An Analysis of Titus 2:11-15

11-14God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation’s available for everyone! We’re being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness.

15Tell them all this. Build up their courage, and discipline them if they get out of line. You’re in charge. Don’t let anyone put you down. (The Message)

11For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

15These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you. (NIV)

In Deuteronomy 31:30-32:43, we read a hymn of Moses that challenges us to face the struggle of not turning our backs on God. Time and time again, the Israelites turned from God to serve idols. But before we start thinking how much better we are than they, we need to face the reality that we too can often struggle in our relationship with Christ.

As we study this chunk of verses from the pastoral epistle to Titus from Paul, I am reminded of the powerful words written by Edward Mote. You may not know who he was. He was born in 1797 in London, England and spent his early years as a cabinet maker. A fine Christian man, a major influence in his life was a preacher, John Hyatt. Mote would eventually become a baptist minister and serve for over 26 years at a large church in Sussex. So loved by his congregation, that they offered him title to the church building. He declined, saying:

I do not want the chapel, I only want the pulpit; and when I cease to preach Christ, then turn me out of that.

He would pen these words that are still sung in church today:

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

1. Some background information

Paul addressed this letter to “Titus, my true son in our common faith” (1:4). This shows a that there existed a very close and affectionate relationship between Paul, the elder statesman of the ministry, and the young pastor, Titus.

Titus is just short of a man of mystery. Considering how close he was to the great apostle, there is no mention of him in Acts, and aside from this letter addressed to him, his name is mentioned in only three Pauline epistles, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and 2 Timothy.

These few and fleeting references to Titus show him to be trustworthy, efficient, and a valued co-worker. He apparently had a dynamic personality, was energetic in his work, resourceful and tactful in dealing with people.

Paul wrote this letter to Titus to encourage and strengthen the young preacher in his work on the island of Crete. Circumstances were difficult on Crete and Paul knew Titus would face stiff opposition to the Gospel there. The prevailing moral conditions were low and the Christians there seemed to be given to spiritual laziness and indifference to the sin around them. They seemed to feel like the grace of salvation had everything to do with their spiritual lives but was unrelated to their daily conduct. Titus was urged by Paul to insist on the need for sound doctrine and a high level of moral and social conduct by Christians. In other words, Christian conduct must be grounded in the fundamental truths of the Word of God.

2. The Foundation for Godly Living

The word “for” in verse 11(NIV) is small but significant because it shows that Paul was more than just a pastor but a masterful theologian. By using this one, three-letter word, Paul links all moral and ethical conduct to Christian doctrine and the teachings of Scripture.

(a) God’s grace, verses 11,12

Manifested. God’s great plan of salvation and the redemption of man is based on the manifestation of His grace. Only God’s free grace can transform a sinful human being and deliver them from the guilt of those sins. The remarkable phrase “has appeared” in an emphatic position at the beginning of this sentence, showing that this grace is a historical reality. How was God’s grace manifested to man? Christ’s entire earthly life: His birth, His life, His death, and His resurrection all resulted in an epiphany of God’s grace to man. In fact, that’s the word used in the Greek, epephane, which conveys the image of a blinding light appearing suddenly in the midst of a black void. What an apt description of God’s grace, breaking through the blackness of immorality and the spiritual darkness that engulfs all people.

On the subject of God’s grace, Hendriksen and Kistemaker make the following observation:

God’s grace is His active favor bestowing the greatest gift upon those who have deserved the greatest punishment.

And of course, that “greatest gift” is the forgiveness of sins and the purging of guilt from our souls. We who stand condemned before the Judge of the Universe are set free because of God’s grace manifested in Christ Jesus!

Trains. God’s grace was manifested to sinful man in the Person of Jesus Christ, and God’s grace is also active in man’s life as it trains him in the life of faith. In the Greek, the word translated “teaching” (NIV) and “has shown” (The Message) is the verb form of the noun pedagogue. A pedagogue in Bible times was the “school master” who taught young boys about life. In the same way, grace gently leads and guides believers. Grace never confuses believers. Grace does not force its views upon people. On the contrary, like the pedagogue of old, God’s grace works quietly in the background by teaching (Acts 7:22;22:3), chastening (1Tim. 1:20; 1 Cor. 11:32, etc.), counseling, comforting, encouraging, admonishing, guiding, convicting, rewarding, and restraining.

