Titus 1:1-16
Paul Servant of God
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— 2 a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 3 and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,
4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Titus’s Task on Crete
5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 6An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7 Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8 Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 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.
10 For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. 11 They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 Even one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith 14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
Paul was a servant of God...He was an apostle of Jesus Christ...Paul had a great understanding of the Old Testament...He knew God had promised us a Savior and Messiah...God has He sent His Son Jesus Christ as our Savior, to save the world from the evil and sin we have done...St. Paul tells us that he has a faith and knowledge that rested on the hope of eternal life, because God has promised that from the beginning of time, and our God does not lie...Paul taught Titus these things...
Paul teaches Titus many of these things (if not all these things) that he knew about our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ...For Titus, wouldn't that be powerful, to say that he had been taught by the teacher, St. Paul...
Paul teaches Titus about what an elder must do in the new church, and the type of person that elder should be...The elder should be blameless, and a husband of but one wife...The elder's children should not be open to being wild and disobedient...The elder must be concerned on doing God's work, and be an overseer, not overbearing, not quick-tempered, and not give in to drunkenness...The elder must not be violent and he must be hospitable, self controlled, and disciplined...
The new church members would look to the elders and their actions, and Paul knew this...For a church to thrive, especially a new church, he wanted a solid foundation from the very beginning...Although it is hard to find blameless people in this world, and all the characteristics that Paul felt an elder should have, he wanted them most to live by God, to trust in God, and do His work...