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Titus Chapter
One
I.
Content of the Chapter
The Ministry of God’s Workers
I. The source, aim, means and provision of the
ministry of God’s workers (v.1-4)
A. the
source------God and Jesus Christ (v.1a)
B. the
aim------for the faith, the acknowledgement of the truth and the hope of
eternal life (v.1b-2)
C. the
means------through preaching (v.3)
D. the
provision------grace, mercy and peace (v.4)
II. The positive ministry of God’s workers (v.5-9)
A.
setting in order the things (v.5a)
B.
appointing the appropriate elders (v.5b-8)
C.
enabling them to exhort men by sound doctrine (v.9)
III. The negative ministry of God’s workers (v.10-16)
A.
exposing and rebuking those who preach the heretical teachings (v.10-14)
B.
knowing the nature of those who preach the heretical teachings (v.15-16)
II.
Verse by Verse commentary
Tit. 1:1 “Paul, a bondservant of
God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and
the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness,”
YLT: “Paul, a servant of
God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of the choice ones
of God, and an acknowledging of truth that according to piety,”
Meaning of Words: “according to”: for
the benefit of…, for, encouraging, protecting, promoting, in compliance with,
agreeing to, about.
Literal Meaning: “Paul, a bondservant of God
and an apostle of Jesus Christ,” “a bondservant of God” refers to the one who serves God according
to the will of God. “An
apostle of Jesus Christ” refers to the one
who is sent by Jesus Christ. The former word “bondservant” is the bondman with
humble status, however, the latter word “apostle” is the appellation with
authority before men.
“According
to the faith of God's elect” “God’s elect”
refers to the Jews in the narrow sense and those who have the true faith
towards the true God in the broad sense and here it should refer to the latter.
“The faith of
God's elect” refers to the
faith of Christians. The true faith refers to receiving Christ’s being and
doing, i.e. receiving the riches of Christ and all that He has accomplished for
us.
“And
the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness,” in the original refers to “the
acknowledgment of the truth which conforms to godliness” which refers to the
thorough comprehension of the right truth and which enables men to have
performance of godly life (See 1Tim. 6:3).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The status of preachers is both noble and
humble. They show their outstanding dispositions and missions through their
humble service (See Matt. 20:26-27).
2) The mission of preachers is to enable those who
have been elected by God to have faith, increase exceedingly in faith (2Thess.
1:3) and abound more and more in the truth knowledge (Pill. 1:9-10).
3) The acknowledgement of the truth and godliness
complement each other and run parallel. The acknowledgement that is unable to
make men have godliness is only the vain logic.
4) After one has been saved, he must be taught to
know the truth. To preachers, preaching and teaching are throughout their life
and therefore believers’ hearing and learning are throughout our life.
5) The one who has received the words of eternal
life must live the godly life. The truth faith does not exist in ones brain or
heart merely and it must be manifested in one’s life.
Tit. 1:2 “in hope of eternal life
which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,”
YLT: “upon hope of life
age-during, which God, who doth not lie, did promise before times of ages,”
Literal Meaning: the preposition “in”
in the beginning of this verse means “upon”, “because of”, and “for” and it
indicates that Paul’s apostleship was appointed for the “hope of eternal life”.
The “hope of eternal life” (in the
Chinese Union Version, “hope” and “eternal life” are put in the beginning and
the end of the sentence) shows that “eternal life” is the substantial content
of “hope”. “Eternal life” refers to everlasting life, i.e. the life of God and
such life is incorruptible (2Tim. 1:10) and therefore it will last forever. God
has promised to give eternal life to those who believe in Jesus Christ (John.
3:16). Every one which believes on Him shall have everlasting life (John.
6:40). Today believers’ enjoyment and experiences of such eternal life are only
the foretaste and assurance of eternal life which we shall inherit and fully
enjoy in future. And today we haven’t enjoyed eternal life abundantly. And
therefore, it is a “hope of eternal life” from this angle.
