Who Was Titus?

If you are a longtime reader of this blog, you know that I have been journeying through the letters of Paul, in chronological order.  This began with 1 Thessalonians in early 2015, three years ago!  I can hardly believe it has been that long!

Along the way, I started making 10-minute videos of my blog posts.  They are posted at a site called ByHisGrace.com.  My picture is on the front of each of my vlogs; so, you can easily find them there under the Empower tab.

The reason I mentioned that is - - this morning, I needed to do some logistical work associated with the ministry/blog.  The exegesis of the book of Hebrews took several months.  I managed to create videos of some of the posts, but not all.  Because of my video producer moving his ministry from one state to another, video production ceased for about six months.  He is now re-established, and so, we are getting ready to gear up again.

After I finished studying Hebrews, I went to Proverbs for a while and then to Israel, which I blogged about extensively over that two-week period.  Next, I journeyed through Ruth. Vlogs for Proverbs and Ruth will follow in the coming weeks, Lord willing, after I finish the Hebrews vlogging project.  The video blogs (vlogs) are always lagging behind the written blog posts, however.  I am trying to reach a different and wider audience with the vlogs.  (Some people just refuse to read a blog post; but, they will watch a video for the same length of time as it takes to read a post.)

Shortly after studying Ruth, Holy Week was upon me.  So, I reprised my Holy Week series of posts from 2016.  And, because I posted almost every day for that 10-day period, I have taken the past 4 days off.

Which brings me to today.  There are three more Pauline letters to explore:  Titus, 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy, the three which are commonly called The Pastoral Epistles, or "the letters to pastors".  The next one in the chronological order is Titus.

Who was Titus, anyway?  I admit to you that, as I began this study, I really did not know!

1Titus was a Gentile Christian, in charge of developing the church on the island of Crete, a church Paul established after his imprisonment in Rome ended, after 63 AD2.  Somehow, Titus came to be sort of a "ministerial assistant" or "assistant pastor" with Paul.  Here are other mentions of Titus in the New Testament:

• He traveled with Paul and Barnabas from Antioch to Jerusalem. (Gal. 2:1 and Acts 15:2) 
• He traveled with Paul on his third missionary journey (2 Corinthians 2:13 and 7:6)
• He carried Paul's letter to the Corinthian church and took up a collection there for the Jerusalem believers. (2 Corinthians 7:6 and 8:6-23)

Paul's instructions in the letter to Titus were more organizational, rather than relational, because Titus had to organize the Christian church there, a complex and daunting task.

Some people believe the letter to Titus was written before 1 Timothy; other believe it was written between 1 and 2 Timothy.  Still others believe that those three pastoral letters circulated among the young Christian congregations as a unit, in which case Titus, being more logistical and organizational, should have been read first.  That's what we will do, then!

Let's begin by looking at how Paul introduces himself in verse 1:1, as well as other "whos" and "whys".

1Paul, a servant^a of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, 2in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began^b 3and at the proper time manifested in his word^c through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;

4To Titus, my true child in a common faith:

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Titus 1:1-4

(ESV)

Paul, in other letters, introduces himself as "a servant of Jesus Christ".  Here, he calls himself "a servant of God", and it the only letter in which he does so.  Why the distinction?  Paul knows his letter will be read, not only by Titus, but also by the congregation of the Cretan Church.  At that time, the audacious, malevolent Judaizers were at work, undermining the grace so foundational to the gospel.  In his commentary, Benson notes that perhaps Paul used the title "servant of God" to emphasize to the Judaizers his allegiance to Jehovah God.  They had accused him of apostasizing from God because Paul had approved the inclusion of the "pagan Gentiles" into the churches of Jesus Christ, without requiring them to adhere to all aspects of Mosaic law.  For this same reason, in order to emphasize his authority to teach and establish, Paul then reminded readers of his divinely-appointed apostleship.

The other end of the "who" - -
Titus is called "my true child in a common faith".
This greeting bespeaks a discipleship relationship between the two men, with Paul being spiritual mentor to Titus.  It is not as personal a greeting as he gives to Timothy in those letters, as there he calls Timothy his "son in the faith" (1 Timothy 1:1).

Discipling another in the Christian faith is a tremendous gift from God, as well as a fearsome responsibility.  But, there's no time here to dive off in that direction.  Another post, another time...

The "why" now - -
The macro reasons for Paul's writing were:
1.   To strengthen the faith of those believers whom God had foreknown would choose His Son
2.   To increase their knowledge of the truth, without which there can be no godliness
3.   To assure the believers of their eternal life, through Jesus Christ and through Him alone
3Benson calls these "the sum of Christianity".  And, indeed, these verses are the "mission statement" which undergird this letter, the creed from which flows the more detailed instructions Paul gives to Titus, as the letter unfolds.

Faith and truth produce godliness, and assure eternal life, because God cannot and does not lie.  Wow!  I'm so glad Jesus is MINE! 


Sources:

1    http://www.usccb.org/bible/titus/0
2    http://www.matthewmcgee.org/paultime.html
3    http://biblehub.com/commentaries/titus/1-1.htm