Scripture Reading: Titus 1:1-9
It is helpful to know the sequence in which the four books of 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon were written. Philemon was written first, during Paul’s first Roman imprisonment. After his release from prison, Paul wrote 1 Timothy and the Epistle to Titus. Finally, during his second imprisonment, at the time of Nero’s persecution, he wrote his last epistle, the Epistle of 2 Timothy.
The subject of the book of Titus is the maintenance of the order of the church. During Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome, the churches were subject to testing. During this time of testing, certain churches proved not to be so orderly. Thus, after his release from prison, Paul visited various places, including the city of Ephesus and the island of Crete. Realizing the situation of the churches, Paul became burdened to write an epistle to Titus telling him how to maintain the proper order of a local assembly. This was the background and also the reason for the writing of this book. If the order of the church is to be maintained, the authority in the church needs to be established. Therefore, in this message we shall consider from 1:1-9 the establishing of the authority in the church. As we shall see, this has much to do with appointing elders in each city (v. 5).
Let us first consider 1:1-9 verse by verse and then consider in more detail certain crucial points.
Titus 1:1 says, “Paul, a slave of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s chosen ones, and the full knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness.” Paul was an apostle according to four things: the command of God (1 Tim. 1:1), the faith of God’s chosen ones, the promise of life (2 Tim. 1:1), and the full knowledge of the truth. Command is on God’s side, speaking for Him and requiring something of us for Him. Faith is on our side, responding to God’s requirements and receiving His grace. It is a proclamation that we are unable to fulfill God’s requirements, but that God has done everything for us and that we receive what He has done. The life promised by God is what we have received of Him for the carrying out of His demand. It was in this way that Paul was an apostle to administrate God’s New Testament economy.
In 1:1 Paul refers to God’s chosen ones. This denotes the believers in Christ, who were chosen by God the Father before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4) and selected from mankind for salvation.
Paul was an apostle not only according to the faith of God’s chosen ones, but also according to the full knowledge of the truth. Faith is to receive all God has planned for us, all God has done for us, and all God has given to us. Full knowledge of the truth is a thorough apprehension of the truth, a full acknowledgment and appreciation of the reality of all the spiritual and divine things which we have received through faith. Apostleship is according to such an apprehension and appreciation of the reality of God’s eternal economy.
In 1:1 Paul indicates that the truth is according to godliness. The truth, the reality, of God’s eternal economy is according to godliness, which is God manifested in man. Apostleship is the dispensing of this reality to God’s believing elect and the carrying out of such a godliness among them through preaching, teaching, and administration in the Word and in the Spirit (1 Tim. 6:3).
In verse 2 Paul goes on to say, “In the hope of eternal life, which God, Who cannot lie, promised before times eternal.” Paul was an apostle not only according to the faith and the knowledge of the truth, but also in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised in eternity. This corresponds to “according to the promise of life” in 2 Timothy 1:1. In the hope of eternal life means on the basis of, on the condition of, relying upon the hope of, eternal life. Eternal life, the uncreated life of God, is not only for us to partake of and enjoy today, but also for us to inherit (Matt. 19:29) in its full extent for eternity. Today’s experience of eternal life qualifies us to inherit it in the future. Its enjoyment today is a foretaste; the full taste will be the inheritance of it in the coming age and in eternity, which is the hope of eternal life. This is the blessed hope revealed in 2:13, which is comprised of the freedom of the glory of full sonship, the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:21-25), the salvation to be revealed in the last time (1 Pet. 1:5), and the living hope of the incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading inheritance reserved in heaven (1 Pet. 1:3-4). This is the full, spiritual, divine, and heavenly blessing and enjoyment of eternal life, both in the millennium and in the new heaven and new earth (2 Pet. 1:11; 3:13; Rev. 21:6-7), referred to in 1 Timothy 4:8. Paul assumed his apostleship and accomplished his apostolic ministry, not based upon the benefit of the present life, nor on the condition of the privilege of the law, but based upon the condition of this hope, indicating that for his apostleship he relied upon and trusted in the divine life with all its hope, which God promised in eternity and which was brought to us through the gospel (2 Tim. 1:10).