And such “hope of eternal life” is build
up upon the firm foundations because: 1) it is promised by “God who cannot lie”
and His promises are faithful and reliable (2Cor. 1:20); 2) it is promised “before time began” and it will never be influenced by
conditions happened in time.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The three functions of God’s true servants: a)
initiating and promoting the faith of God’s elect; b) increasing believers’
acknowledgment of the truth so as to manifest godliness more; c) helping
believers to hold fast to the hope through their enjoyment and experiences of
eternal life.
2) What Christians preach to men is not a series of
beautiful logic of life or a system of philosophy but a life of God and a
gospel concerning eternal life.
3) The hope of eternal life is not only the motive
power by which preachers serve the Lord but also the glad tidings that they
preach.
Tit. 1:3 “but has in due time
manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to
the commandment of God our Savior;”
YLT: “(and He manifested
in proper times His word,) in preaching, which I was entrusted with, according
to a charge of God our Saviour,”
Meaning of Words: “due time”: its own
time.
Literal Meaning: “but has in due time” is to in proper times. All great events in
God’s plans shall take place according to the time that He has ordained (See
1Tim. 2:6; 6:15).
“Manifested
His word through preaching” “preaching” refers
to the work of preaching done by God’s servants. “His word” refers to God’s
word. God reveals His will in “His word”------the Bible and only through the
men that He used and preaching will such will be manifested.
“Which
was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;” “God our Savior”
indicates that God is our Savior (See 1Tim. 2:3; 4:10) and He is the source of
our salvation. “Committed to…according to the commandment” means that preaching
the gospel is not the voluntary work or that men desire to do something for God
but that God entrusts the responsibility to men (1Cor. 9:17).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The will that God desires that all men should be
saved has been established “before
time began” (See v.2).
However, it cannot be fulfilled until the fullness of the time was come (Gal.
4:4). It is the principle on which God works and we believers should also learn
to wait for His time in everything.
2) God’s servants should regard preaching the
gospel as our responsibility, i.e. our right.
3) Strictly speaking, every Christian should be a
preacher, however, only those who have received the commission before God clearly
will have the burden and are willing to preach the gospel.
Tit. 1:4 “To Titus, a true son in
our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ our Savior.”
YLT: “to Titus -- true
child according to a common faith: Grace, kindness, peace, from God the Father,
and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour!”
Meaning of Words: “Titus”: dignity;
“mercy”: grace.
Literal Meaning: “To Titus, a true son in our
common faith:” “common faith” refers to the faith that all believers
have (See 2Pet. 1:1). “A true son” refers to the spiritual son who is born
through the gospel.
“Grace,
mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.” “The Lord Jesus Christ our Savior” indicates that Christ Jesus is the executor
of the salvation and He is the Savior of us who have been bestowed grace.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) How glorious and honorable it is to preach the
gospel for the Lord and serve the Lord in the church! May the Lord rise more
“Titus”s (it means “dignity”) in the church.
2) Grace is a gift. It is impossible for men to
have mercy on their own because men do not have any merits which make us be
worthy of grace.
3) Grace is the source of peace and peace, the
result of grace. It is impossible for a man to desire for God’s peace if he has
not asked for God’s grace.
4) “Mercy” is the root of various kinds of
blessings. And those who have received God’s mercy shall have the effects of
“peace” in their life.
5) Without God’s mercy, we cannot have the true
peace. If we do not have the peace in the hearts, it shows that we haven’t
truly known and received God’s mercy.
6) We should not look for peace besides God. The
short cut to having the true peace is the obedience to the will of God.
7) Believers’ “peace” is neither related to the
objective environments nor influenced by external things.
8) “Mercy” is God’s generosity to men; “peace” is
believers’ state towards God. The more faith believers have towards God, the
more we shall enjoy mercy; the more we submit to God, the more we shall feel
peaceful.
