63 Titus

3 69

4

TITUS TH E LETT ER F ROM PAU L TO T ITUS 10

Address Rm 1:1 + Fr o m Pa ul, servant of G od, an ap ost le of Jesus Christ to br ing those who m I Tm 2:4 j God has chose n to faith a nd to the knowledge of the truth tha t leads to true Nb 23:19 religio n ; -a nd to give thcm the hope of the eternal life that v.as promised so lo ng H ob 6: 1S t 2 T m 2:13 ago by Go d. He does not lie -a nd so, at the ap po inted time, he revealed his ,..f c·I :7 + Rm 3:26 decisio n, a nd, by the co mmand of G od o ur savio ur, I have been co mmissioned to J r-. t.r-« , II z Co ]: 13+ proclaim it. -To Titus, tr ue chi ld of mine in the faith tha t we sha re, wishing you grace and peace from God the Father a nd from Christ Jesus o ur saviour.

1

1 T m 3: 1-7 A c I ! :30 -tl t m 12 :H

Ep 4:12 +

I T h 5: 12

I T m 5: 170\H oh 13:7+ J m 5: 14 + I T m 3: 15 H cb 1:2f

2 T m 2:24 I P 5:2

II

I T m 1:10 +

I T m 4: 1

2 Tm 3:13

2 T m 3:6 I Tm6: 10

I T m 1:4 + . 10

M ' 15: 1I . 18-20p :23: 25-26n

R m 14: 14-20

I T m 6:20 + I T m5 :1-2 ; 6:11

II 2

4

Some specific moral instruction It is for you, then , to preach the behav iour which goes with healthy do ctr ine. The older men sho uld be reserved . dignified, moderate, sound in faith and

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The appointme nt of elders T he reaso n I left you behi nd in Crete was for you to get everythi ng orga nised the re" and a ppoint elder s" in every tow n. in the way that I told yo u: - that is, eac h 6 of them must be a man of irrep roacha ble charac ter: he must not have been married mo re than on ce. a nd his ch ildren mu st be believers and not unco ntrollable or liable to be charg ed with d isorderl y co ndu ct. -Since, as president, he will be G od' s 7 representat ive, he must be irreproach a ble: never an arroga nt or ho t-tempe red man , nor a heavy d rinker or violen t. nor ou t to make mone y ; •but a man who s is hospitable and a frie nd of all that is good ; sensible. mural , devo ut and self-co ntrolled; -and he must have a firm gras p o f the unch anging message of the 9 tra dition , so that he ca n be co unted o n for both expo und ing the so und doc trine and refuting those who a rgue agai nst it. Op posing the false teachers An d in fact you have there a great man y peo ple who need to be disciplin ed, who talk nonsense a nd try to ma ke ot hers believe it, pa rticu lar ly am o ng tho se of the Circumcisio n.• T hcy have got to be silenced : men of this kind ruin whole familie s, by teaching thin gs th at t hey o ught no t to, a nd doin g it with the vile mot ive of making mone y. - It was o ne of themselves, o ne o f their own prophets, who said ,c 'Creta ns were never a nything but liars , dan gero us anima ls a nd lazy': -a nd that is a true stat ement. So you will have to be severe in co rrecting them, and mak e th em sou nd in the faith -so th at they stop takin g notice of Jewish myth s a nd doi ng what they are told to do by peo ple who are no lon ger intere sted in the truth. To all who are pure them selves, ever ything is pure ; but to those who have been co rrupted and lack fait h, no thing ca n be pure- the cor ruptio n is both ill their minds and in their consciences, -T hey cla im to have knowledge of Go d but the thi ngs they do are nothing but a denial of him ; they a re o utrageo usly rebellious an d quit e incapa ble of doin g good.

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II

12 I)

14

15

16

1

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T IT U S

3:3

love and co nstancy. -Similarly, the older women should behave as though they were religious, with no scandalmo ngering a nd no habitual wine-dri nking-they are to be the teachers of the right beha viour -and show the you nger women how they should love their husbands and love their chil dren, -how they are to be sensible and chaste, and how to work in their homes, and be gentle, and do as their husbands tell them, so that the message of G od is never disgraced. -In the sa me way, you have got to persuade the younger men to be moderate -and in everything you do- make yourself an example to them of working for good: when you are teaching, be an example to them in your sincerity and earnestness -and in keep ing all that you say so whole some that no body can make objec tions to it ; and then any o pponent will be at a loss, with no acc usation to mak e against us. Tell the slaves that they are to be obedient to their mas ters and always do what they wan t witho ut an y a rgument; -and th ere must be no pett y thieving-they mu st show com plete honesty at all times, so th at they are in every way a cred it to th e teach ing of G od our saviour. The basis of the Christian moral life Yo u see, G od's grace has been revealed, and it has mad e salvation possible for the whol e hum an race -a nd taught us that what we have to do is to give up everything that does not lead to Go d, and all ou r worldly ambitions ; we must be self-restrained and live good and religiou s lives here in this present world , -while we are waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with th e Appearing of the glory of our great G od and saviour Chr ist Jesus. b • He sacr ificed himsel f for us in order to set us fr ee from all wickedness and to purify a people so that it could be his very own and would have no ambition except to do goo d. Now th is is what you are to say, whether you are giving instruction o r co rrecting erro rs; yo u ca n do so with full a uthor ity, and no o ne is to question it.