The Epistle to Titus is occupied with the maintenance of order in the churches. For this, the faith of God’s chosen ones, the truth according to godliness, and eternal life are indispensable. Hence, in the very opening word these three things are set forth.
Eternal life is the divine life, the uncreated life of God. It is not only everlasting, lasting forever, with respect to time, but in its nature it is also eternal and divine. The eternal life of God is given to all believers in Christ (1 Tim. 1:16) and is the main element of the divine grace given to us (Rom. 5:17, 21). This life has conquered death (Acts 2:24) and will swallow up death (2 Cor. 5:4). It was according to the promise of such a life that Paul was an apostle (2 Tim. 1:1). This life and its consequent incorruption have been brought to light and made visible to men through the preaching of the gospel.
Eternal life was “promised before times eternal.” This must be the promise of the Father to the Son in eternity. The Father chose us in the Son and predestinated us unto sonship through Him (Eph. 1:5) before the foundation of the world. It must have been in that eternal epoch that the Father promised the Son that He would give His eternal life to His believers. By receiving this life the believers, who were given to Him in eternity (John 17:2), would become His brothers (Heb. 2:11).
In verse 3 Paul continues, “But in its own times has manifested His word in the proclamation with which I was entrusted, according to the command of our Savior God.” The phrase “its own times” refers to the times (not times eternal) of the eternal life mentioned in verse 2. It denotes the proper time for the eternal life to be manifested.
The phrase “His word” in verse 3 is equal to eternal life in verse 2. This corresponds to 1 John 1:1 and 2.
In verse 4 Paul says, “To Titus, genuine child according to the common faith: grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.” Titus, like Timothy (1 Tim. 1:2), was Paul’s genuine child not by natural birth, but in faith. He was Paul’s child spiritually in the sphere and element of faith. The common faith in this verse is the general faith, which is common to all believers, the like precious faith (2 Pet. 1:1).
Titus 1:5 says, “For this cause I left you in Crete, that you might set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in each city, as I charged you.” The words “each city,” compared with “in every church” in Acts 14:23, indicate not only that the jurisdiction of a local church is that of the city in which it is located, but also that in one city there should be only one church. The eldership of a local church should cover the entire city where that church is. Such a unique eldership in a city preserves the unique oneness of the Body of Christ from damage. One city should have only one church with one eldership. This practice is illustrated, beyond any question and doubt, by the clear pattern in the New Testament (Acts 8:1; 13:1; Rom. 16:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; Rev. 1:11), and is an absolute prerequisite for the maintenance of proper order in a local church. Because of this, the first thing the apostle charged Titus to do in setting things in order was to appoint elders in each city.
In verses 6 through 9 Paul lists many of the qualifications of the elders: unreprovable, the husband of one wife, having believing children, not accused of dissipation, not unruly, being the overseer as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not an excessive drinker, not a striker, not seeking gain by base means, hospitable, a lover of good, one with a sober mind, righteous, holy, and self-controlled. We have considered many of these qualifications in detail in the message entitled “Overseers and Deacons for the Church’s Administration,” Message 5 in the Life-study of 1 Timothy.
In verse 9 Paul says, “Holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort by the healthy teaching and to convict those who contradict.” The elders are appointed to administrate God’s government in a local church that good order may be maintained in the church. To accomplish this, the elders need to hold to the faithful word, which is according to the apostles’ teaching, that they may be able to stop troublesome talkers and calm a tumultuous situation (vv. 9-14).
The “faithful word” is the trustworthy, reliable, and true word which was taught in the churches according to the apostles’ teaching. The elders in a local church should hold to this kind of healthy word that they may fulfill their duty in teaching (1 Tim. 3:2; 5:17).
The teaching referred to here is the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42), which eventually became the New Testament. This indicates that the churches were established according to the apostles’ teaching and followed their teaching. It also indicates that the order of the churches was maintained by the faithful word, which was given according to the apostles’ teaching. The disorder of the church was mainly due to deviation from the apostles’ teaching. To counter this, we must hold to the faithful word taught in the churches according to the apostles’ teaching. In a darkened and confused situation, we must cleave to the enlightening and ordering word in the New Testament — the apostles’ teaching. To maintain the order of the church, the word according to God’s revelation is needed in addition to the eldership.