Tit. 1:5 “For this reason I left
you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and
appoint elders in every city as I commanded you--”
YLT: “For this cause left
I thee in Crete, that the things lacking thou mayest arrange, and mayest set
down in every city elders, as I did appoint to thee;”
Meaning of Words: “the things are
lacking”: being destitute, being short of, defect; “set in order”: straighten
further, arrange additionally, correct; “elders”: the aged, seniors.
Literal Meaning: “For this reason I left you
in Crete,” this sentence
shows that Paul had once visited
“That
you should set in order the things that are lacking,” “the
things that are lacking” refers to the
things which one wants to do but has not done yet. “Set in order” refers to arranging the unfinished works properly
and completely.
“And
appoint elders in every city as I commanded you--” “every city” refers to various kinds of different
places. It shows that the administrative system of the church was separated
from each other for locality at that time. “Appointing” refers to designating
officially before all the Saints. “Elders” refers to “bishops” in the church
(See v.7). Elders stress on the features of their status and generally
speaking, they are more advanced and sophisticated in the age and the spiritual
experiences. And therefore they are called the elders. And bishops stress on
the nature of their work and they are those who direct and supervise various
kinds of men and things, i.e. those who rule the church (See 1Tim. 3:5).
Here
“elders” are plural. Appointing the plural elders in every city means that
there should be more than two elders in a local church. And the appointing of
the elders is done through apostles and workers authorized by apostles
apparently. But actually it is the Holy Spirit that sets the elders (Acts.
20:28) and they are only the executors of the will of the Holy Spirit.
According to the New Testament, the duties of the elders are as follows:
1) ruling the church (1Tim. 3:4-5; 5:17); 2) guarding the truth (Tit. 1:9); 3)
shepherding believers (Acts. 20:28; 1Pet. 5:2); 4) doing the service of praying
and laying on of the hands (1Tim. 4:14; James. 5:14).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Those who bear the duties of the church are not
selected secretly but are separated openly. And the honor of the church is
handed over to them publicly.
2) When you entrust works to others, you have to
give them the clear instructions and teachings, otherwise, the commission is
insufficient.
Tit. 1:6 “if a man is blameless,
the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or
insubordination.”
YLT: “if any one is
blameless, of one wife a husband, having children stedfast, not under
accusation of riotous living or insubordinate --”
Meaning of Words: “blameless”: there
is no need to be trailed.
Literal Meaning: “if a man is blameless,” “if” does not refer to the probability but
a fact. “Blameless” indicates that there is not obvious defect which could be
taken advantage of by others to attack him, however, he is not perfect.
“The
husband of one wife” It does not mean
that only family men are qualified but that one lives a holy life and does not
have any love affair (please see the note in 1Tim. 3:2).
“Having
faithful children” if the children
have not believed in the Lord, the work of the elders will be influenced
greatly.
“Not
accused of dissipation or insubordination.” Here it refers to the children instead of the
elders. If one is unable to train his own children well, it shows that he is
unable to rule the church and therefore it is unsuitable to appoint him as the
elder (See 1Tim. 3:4-5).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The principle of choosing and employing men in
the church is not the items of duties but the qualities of their own life.
2) Every servant of God should discern the inner
characters of men by the spiritual insight and seek for and discover the
outstanding persons in the church. And then it conforms to the way of knowing
one's subordinates well enough to assign them jobs commensurate with their
abilities.
3) If the family members of the elder do not have
the same mind with him or even do not agree with him on his service to God in
the church, he will be unable to lead the whole church effectively.
Tit. 1:7 “For a bishop must be
blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given
to wine, not violent, not greedy for money,”
YLT: “for it behoveth the
overseer to be blameless, as God's steward, not self-pleased, nor irascible,
not given to wine, not a striker, not given to filthy
lucre;”
Meaning of Words: “bishop”: see from
above; “self-willed”: self-pleasing, look for his own satisfaction;
“quick-tempered”: irascible.
