Chapter 1

(Verses 1 through 4) "Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; in hope of eternal life, which God That cannot lie, promised before the world began; but hath in due times manifested His word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour; to Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Jesus Christ our Saviour".

As is his usual manner, Paul first identifies himself, this time with a slightly different choice of words, but with the same overall meaning. He is a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus the Christ. Instead of saying that this is "by the will of God", and leaving it at that, he tells us that it is "according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness". The Greek word, "kata", here translated, "according to", can also mean "for", in the sense of tending toward the end purposed. This certainly seems to be in keeping with the whole context, since Paul was made an apostle that he might preach the gospel to the end that God's elect, hearing it, believing it, and acknowledging the truth, might be "sealed with that holy Spirit of promise", of which he speaks in Ephesians 1:13-14. Further he is in hope, or confident expectation of "eternal life, which God Who cannot lie, promised before the world began". So even though, at the time of this writing, God, for only a very short time, has been manifesting His word through preaching, it is at His appointed time, and according to His promise made in eternity before the world began, and is therefore not a new thing at all, but the manifestation of His eternal purpose and promise; and this preaching has been committed to Paul "according to the commandment of God our Saviour". At this point he addresses "Titus, mine own son after the common faith", desiring that to him God the Father and the Lord Christ Jesus our Saviour may grant grace, mercy, and peace.

(Verses 5 through 11) "For this cause left I thee at Crete , that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: if any man be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon angry, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convince the gainsayers. For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake".

Paul, feeling that there were some things in the matter of establishing the churches in Crete which were still not fully covered, had left Titus there to see that they were taken care of. One of these is the ordaining of elders in every city. This tells us that there were churches in every city of Crete , and that in each church he was to ordain (or appoint) elders. Now also, that he may be able to recognize those, who can be ordained as bishops, or pastors, and that it also be established for future reference, when neither he nor Titus will be available for consultation, Paul gives a list of the qualifications of a bishop. The very first qualification, not only in the order of its being listed, but in importance as well, is that he must be blameless, for he is "the steward of God". And a steward is one who is entrusted with the oversight of affairs for another, in this case, for God. For one to be blameless does not mean that he must be absolutely perfect and sinless, but it does mean that his life must be above suspicion. Next, he must be "the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly". Some seem to want to read this as, "If he is married, he must be _ _ _". Then they will cite, as a fact, that Paul was not married, as a reason for this position in the first place. In answer to this argument, the first thing to consider is that Paul is not giving the qualifications for an apostle, but for a bishop, a resident overseer of the local flock. Next, it cannot be proved that Paul was not married, nor can it be proved that he was. Certainly he asks the question: Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?", and in another place testifies that he has no necessity for a wife, and declares that it would be better, as he sees it, if every one else were the same way; but considering how high he was in the "Jews' religion", as he called it, and their usual requirements for promotion in their order, it may be possible that he was married before he was called into the apostleship. He could very well be one who answers to what our Lord said, in Matthew 20:29. That he means that the bishop must be a married man is readily apparent from I Timothy 3:4-5: "One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)". Another thing that is clearly shown by this qualification is that monogamy was not a prerequisite for church membership, for if no one with more than one wife could be a member of the church, it would not have been specified that a bishop must be the husband of only one wife, for that would be unnecessary. Yet, since the bishop is not only the overseer of the flock, but also the example for it, and as the ideal established of God in the beginning is one husband and one wife, no man with more than one wife is qualified for the office. Next Paul gives what might be called the "negative qualifications" for this office, what the bishop "Must Not be". He must not be "self willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre". The word here translated, "self-willed", means "arrogant". Let us substitute more commonly used words of the same meaning for some of those given here. Thus the bishop must not be arrogant, not easily provoked to anger, not addicted to alcohol, not ready to start a fight, and not addicted to the love of money. Without further explanation, this should be clear enough. There are also some "positive qualifications". He must be a "lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate". Again, let us substitute equal words in this. He must be hospitable, one who loves goodness, of sound mind, religiously observant of the laws of God, free from wickedness, and having self control. In addition to this, he must be one who is well taught in the true word, and holds fast to it as he has been taught, that he may be able (the word translated, "able", literally means "mighty") by sound doctrine both to exhort and convince [overcome, or convict] the gainsayers. What makes this so necessary is that there are many unruly and vain [empty, worthless, or foolish] talkers and deceivers, who for the sake of worldly gain are teaching things which they should not. And by this they are "subverting whole houses", turning away from the truth both whole families and whole local churches. These must be stopped. The apostle says that this especially applies to those of the circumcision, the legalizers. Today there are far more than just those who would substitute the law for Christ, although they too are still in action.

