Sender, Faith and Knowledge
Paul starts his letter with mentioning his own name. It is not that he wanted to put his own person in the foreground by that. The important thing for him is the service he was called for. For that reason he connects to his name two tasks, that of a bond-servant and that of an apostle. He starts with “a bond-servant of God”. By that he puts himself next to Titus and you. He is first a bond-servant of God, like you also are in the first place. If you take the humblest place you are most able to serve (cf. [Luke 22:26]).
After he introduced himself as bond-servant he calls himself “an apostle of Jesus Christ”. As an apostle he took a position of authority. Therein he doesn’t stand next to Titus and you, but above him and you. It is a good thing to repeat that he calls himself first a bond-servant and then an apostle. Exercising authority according to the will of God can only happen in the mind of a bond-servant. If a person wants to be a good leader he ought to know first what it is to be a bond-servant or a servant. But he also calls himself an apostle. As an apostle he has a position and a task that grant him authority that demands obedience.
Then he delivers the proof of his apostleship. Nowhere does he do that so comprehensively and strongly as here. It is remarkable how close he connects his apostleship with the believers. You will see that in [Verse 1-3]. The particular way in which he presents the believers is also remarkable.
His apostleship is above all “for the faith of those chosen of God” [Rom 8:33]; [Col 3:12]. That rules out an apostleship according to the law or in connection with an earthly nation. The apostleship of Paul does not belong to the law but to faith. Law and faith exclude each other [Gal 3:12].
Paul doesn’t submit his apostleship to the judgment of the law, but to the judgment of faith. The important thing for him is not obedience to rules and laws, but obedience that comes from faith. This faith is present in “those chosen of God”. Because it is about the church here, it is clear that you may think of being chosen “before the foundation of the world” [Eph 1:4]. You believe, don’t you? And you are chosen by God, aren’t you? Then you will surely acknowledge Paul’s apostleship.
Application: Today you can say that every spiritually minded leader considers the faith of hose who have been chosen and exerts his authority accordingly. He doesn’t impose a yoke on them but stirs them up to obedience of faith. Thereby he doesn’t focus in the first place on the outward of the believers but on their heart, their inward spiritual life.
There is a second feature of Paul’s apostleship. It is also to (or: in accordance with) “the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness”. You can also put the apostleship of Paul to the test by verifying the way he presents the truth. He doesn’t present the truth about God and the Lord Jesus and the church etcetera, as a doctrine, as truths for you to learn by heart. With Paul you see that he connects all his teachings to a life in Godliness. That means that you see the true acknowledgment of the truth being implemented in a life that shows a deep reverence for God and everything He has said.
Application: Today you will recognize a spiritual leader by the fact that he lives to the honor of God by practicing the knowledge of the truth in his own daily life. Such a leader doesn’t demand a submission to a theory, but presents the truth in his speech and his deeds. Today there are many who claim to be bond-servants of Christ, but who want to serve according to the latest so-called knowledge of science or the latest arguments of unbelief. But the faith and the knowledge that are meant here are not the faith and knowledge of the world, neither that of Christianity, but of ‘those chosen of God’.
After he introduced himself as bond-servant he calls himself “an apostle of Jesus Christ”. As an apostle he took a position of authority. Therein he doesn’t stand next to Titus and you, but above him and you. It is a good thing to repeat that he calls himself first a bond-servant and then an apostle. Exercising authority according to the will of God can only happen in the mind of a bond-servant. If a person wants to be a good leader he ought to know first what it is to be a bond-servant or a servant. But he also calls himself an apostle. As an apostle he has a position and a task that grant him authority that demands obedience.
Then he delivers the proof of his apostleship. Nowhere does he do that so comprehensively and strongly as here. It is remarkable how close he connects his apostleship with the believers. You will see that in [Verse 1-3]. The particular way in which he presents the believers is also remarkable.
His apostleship is above all “for the faith of those chosen of God” [Rom 8:33]; [Col 3:12]. That rules out an apostleship according to the law or in connection with an earthly nation. The apostleship of Paul does not belong to the law but to faith. Law and faith exclude each other [Gal 3:12].