Literal Meaning: “For a bishop, as a steward
of God,” “bishop” and
“elder” are synonyms. The elder refers to one’s status and bishop refers to his
work. The elders’ nature of work is God’s steward who rules the house of God
(the church).
“Must
be blameless” here it retells
“blameless” (See v.6) and it does not mean that the bishop and the elder are
two different kinds of persons. In v.6 it specially refers to the blamelessness
in the life and in this verse it specially refers to the blamelessness in the
characters.
“Not
self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine” “not self-willed” refers to taking others’
feelings into consideration; “not quick-tempered” refers to being slow to
anger; “not given to wine” please see the note in 1Tim. 3:3.
“Not
violent, not greedy for money” “not violent”
refers to not threatening or oppressing others by fleshy ways; “money” (in the
Chinese Union Version there is “unrighteous” before money) it describes that
those who are greedy for money make money unscrupulously.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The elders should be enlightened and willing to
listen to others’ opinions. They should not walk randomly, adhere to their own
ideas stubbornly, or ignore others’ opinions.
2) The elders should have unselfish characters, as
it becomes Saints. They shall be able to bear the responsibility of managing
the church.
Tit. 1:8 “but hospitable, a lover
of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled,”
YLT: “but a lover of
strangers, a lover of good men, sober-minded, righteous, kind,
self-controlled,”
Meaning of Words: “sober-minded”:
sound in mind, calm.
Literal Meaning: “but hospitable” in the ancient times, there were not many
inns and travelers who were away from their houses relied on the accommodations
provided by warm-hearted ones (Gen. 18:1-5; 19:1-3).
“A
lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled,” “A lover of what is good” refers to loving doing all kind things;
“sober-minded” refers to the calm and steady attitude of dealing with things;
“just” refers to not showing partiality to men; “holy” refers to the attitude
of being separated to God; “self-controlled” refers to being able to control
oneself and watch constantly.
The seventh verse shows the conditions that a
bishop should not have in the negative aspect and the eighth verse shows the
conditions that a bishop should have in the positive aspect.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Leaders of Christians should make an ambition to
please God and live out the life which is acceptable to God.
2) Every spiritual leader should set his mind on
serving God and being a holy servant who is separated from others.
Tit. 1:9 “holding fast the faithful
word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to
exhort and convict those who contradict.”
YLT: “holding --
according to the teaching -- to the stedfast word, that he may be able also to
exhort in the sound teaching, and the gainsayers to convict;”
Meaning of Words: “exhort”: beseech,
console, advise, call near, encourage; “convict”: convince, persuade;
“contradict”: dispute, deny.
Literal Meaning: “holding fast the faithful
word as he has been taught,” The elders
themselves must hold fast the faithful word of God and teach others according
to the word of God.
“That
he may be able, by sound doctrine”
“sound
doctrine” refers to the
right teachings.
“Both
to exhort and convict those who contradict” “those
who contradict” refers to those
who withstand or doubt about the truth.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) There is the triple aim of appointing elders: a)
holding fast the truth; b) exhorting everyone by sound doctrine; c) convicting
those who contradict the truth, i.e. false teachers.
2) It shows that the elders are guardians of the
truth in the church and they bear the responsibility of keeping the truth. If
some teachings that do not conform to the truth occur in the church, the elders
must perceive them and point out the error of them.
3) The leaders of the church must teach and build
up believers by sound doctrine well and point out and rebuke those who attack
the truth.
Tit. 1:10 “For there are many insubordinate,
both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,”
YLT: “for there are many
both insubordinate, vain-talkers, and mind-deceivers -- especially they of the
circumcision --”
Meaning of Words: “deceive”: deceitful
thoughts.
Literal Meaning: “For there are many
insubordinate” “insubordinate” refers to not listening to the word of God
and being unwilling to receive others’ correction.
