Titus: Part 2
Titus 1:1-3: A Divine Calling
1.
Verse 1 clearly
tells us our author—Paul
a.
Paul addresses
himself as a servant of God
i.
This is how Paul
defines himself
ii.
This is his
all-consuming passion
iii.
All Christians
are servants of God
iv.
Paul is referring
specifically to his calling as a minister of the Gospel
b.
Paul calls
himself an Apostle of Jesus Christ
i.
Apostle
1.
Generically,
messenger
2.
Specifically, one
of the 12 chosen to proclaim and establish the Gospel
3.
The Cretans did
not know Paul, so he was flashing his badge
4.
This was intended
to be read by them all
ii.
Of Jesus Christ
1.
Jesus, the
Messiah
2.
Jesus was the one
who sent him with the message
3.
Jesus was the
message being delivered
c.
Why?
i.
For sake of the
faith of the elect
1.
Elect
a.
Transliteration
of elektos,which means chosen ones or called out ones
b.
Specifically
refers to those whom the Father chose to save in eternity past and whom He gave
to Christ after Christ offered up His life as a ransom
c.
Romans 8:28-30:
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for
those who are called according to his purpose.
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to image
of his Son, in order that he mighty be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called,
and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also
glorified.”
d.
John 6:38-39:
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him
who sent me. And this is the will of him
who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise
it up on the last day.”
2.
God could have
saved His people any way that He saw fit, but He chose to use faith as the
instrument whereby men are savingly united to Christ
3.
Romans 10:17: “So
faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
ii.
Faith, however,
requires knowledge of the truth
1.
Men must know the
truth in order to be saved
2.
What is truth?
a.
Christ
b.
Who God is and
His plan of salvation
c.
John Calvin: “In
a word, that truth is the right and sincere knowledge of God, which frees us
from all error and falsehood. So much
the more ought it to be valued by us, since nothing is more wretched than to
wander like cattle during our whole life.”
d.
Matthew
Henry—truth is synonymous with the Gospel
iii.
This faith and this
knowledge lead to Godliness
1.
God is not
looking for mere head knowledge or verbal assent
2.
The Gospel of
Christ is life-changing
a.
It brings us into
fellowship with God
b.
It makes us more
like God
iv.
So, Paul was
called as a servant and Apostle in order to take this Gospel to the world so
that God’s chosen ones would be gathered
1.
Albert Barnes:
“God had chosen them to salvation, but he intended that it should be in
connection with their believing, and, in order to that, he had appointed Paul
to be an apostle that he might go and make known to them the gospel.”
2.
Matthew Henry:
“To bring this knowledge and faith, and to the acknowledging and professing of
the truth which is after godliness, is the great end of the gospel ministry,
even of the highest degree and order in it: their teachings should have this
chief aim, to beget faith and confirm it.”
3.
This was the goal
of Paul’s entire life
2.
Verse 2 tells us
the ultimate goal of the Gospel and gives us the basis for our assurance that
it will be accomplished
a.
In hope of eternal
life
i.
Hope
1.
Hope in the Bible
is not like tentative hope in modern English
2.
Elpis=confident
expectation
ii.
Eternal life
1.
John 17:3: “And
this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom you have sent.”
2.
Eternal life is union
and communion with God, which begins in the present and is perfected in Heaven
3.
1 Thessalonians
4:16-18: “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command,
with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so
we will always be with the Lord.
Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
b.
The basis for our
hope is the promise of God
i.
Throughout the
Bible God is extolled for His faithfulness to His promises
1.
God does not lie
when He makes promises
2.
God cannot lie
3.
Hebrews 6:17-19a:
“So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the
unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that
by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who
have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope
set before us. We have this as a sure
and steadfast anchor of the soul…”
ii.
Before the ages
began
1.
Commentators have
argued since Augustine (at least) over how to interpret this Greek phrase
2.
It is literally
“before time,” but “time” has the concept of progression or continuity—ages or
eternity
3.
Two views
a.
Before the
beginning of the world
i.
Before times
eternal
ii.
God the Father
made this promise to the other members of the Trinity in the eternal covenant
of Grace
b.
Before the
beginning of the ages
i.
In the very
beginning
ii.
Before the Mosaic
economy began
4.
Either way, the
thrust of the passage is that God, who cannot lie, promised this a long, long
time ago—we can rest in that
3.
Verse 3 shows us
how that ancient promise was brought to fruition
a.
At the proper
time manifested in his word
i.
Why didn’t God
just send Jesus right after the Fall?
ii.
He didn’t want
to—it wasn’t the right time
iii.
Romans 5:6: “For
while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”
iv.
Adam Clarke: “God
caused the Gospel to be published in that time in which it could be published
with the greatest effect. It is
impossible that God should prematurely hasten, or causelessly delay, the
accomplishment of any of His works.
Jesus was manifested precisely at the time in which that manifestation
could best promote the glory of God and the salvation of man.”
b.
How did God
reveal and proclaim His Gospel?
i.
Preaching
1.
Kerygma=proclamation
2.
Had to do with
the spreading of the royal message by royal pages
ii.
Paul did not take
this privilege upon himself
1.
It was entrusted
to him
a.
Pisteuo=to
believe or to put one’s trust in
b.
The Gospel is a
treasure and Paul was entrusted with that message
2.
By the command of
God our Savior
a.
Three views
i.
Some people see
this as a reference to God the Father—the plan of salvation was His idea
ii.
Some people see
this as a reference to the Trinity as a whole
iii.
Some people see
this as a proof of the divinity of Christ
1.
Paul was
specifically called by Christ (Acts 9)
2.
God is nowhere
else referred to as the Savior
b.
All of these are
true
c.
No matter how we
take this, we see that Paul did not simply begin preaching, but was called,
even though he was persecuting the Church, to spread the message of salvation
by the very One who is our Savior
4.
Application
a.
We as Christians should
all define ourselves as servants of God
i.
Romans 6:19b:
“For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to
lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves
to righteousness leading to sanctification.”
ii.
Some Christians
are called to specific offices
iii.
All Christians
have gifts and a calling
b.
Pastors/elders,
deacons, and missionaries are servants, just like everyone else—Matthew Henry:
“The highest officers in the church are but servants.”
c.
Men are not free
to call themselves to the ministry of preaching the Gospel
i.
Romans 10:15a:
“And how are they to preach unless they are sent?”
ii.
God calls and
empowers His servants inwardly
iii.
Men acknowledge
that call publicly through and outward call and/or ordination
d.
Our hope of
eternal life is based upon the character of our promise-keeping God—salvation
is as sure as God Himself
i.
Deuteronomy 7:9:
“Know therefore that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God who keeps
covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,
to a thousand generations.”
ii.
Great is thy
faithfulness x2, Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed thy
hand hath provided; Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me
iii.
Our God has
promised to provide all our spiritual and physical needs
iv.
He cannot lie
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