Paul doesn’t submit his apostleship to the judgment of the law, but to the judgment of faith. The important thing for him is not obedience to rules and laws, but obedience that comes from faith. This faith is present in “those chosen of God”. Because it is about the church here, it is clear that you may think of being chosen “before the foundation of the world” [Eph 1:4]. You believe, don’t you? And you are chosen by God, aren’t you? Then you will surely acknowledge Paul’s apostleship.
Application: Today you can say that every spiritually minded leader considers the faith of hose who have been chosen and exerts his authority accordingly. He doesn’t impose a yoke on them but stirs them up to obedience of faith. Thereby he doesn’t focus in the first place on the outward of the believers but on their heart, their inward spiritual life.
There is a second feature of Paul’s apostleship. It is also to (or: in accordance with) “the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness”. You can also put the apostleship of Paul to the test by verifying the way he presents the truth. He doesn’t present the truth about God and the Lord Jesus and the church etcetera, as a doctrine, as truths for you to learn by heart. With Paul you see that he connects all his teachings to a life in Godliness. That means that you see the true acknowledgment of the truth being implemented in a life that shows a deep reverence for God and everything He has said.
Application: Today you will recognize a spiritual leader by the fact that he lives to the honor of God by practicing the knowledge of the truth in his own daily life. Such a leader doesn’t demand a submission to a theory, but presents the truth in his speech and his deeds. Today there are many who claim to be bond-servants of Christ, but who want to serve according to the latest so-called knowledge of science or the latest arguments of unbelief. But the faith and the knowledge that are meant here are not the faith and knowledge of the world, neither that of Christianity, but of ‘those chosen of God’.
 | Author: Ger de Koning Rank: Author Posted on: 2025-03-20 Source: Title: Die Briefe an Timotheus, Titus und Philemon Author: Ger de Koning Number of pages: 240 Copyright: kingcomments.com Note General: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author or the publisher. |
By means of these organs, indeed, we are to enjoy flowers; but if he declares that those who make idols will be like them, they already are so who use anything after the style of idol adornings. "To the pure all things are pure: so, likewise, all things to the impure are impure; "
 | Author: Tertullian of Carthage Rank: Author AD: 220 |
I think Paul’s meaning is this: I was entrusted with God’s elect, not for any achievements of mine. It was not from my toils and labors that I received this dignity. It was wholly the effect of the goodness of the One who entrusted it to me. Yet that this grace may not seem without reason, … he adds: “and the acknowledging of the truth that is after godliness.” For it was for this acknowledgment that I was entrusted. It was of his grace that all this was entrusted to me. God was the author of all this.
 | Author: John Chrysostom Rank: Bishop AD: 407 |
Paul, a servant of God, and an Apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect. You observe how he uses these expressions indifferently, sometimes calling himself the servant of God, and sometimes the servant of Christ, thus making no difference between the Father and the Son. According to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness. In hope of eternal life. According to the faith of God's elect. It is because you have believed, or rather because you were entrusted? I think he meant, that he was entrusted with God's elect, that is, not for any achievements of mine, nor from my toils and labors, did I receive this dignity. It was wholly the effect of His goodness who entrusted me. Yet that the grace may not seem without reason, (for still the whole was not of Him, for why did He not entrust it to others?) he therefore adds, And the acknowledging of the truth that is after godliness. For it was for this acknowledgment that I was entrusted, or rather it was of His grace that this too was entrusted to me, for He was the author of this also. Whence Christ Himself said, You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you. John 15:16 And elsewhere this same blessed one writes, I shall know, even as also I am known. 