Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: TITUS #1 - 1:1-16)
TITUS SUMMARY: SCRIPTURAL ELDERS ENSURE GOSPEL FREEDOM
A. 1:1-4 THE AUTHORITY OF APOSTOLIC TEACHING
PAUlos, DOUlos [1401] TheOU, aPOsto-los [652] de IeSOU ChrisTOU, kaTA PIstin e-klekTON [1588] TheOU
Paul, God's bondman, and Jesus Christ's apostle, according to thefaith of God's elect
kai ePIGno-sin [1922] a-leTHEIas [225] tes kat' euSEbei-an [2150]
and knowledge of truth :according to godliness
ep' elPIdi [1680] zo-Es ai-oNIou, hen e-pegGEIla-to [1861], ho a-pseuDE, TheOS, pro CHROnon ai-oNIon;
2in hope of eternal life, which God,who lies not, promised before agetimes;
e-phaNEro-sen [5319] de' kaiROIS [2540] iDIois ton LOgon auTOU
3but in his own seasons manifested his :word
en keRUGma-ti [2782], ho e-piSTEUthen [4100] eGO kat' e-pi-taGEN [2003] tou soTEros [4990] huMON TheOU;
in a proclamation, with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of :God our Savior;
TIto, gneSIo [1103] TEKno [5043] kaTA koiNEN [3839] PIstin:
4to Titus, my genuine child after a common faith:
CHAris kai eiREne aPO TheOU paTROS kai ChrisTOU IeSOU tou soTEros [4990] heMON.
Grace and peace from God theFather and Christ Jesus our :Savior.
B. 1:5-16 PURPOSE OF QUALIFIED ELDERS
1. 1:5-9 QUALIFICATION AND FUNCTION OF ELDERS
a. 1:5-6 ELDERS
TOUtou CHArin aPEleiPON [2641] se en KREte, e-phaNEro-sen [5319] de' kaiROIS iDIois ton LOgon auTOU
For this cause I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things wanting,
kai ka-taSTEses [2525] kaTA POlin pres-buTErous [4245], hos eGO soi di-e-taXAmen [1299];
and appoint elders in every city, as I gave you charge;
EI tis esTIN eNEGkle-tos [410], miAS gu-naiKOS [1135] aNER [435],
6if any is blameless, husband of one wife,
TEKna [5043] Echon piSTA [4103] me en ka-te-goRIa [2724] a-soTIas [810] e a-nuPOtak-ta [506].
having believing children not accused of riot or unruly.
b. 1:7-9 OVERSEERS
dei gar ton ePIsko-pon [1985] eNEGkleton [410] EInai, hos TheOU oi-koNOmon [3623];
For the overseer must be blameless, as God's steward;
me auTHAde [829], me orGIlon [3711], me PAroi-non [3943], me PLEKten [4131], me ais-chro-kerDE [146];
not self-willed, not soon angry, no brawler, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre;
alLA phiLOxe-non [5382], phiLAga-thon [5358], SOphro-na [4998], DIkai-on [1342], HOsi-on, eg-kraTE [1468];
8but a lover of strangers, lover of good,sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled;
an-teCHOme-non [472] tou kaTA ten di-daCHEN [1322] piSTOU LOgou,
9 holding to the faithful word which isaccording to the teaching,
HIna du-naTOS e kai pa-ra-kaLEIN [3870] en te di-da-skaLIa [1319] te hu-gi-aiNOUse [5198],
that he be able both to exhort in the :sound teaching,
kia tous an-tiLEgon-tas [483] eLEGchein [1651].
and to convict the gainsayers.
2. 1:10-16 REPROOF OF JUDAIZERS COMMANDED
a. 1:10-11 UNRULY TALKERS
EiSIN gar polLOI a-nuPOtak-toi [506], ma-tai-oLOgoi kai phre-naPAtai [5423], MAli-sta hoi ek pe-ri-toMES,
For many are unruly, vain talkers and deceivers,specially they of the circumcision,
hous dei e-pi-stoMIzein [1993]; HOIti-nes HOlous OIkous a-naTREpou-sin [396],
11whose mouths must be stopped; the which overthrow whole houses,
diDAskon-tes [1321] ha me dei, aiSCHROU [150] KERdous [2771] CHArin [5484].
teaching thingswhich they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.
b. 1:12 CRETANS
EI-PEN tis ex auTON, Idi-os auTON proPHEtes [4396],
One of them, a prophet of their own, said,
KREtes aEI PSEUstai [5583], kaKA [2556] theRIa [2342], gaSTEres [1064] arGAI [692].
Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies.
c. 1:13a This :testimony is true. he mar-tuRIa [3141] HAUte esTIN a-leTHES.
d. 1:13b-14 APPROPRIATE ACTION
di' hen aiTIan [156] Eleg-che [1651] auTOUS a-poTOmos [664], HIna hu-giAIno-sin [5198] en te PIstei,
For which cause reprove them sharply, that they be sound in the faith,
me proSEchon-tes [4337] Iou-da-iKOIS [2451] MUthois [3454],
14 not giving heed to Jewish fables,
kai en-toLAIS [1785] anTHROpon a-po-stre-phoMEnon [654] ten aLEthei-an.
and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.
e. 1:15 THE PURE AND THE DEFILED
PANta ka-thaRA [2513] tois ka-thaROIS: tois de me-mi-amMEnois [3392] kai aPIstois [571] ouDEN ka-thaRON;
To the pure all thingsare pure:but to the defiled and unbelieving nothing ispure;
alLA meMIan-tai [3392] auTON kai ho nous [3563] kai he suNEIde-sis [4893].
but both their :mind and :conscience are defiled.
f. 1:16 PROFESSION VERSUS POSSESSION
TheON ho-mo-loGOUsin [3670] eiDEnai; tois de ERgois arNOUNtai [720],
They profess to know God; but by theirworks they deny him,
bde-lukTOI [947] ONtes, kai a-peiTHEIS [545], kai pros pan ERgon a-gaTHON aDOki-moi [96].
being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work disapproved.
NOTE: What Paul gives to Titus to form city churches throughout Crete, is very parallel to what he gave Timothy in the preceding two letters. This word to Titus is more abbreviated however, and where there are different points made, they are well worth considering.
A. 1:1-4 lays out the Qualification and function of elders or overseers (bishops). There was no distinction between these offices in those days - all were synonyms for the same person. Man's traditions are like mollusks - they gather on a ship's hull slowly but surely, and eventually the speed of the ship is so compromised, that it must be taken into dry dock, scraped and repainted, and then it returns to its original speed. The church is like a ship. Slowly man's traditions gather, contrary to the clear teaching of God's Word. Sadly the church fails to go into dry dock like a ship, and becomes more and more ineffective. Perhaps the greatest departure is leaving the “city church concept”, and forming denominations and fellowships, that make it almost impossible for local churches in the city to move into the unity originally practiced in the first century. It is so long since we have seen a truly functioning city church, that we read the NT in the light of what we see operating today, and can scarcely see what it really says. Imagine only having 7 deacons for an entire city church like Jerusalem, serving all the local churches! Imagine having a city Eldership composed of but one leading elder in each church of the home, meeting regularly with the 5-fold ministry to solve problems such as in Acts 15; and commission and send forth missionaries such as in Acts 13:1-3.
The Reformation of 1517 really didn't make that much of a change. Justification by faith instead of works for the basic doctrine? Yes - Martin Luther led in that. Church government in the NT sense? Not really. All of this might well require the return of our Lord to see such radical restoration changes back to NT standards.
It does seem that it is at the time of our Lord's return that Israel will be born again in a day, according to the last chapters of Zechariah. If this be true for Israel, it may well be necessary for the church too!
Revival, Renewal, Restoration, Reformation. We speak of these for the church, and they dohave an effect. But it is often like revival in Israel in centuries of old. Of the 20 Kings of Judah following the disruption of Solomon's Kingdom into Israel to the North with 10 tribes, and Judah and Jerusalem with Benjamin and the Levites - only 9 of these kings were good. But only two of these 9, Hezekiah and Josiah were very good- theyremoved the high places, a chief concern of God. These high places represent 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, where God desires every thoughtto be brought into captivity to His thinking! Thistoday is rarely done. Oswald Chambers agrees with this conclusion. Rees Howells demonstrates what such a reformation is like: It involves complete possessionof the individual by the Holy Spirit of Christ (chapter 5 of his biography). Chapter 32 tells how 120 corporately, some 30 years later in 1937 entered into this also, defeated Hitler and Nazism through “Intercession”, and stopped the 1000 years Third Reich to but 12 years! What results - when God's ways are truly followed!
2: 1:10-16 - The great danger of the Judaizers: Galatians and Acts 15 spell out this danger. Titus had to face up to this, and dealwith it courageously and sharply. See verse 1:16. Their state is seemingly hopeless. “Political Correctness” will never“cut the mustard”.
May God raise up Timothy's and Titus's who will hear the words of Paul and follow through. Ezra and Nehemiah were of this caliber in their day. How the Religious Modernists of today hatethese two for causing Israel to make serious and drastic adjustments to return to God's standards! - J.A.W.