Titus 1:1-4
1 “Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, 2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, 3 but at the proper time revealed His word in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior;4 To Titus, my true son in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.”
Bond-servant: Bond-servants were willing servants to their masters. Likewise, Paul was a willing servant to the Gospel that had changed his life.
Knowledge of the truth: God’s grace leads to godliness. When we believe we are made completely righteous to the core. This means that grace encourages righteous living. This is a central theme of Titus. We don’t need to focus on trying to be moral people. Our focus is to be on God’s grace in Christ, and to allow this to encourage us to live righteously.
To Titus: Titus was Gentile who was led to Christ by the apostle Paul. Titus ministered on the island of Crete. It’s unknown as to whether Titus taught but he evidently had the task of acting as an administrator, setting up the leadership for the church.
Hope: Paul is not speaking of hope as a speculation about eternal life. For Paul, hope is a reality. The hope is something that is unshakeable and unbreakable.
Cannot lie: The New Covenant is founded on God’s promise to humanity. God has sworn to Himself that He will save forever all who believe in Jesus (see Hebrews 7:25).
God our savior: Paul is reminding Christians that their Savior is none other than God Himself. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are responsible for our salvation. Before time began it was the entire Trinity who set out the plan of salvation in Christ.
Grace and peace: God is giving us endless grace and peace. This is God’s message to the world today regardless of what we may feel or experience because of life’s difficulties. In Christ, God has provided an all-sufficient salvation. When we believe we become beneficiaries of God’s grace and as a result experience His peace.