“Both
idle talkers and deceivers” “idle talkers” refers to the groundless idle talk which
is showy without real worth. “Deceivers” refers to giving men wrong impression
and misleading them to have wrong conclusion.
“Especially
those of the circumcision” “the circumcision” refers to those who fervently advance the
ceremonies and regulations passed down from their ancestors in Judaism.
Tit. 1:11 “whose mouths must be
stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not,
for the sake of dishonest gain.”
YLT: “whose mouth it
behoveth to stop, who whole households do overturn, teaching what things it
behoveth not, for filthy lucre's sake.”
Meaning of Words: “subvert”: overturn,
overthrow.
Literal Meaning: “whose mouths must be
stopped” in the original
means “letting them be put on respirators” or “stopping the mouths of the livestock”.
“Teaching
things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain” refers to saying things which they ought
not for the sake of money (See 1Tim. 5:13).
“Who
subvert whole households” the whole sentence
indicates that their teachings overturn many families.
Tit. 1:12 “One of them, a prophet of
their own, said, ‘Cretans are always liars,
evil beasts, lazy gluttons.’”
YLT: “A certain one of
them, a prophet of their own, said -- `Cretans! always liars, evil beasts, lazy
bellies!'”
The Background:
“Cretans are always liars” in the ancient times, the appellation of
“Cretans” was used the Greeks as another name of liars, showing that Cretans
were famous for their being good at lying.
Literal Meaning: “One of them, a prophet of
their own” “a prophet of their own” refers to a sage named Epimenides.
“Cretans are always liars, evil beasts,
lazy gluttons.” “Evil beasts” is
used to describe their brutality and fierceness; “lazy gluttons” refers to
being gluttonous and lazy and insatiably avaricious.
Tit. 1:13 “This testimony is true.
Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,”
YLT: “this testimony is
true; for which cause convict them sharply, that they may be sound in the
faith,”
Meaning of Words: “sharply”: severely,
harshly; “rebuke”: expose, tell a fault; “sound”: pure, wholesome, healthy.
Literal Meaning: “This testimony is true.” It indicates that Paul had the same
feeling with the comment in v.12. Thus it can be seen that how arduous it is to
work for the Lord in
“Therefore
rebuke them sharply,” “rebuke them sharply” refers to pointing out their faults
without reservation.
“That
they may be sound in the faith,” “the faith” refers
to the objective faith.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Those who like “contradicting” (See v.9) and
“idle talkers” (See v.10) have been infected with the illness of logic and
therefore they become unhealthy in the faith. Dealing with such ones, we must
expose them strictly and point out their faults.
2) Dealing with those who advocate heresies in the
church, we should not swallow an insult, or be resigned or afraid of getting
into trouble. We should fight for the truth boldly.
3) Those who preach heresies have loopholes to
exploit and spread the harmful teachings because the church is short of the
true spiritual leaders.
Tit. 1:14 “not giving heed to Jewish
fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth.”
YLT: “not giving heed to
Jewish fables and commands of men, turning themselves away from the truth;”
Meaning of Words: “commandment”:
command, instruction, mandatory command.
Literal Meaning: “not giving heed to Jewish
fables” “fables” refers to the unbelievable tales made up
by men. Here fables specially refer to the fictitious stories which are spread
among the Jews and are not according to the Bible.
“And
commandments of men who turn from the truth” “men
who turn from the truth” refers to those
who advocate or follow heresies. “Commandments”
refers to the regulations and laws made by the heretical teachers concerning
foods and the outside cleansing (See Col. 2:21-22; 1Tim. 4:3).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The two features of the heretical teachers are:
a) their words are groundless and incredible.
2) All those who follow heresies must turn from the
truth (See Is. 29:13; Mark. 7:6-9).
Tit. 1:15 “To the pure all things
are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but
even their mind and conscience are defiled.”
YLT: “all things, indeed,
pure to the pure, and to the defiled and unstedfast nothing pure, but of them
defiled even the mind and the conscience;”
Meaning of Words: “defile”:
contaminate.
