TITUS 1
1 Paul, a
servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s
elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— 2 in the hope
of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of
time, 3 and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through
the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,
4 To Titus,
my true son in our common faith:
Grace and
peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Appointing
Elders Who Love What Is Good
5 The
reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left
unfinished and appoint [Or ordain] elders in every town, as I directed you. 6 An elder
must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe [Or children are trustworthy] and
are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7 Since an overseer
manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not
quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.
8 Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is
self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9 He must hold firmly to the
trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by
sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
Rebuking
Those Who Fail to Do Good
10 For
there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception,
especially those of the circumcision group. 11 They must be silenced, because
they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to
teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 One of Crete’s own prophets
has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”[From the Cretan philosopher Epimenides] 13 This
saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in
the faith 14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human
commands of those who reject the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure,
but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact,
both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 They claim to know God, but
by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for
doing anything good.
NOTES:
NOTES:
1:1–4 On the epistolary form, see note on Rom 1:1–7. The
apostolate is the divinely appointed mission to lead others to the true faith
and through it to eternal salvation (Ti 1:1–3).
1:5–9 This instruction on the selection and appointment of
presbyters, substantially identical with that in 1 Tm 3:1–7 on a bishop (see
note there), was aimed at strengthening the authority of Titus by apostolic
mandate; cf. Ti 2:15. In Ti 1:5, 7 and Acts 20:17, 28, the terms episkopos and
presbyteros (“bishop” and “presbyter”) refer to the same persons. Deacons are
not mentioned in Titus. See also note on Phil 1:1.
1:10–16 This adverse criticism of the defects within the
community is directed especially against certain Jewish Christians, who busy
themselves with useless speculations over persons mentioned in the Old
Testament, insist on the observance of Jewish ritual purity regulations, and
thus upset whole families by teaching things they have no right to teach; cf.
Ti 3:9; 1 Tm 1:3–10.
1:10 Jewish Christians: literally, “those of the circumcision.”
1:12 Cretans…gluttons: quoted from Epimenides, a Cretan poet
of the sixth century B.C.
TITUS 2
Doing Good
for the Sake of the Gospel
2 You,
however, must teach what is appropriate to 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 urge 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. 7 In everything set
them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity,
seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those
who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.
9 Teach
slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not
to talk back to them, 10 and not to steal from them, but to show that they can
be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God
our Savior attractive.
11 For the
grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 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 appearing of the glory 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.
[Related to justification]
15 These,
then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority.
Do not let anyone despise you.
NOTES:
2:1–10 One of Titus’ main tasks in Crete is to become
acquainted with the character of the Cretans and thereby learn to cope with its
deficiencies (see Ti 1:12). The counsel is not only for Titus himself but for
various classes of people with whom he must deal: older men and women (Ti
2:2–4), younger women and men (Ti 2:4–7), and slaves (Ti 2:9–10); cf. Eph
6:1–9; Col 3:18–4:1.
2:11–15 Underlying the admonitions for moral improvement in
Ti 2:1–10 as the moving force is the constant appeal to God’s revelation of
salvation in Christ, with its demand for transformation of life.
2:13 The blessed hope, the appearance: literally, “the
blessed hope and appearance,” but the use of a single article in Greek strongly
suggests an epexegetical, i.e., explanatory sense. Of the great God and of our
savior Jesus Christ: another possible translation is “of our great God and
savior Jesus Christ.”
TITUS 3
Saved in
Order to Do Good
3 Remind
the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready
to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate,
and always to be gentle toward everyone.
3 At one
time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of
passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one
another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because
of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth (regeneration) and
renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously
through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified
by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
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. [Regeneration renews us and justifies us and thus
being justified we are changed and must devote ourselves to doing good (works)]
9 But avoid
foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law,
because these are unprofitable and useless. 10 Warn a divisive person once, and
then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. 11 You
may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.
Final
Remarks
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 to
provide for urgent needs 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.
NOTES:
NOTES:
3:1–8 The list of Christian duties continues from Ti 2:9–10,
undergirded again as in Ti 2:11–13 by appeal to what God in Christ has done (Ti
2:4–7; cf. Ti 2:11–14). The spiritual renewal of the Cretans, signified in
God’s merciful gift of baptism (Ti 3:4–7), should be reflected in their
improved attitude toward civil authority and in their Christian relationship
with all (Ti 3:1–3).
3:1 Magistrates and authorities: some interpreters
understand these terms as referring to the principalities and powers of the
heavenly hierarchy. To be open to every good enterprise: this implies being
good citizens. It could also be translated “ready to do every sort of good
work” (as Christians); cf. Ti 3:14.
3:8–11 In matters of good conduct and religious doctrine,
Titus is to stand firm.
3:9 See note on 1 Tm 6:20–21.
3:12–15 Artemas or Tychicus (2 Tm 4:12) is to replace Titus,
who will join Paul in his winter sojourn at Nicopolis in Epirus, on the western
coast of Greece.
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