Verse by Verse

⁶ Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded,

⁷ in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility,

⁸ sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.

⁹ Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back,

¹⁰ not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.

exhort (v.6) = “I beg of you, please” — not a strict demand but a loving urging

sober-minded (v.6) = of sound mind, self-controlled — the same word translated “temperate” in v.2 and “discreet” in v.5.

Paul directs his remarks directly to Titus in vs. 7 and 8, as Titus’s example is the best way to influence young men.

integrity (v.7) = absence of self-seeking or perverse motives

reverence (v.7) — dignity and solemnity when dealing with matters of doctrine and God’s Word

incorruptibility (v.7) — not in the best manuscripts

sound (v.8) = healthy, whole

you (v.8) — should be “us”

bondservants (v.9) = slaves — many of whom would be serving in pagan households

be obedient (v.9) — a military term for being in subjection, as in v.5

masters (v.9) = one who has absolute ownership and control over another — the Greek word from which we get “despot.”

well pleasing (v.9) = to give satisfaction

in all things (v.9) — goes with “be obedient”

answering back (v.9) = contradicting, thwarting the master’s plans and wishes

pilfering (v.10) = petty theft, embezzling

fidelity (v.10) = trustworthiness

adorn (v.10) = ornament, decorate, garnish, embellish with honor

doctrine (v.10) — that found in vs. 11-14

1 But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine:

² that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience;

³ the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things —

⁴ that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,

⁵ to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.

But (v.1) — setting sound doctrine in contrast to the false teaching of the Judaizers (Titus 1:12-16).

as for you (v.1) — the Greek indicates “you in contradistinction to those just mentioned”

proper (v.1) = conspicuously fit, seemly

sound (v.1) = healthy, whole

sober (v.2) = lit. “not drunken” — watchful, free from credulity, not excitable

temperate (v.2) = of sound mind, self-controlled

faith (v.2) = the faith, doctrine

love (v.2) = the love — agape — the love produced in the believer by the Holy Spirit

patience (v.2) = lit. “remaining under” — accepting God’s planning and leading without disputing or resisting

reverent (v.3) — befitting things sacred to God

behavior (v.3) = deportment, demeanor — dress, conduct and conversation

slanderers (v.3) — given to finding fault

not given to much wine (v.3) = a slave of much wine, a drunkard

teachers (v.3) — not referring to public instruction but wise counsel

admonish (v.4) = train, discipline, moderate, recall to their senses

discreet (v.5) — the same as “temperate” in v.2

chaste (v.5) = pure from carnality, modest

homemakers (v.5) — fulfilling the duties of the home

good (v.5) = agathos = beneficial, kind

obedient (v.5) = a military term for arranging soldiers in subjection

blasphemed (v.5) — bad conduct by those who profess to believe God’s word will cause unbelievers to revile it and speak reproachfully about them

¹⁵ To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.

¹⁶ They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.

The words, “Unto the pure all things are pure,”are to be understood in their context, which speaks of arbitrary ascetic prohibitions. This is best understood as a maxim of the Judaic Gnostics, based on a perversion of Luke 11:41 where our Lord, speaking of the Pharisees and their man-made ceremonial washings says, “All things are clean to you.” The purity spoken of in our Titus reference speaks, not of purity which is the absence and opposite of immorality, etc., but of the ceremonial purity of man-made regulations. Our Lord tells the Jewish leaders that there is nothing wrong in eating with ceremoniously unwashed hands. that is, the person who does not subscribe to the Pharasaical regulations is not impure or defiled, nor is the food he eats affected in that way.  Paul accepts the statement as a truth, but not in the intention of the speaker. Referring to those who are defiled; their moral obliquity is more characteristic of them than their intellectual perversion. The satisfaction of natural bodily desires (for it is these that are in question) is, when lawful, a pure thing, not merely innocent, in the case of the pure; it is an impure thing, even when lawful, in the case of “them that are defiled.” And for this reason: their intellectual apprehension of these things is perverted by defiling associations; “the light that is in them is darkness,” and their conscience has, from a similar cause, lost its sense of discriminating between what is innocent and what is criminal. That any action with which they themselves are familiar could be pure is inconceivable. — Wuest, pages 188-189

profess (v.16) = agree, confess belief in

disqualified (v.16) — The word adokimos literally signifies “not standing the test.” It is used in the Septuagint of Isaiah 1:22 of silver which has become dross, a mind of which God cannot approve. In 2 Corinthians 13:5-7 it is used with reference to the great test as to whether Christ is in a person, and in 2 Timothy 3:8 of those who are “reprobate concerning the faith,” i.e., those whose moral sense is perverted and whose minds are beclouded with their own speculations. In the present passage it implies that mere professors, if put to the test in regard to any good work, can only be rejected, and rejection by God is the inevitable result. — Vine, page 238.

