 2:11-13 where he describes the need to be, ‘…denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age…’. It is a message for Christians across time. Paul underlines that the opposite is true when he states, ‘They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.’ (Titus 1:16). 

In this context, unsurprisingly, Paul points out the need for people, including Titus, to ‘…speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine’ (Titus 2:1), and for teachers who are ‘holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught…’ (Titus 1:9). Sound doctrine and good works are thus locked in a two-way relationship. God’s grace is what surely motivates us to do good works, something that fills this epistle and that Paul describes as adorning ‘the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.’ (Titus 2:10).

Prayer
Father, thank you for the teaching from your word that grants us understanding of your purpose through Jesus Christ, and allows us to be a blessing to those around us through good works which honour you. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Study by Maggie Mitchell

¹  Martin Luther, “Preface to the Epistle of St. Paul to Titus,” in Luther’s Works vol. 35, Word and Sacrament I, ed. E. Theodore Bachmann (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1960), 389.
² Polybius’ criticism on the Cretan constitution – Novo Scriptorium

About the writer:
Maggie Mitchell attends the Northampton congregation of Grace Communion International and is Chair of the Pastoral Council

Local congregation:
GCI Northampton
Ecton Village Hall
78A High Street
Ecton
Northampton
NN6 0QB

Local congregational contact:
Maggie Mitchell
Email:  maggie.mitchell@btinternet.com

Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church