The Apostle Paul wrote this letter (epistle) in accordance with the information that God and the Lord Jesus Christ revealed to him.
Titus was a holy-person (a sanctified-person, Christian, saint, a child of the only true God) of the Greek Gentile background who traveled with Paul and delivered Paul’s letters for him from time to time.
Titus 1:1:
1:1Paul, a slave of God but an apostle of Jesus Christ….
Paul begins this letter by first identifying himself to Titus by name: Paul. Then he identifies himself by 'job-title' or 'work-function' relative-to his working/service relationship with God and then with Jesus Christ.
He writes that he is God’s slave. He was bound to serve God. In the first place, God was his Master as regards his work being a holy-person. This service as a slave meant that his whole being was at the service of, in service to – God. Paul carried-out his service by his own freedom of will. Wherever Paul was and whatever he was doing he was to behave as a slave of God, not a slave serving anybody or anything else, even though at times during his life he was physically-bound with physical-chains to soldiers in prison! Even so, God was ultimately his Master, the One Whom Paul believed and obeyed and from Whom Paul took his instructions. During Biblical times, a master was obligated to take-care of his slave (bond servant) and the slave was obligated to do all his master would ask of him. It was a mutually-beneficial relationship between the master and his slave.
Secondly, as regards Paul’s working/service relationship with Jesus Christ, he writes that he is an apostle. An "apostle" is a person sent-forth or sent-away by someone on a specific mission or assignment to someone else, and we read that Paul was sent-forth by Jesus Christ (refer to Acts 9:1-20, 22:1-21, and 26:1-23).
Paul makes it clear to Titus, and anyone else that would read this letter afterwards, that he had not decided this all by himself, nor was there some "unknown force" driving him to do the things that he was doing, nor was he deluded into thinking that he was somebody else, nor did he decide that he had reached the level of being "good enough" to be an apostle to his neighbors or to the whole world, nor was there a committee involved in this decision, nor had he "forced" God or Jesus Christ into making him an apostle!
Titus 1:1-3:
1:1Paul, a slave of God but an apostle of Jesus Christ according to (the) belief of (the) selected-people of God and full-knowledge of truth, the (truth) according to reverence, .2on hope of eternal life which the un-lying God promised before agelong (chronological-)times .3but He manifested His word at (His) own (specific-)times in a heralded-proclamation, which I was trusted-with according to (the) command of God our Savior –
Paul, a slave of God but an apostle of Jesus Christ…
Before we continue - it is interesting to notice some things:
The word “times” in verse 2 refers to chronological times (different times lasting for particular durations, quantities, lengths of time), but the word “times” in verse 3 refers to specific times (the opportune or precise periods, occasions, seasons pertaining to specific matters).
The Greek word aionios may be translated into English as “eternal” or “agelong” depending on the context.
In verse 2 the phrase “on hope of eternal life” - the life being referred to will not end. It is eternal, agelong in terms of not ending, lifelong, everlasting. It lasts throughout all durations of life, all ages from the time a person receives it. This life can only be received by God's giving of holy spirit by means of the Lord Jesus Christ. All holy-people (Christians) have received holy spirit-life within us, which is the spirit of Christ in us. It is the deposit, token, earnest of what we will receive at a future time. This holy spirit-life will remain for the duration of God's life which will not end.
Also in verse 2, the phrase “agelong times” again has the Greek word aionios. It is used in this context to refer to the agelong times that began in chronological motion from the day when God first spoke the promise of the coming savior, the Christ, in Genesis 3:15, and then God expelled mankind from Paradise that same day in Genesis 3:23 and 24 putting His gracious plan of redemption and salvation into active motion. These agelong times had a starting point and they will also have an ending point. They will not last forever but will end when all things will be subjected to Christ and then he gives the kingdom over to God and himself also in subjection to God (refer to I Corinthians
In verse 3, the Greek verb translated as "trusted-with" comes from the root-word pisteuo which means "to believe, to have faith, to trust." When it is in the passive form of the verb with accusative, as it is in this context here, it has the meaning that the recipient of what is given is being believed-in by the giver that he is willing and capable of taking-care-of and fulfilling all that is involved pertaining to that-which is given to him. The recipient is entrusted with what is given to him by the giver. God entrusted Paul with the heralded proclamation relevant to this specific time - what a great privilege and responsibility had been entrusted to him!
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True Bible Study - First and Second Timothy and Titus