¹² One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

¹³ This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,

¹⁴ not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth.

prophet ( v.12) — My guess is that Paul was using a bit of sarcasm here, saying that one of the Judaizers, who claimed to be speaking the truth, had said this and, in this case, he was right. This self-styled prophet may have been quoting a poem, or, perhaps, Paul may have been referring to the poet directly. It depends on whether “of their own” refers to the Judaizers or the Cretans, or both.

prophet of their own (v.12) — This is a hexameter line from the Greek poet Epimenides, a native of Crete in the sixth century, B.C.; it is quoted by another poet, Callimachus, in his “Hymn to Zeus,” and was a well-known saying among the ancients, facts which expose the gross notoriety of the people of the island. There came into use a verb, to Cretanize, as a euphemism for lying. — Vine, page 237

always (v.12) = perpetually, incessantly

lazy gluttons (v.12) = lit. “slow bellies” — the term indicates one who is such a glutton that he has become identified by his stomach.

rebuke (v.13) = rebuke so as to bring conviction and agreement

sharply (v.13) = to cut off abruptly

that (v.13) = so that

Does the apostle give them the benefit of the doubt in implying that at least some of them might have been saved, though badly misled? At least he directs Titus to “rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith” (v.13). — Stam, page 254.

sound (v.13) = healthy (see v.9)

giving heed (v.14) = hold to — giving consent and attention

fables (v.14) = myths — legendary Jewish stories of history (see 1 Timothy 1:4 and following)

turn (v.14) — tense indicates “turn themselves”

¹⁰ For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,

¹¹ whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.

insubordinate (v.10) = cannot be subjected to control — the same word used of children in verse 6 (1 Timothy 1:9)

idle talkers (v.10) = ones who utter empty, senseless things — devoid of force, truth, success, result

deceivers (v.10) = mind deceivers

especially (v.10) — the deceivers may not all have been Judaizers, but most of them, and certainly the most destructive among them, were

those of the circumcision (v.10) — Judaizers

The persons spoke of here were Christian Jews … that they were at least nominally Christians is also implied by the epithet “unruly” [insubordinate]. We cannot call those persons unruly on whose obedience we have no claim. — Wuest, page 186

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Those of “the circumcision,” at least many of them, were doubtless present at Pentecost, where some are mentioned as having come from Crete (Acts 2:5, 11), but it appears that upon their return to Crete they had not even continued faithfully in the doctrine of the twelve, but had reverted to apostate Judaism with its Talmud and all its civil and religious laws — laws which seemed to excel even the Ten Commandments in righteousness, but which in reality condemned many practices which were wholly right and pure (v.14: cf., Matthew 15:1-8). — Stam, pages 253-254.

mouths must be stopped (v.11) = bridled

“To stop the mouth” is epistomizo, originally “to put something into the mouth,” as a bit into a horse’s mouth. The noun form is used of the “stop” of a waterpipe. The verb used metaphorically means “to reduce to silence.” [So] … “whom it is necessary to silence.” — Wuest, page 186.

subvert (v.11) = overthrow, overturn, destroy — used in John 2:15 of overthrowing tables, in 2 Timothy 2:18 of overthrowing the faith

households (v.11) = families

for the sake of dishonest gain (v.11) — Itinerants or vagrants who claimed to be prophets or apostles made claims for financial support.

⁵ For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you —

⁶ if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination.

⁷ For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money,

⁸ but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled,

⁹ holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.

left (v.5) = left behind temporarily — Titus’s charge was not a permanent office

Crete (v.5) — Crete, one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea [south of Greece] was not visited by Paul on any of his first three missionary journeys. He touched there on his way to Rome as a prisoner of the Roman Empire, but at that time, Titus was not with him. This is one of the facts which indicates that Paul was liberated from his first Roman imprisonment and spent some time in missionary work. Here he refers to the time when he and Titus had worked there together, and he had left him there to finish the organization of the churches they had founded. — Wuest, page 183.

that you should set in order  (v.5) — tense indicates this was a task for Titus to attend to personally and diligently — “set in order” is a medical term used of setting broken limbs.

The phrase “set in order” indicates that disorder prevailed among the believers in Crete. The very same phrase is found in 1 Corinthians 11:34 where the apostle, having given instructions as to irregularities in the Corinthian church, says, “The rest will I set in order when I come.” — Stam, page 242.

lacking (v.5) = lit. “to leave” — things left undone when Paul left.

appoint (v.5) — no formal church process or ceremony is indicated.