Negatively, God’s grace encourages us to renounce or reject all ungodliness (Rom. 1:18-32). When grace is allowed to take over a person’s life, that person repudiates ungodliness. It’s a daily action and definite decision a person makes. No one sleep walks into heaven.

Positively, God’s grace teaches us how to live in this present age. The lives of all believers need to be consistently, mindful of three directions:

Inward. “Self controlled.” This means making the proper use of our natural desires and drives which are not sinful in and of themselves and mastering those that lead to sin.

Outward. “Fairness” or “living righteously.” This means living right, treating others justly and honestly and living with honor and integrity.

Upward. This means being fully “devoted” to God, giving Him all the reverence and respect that He is due.

Such a life is possible even in this present age, and such a life is our duty as believers.

(b) Christ’s Return, verse 13

God’s grace trains us so that we may live holy and consecrated lives while we are waiting the “blessed hope,” the personal return of Christ. The verb “wait for” describes an eager expectancy and is written in the present tense, signifying that this “eager expectancy” of Christ’s return is to be an attitude that should mark the believer’s life. This attitude should give us strength and motivation to live right.

The phrase “the glorious appearing” is a little more complicated than it appears at first reading. The NIV’s use of the dash suggests that “the glorious appearing” is a definition of “the blessed hope.” Yet in the Greek the phrase looks like this: “the blessed hope and appearing of the glory,” all under one article. This suggests that the one event, the second coming, is seen from two aspects. For believers, the second coming truly is the blessed hope and the one event that we are all waiting for. But for Christ, His second coming will vindicate His character as the Lord of glory.

(c) Grace: The Purifier, verse 14

Moving from the eschatological future, Paul comes back to the work of Christ in human history: His redemptive work. The One who will come back in glory, is the One who gave Himself to redeem us. Jesus Christ gave nothing less than Himself, and this for us, for our interest and in our stead. Paul mentions this at this juncture because he wants his readers to reflect on this truth. When we realize what Christ did, it should result in a life lived to honor Him.

Christ’s giving Himself for us was the greatest of all gifts He could give. But because of our sinfulness, His work produced a dual result:

Negatively, He gave Himself to redeem us; to ransom us from an evil power. That ransom-price was His own blood (1 Peter 1:18, 19) and that evil power was lawlessness, that disobedient streak inside each of us.

Positively, He gave Himself so that He may purify us (through His blood and Spirit, Eph. 5:26; Heb. 9:14) so that we may become fit to be His people.

3. Summary, verse 15

With verse 15, Paul gives a fitting conclusion to this chapter. Titus must never grow slack in his duty. Indeed, Titus must never stop but continually present the practical instructions of this chapter to the people, ever mindful of their proper doctrinal setting. The Greek suggests that Titus’ central duty as pastor was to do three things, revolving around the verb “teach.”

He must continue to teach the people, encouraging them to a worthy life based on those teachings from the Word of God; He must rebuke, if necessary, any person who is lazy in their Christian life; He must do these things with authority (“all authority”). For Titus, and all ministers, that authority descends, not from their office in the church, but from the nature of the Message itself. No messenger is ever to be raised above the Message he delivers; the authority is the Message itself.

So, in these few verses, we see the solid foundation for living a godly life rests in a knowledge of the Word of God and putting that knowledge into work. Believers are enabled to do this by the grace of God. The grace of God is an amazing thing to contemplate. God’s grace is active in three dimensions:

Past: “The grace of God appeared,” verse 11;
Present: The grace of God “teaches” us, verse 12;
Future: The grace of God will be fulfilled in Christ’s “glorious appearing.”

When believers realize the power of grace, we will have the confidence to live a godly life and this is the message that need to be taught.