Study notes

Titus 1

Introducing TitusWho wrote it, when, why, and what to look for as you read

1:1–4

The beginning of the book of Titus, like that of 1 Timothy (1:1–2), establishes Paul’s authority for his representative.

1:1–9 Section

When Paul greeted Titus, Paul called him his true son in the faith.

The hope and faith that they shared joined them together like family members in God’s family.

As an apostle, Paul worked to teach people the truth about who Jesus is.

Understanding this truth and believing it changes the way people live. Because of it they follow Jesus’ example for living. Paul called this godly living or holy living.

The truth about Jesus fills people with the hope of living for ever with Christ.

Titus worked together with Paul to help people believe in Jesus.

To do this on Crete, he needed to appoint faithful leaders in the churches.

Many things are required of people who serve as church elders or leaders.

Paul listed ten things that they must do and five things that they mustn’t do. This is like the list Paul wrote about church leaders in 1 Timothy 3:1–16.

Above all, church leaders must be firmly committed to the truth about Jesus Christ.

1:3

  • In His own time: The initiative is entirely with God, who fulfills his plan on his own schedule by his own will (see 3:5; 1 Timothy 2:6; 2 Timothy 1:10).

  • God our Savior: In Titus 1:4, Jesus is also called “our Savior,” identifying Jesus with God (see 2:10, 13; 3:4, 6).

1:4

  • Titus was Paul’s delegate in dealing with the church in Crete. A delegate is someone who is sent to represent another person.

  • my true child: The wording authorizes the delegate (as in 1 Timothy 1:2).

1:5

  • Crete was located in the Mediterranean, south of the Aegean Sea. It was an important location for travel and trade by sea, so it had a mix of influences, including a Jewish population. Some from Crete had been at Pentecost (Acts 2:11), but this letter seems to deal with a church in the early stages of development.

  • elders in every town: There may have been more than one house church in a given town and possibly more than one elder in a given house church. Clearly, there were churches in at least two towns and the leadership was specific to each town.

1:5–9

  • Titus was instructed to appoint leaders in order to complete what was unfinished—that is, to establish the church (compare 1 Timothy 3:1–13). Deacons are not mentioned, possibly because these were new, small churches.

  • These leadership qualities might be an accommodation to the newness of these converts and the roughness of their culture. It is assumed that the elders will be male (see 1 Timothy 3:4–5).

1:5–16

Strong, faithful leadership was needed in the churches of Crete to address the danger of false teachers (1:10–16). This part of Titus’s task coincides with the larger concern of the letter: to shape a community that bears witness to Christ by embodying God’s grace in its conduct. Compare 1 Timothy 3:1–7.

1:6

  • the husband of one wife (or faithful to his wife): See study note on 1 Timothy 3:2.

  • indiscretion or insubordination (that is, reckless behavior or rebellion): This probably reflects Cretan culture with its low moral standards (Titus 1:12).

1:9

  • The elders had a leading role in teaching the community. This may have been necessary in dealing with the immediate threat to these particular communities (as also in Ephesus; see 1 Timothy 3:1).

  • Only with a strong belief in the good news would an elder be able to provide sound teaching. Paul’s specific concerns are addressed in Titus 2:1–3:11, considering the problems mentioned in 1:10–16 and 3:9–11 (see also 1 Timothy 1:10).

  • Titus had a similar role (compare Titus 1:13; 2:15; 3:10–11). The local leadership would continue the work Paul and his delegates started.

  • Those who oppose it are described in 1:10–16.

1:10

  • rebellious: The same Greek word is used of children in 1:6.

  • those who insist on circumcision for salvation (literally those of the circumcision): This probably refers to Jewish Christians. The Greek phrase does not specify whether or not they required Gentiles to be circumcised. The Jewish influence of this false teaching is suggested in 1:14–15 and 3:9.

1:10–16

In a native population of troublemakers, Titus would need to lead firmly to rid these Christian communities of corruption and make them healthy in the faith (1:13–16).

1:10–16 Section

Some believers in Crete who were Jewish claimed to know God but didn’t obey him. They taught things that went against the truth about Jesus. They did this to take advantage of people and take their money.

Paul called these people the circumcision group. They taught that Jesus didn’t save Gentiles unless they followed Jewish laws. The laws this group cared about most were the ones that separated Jews from Gentiles. They were about males being circumcised and about things that were considered pure or clean.

Their understanding of what was right and wrong was based on the teachings of other people. It wasn’t based on what Jesus taught. Their teachings caused problems for the community of believers and had to be stopped. Jesus taught that nothing people did to their bodies could make them clean or pure (Mark 7:1–23). Paul reminded Titus that Jesus’ followers are already pure and accepted by God.

1:12

  • one of their own prophets: This quotation is from Epimenides of Knossos, a philosopher who lived on Crete around the 500s BC.

  • liars: This charge was directed specifically at the Cretan claim to have Zeus’s tomb on the island. According to Cretan mythology, the god Zeus was once a mere human who lived and died on Crete. His tomb was said to be there. But Zeus had achieved godhood through his patronage (that is, gifts and benefits) to humans. Some Greek moralists opposed this legend and characterized it as a lie. A quote from Alexandria in the 200s BC reads: “Cretans are always liars. For a tomb, O Lord, Cretans build for you; but you do not die, for you are forever.” One of Crete’s own prophets (Epimenides) thought the same thing. Paul cites his voice of conscience approvingly (Titus 1:13; see Acts 17:28), for the God who does not lie (Titus 1:2) opposes the lies of such myths.

  • liars … beasts … gluttons: It was believed that Cretan immorality resulted from their belief about Zeus. Religious lies had led to moral corruption. Paul later counters these vices by presenting the contrasting virtues (positive qualities or behaviors) (Titus 2:12). He urges the Cretans to reach ethical ideals that are praised in human society generally but were absent on Crete, as bemoaned by their own prophet. They would reach these ideals only through the gospel of Jesus Christ (2:11–14).

  • lazy gluttons: Cretans were known to do anything for money. They were well-known as mercenaries and as excessive consumers. They were said to feel no shame in their greed (see Philippians 3:19).

  • Paul applies the quotation more directly to the current false teachers than to Cretan culture generally. The false teachers carried on this Cretan tradition of immorality based on a lie.

1:13

  • This testimony is true: See study note on 1:12.

  • Being sound (or strong) in the faith is here defined as rejecting false teachings (compare 1:9).

1:15–16

These two verses comment on the people of 1:14 and their commands, while transitioning to a discussion on teaching that encourages goodness (2:1–3:11).

Verse notes: Adapted by Mission Mutual (Aquifer Open Study Notes) from Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. CC BY-SA 4.0. Section notes: Biblica Study Notes © 2023 Biblica, Inc. CC BY-SA 4.0, via BibleAquifer. About the sources