The meaning of the injunction is, that Titus should appoint out of the number of elderly men of approved Christian reputation, certain ones to be overseers (episkopos) of the churches in several cities. The eldership was not a distinct office. “Appointed” is diatasso, “to prescribe, give a charge.” — Wuest, page 183.

elders (v.5) — same as bishops in v.7 (see Acts 20:17 and 28). Elders refers to their spiritual maturity, bishops to the character of their service. The word is plural — more than one in a given church (Acts 14:23; Philippians 1:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:12).

It is evident from this passage that the apostle used the words “elder” and “bishop” (overseer) interchangeably, where position was concerned. True, there might be men older in years who were not qualified to be overseers, but here the apostle instructs Titus to “appoint elders (v.5) as bishops (v.7). Specifically, he says: “Appoint elders … if any be blameless … For a bishop must be blameless. These words “elder” (Greek, presbuteros) and “bishop” (Greek, episkopos) are also used interchangeably in Acts 20:17, 28, the word “elder” expressing the dignity of the office and the word “bishop” the responsibility. — Stam, page 243.

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in every city (v.5) — We do not take this to imply that there were Christian churches in all the municipalities of this large island, the flourishing center of what historians call the Aegean Civilization. Rather we take it to mean that bishops, or overseers, were needed for what we might call the “city churches.” Any small locality might have a church composed of a few members who could easily work well together, but the larger churches would be located in the cities, and these would need overseers. — Stam, page 242.

blameless (v.6) = that which cannot be called to account, with nothing laid to one’s charge (1 Timothy 3:2)

husband of one wife (v.6) — not a polygamist. This is not an injunction against remarrying if a wife dies, and probably not an insistence that elders be married (1 Timothy 3:2)

faithful children (v.6) = believing children

dissipation (v.6) = dissoluteness — The adverbial form is translated “with riotous living” in Luke 15, referring to the prodigal son

insubordination (v.6) = cannot be subjected to control

bishop (v.7) = manager of an household or estate (1 Timothy 3:1)

self-willed (v.7) = to enjoy one’s self, self-pleasing, arrogant

quick-tempered (v.7) = prone to anger, irascible

not given to wine (v.7) = not tarrying at wine (1 Timothy 3:3)

not violent (v.7) = not given to fighting (1 Timothy 3:3)

not greedy for money (v.7) — 1 Timothy 3:3; 1 Timothy 3:8

hospitable (v.8) = lit. “loving stranger” (1 Timothy 3:2)

lover of what is good (v.8) — philagathos

sober-minded (v.8) = lit. “of sound mind” — self-controlled (1 Timothy 3:2)

self-controlled (v.8) = having power over, keeping in hand, controlling

holding fast (v.9) = holding firmly to, with a suggestion of withstanding opposition

the faithful word (v.9) — the word that Paul taught (2 Timothy 1:13; 2 Timothy 3:14) — the word worthy of trust because it is reliable

as he hath been taught (v.9) = according to the teaching

sound (v.9) = healthy — hugiaino, from which we get “hygiene” (1 Timothy 1:10; 2 Timothy 4:3; Titus 1:13; Titus 2:2)

exhort (v.9) = I beg of you, please

convict (v.9) = convict so as to bring forth conviction or agreement

those who contradict (v.9) = lit. “to speak against”

1 Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness,

² in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,

³ but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;

⁴ To Titus, a true son in our common faith: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.

bondservant (v.1) = slave — Everywhere else Paul uses this term, he calls himself the bondservant of Jesus Christ. Only here does he call himself the bondservant of God.

according to (v.1) — more than just conformity, it includes direct purpose, complete correspondence with

acknowledgment (v.1) = should be “full knowledge” — precise, experiential knowledge

which accords (v.1) — same word translated “according to” earlier in v.1

godliness (v.1) = with an attitude toward God that is pleasing to Him

The word “godliness” here (Greek, usebia, and once theosebia), does not occur in Paul’s writings until we come to the Pastoral Epistles, and there it occurs eleven times. Little wonder, for in these epistles he girds Timothy and Titus to stand true to God in the face of a rising tide of apostasy and godlessness. — Stam, pages 233-234

in hope (v.2) = upon hope — the basis upon which something rests

“In” is epi, “upon,” and can be translated , “upon the basis of” a hope of life eternal. Paul characterizes his apostleship as a kind that corresponds to the Christian faith embraced by God’s elect, and a full knowledge of that truth, and then says that both these characterizations have to do with life eternal which God who cannot lie (literally, “the un-lie-able God,” apseudes, “without lie”) promised before eternal times (“before the times of the ages”), that is, before time began to be reckoned by aeons. “Due times” is idios kairos, idios referring to that which is one’s own peculiar, private, unique possession, kairos speaking of those strategic times in the calendar of God during which events come to a culmination and ripen to usher in a new age or dispensation. — Wuest, page 182.

