1Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle ofJesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness,2in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,3but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;
Included in this opening a summary of the gospel message, expounding the God's plan of salvation punctuated by the assertion that "God never lies".[5]Verse 2 asserts that God isἀψευδὴς,apseudēs, a single word meaning 'cannot lie',[8] comparable toἀδύνατον ψεύσασθαι θεόν,adunatov pseusasthai theov ('God cannot lie', or 'it is impossible for God to lie') inHebrews 6:18.[9]
In verses 2–3, the author highlights that Paul's mission is rooted in the certainty of God's promise of eternal life.[10]
"A true son" (NKJV;KJV: mine own son"; Greek:γνησίῳ τέκνῳ,gnēsiō teknō): Also "my genuine child" (as in1 Timothy 1:2), that is, "converted by my instrumentality" (1 Corinthians 4:17;[12] Philemon 10).[13][14]
"In our common faith" (NKJV; KJV: "After the common faith"; Greek:κατὰ κοινὴν πίστιν,kata koinēn pistin): the author treats Titus as "a genuine son" by virtue of "the faith common to all the people of God", a common brotherhood of Gentiles as well as Jews, thus embracing Titus who is a Gentile (2 Peter 1:1;[15] Jude 1:3).[16][14]
"Grace, mercy, and peace" (Greek:χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη,charis,eleos,eirēnē): The word "mercy" is omitted in some of the oldest manuscripts, but one of the best and oldest manuscripts[which?] supports it (see1 Timothy 1:2;2 Timothy 1:2). There are many similarities of phrase in all the 'Pastoral Epistles' (the Epistles to Titus,1 and2 Timothy).[14]
The instructions for Titus run parallel to those for Timothy in1 Timothy 3, but with some significant variations based on the distinct situation in Crete.[17]
"One of them, a prophet of their own": refers toEpimenides, who wrote the cited words in one of his poems. The author calls him "one of them" (one of the Cretans), since Epimenides was a Cretian by birth, of the city ofGnossus, and according to a legend was sent by his father to his sheep in the field, when he at noon turned aside into a cave, and slept 57 years.[20] The designation as a "prophet" is because in Crete there were prophets of Jupiter,[21] and Epimenides might be one of them, but the word 'prophets' can also refer to the priests among other cults. for examples, Baal's priests were called the prophets of Baal, and the prophets of the groves (1 Kings 18:19).[22] Epimenides was thought to be inspired by the gods in writing his poems that he is called by Apuleius,[23] a famous fortune teller; and is said by Laertius[20] to be very skillful in divination, and to have foretold many things which came to pass; also by the Grecians were supposed to be very dear to the gods; likewise, Balaam, the soothsayer and diviner, is called a prophet (2 Peter 2:16).[24] Add to this, that the passage next cited stands in a poem of this writer, entitled, "Concerning Oracles"; and it is easy to observe, that poets in common were usually called "vates", or prophets; so that the author speaks here with great propriety.[25]
"Cretans are always liars": Epimenides wrote of the living of the inhabitants of the Crete as a sin common to human nature, that lying was "always" a governing vice among them, for instances, for saying that Jupiter's sepulchre was with them, when it was the sepulchre of Minos his son, which they had fraudulently obliterated; and for which[26] Callimachus charges them with lying, and uses these very words of Epimenides; though he assigns a different reason from that now given, which is, that Jupiter died not, but always exists, and therefore his sepulchre could not be with them, but more than that, seemingly the Cretians regard lying as their national sin;[27] and beside Epimenides, also said by others. Crete is called "mendax Creta", 'lying Crete' by Ovid.[28] Hence, with the Grecians, to "cretize", is proverbially used for to lie; this is a sin, than which nothing makes a man more like the devil, or more infamous among men, or more abominable to God. The Ethiopian version, instead of Cretes, or Cretians, reads "hypocrites".[25]
"Evil beasts": are meant beasts of prey, savage and mischievous ones (Genesis 37:20;[29] Genesis 37:33),[30] to distinguish them from other beasts, as sheep, and the like.
"Lazy gluttons" (NKJV; KJV: "slow bellies"): This expression by Epimenides is partly for the intemperance, gluttony and drunkenness of the Cretans, whose god was their belly, not the Lord Jesus, and partly for their laziness, eating other people's bread without working.[25]
^King James Version subscription after Titus 3:15 states "It was written to Titus, ordained the first bishop of the church of the Cretians, from Nicopolis of Macedonia."
^abcA. R. Faussett, The Pastoral Epistles of Paul the Apostle to Timothy and Titus. Commentary by A. R. Faussett. In: A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments by Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown [1882].
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