We have seen that “healthy teaching” implies life. Anything that is healthy refers to the health of life. The teaching of the apostles ministers healthy teaching as the supply of life to people, either nourishing them or healing them.
By holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, elders can “convict those who contradict.” To convict here is to disclose the true character of anything so as to convict and hence reprove by exposing one’s fault. The Greek word is translated expose in Ephesians 5:11 and 13.
Let us now go back to verses 1 through 3 and consider certain important points in more detail.
In verse 1 Paul says that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ “according to the faith of God’s chosen ones, and the full knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness.” Here we see that Paul’s apostleship was according to the faith of God’s chosen ones and according to the full knowledge of the truth, and that this truth is according to godliness. Three crucial words here are faith, truth, and godliness. Paul was an apostle not directly according to godliness, but according to the faith and to the full knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness. In verse 2 we see that Paul was an apostle also “in the hope of eternal life.” The relative pronoun “which” in this verse refers to eternal life. Eternal life implies hope. With temporal life there is no true hope, but with eternal life there is hope. Because eternal life is forever and cannot be terminated, it gives us hope.
The hope of eternal life was “promised before times eternal” by God, who cannot lie. The expression “times eternal” is a special term denoting eternity. In eternity God promised eternal life with its hope. When we go on to verse 3, we see that God not only promised eternal life, but “in its own times has manifested His word in the proclamation” with which Paul was entrusted. In these verses we see that God has done two things: promised eternal life and manifested His word.
In 1 Timothy 1:1 Paul says that he became “an apostle of Christ Jesus, according to the command of God our Savior.” However, in 2 Timothy 1:1 he says that he was an apostle “according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus.” Paul was appointed an apostle by God’s command with His requirement. A command requires something of us, but life supplies something to us. Apart from eternal life, Paul would not have had the supply to fulfill God’s requirement. In order for Paul to carry out God’s command with its extremely high requirements, he needed another life. This life is actually the life of God, the One who issues the command. Furthermore, this life is the very commanding and requiring God Himself. First, God makes a requirement, and then He comes in to supply what is needed to fulfill His own requirement. He requires by command, and He supplies by being life. When Paul received God’s command to carry out His New Testament economy, perhaps he said, “Lord, who am I to carry out such a command? I am not able to fulfill this requirement.” To this the Lord may have said, “Foolish child, I’ll come into you to supply you. If you submit to My requirement, I’ll come into you to fulfill it. I will be in you the life which is able to carry out My own requirement.”
At this juncture it is worthwhile to compare 1 Corinthians 15:10 with Galatians 2:20. In the former verse Paul says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” In the latter verse Paul says, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” The grace which was with Paul and which enabled him to labor more than others was actually God Himself. God in Paul was eternal life as his supply and support for the carrying out of His New Testament economy. Therefore, the God who commanded is also the God who supplies.
In Titus 1:1 Paul again speaks of his apostleship, but he adds something to what is written in 1 Timothy 1:1 and 2 Timothy 1:1. As we have pointed out, in 1:1 and 2 Paul mentions the faith of God’s chosen ones, the truth which is according to godliness, and the hope of eternal life. Although it is wonderful to see that Paul was an apostle according to the command of God and according to the promise of eternal life, we need to ask, in a thoughtful manner, how this eternal life can come into us. It comes into us through faith, through the organic union between us and the Triune God. Therefore, in 1:1 Paul says that he became an apostle not only according to the command of God and not only according to the life of God, but also according to the faith of God’s chosen ones, the faith which brought him into an organic union with God. This was the way Paul obtained the life supply and support to fulfill God’s command.
In 1:1 Paul is careful to point out that this faith is the faith of “God’s chosen ones.” We did not choose God; He chose us. Hence, the matter of our believing in Christ depends on God’s choice, not on ours. God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. We should praise Him and worship Him for choosing us. Today we are in the Lord’s recovery because God has chosen us. He was the One who took the initiative. How can you explain the fact that you believe in the Lord Jesus when others, perhaps members of your family, refuse to believe in Him? The only explanation is that God has chosen us. I can testify that I simply must believe in Christ. If I did not believe in Him, I would not have peace. If I did not believe in Christ, I would have no purpose for living. I would not be able to eat or sleep properly. No matter how others may treat me and no matter what my circumstances may be, I have no choice but to believe in the Lord.
