Titus 1 Study Notes

1:1 The purpose of Paul’s apostleship was to see people come to faith and grow in faith and knowledge of the truth. The word “truth” refers to the gospel specifically, and this gospel leads to godliness.

1:2-4 The hope of eternal life is also mentioned in 3:7. Biblical hope is certainty not wishful thinking. It is a vital part of the message of the gospel that Paul preached. The fact that God cannot lie is also declared in Nm 23:19 and 1Sm 15:29. Paul identified Titus as my true son. The words recall what Paul said of Timothy (1Tm 1:2; 2Tm 1:2).

1:5 On elders, see notes at 1Tm 3:1,2-7.

1:6 On husband of one wife, see note at 1Tm 3:2. With faithful children assumes, but does not require, such men will likely have children at home still under their authority. The word “faithful” can also be translated “believing.” This raises an important question about whether pastors are required to have Christian children or children who are more generally “faithful” or obedient. This word and its related forms in 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus most often refer to having saving faith and not merely to being “faithful.” But context is the primary issue in understanding which nuance of the word is intended. The emphasis of the context here is on a man fulfilling his duties well. No father can guarantee the conversion of his own children. He can better insure that they act in a “faithful” way while they live under his supervision. Also, the parallel passage in 1Tm 3 speaks only to the children being well behaved, not to their conversion. Thus, Paul was requiring pastors to govern the behavior of their children, not allowing them to be characterized by wildness or rebellion.

1:7-8 The overseer is not a separate office but is another word for elder. The list of characteristics is very similar to that found in 1Tm 3:2-7.

1:9 It was common for ancient authors to emphasize one item in a list by placing it at the beginning or end and then giving it significantly longer treatment than the other items. This is what Paul does here. While he spent only a few words on the items in vv. 6-9, his treatment of this last subject is both long and grammatically complex. By this means he emphasized the importance of an “overseer” (v. 7) being able to teach. The reason for this is clear from what follows (vv. 10-16).

1:10-11 The false teachers described here and in the following verses are very similar to those at Ephesus described in 1Tm 1:4-6. The elders were to be equipped and prepared to refute them. Paul’s description—they are ruining entire households . . . to get money dishonestly—recalls his words in 1Tm 6:5 and 2Tm 3:6.

1:12-13 Crete was known in the ancient world for its moral decadence. The ancient historian Polybius wrote that it was “almost impossible to find . . . personal conduct more treacherous or public policy more unjust than in Crete” (Histories, 6.47). Cicero also stated, “Moral principles are so divergent that the Cretans . . . consider highway robbery honorable” (Republic, 3.9.15).

1:14 On myths, see note at 1Tm 1:4. The specific content of the “myths” and commands Paul had in mind in the present verse is unstated, but the false teaching in Titus is more explicitly tied to a Jewish background (v. 10) than that referenced in 1 and 2 Timothy.

1:15 This statement echoes Jesus’s teaching (Lk 11:41) and Paul’s earlier writing (Rm 14:20). In light of the Jewish origin of the false teaching and contexts of the earlier use of similar wording by Jesus and Paul, the issue here was probably Jewish food laws. The false teachers seemed to be concerned with this ritual purity, but were nevertheless defiled by their own unbelief and sin.

1:16 The actions (works) of these people proved conclusively that they were unbelievers, although they claimed to know God. Paul was not hesitant to make such a judgment. The three descriptors at the end of the verse summarize the behavior that proved they did not know God.