I Co 13:13 +

Ep 5:22 Co l };18 1 Tm2:12

I T m 6: 1 2 Th3 ;7+ I Tm 4:12 I P 5:3+ I Tm 1:10 +

I Tm 5:14 + Ep 6:5-8 Co l 3:22 + I T m6 :1+ Phm 18·19

ITml : l +

3;4 2 T m 1: 10 + I In 2:16

I Tm

i .n }

I Tm2:6 + Ps 130:8

Rm 3:24 +

Ex / 9:5

D ' 7:6 + En 5:25-27 I Tm 4:12

General instructi on for believers

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Re mind them that it is their duty to be obedient to the officials and represe ntatives of the govern ment; to be ready to do good at every opportunity; -not to go slande ring other peop le or picking quarrels, but to be cou rteous and always polit e to all kind s of peo ple. •Remember, there was a time when we to o were

3

1 a. As usual . Paul had begun the wo rk of ev angelisati on a nd th e n left it [0 be co m p leted by ot hers. cf. I Co 3:6. 10 : Co l 1:7 +: Rm 15:23 t. b . In the ea rlies t da ys ea ch C h ristia n co mmu nity was gove r ned by a body o f elder s Cpre sb vt ers ' , whence E nglish wor d ' priests' ) or p ro m inen t peop le, T h is was the case both in Jer usa lem ( Ac 11:30; 15:2f ; 21: 18) and in the Disp er sion (A c 14:23 : 20: 17: T t 1:5) and it me re ly co ntinued both t he ancient pr a ct ice of th e O.T ., Ex 18: 13f ; Nb II: 16: Jo s 8: 10 ; I S 16:4 : Is 9: 14 ; Ez k 8: 1, II etc.. and the mor e recen t pr actice o f th e Jews, Ezr 5:5; 10:14 ; Jdt 6: 16: Lk 7:3 : 22:66 ; Ac 4:5 etc., cr. Josephus, P h ilo etc . The se 'emscooot' (s upe rv isor s, ove rseers . wat che rs, gua rd ia ns) wh o a re not yet 'b isho ps' and who a re ment ion ed in co nnectio n with th e 'a taconoi : (servants, a ttenda nt s. assista nts . d eput ies, ministe rs: 'deacon s' : Ph 1: 1: 1 T m 3: 1- 13; th e A pos to lic Fa the rs) seem in some passages, Tt 1:5.7 ; A c20: 17.28. to be identi cal with the eld ers. T he Gree k wo rd epi scopos, ta ke n ov er fr om th e pa ean wo rld p robab ly as an equivalent for a semitic tit le (cf. th e M ebaaqer of the Essenes, a nd cr . Nb4: 16: 31:14 ; J.9 :28 : 2 K 11:15.18 : 12: 11. etc.) indi cat ed the d u ty of a n o fficer, w hile ores bvt eras indicated th e sta t us o r djgnity of th e sa me officer. The etnscopot in the college o f pr esbyters ma y h ave ta ke n turn s to ca r r y o u t thei r officia l d uti es. cf. I Tm 5: 17. It is Quite certa in that C h ristia n nresbvterot OJ eptscop oi were no t mere ly co ncerne d with the pra ctical side of or ga n isin g things: they h ad to teach. 1 Tm 3:2 : 5:17 ; T t 1:9. and go vern. I Tm 3:5; T t 1:7. T hey were appointed by the apostles , Ac 14:23, or their representatives, T t 1:5. by t he im posit io n of hands, 1 T m 5:22. cf', 1 T m 4:14 + : 2 T m 1:6; their p owers

R m 13:1-7 I T m 2:2 + I P 2:13· 14

Ph 4:5 I Th 3:12 R m 1:29+ 3:2 1-26 1 Co 6:11 En 2:3-10 deri ved fro m G od . Ac 20:28. and we re cha r ism ati c. Co l 3:7 I Co r 1 2: 2 ~ . T he word eotscooos ev e n tual ly rep laced I P4;3 analogous t itles like 'orotsramenos: (offi cial) Rm 12:8 : I T h 5:12. oo i men (pastor, she pherd ) En 4: 11, ' hegoum ellos' (gu ide, lead er) Heb 13:7, 17.24. These heads o f the local co mm unity w ho de veloped in to o ur pr iest s t prcsb sterot l and b ishops ((' pisc opo!) ....'ere hel ped by dtacon oi (d ea co ns ). Th e rr ansform at ton o f a loca l assem bly r uled by a b Jd Y o f bishops o r p res by ters, int o a n asse m bly r uled by a s ing le bish op set o ver a number of pr iests ( 3 sta ge reach ed by the time o f Igna ti us of A ntioch, died c. 107 A.D J mu s t ha ve in vo lved the intermediat e s tage when a sing le eotscopos in ea ch co m mun ity was given the same pow er s o ver th at local commun ity which had previously been exercised o ver sever al co m m un it ies by the apostl es o r th ei r re p resen ta tives li ke Tim othy o r T itu s. c, Q uo ta tio n attribute d to th e C reta n p oet Enimcn rdes of K nossos (6t h c. B.C ,); first ha lf Quot ed by Ca llimac hus of A lexa nd ria (ear ly Jrd c. B.C.)

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to be mod erate in every th in g th ey do: make ' T he vir tue of bein g 'sensiblet.o r 'm od er ate ', cf. I :H. was ex tremely Greek: her e it su ms up a ll t he po ssib le vir tues of you ng peop le. b u t Pau l urg es moder ati on freq uently all through th e P ast oral Lett er s. cr. 1 T m 2:9. 15: 3:2 : 2 Tm 1:7 : Tt 2:2 .5.12 . b. T his verse is reeurarrv acc ep ted by the Fa thers a s a s ta te me nt of th e di vini ty of C hr ist. cf. Rm 9:5 + , but p oss ibl y translate ' . .. Go d. and of our savi our C hris t Jesus' , Fo r Christ as ' the br igh tness of the glo r y of th e Fa ther' , cf Reb 1:3 +.

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2:11 L'Trn It l -l2 T m 1: 10 + Rm6:1 2Tm 1:9 In 3:5 R m5 :5: 6:4 + 2 Co 13:13 + Ep 5:26 ITm l: l + Rm 3:24: 8:17. 24

I T m l : 15+

I Tm 1:4 +

M1I8: 15-17p

Ac 20:4+ 2 T m 4: 12 Ac 18:24 +

TI T U S

370

ignora nt, disobedient and misled and enslaved by differen t passions an d luxuries ; we lived then in wickedness and ill-will, hatin g each other and hatef ul ourselves. But when the kindness and love of God our saviou r for mankind were revealed, it was not because he was concerned with any righteo us actions we might have do ne ourselves; it was for no reaso n except his own compassion that he saved us, by means of the cleansing water of rebirt h and by renewing us with the Holy Spirit wh ich he has so generously poured over us through Jesus Christ our saviour. He did this so that we should be ju stified by his grace, to become heirs looking forward to inheriting eternal life. a -This is doctrin e that you can rely on . Personal advice to Titus I want you to be quite uncompromising in teaching all this, so that those who now believe in God may keep their minds constantly occupied in do ing good works . All this is good, a nd will do nothi ng but good to everybody .• But avo id pointless speculat ions, and those genealogies, and the quib bles and disputes abo ut the Law-these are useless and can do no good to anyone. -If a man disp utes what you teach, then afte r a first and a seco nd warnin g, have no more to do with him: b -you will know that any man of that sort has already lapsed and condem ned himself as a sinner. Practical recommendations, farewells and good wishes As soo n as I have sent Artemas or Tychicus to you, lose no time in jo ining me at Nicopolis, where I have decided to spend the winter. -Sce to all the travelling arrangements for Zenas the lawyer and Apollos, an d ma ke sure they have everything they need. -Al l our people arc to learn to occupy themselves in doing good works for their practical needs as well,' and not to be ent irely unprod uctive. All those who arc with me send their greetings. Gree tings to those who love us in the faith . Grace" be with you all.

