When I taught this book, I had material to fill up three hours of lectures, but for this blog I'll be giving all of you the Sparknotes.
So, how many of you guys find it hard to figure out what on earth Paul is talking about when he crams 7 ideas into one sentence and that sentence is actually an entire paragraph? Everyone? Yeah, me too. While I was studying, I was trying to figure out what Paul was trying to talk about in the first three verses and sat scratching my head for quite some time. And then I remembered that we can just ask the text a few questions and it usually clears it all up for us!
"1 Paul, 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, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began[b]3 and 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;" (ESV)
So here are the questions I asked
* What in this does Paul say about himself?
- He is a servant of God (1.1)
- He is an apostle of Jesus Christ (1.1)
- His apostleship is for the sake of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth (1.1)
- Through his preaching (1.3) The hope that God promised (1.2) has manifested (brought forth/
made real) (1.3)
- Paul was entrusted with preaching by the command of God (1.3)
* What does this passage have to say about God?
- God never lies (1.2)
- God promised hope of eternal life (1.2)
- God manifested the hope that he promised through Paul's preaching (1.2-3)
- God commanded and entrusted Paul to preach.
- God is our savior. (1.3)
This is something that is almost always helpful in understanding biblical text: Find a few subjects that the author is touching on, and ask what the text has to say about those subjects. Make a list of what directly relates to those subject and you'll almost always have a clear understanding of what is going on.
One of the other things I touched on was the section on Eldership (Titus 1:5-9), with this passage I asked my class to tell me if the descriptive words of an Elder were more about who the person was, what they were like (Character) or if it was something that they were capable of accomplishing (Ability).
Here's the passage "6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife,[d] and his children are believers[e] and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer,[f] as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound[g] doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it."
Here's what falls under Godly Character"
- Above reproach (someone would he hard-pressed to find something and say "SINNER!!")
- Husband of one wife (Historical Background: Marriage was primarily a business transaction, giving a husband better connections and more children. It was largely acceptable to have multiple wives, so being the husband of one wife shows that a man is trusting in God's plans to make him succeed, and not Man's wisdom)
- Above reproach
- Not arrogant (He's humble)
- Not quick tempered (He's patient)
- Not a Drunkard (he has self-control)
- Upright
- Holy
- Disciplined
- Holds firm to the trustworthy word (He has the word of God settled in his heart, and is confident in it)
TOTAL: 10
Here's what falls under Ability:
- Raised and discipled his children to know God and live Godly Lives
- Able to give instruction in Sound doctrine
- Able to rebuke those who contradict sound doctrine.
TOTAL: 3
So, it's pretty clear that to be a leader in the Church, God worries more about character and making sure that someone is like himself, and not nearly as much about gifting or ability. The qualifier for being in Church leadership is supposed to be a person who knows God and has let the Lord change their heart and mind, and is able to teach and train others in faith.
The last thing I'll touch on is something that the Lord has continually challenged me with since I first found it, and surprise surprise, it's about grace.
Titus 2:11-14 "11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works."
Let's do that first Exercise again!
* What does this passage show us about grace?
- Grace of God appeared (2.11)
- God's grace brings salvation to ALL PEOPLE (2.11)
- Grace trains us to:
- Renounce ungodliness and worldly passions (2.12)
- Live self controlled, upright and Godly lives in the present age (2.12)
* How is one to live a godly life?
- Waiting for our blessed hope (2.13)
* What is our blessed hope?
- The appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (2.13)
* What did Christ Jesus do?
- He gave himself for us to redeem us from ALL Lawlessness (2.14)
- He gave himself for us to purify us for himself (2.14)
Here are some of my major points from this passage:
1. It is GRACE that trains us- not trying harder to be holy, and certainly not being hard on yourself when you've failed. God saved us and swept us into his kingdom by grace, so why, after entering, should we live differently from what first saved us? Let grace teach you how to be godly. Listen to the kind and tender voice of a father that knows you and will tell you when you're out of line, after all are you the author and perfecter of your faith? I'm pretty sure that's God's job (Hebrews 12.2).
2. HOPE leads to a Godly life: without the hope (which, in this passage could also have been translated as "blessed assurance") that Jesus is coming back and that he CAN and HAS redeemed you and made you clean and removed your shame you CANNOT live a godly (God-like) life. If you still believe that you're dirty, you will always be trying to prove that you are good enough for God's love which can actually lead to "Good works", but the heart of it is all wrong and you will be striving for something that God would freely give you. This does not reflect truth. The truth is that you are redeemable, you are wantable, you are loveable and it's only by experiencing this truth that you can be released to live a godly life. Are you assured that Jesus has cleaned you and made you new? He's able, come to him.
3. This isn't about us- it clearly says that Jesus did this for HIMSELF (2.14). The Gospel cannot be "me" focused- it's always all about Jesus and if it isn't, it loses it's power and grace. The gospel is "Jesus wanted me, and did everything for me while I was still his worst enemy". It had nothing to do with something that we bring to him, and everything to do with what he brought for us. And get this, the cross to atone for sin? HE WANTED TO DO THAT. He's THAT good and THAT gracious.
I hope that you have enjoyed this, and that the Lord has shown you something new about himself that you haven't seen before.
Grace and Peace!
- Peter Byers