Literal Meaning: “To the pure all things are
pure,” “the pure” refers
to those who have been cleansed by the precious blood of the Lord (Heb. 9:14;
1John. 1:7). “All things are pure” indicates that every creature of God is good
(1Tim. 4:4).
“But
to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure;” “those who are defiled and unbelieving” refers to those who do not believe in the
Lord whose original states are dirty essentially before the Holy God. “Nothing” refers to everything related to them. “Nothing is pure” indicates that
everything becomes defiled and impure because of them.
“But
even their mind and conscience are defiled.” It indicates that they have lost the ability to
discern good and evil.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) What truly defiles men is not “the thing” but
the evil heart of men and the evil heart of unbelief (See Mark. 7:19-20; Luke.
11:39-41).
2) The regulations of pureness of ceremonies are
insignificant and only the purity of hearts is important (See Matt. 23:25-28).
Tit. 1:16 “They profess to know God,
but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for
every good work.”
YLT: “God they profess to
know, and in the works they deny, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto
every good work disapproved.”
Meaning of Words: “disqualified”:
untested, substandard, worthless, disapproved.
Literal Meaning: “They profess to know God,” “profess” refers to calling oneself or
declaring oneself to be.
“But
in works they deny Him,” it indicates that
their walkings obviously deny the will of God.
“Being
abominable, disobedient,” “Being abominable” refers to being detested by God;
“disobedient” refers to being unwilling to obey God.
“And
disqualified for every good work”
it means that the result is that they are unable to do good and contrarily do
all kinds of evil.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The one who truly knows God must “be complete, thoroughly
equipped for every good work” (2Tim. 3:17).
2) The inner qualify of men decides the value of
their outer behavior. When one is disconnected with God internally, his outer
behavior will be rejected by God naturally.
III.
Outlines of the Spiritual Lessons
The Various Appellations to the Word of God
II. The commandment of God our Savior (v.3)
III. Our common faith (v.4)
IV. The faithful word (v.9)
V. Sound
doctrine (v.9)
VI. The faith (the truth) (v.13-14)
The Background and
Tactics that Paul left Titus in
I. The background:
A. the moral standard of many people in that area was very low:
1. in the church there are many
insubordinate…who subvert whole households…for the sake of dishonest gain
(v.10, 11)
2. in the society: Cretans are always liars,
evil beasts, lazy gluttons (v.12)
B. heresies prevailed in that area:
1. the teachings of Jewish false
teachers------Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth
(v.14)
2. the Gentile Gnosticism------both idle
talkers and deceivers (v.10)
II. The tactics:
A. appointing the elders who are strong and have good testimony in
churches in various places (v.5-9a)
B. exhorting and convicting those who contradict,…rebuking the heretical
teachers sharply (v.9b, 13)
The Conditions for
Bishops
A. blameless
B. not self-willed
C. not quick-tempered
D. not given to wine
E. not violent
F. not greedy for money
G. hospitable
H. a lover of what is good
J. just
K. holy
L. self-controlled
II. In the aspect of the family life (v.6b):
A. the husband of one wife
B. having faithful children not accused of dissipation or
insubordination
III. In the aspect of the spiritual life (v.9):
A. holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught
B. he may be able, by sound doctrine, to exhort men
C. he may be also be able to convict those who contradict
The Features of
False Teachers
II. Idle talkers (v.10b)
III. Deceivers (v.10c)
IV. For the sake of dishonest gain (v.11a)
V. Teaching the wrong things randomly (v.11b)
VI. Subverting whole households (v.11c)
VII. Evil beasts, lazy gluttons (v.12-13)
The Way to Deal with
False Teachers
II. Not giving heed to their fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth (v.14)
III. Knowing that they are defiled and unbelieving and their words do not match with their
deeds (v.15-16)
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Sharon Ren