4 5

PHILEMON THE LETTER FROM PAUL TO PHILEMON 10

11

12 13

14 6 15

Address

Rml:l+

From Paul, a prisoner of Chr ist Jesus and from our brother Timothy; to our dear fellow worker Philemon, -our sister- Apphia, our fellow soldier Archipp us and the church that meets in your ho use; -wishing you the grace and the peace of Go d our Fa ther and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ac I6 :1+

Thanksgiving and prayer

IIE p 1:15-16 IICol l :3f

1 always mention you in my prayers and tha nk God for you, -because 1 hear of the love and the faith which you have for the Lor d Jesus and for all the saints. I pray that this faith will give rise to a sense of fellowship tha t will show you all the good things that we are able to do for Christ. b .1 am so delighted, and comforted, to know of your love; they tell me, brother, how you have put new heart into the saints.

Col 4:17 2 T m 2:3 Rm 16:5 +

I Co 13:13+

Ac 9:IJ +

P h 1:9-11 Co l 1:9- 11 2 In 4-6

The request about Onesimus

10 II 12 13

14

15 16

17 18 19

Now, although in Christ 1 can have no diffidence about telling you to do whatever is your duty, ·1 am appeali ng to your love instead, reminding you that th is is Paul writing, an old man now and, what is more, still a prisoner of Christ Jesus. ·1 am appealing to you for a child of mine, whose father 1 became - while wearing these chai ns: 1 mean Onesimus.• He was of no use to you before, but he will be useful" to you now, as he has been to me. ·1 am sending him back to you, and with him- I could say-a part of my own self.' .1 should have liked to keep him with me ; he could have been a substitu te for you, to help me while 1 am in the chains that the Go od News has brou ght me. -However, 1 did not want to do anyt hing without your consent; it would have been forcing your act of kindness, which should be spontaneous. ·1 know you have been deprived of Onesimus for a time,! but it was only so that you could have him back for ever , -not as a slave any more, but someth ing much better than a slave, a dear brothe r ; especially dear to me, but how much more to you, as a blood- brot her as well as a brother in the Lord.. -So if all that we have in common means anything to you, welcome him as you would me; -b ut if he has wron ged you in any way or owes you anything,' then let me pay for it. ·1 am writing this in my own handwriting:

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E p 3:1 ; 4: 1 Co l 4:18 I Co 4: 16 Ga4:19 Co l 4:9 I T h 2:11

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3 a. T he effects of ba p tism a re: re bi rt h. free Io rni ve- believe: gr o u ps of people who ag ree o n the sa me choice ness by C hrist . recept ion o f h is Ho ly Sp iri t, are ' sects' (o ffs hoots of pa ren t bodi es) . c. Li t. ' fo r urgen t needs ' or 'f o r t he necessit ies o f d. R m 5:5 -1- . a nd the im me d iat e en joy me n t of a ll r igh ts as hei r to ete r na l life (t he p rese nce o f the Ho ly Sp ir it life' . T his is p er ha ps a po s tscr ipt to 3:8: t hey mu st learn to do good wo rks not o nly for the Rood of their be ing a ple dge of t his . cf. 2 Co 1:22 ). b . Li t. 'Avoid any hereti cal m an af ter o ne o r two so u ls but a lso fo r a livin g: they a re no t to be par as ites wa rnings"; Pau l uses a con tem po ra r y ph iloso p h ica l o n soc iety. d , Ad d . 'of th e Lo rd" o r ( Vu lg.) 'o f (jod '. Vu lg. term ; e tvm ologtca lly a ' he re tic' is so meo ne who ins tead of be ing o pe n to a ll tr uth c hooses wha t truths he will adds 'Am en ' a t th e e nd ,

a , Va r. 'ou r beloved Apphia', or 'o ur be loved sister A pp hi a' , b, Lit. ' that the fello wsh ip of your faith ma y bec ome effectual in a fu ll knowledge of every goo d thing in us for Chris t' ; t.e . fa ith un ite s a person not on ly to C hri st b u t to all wh o a re his brothers th ro ug h their u nion wit h C hri s t. F aith a nd lo ve go to geth er, v. 5, a nd P au l expects th at faith will p r od uce p ra cti cal result s, 'effec tua l': var . (Vul g.) ' m an ifes t' , 'w e are ab le' ; var. (Vu IK,) 'YOUare able' , c. H e be came his 'fat her ' b y converting him .

cf . I Co 4:15; Ga 4:19. d. A p un : ' O nest mu s' me an s 'u se fu l'. er, P h 4:3. e . 'And with him . . .'; var. (Vul g.) 'a nd I ask yOU to wel co me h im as th o ugh he were my self' , cr. v, 17. t, 'De p ri ved ' of h im by God who allowed the sla ve to escape o n ly so th a t everyone mi gh t su bse q ue ntly ben efit . s . Li t. 'as a brother bo th in the flesh a nd in the Lo rd ' . h. It seems that O nes imus had no t only run away b u t ha d s to len so methi ng fro m Philemon as well.

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