In Acts 13 Paul and Barnabas turned to the Gentiles after the Jews rejected the gospel. Verse 46 says, “It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing you put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles” (lit.). Verse 48 says, “And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.” The reason these Gentiles could receive the word of the Lord and believe is that they were destined, even predestinated, to believe in Christ. Likewise, we who believe in Christ today are God’s chosen ones.
In Titus 1:1 Paul does not speak of the faith of the believers, but of the faith of God’s chosen ones. By so doing he indicates that the initiative for believing in Christ comes from God, not from us. Because God has chosen us to believe in Christ, we have come to believe in Him. Paul was an apostle according to the faith of God’s chosen ones. He had this faith, and we have it also. Through faith Paul was brought into the organic union with the Triune God, and in this way he could receive the supply of eternal life.
Paul could stand against the Roman Empire not because he was strong or capable in himself, but because he had received eternal life. He was an apostle according to this eternal life, the eternal life which he received through the faith which brought him into an organic union with the Triune God.
We have pointed out that Paul also says that he became an apostle according to the full knowledge of the truth. Again and again we have seen that the truth in 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus denotes the reality of the contents of God’s New Testament economy. We should have not only the faith of God’s chosen ones, but also the full knowledge of the truth. We have the faith to bring us into the organic union, and we have the full knowledge of the truth of God’s New Testament economy. This means that we know Christ as the embodiment of God and the church as the Body of Christ.
Actually Paul’s apostleship involved four factors: God’s command, eternal life, faith, and the full knowledge of the truth. Because of these four elements, Paul was one who troubled religion. He was even called a pestilent fellow, a troublemaker. Of these four elements, two are on God’s side — the command and the eternal life — and two are on our side — faith and the full knowledge of the truth. When we first believed in the Lord Jesus, we had faith, but we did not have the full knowledge of the truth. Praise the Lord that in His recovery we have the full knowledge of the truth!
Titus 1:2 says that eternal life was “promised before times eternal.” This indicates that the promise was not given directly to the chosen ones. Rather, the promise was made by the Father to the Son in eternity. John 17:2 seems to refer to this: “Even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that He may give eternal life to all whom You have given Him.” By receiving eternal life the believers, who were given to the Son in eternity, become His brothers. Hebrews 2:11 refers to the brothers of Christ: “For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brothers.” Because the promise of eternal life was made by the Father to the Lord Jesus in eternity, the Bible says that God chose us in Christ. God did not choose us directly; He chose us in Christ. In like manner, the promise of eternal life concerning us was given to Christ. Thus, in the Son we now receive this promise.
According to verse 3, God not only promised eternal life before times eternal, but “in its own times has manifested His word in the proclamation.” The eternal life was promised by the Father to the Son; however, what God the Father has manifested is not eternal life, but His word. By reading verses 2 and 3 carefully, we see that the word manifested is the equivalent of the eternal life promised. Paul does not say that God promised eternal life and then manifested this eternal life. He says that God promised eternal life and then manifested His word. Therefore, God’s word is eternal life. If His word is not the eternal life directly, it is at least the means of conveying eternal life. In our experience we have eternal life through the word.
The expression “its own times” refers to the times related to eternal life mentioned in verse 2. God promised eternal life through the Son concerning us in eternity, but the proclamation was made in different ages and at different times. God manifested His eternal life in His word by preaching, that is, by proclamation. This proclamation was made in Asia Minor at one time and in Europe at a different time.
Paul here does not say that eternal life was manifested by the preaching of the gospel. Instead, he speaks of times, the word, and the proclamation. The eternal life promised was manifested at different times by proclamation, by the preaching of the gospel. This manifestation first took place on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. Later the proclamation went to Antioch, Asia Minor, and Europe. Centuries later this proclamation reached China. Therefore, “its own times” denotes the various times God’s word is manifested in the preaching of the gospel. Paul was entrusted with this proclamation according to the command of our Savior God.