hope (v.2) = eager anticipation of assured blessings

who cannot lie (v.2) = lit. “free from falsehood”

Surely God did not make this promise to men, for man was not yet created “before the world (or the ages) began.” And there is no evidence that He made a promise to angels about eternal life for man. Rather, then, He made this promise to Himself, in the councils of the Trinity, far back in eternity past — a promise of eternal life for poor sinners! This promise could not have been made by a greater, for God made it. Nor could it have been made to a greater, for He made it to Himself!

The apostle Paul has much to say about this promise … In the passage before us he clearly states that God, who cannot lie, promised “eternal life … before the world began” (Titus 1:2), and other passages from Paul’s pen make it clear and emphatic that this promise was “in Christ Jesus,” i.e., that it was vested in Christ Jesus, who was to be the member of the Trinity to go to Calvary and die for our sins. (Ephesians 3:11; 2 Timothy 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:9)

The Church as a whole, along with her leaders, has failed to notice that this truth was revealed to Paul specifically by the glorified Lord in heaven. His writings could hardly be clearer as to this, yet some theologians even deny that it is so.

God did not reveal this purpose in Old Testament times, nor during our Lord’s earthly ministry, nor even immediately after His death and resurrection. The Word clearly indicates that He had a very special person in mind through whom this sacred secret was to be made known. Paul, the chief of sinners, saved by grace. It is surely not from pride, but by divine inspiration that the apostle himself is so emphatic as to this. How could he speak in planer language than that of the passage we are considering: “… God, that cannot lie, promised [eternal life] before the world began; But hath in due times manifest His word through preaching which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior” (Titus 1:2-3). — Stam, pages 237-237

manifested (v.3) =  make visible that which has been hidden

true son (v.4) = legitimate born — Paul led Titus to salvation

common (v.4) = that which belongs to several

Paul calls Timothy “my own son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2), whereas he here calls Titus “my own son after the common faith.” Why?

The answer is doubtless that Titus was a Gentile and he himself a Jew, yet they were one in a common faith. This is most significant when we consider that Jews and Gentiles had no such common bond in Old Testament times and during our Lord’s earthly ministry. — Stam, page 239

grace (v.4) = unmerited favor despite sin and its effects

mercy (v.4) — not in the best manuscripts

peace (v.4) = to bind together that which has been separated.

Wuest’s translation — Paul, God’s slave, and an ambassador of Jesus Christ in accordance with the Faith of God’s elect ones and a precise experiential knowledge of truth which is in accordance with piety towards God, upon the basis of a hope of life eternal which God who cannot lie promised before eternal times, but made known in His own strategic seasons, His Word in a proclamation with which I was entrusted in correspondence with the commandment of our Savior, God; to Titus, a genuine child in correspondence with the commonly-held Faith. Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus, our Savior. — Wuest, pages 182-182

Titus was a Gentile (Galatians 2:3), introduced to Jesus Christ by the apostle Paul.

His name is mentioned 12 times in the New Testament, all in Paul’s writings (never in Acts).

Paul’s letter to Titus was probably written at about the same time as his first letter to Timothy, and certainly before his second letter to Timothy.

Titus was appointed to undertake tasks requiring a great degree of responsibility and tact …:

1. He accompanied Paul as as the Gentile representative to the great Council at Jerusalem, when Paul had been sent to defend Gentile liberty from circumcision and the Law (Galatians 2:1-3).

2. He was sent by Paul to deal with serious irregularities in the church at Corinth, and particularly with their delinquency as stewards of the material wealth God had entrusted to them (2 Corinthians 8:6, 16 and 7:15).

3. He was commissioned to “set in order” the things that were wanting among the believers on the island of Crete (whose inhabitants were widely known for their moral irresponsibility), and to “ordain elders in every city” whose moral and spiritual standards were compatible with Christian leadership (Titus 1:12-13). — Stam, page 231

It is not clear what Paul is referring to in 2 Timothy 4:10 — did Titus desert the apostle, or was he simply off ministering somewhere, or both?

The resources I am using for this study are:

Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles of Paul the Apostle, by Cornelius R. Stam (1983) Berean Bible Society, Germantown, Wisconsin

1 Timothy, by W.E. Vine, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee

Complete Bible Commentary, by George Williams

The Pastoral Epistles in the Greek New Testament for the English Reader, by Kenneth S. Wuest (1952) Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Grand Rapids, Michigan.

King James Bible Commentary (1983) Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee