Titus 1 · ESV Study Bible

Greeting

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

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

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

5[†] o This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and p appoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6[†] q if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, [3] and his children are believers [4] and not open to the charge of r debauchery or insubordination. 7For an overseer, [5] s as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not t be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent u or greedy for gain, 8but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, v and disciplined. 9[†]He must w hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in x sound [6] doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

10[†]For there are many who are insubordinate, y empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of z the circumcision party. [7] 11[†]They must be silenced, since a they are upsetting whole families by teaching b for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12[†] c One of the Cretans, [8] a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” [9] 13This testimony is true. Therefore d rebuke them e sharply, that they f may be sound in the faith, 14[†] g not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and h the commands of people i who turn away from the truth. 15[†] j To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and k unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both l their minds and their consciences are defiled. 16[†] m They profess to know God, but they n deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, o unfit for any good work.

TITUS—NOTE ON 1:11 They must be silenced. One responsibility of church leaders is to prevent false teaching from having a platform in the church. upsetting whole families. The faith of some has already been overturned by these false teachers. shameful gain. These teachers are motivated by greed (cf. 1 Tim. 6:5, 9–10).

TITUS—NOTE ON 1:14 Jewish myths. On “myths,” see note on 1 Tim. 1:4. The specific content of these myths is unknown, but the false teaching in Titus is more explicitly tied to a Jewish background (see Titus 1:10) than was the false teaching in 1 and 2 Timothy.

TITUS—NOTE ON 1:1 servant of God. Paul often uses “servant” (or “slave,” Gk. doulos; see esv Preface) as a designation for himself (Rom. 1:1; Gal. 1:10; Phil. 1:1) and other Christians (1 Cor. 7:22; Eph. 6:6; Col. 4:12; see also 2 Pet. 1:1, Jude 1; Rev. 2:20). Typically, though, Paul refers to himself as “servant of Christ,” and this is the only place he uses “servant of God.” While the meaning is not greatly different, this wording would suggest a direct connection to Moses, David, and others in the OT who were described as servants of God (e.g., Moses, Ps. 105:26; David, 2 Sam. 7:4, 8; and the prophets, Jer. 7:25; 25:4; Amos 3:7; Hag. 2:23). The effect is to place Paul in the long line of those who have been God’s spokesmen from the beginning. Furthermore, a servant in the first century did not act on his own authority but on the authority of his master. This concept of received authority is furthered by the phrase apostle of Jesus Christ (see note on Rom. 1:1). At the outset of the letter the divine source of Paul’s authority is made very clear. For the sake of points to the purpose or goal of Paul’s apostleship. He labors to see people saved, coming to faith and the knowledge of the truth (see 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Tim. 2:25; 3:7), i.e., the entire gospel proclamation (see note on 2 Tim. 4:2), including in a broad sense all of Paul’s apostolic teaching. accords with godliness. The true gospel always produces “godliness” in its adherents, “godliness” being the hallmark of the true gospel. This sets up the primary problem with the false teachers that Paul will discuss in the letter.

TITUS—NOTE ON 1:9 able to give instruction. It was common in the ancient world to emphasize one item in a list by placing it at the beginning or end and giving it more attention than the other items. The ability to teach is the distinguishing mark of a pastor or elder. This includes both teaching what is right and refuting error. The reason for this emphasis is clear from what follows (vv. 10–16). sound doctrine. See note on 1 Tim. 1:10.

TITUS—NOTE ON 1:1–4 Opening. Among the Pauline letters, only Romans and Galatians have longer openings. The theological emphases in this section are picked up again in the two other doctrinal sections of the letter (2:11–14; 3:3–7).

TITUS—NOTE ON 1:16 The works of the false teachers prove that they are unbelievers, despite their claim to know God. Paul is not the least bit hesitant to make such a judgment.

TITUS—NOTE ON 1:12–13 Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. Crete was proverbial in the ancient world for its moral decadence. The ancient historian Polybius wrote that it was “almost impossible to find … personal conduct more treacherous or public policy more unjust than in Crete” (Histories 6.47). Cicero also stated, “Moral principles are so divergent that the Cretans … consider highway robbery honorable” (Republic 3.9.15). a prophet of their own. Wisely, Paul does not criticize the decadence of Cretan society directly but quotes a Cretan author instead and then quickly agrees with him (this testimony is true). Of course Paul means this as a generalization, not necessarily true of every single inhabitant of Crete. The quotation seems to be from Epimenides of Crete, though some have questioned this since his writings are known only through other authors’ quotations of him (see note on Acts 17:28).

TITUS—NOTE ON 1:6 Above reproach (repeated in v. 7) summarizes the main point, which the rest of the list (vv. 6–9) fills out: there should be no legitimate accusation that could be brought against the elder that would bring disrepute on the gospel or the church; his life should be seen as worthy of imitation. husband of one wife. See note on 1 Tim. 3:2–3. His children are believers can also be rendered “his children are faithful” (Gk. pistos). The primary argument for rendering it as “believers” is that in the letters to Timothy and Titus, this word almost always refers to saving faith. Those who think it should be rendered “faithful” would argue that no father can guarantee the conversion of his own children, but he can ordinarily ensure that they act in a “faithful” way. Also, the parallel passage in 1 Timothy 3 says only that the children must be well-behaved, not that their conversion is a requirement for their father to be an overseer. The concern in the passage is that the children behave appropriately and are not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. The word “children” (plural of Gk. teknon) would apply only to children living at home and still under their father’s authority.

TITUS—NOTE ON 1:15 To the pure, all things are pure echoes Jesus’ teaching (Luke 11:41) and Paul’s earlier writing (Rom. 14:20). In light of the Jewishness of the false teaching and the contexts of the earlier similar teaching by Jesus and Paul, the issue here seems to concern Jewish food laws. The false teachers seem in some way to be concerned with this ritual purity, although they are themselves defiled by their unbelief and sin.

TITUS—NOTE ON 1:2–3 Paul’s mission is rooted in the certainty of God’s promise of eternal life. Hope is not wishful thinking but certainty. Furthermore, God has promised eternal life, and God never lies. It is contrary to God’s character and thus impossible for God to lie (cf. Heb. 6:18). God’s truthfulness is a common biblical assertion, but it would be particularly meaningful in the Cretan context (see Titus 1:12–13 and note). This promise has been fulfilled specifically in Paul’s ministry, a ministry that he did not choose for himself but received by the command of God our Savior. On God as “Savior,” see note on 2 Tim. 1:8–10.