Tyndale Open Study NotesTitus 1

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

knowledge … that leads to godliness: See 2:11–14; 1 Timothy 6:3.

• Believing that they have eternal life enables God’s people to live well now (see 2:11–14; 3:7–8).

• God, who cannot lie: The true God contrasts with popular Cretan ideas (see study note on 1:12). This statement also emphasizes God’s plan of salvation as unchanging (1:1): God can be trusted to fulfill his promises (see Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Romans 3:3–4).

• 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).

• 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).

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.

• 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).

• 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.

• 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).

• A church leader (or An overseer, or A bishop) is a manager of God’s household: See 1:11; 2:2–10; 1 Timothy 1:4; 3:4–5, 12, 15; 2 Timothy 2:20–21.

• These qualities indicate that an elder should not behave like the people in Crete known for their immorality (see Titus 1:12).

• 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.

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).

• 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.

• entire households: This also happened in Ephesus (compare 1 Timothy 4:3; 2 Timothy 2:18; 3:6).

• for the sake of dishonorable gain: Elders must not have this characteristic (Titus 1:7; see also 1 Timothy 6:5–10; 2 Corinthians 2:17; 1 Peter 5:2).

• 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.

• 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).

• Jewish myths: See 3:9; 1 Timothy 1:4; 4:7; 2 Timothy 4:4.

• have rejected the truth: This was apostasy not mere unbelief. Apostasy is when someone abandons or rejects their beliefs. See 1 Timothy 1:6–7.

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).

Compare 1 Timothy 4:3–5.

• Sound teaching and godliness are always linked together in the letters to Timothy and Titus (see 1 Timothy 1:7–11; 3:15–16; 5:24–25; 2 Timothy 3:5, 9). Similarly, the ungodly way they live is connected with false teaching.

• any good deed: This contrasts with Titus 3:1.