(Verses 12 through 16) "One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate".

Paul bears witness that this prophet of the Cretians has told the truth about the Cretians. They are liars all the time, evil beasts, (literally, "evil little beasts", usually meaning "evil dogs",) and idle gluttons, not exactly a high recommendation of character. Because of this prevailing condition among these people, Paul instructs Titus to rebuke them sharply, because with their background there is no other way in which they can be brought to any soundness in the faith. They are to be told very forcibly to give no heed to the Jewish fables, the interpretations by the Jews, which put the commandments of men forth as substitutes for, or improvements upon the word of truth. When he says, "Unto the pure all things are pure", this does not include sin and wickedness which are by their own nature impure and sinful; but rather it refers to the many prohibitions of the law, and especially to Jewish traditions concerning dietary restrictions and observance of special days. As he said in another place, all of these are things created of God, and "nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving". These are all pure unto those who are pure. Yet the minds and consciences of the unbelievers are so defiled that nothing, not even the holiest of things, is pure unto them. Such as they profess to know God, and sometimes far more loudly than true believers, but their lives and deeds prove them liars; and such are abominable, being an abomination to God. Thus they are disobedient to Him in all things, and so far as any good work is concerned, they are reprobate, abandoned to sin.

(Verses 1 and 2) "But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: that the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience".

Notice should be taken that in the preceding chapter Paul has said, to Titus, "Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth". Now he says, "But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine". That is, "Don't speak according to these things that lead men away from the truth, but speak such things that even those who after you may teach, can safely use them as a measure of the soundness of their doctrine. Although we today should use this same care in our speaking, the burden is upon Titus to be especially careful of it because Paul has left him in Crete that he may "set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city". It is his responsibility to establish the churches in both doctrine and practice so that what he teaches will henceforth be the criteria by which they will judge sound doctrine. Then the apostle begins to tell him some things he must teach in order to establish this benchmark of sound doctrine. The first reference is to the aged men. They are to be taught to be sober, ["abstaining from wine",] temperate, ["having self control",] sound in the faith, in love, and in patience.

(Verses 3 through 5) "The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."

This is an admonition that should be followed to the letter by any gospel minister today as much as by Titus. Teach the aged women likewise _ _ _ that they may teach the young women _ _ _". Certainly there is no reason to object to the coming of the young women to listen to the public proclamation of the gospel; but the teaching under consideration here is that of a private nature. Titus is a young man. As such, he can spend some time counseling with and teaching an elderly woman without there being any false accusations or tales being started about it. But just as surely as he takes up much time in private sessions with a young woman, there will be those who will start accusing them of carrying on some sort of evil conduct. So Paul instructs him to teach the old women, and leave to them the teaching of the young, especially in those things he lists. First let us consider what he is to teach the aged women: "That they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things". He is to teach them three things concerning their behavior. They are to regulate their manner of living by the laws of God, for there is no other way in which they can be "as becometh holiness". They are not to be false accusers; and under this heading fall slanderers, busybodies, and tale bearers, or gossipers. They are not to be addicted to alcohol. Although the expression given is "not given to much wine" it covers all alcoholic beverages. Having thus established the behavior of the aged women, Paul says they are to be "teachers of good things; that they may teach the young women". In order to give possibly a little more clarity, we shall use slightly different English equivalents of some of the Greek words in verses 4 and 5: "That they may teach the young women to curb their passions, to be lovers of their husbands, lovers of their children, to have self control, to be pure from carnality, caring for the home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed". These are things to be taught by the older women to the younger ones, perhaps especially, handed down from mother to daughter. Other than in a general way by public teaching, this is not the responsibility of the gospel minister, but that of the older believing women. Although in I Timothy 2:12 Paul says, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor usurp authority over the man", it is clear that he is only referring to the public ministry of the word, for here he sets forth some very important teaching which is to be done by, and only by, the older women; and, Who could possibly be better qualified than they for doing such teaching? The purpose of such an arrangement for this teaching is "That the word of God be not blasphemed".

(Verses 6 through 8) "Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you".