1 Corinthians 13:12 And again, If I may apprehend that, for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12 First we are apprehended, and afterwards we know: first we are known, and then we apprehend: first we were called, and then we obeyed. But in saying, according to the faith of the elect, all is reckoned to them, because on their account I am an Apostle, not for my worthiness, but for the elect's sake. As he elsewhere says, All things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos. 1 Corinthians 3:21 And the acknowledging the truth that is after godliness. For there is a truth in other things, that is not according to godliness; for knowledge in matters of agriculture, knowledge of the arts, is true knowledge; but this truth is after godliness. Or this, according to faith, means that they believed, as the other elect believed, and acknowledged the truth. This acknowledging then is from faith, and not from reasonings. In hope of eternal life. He spoke of the present life, which is in the grace of God, and he also speaks of the future, and sets before us the rewards that follow the mercies which God has bestowed upon us. For He is willing to crown us because we have believed, and have been delivered from error. Observe how the introduction is full of the mercies of God, and this whole Epistle is especially of the same character, thus exciting the holy man himself, and his disciples also, to greater exertions. For nothing profits us so much as constantly to remember the mercies of God, whether public or private. And if our hearts are warmed when we receive the favors of our friends, or hear some kind word or deed of theirs, much more shall we be zealous in His service when we see into what dangers we had fallen, and that God has delivered us from them all. And the acknowledging of the truth. This he says with reference to the type. For that was an acknowledging and a godliness, yet not of the Truth, yet neither was it falsehood, it was godliness, but it was in type and figure. And he has well said, In hope of eternal life. For the former was in hope of the present life. For it is said, he that does these things shall live in them. Romans 10:5 You see how at the beginning he sets forth the difference of grace. They are not the elect, but we. For if they were once called the elect, yet are they no longer called so.
| Author: John Chrysostom Rank: Bishop AD: 407 |
Titus was an approved one of the companions of Paul; otherwise, he would not have committed to him the charge of that whole island, nor would he have commanded him to supply what was deficient, as he says, That you should set in order the things that are wanting. Titus 1:5 He would not have given him jurisdiction over so many Bishops, if he had not placed great confidence in him. They say that he also was a young man, because he calls him his son, though this does not prove it. I think that there is mention made of him in the Acts. Perhaps he was a Corinthian, unless there was some other of the same name. And he summons Zenas, and orders Apollos to be sent to him, never Titus. Titus 3:13 For he also attests their superior virtue and courage in the presence of the Emperor. Some time seems to have since elapsed, and Paul, when he wrote this Epistle, appears to have been at liberty. For he says nothing about his trials, but dwells continually upon the grace of God, as being a sufficient encouragement to believers to persevere in virtue. For to learn what they had deserved, and to what state they had been transferred, and that by grace, and what had been vouchsafed them, was no little encouragement. He takes aim also against the Jews, and if he censures the whole nation, we need not wonder, for he does the same in the case of the Galatians, saying, O foolish Galatians. Galatians 3:1 And this does not proceed from a censorious temper, but from affection. For if it were done for his own sake, one might fairly blame him; but if from the fervor of his zeal for the Gospel, it was not done reproachfully. Christ too, on many occasions, reproached the Scribes and Pharisees, not on his own account, but because they were the ruin of all the rest. And he writes a short Epistle, with good reason, and this is a proof of the virtue of Titus, that he did not require many words, but a short remembrance. But this Epistle seems to have been written before that to Timothy, for that he wrote as near his end and in prison, but here, as free and at liberty. For his saying, I have determined to winter at Nicopolis Titus 3:12, is a proof that he was not yet in bonds, as when he wrote to Timothy.
| Author: John Chrysostom Rank: Bishop AD: 407 |
When he says, “An apostle of Jesus Christ,” it seems to be as if he had said, “commanding officer of the praetorian guard of Augustus Caesar, master of the army for Tiberius Caesar.” Just as secular judges are seen as more noble in accordance with the kings whom they serve and are assigned a name from the dignity by which they are elevated, so by establishing his great dignity among Christians as an apostle, he has designated himself with the title of apostle of Christ, that he might strike awe into his readers by the authority of the name. Thereby he indicates that all who believe in Christ are to be in submission to him. .
 | Author: Jerome Rank: Priest AD: 420 |
The listed verse explanations of the individual persons have nothing to do with the explanations of the other persons. This also applies to the Bible translations.
