Titus 1-3
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Chapter 1
4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior – “mercy” is omitted in some of the oldest manuscripts. But one of the best and oldest manuscripts supports it.
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 – “A preacher must be both soldier and shepherd. He must nourish, defend, and teach; he must have teeth in his mouth and be able to bite and fight.” (Luther)
Chapter 2
1 You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine – See New Living Translation below:
1But as for you, promote the kind of living that reflects right teaching. NLT
2 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance – The word endurance is the Greek word hupomonē from a root which means “to stay under.”
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 – maligned (blasphēmeō) is where we get the English word blasphemy.
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men – The grace of God brings salvation! God doesn’t ask your cooperation; He doesn’t ask for your conduct or your character in order to save you. God only asks men to believe Him, to trust Him, and to accept Christ. J.V. McGee.
13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ – There has been much debate over whether Paul meant to refer to two persons of the Trinity (“our great God” and “Savior Jesus Christ”), or was he proclaiming the deity of Christ (“our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ”)? The phrase can be read both ways, but most scholars agree that the grammar of the sentence supports the deity of Christ view (see below)
(1)There is but one Greek article to “God” and “Savior,” which shows that both are predicated of one and the same Being. “Of Him who is at once the great God and our Savior.” Also (2) “appearing” (epiphaneia) is never by Paul predicated of God the Father (John 1:18; 1 Timothy 6:16), or even of “His glory” (as Alford explains it): it is invariably applied to Christ’s coming, to which (at His first advent, compare 2 Timothy 1:10) the kindred verb “appeared” (epephanee), Titus 2:11, refers (1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1, 8). Also (3) in the context (Titus 2:14) there is no reference to the Father, but to Christ alone; and here there is no occasion for reference to the Father in the exigencies of the context. Also (4) the expression “great God,” as applied to Christ, is in accordance with the context, which refers to the glory of His appearing; just as “the true God” is predicated of Christ, 1 John 5:20. JAMIESON-FAUSSETT-BROWN COMMENTARY ON THE WHOLE BIBLE By Robert Jamieson, A. R. Faussett David Brown
Chapter 3
1 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men – Titus was to remind the Christians on Crete to be good citizens within their communities, a virtue in which Cretans were notoriously deficient.
5 He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit – Born again Cf. John 3
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 – Nicopolis, which means “city of victory,” three places in the Roman Empire were named Nicopolis, but most scholars believe this Nicopolis was on the west side of Greece on the coast.
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