One might think that, since Paul has instructed Titus to teach the young men only one thing, "to be sober minded", this is much less than is to be taught to others. However, as we look a little more closely at the background, as well as the word that is here translated "sober minded", we find that there is more to it than at first meets the eye in the King James Version. First let us look at the background. In Chapter 1, verses 12 and 13, we find, "One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true". As noted earlier, the word translated "beasts", literally means, "little beasts", and was commonly used to mean, "dogs". Now in an overall society of paganism, where fornication, adultery, homosexuality, and all manner of uncleanness was not only tolerated, but even encouraged by some of the pagan religions, one can only imagine what must have been the situation in Crete that caused Paul to bear witness that the description he quoted was true. Against this background, Paul commands Titus to exhort young men to "be sober minded".

While the Greek word here used can mean "sober minded", it also means, "to curb passions"; and in view of the situation, this seems more in keeping with the apostle's intention. Not only is Titus to exhort the young men, but he is "in all things" to be "a pattern of good works". His teaching, or "doctrine", is to be such that proves that he cannot be corrupted, that is, that he cannot be influenced to "change it to fit the occasion", nor to make excuses for any one, no matter how influential, or how good a friend. He is to present himself as a pattern of good works in purity of life as well as in soundness of doctrine, so that any who are opposed may be put to shame by the fact that they cannot find anything that will support a charge against him.

(Verses 9 and 10) "Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things".

Titus is to make this exhortation to servants, or slaves; but the same is applicable to anyone who is the employee of another. Because he is, in principle, the servant of the one to whom he sells his services, whatever may be his job, and for however long a period this service may legitimately last. So in our modern way of looking at things, the employee is to put forth every effort to fulfill all legitimate demands of his employer. He is not to argue about what his employer orders him to do within the scope of his lawful duties, but be faithful in all things and not steal from his employer. The purpose of this is not just to please the boss, but that which is far more important, to please God, by ordering his life according to "the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things".

(Verses 11 through 15) "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee".

Here Paul tells why he has given such instructions to Titus concerning what is to be taught, and to whom it must be taught, old men, old women, young women, young men, and even servants. The reason for this is that "the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men". There is not a person in the world, who will not fit into one or another of the classes whom the apostle says are to be taught. And this is Paul's usual usage of the phrase, "all men", not every person in the world, but every class of persons, whether as here, by age, and sex, or by race and nationality. Since "grace and truth came by Jesus Christ", Paul's statement here no doubt refers to His coming when he says, "The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men", for Christ Jesus is indeed the One, Who brings salvation, and He is the embodiment of the grace of God. Also He was seen of all men, that is, all classes of men; certainly no one would argue that every person in the world saw Him, but persons of every class did. This Grace of God That brings salvation has also taught us "that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ". Our Lord taught us every one of these things; and they are recorded in the New Testament. When Paul says, "looking for that blessed hope", it is obvious that he is using "hope" in the same manner as he sometimes does "gospel", that is, he means not "hope" in the sense of "the expectation", but the fulfillment of that hope, just as sometimes when he says, "gospel", he means the substance of that instead of the report. The fulfilling of that hope will take place in, and actually will be "the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ". This great and wonderful Saviour not only has taught us to live for Him in this present world, and to watch for His glorious return. But when He was here, He gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself [a special people], zealous of good works. The phrase in brackets is the literal translation of the Greek word which, in the King James Version, is translated, "peculiar people". It has absolutely no reference to "strange" or "unusual," as some seem to think, but as they are special to God, they are "a people for His own possession," and they are a people zealous of good works. Otherwise the purpose of God, as expressed by the apostle, would be a miserable failure; and to even consider such is utterly ridiculous. Now Paul tells Titus that he is to speak and exhort these things; and he reminds him again to rebuke with all authority. Finally he instructs him to give no one occasion or reason to despise him.

(Verses 1 through 3) "Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another".

Careful attention should be given to the instructions in verses 1 and 2. Every word is plain enough to be understood by all. The duty of the gospel minister is to remind his flock to render ready obedience to the laws of the land, and respect to those who administer them. Minister and flock alike are to be ready to help with any good work. We are to speak no evil of any person. In fact Paul teaches elsewhere that we are not even to receive tales and rumors about any. If there is proof of wrongdoing it is to be dealt with according to the word of God, but not to be kept in circulation as a conversation piece. We are not to be "brawlers", starters of fights, riots, or uprisings. We are not even to engage in what is today called, "non violent civil disobedience", because we are to be "gentle. shewing all meekness unto all men". The apostle tells us that the reason we need to be constantly reminded of this is that "we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another". There are two words in this quotation that do not carry quite the strength of language found in the Greek. To give this, beginning with "living", the sentence should read, "living in malice and slaughter, detestable and hating one another". With this clarification this is a clear description of our hearts before the love of God was shed upon us.

(Verses 4 through 7) "But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which He shed upon us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life".

Verses 3 through 7 of this chapter should be compared to Ephesians 2:1-10. As the apostle has told us in verse 3 what we were before God showered His grace and mercy upon us, he now informs us how God did this wonderful work, and to what intent it was done. The kindness and love of God toward man has appeared. That is, it has been revealed, or unveiled, or manifested, by the sending of His Son, our Lord Christ Jesus, into this world to die on Calvary 's cross for our sins. (Romans 5:8) "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us". (Ephesians 2:4-5) "But God Who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ". The greatest demonstration ever made of God's love for us is in His sending His beloved, and only begotten Son to die for us. But the glory and power of that love is shown in that when He quickened His Son, our Saviour Jesus the Christ, from the dead, He also quickened us together with Him. Then this quickening is applied to our hearts and lives, not by works of righteousness which we have done, for the apostle has already proved that such were non-existent, (see verse 3) but according to His own mercy. This is the part of God's work to which Paul refers when he says, "He saved us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost". The washing of regeneration and the renewing, that is, the cleansing and the making new, are of the Holy Ghost. That is His work; and He, in turn is shed upon us, or given to us, "abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour". The intent, or purpose of God, in the whole operation is "that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life".

(Verses 8 through 11) "This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself".

Paul solemnly affirms that what he has said to Titus is the truth, "a faithful saying", and he says, "and these things I will that thou affirm constantly". As he thus writes, Paul is supported by apostolic authority given him of Christ Jesus our Lord, and his saying, "I will", is also the equivalent of saying, "This is the will of our Lord". These things then are to be continually presented to the church in order that "they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works". The minister who neglects to remind the church of these things will soon see his congregation grow careless, cold, and lifeless in their worship service, as well as in their lives. In these modern times it has become popular with some preachers to comfort the sinner more than the saint. Instead of teaching that the Holy Spirit in the heart of a man will make a better person of him, they teach that a person can be born of the Spirit of God and continue on all his life in sin, never bringing forth any fruit at all. This completely denies the power of the Spirit of God, and denies the teaching of the word of God. In addition to this it promotes laziness and slothfulness in what should be a service to God, full of life and joy. They seem to be like criminal defense lawyers, looking for, and trying to make loopholes in the word of God whereby they can prove the criminal justified in his crime. The apostle says that these things he has said "are good and profitable unto men", clearly signifying that anything to the contrary is not. He then instructs Titus, and us, to "avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain". Sometimes one who feels that his understanding of the scriptures is weak, may want to ask a question but is afraid that it might be considered foolish. This is not what Paul means by "foolish questions". Although questions can be asked for which there is no answer given in scripture, (in which case, all we can do after searching as best we can, is to acknowledge that this is something God has reserved to Himself,) any question which is asked from a sincere desire to know more of the word of God, is never foolish. A foolish question is one that is asked for a foolish reason, such as a "catch question", or to stir up an argument. The only genealogy that is of any value to the Christian is that of our Lord Jesus Christ. HE IS THE SON OF GOD, AND THEREFORE HE IS GOD. All others are foolish and vain, and are to be avoided. Contentions and strivings about the law are equally "unprofitable and vain". Paul's conclusion of this matter is summed up thus: "A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself". The word here translated, "heretic", literally means "one who is schismatic", that is, one who causes breaks in the fellowship, peace, or doctrine of the church. Such a person is to be admonished, or warned, as much as twice; but if after the first and second warnings he continues in his evil ways, he is to be rejected, actually we are to have no fellowship with him because he being corrupted, and having brought condemnation upon himself, is in the bondage of sin, and continues therein.

In verses 12 and 13 Paul gives Titus some personal instructions, telling him to meet him in Nicopolis when he shall send either Artemas or Tychicus to him, probably to substitute for him while he comes to Nicopolis. He is to make sure also that Zenas and Apollos are well supplied for their journey.

(Verse 14) "And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful".

This points out for us that a lazy Christian cannot be a fruitful Christian. To be fruitful in the things of the Lord we must "maintain good works for necessary uses". This applies to good works for the community, as well as for the church.

Paul closes this letter with, All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen".