Paul …
Summary: Paul’s letter begins with a formal introduction typical of most letters in his day. More than a formality, Paul’s name also adds credence to the letter.
Imagine that you are a dinner guest at the home of a Roman official in 65 AD. You arrive at the front entrance as late afternoon turns to early evening, and servants welcome you. They attend to your needs after your travel by washing your feet and giving you whatever you need to “freshen up.” Then, having been prepared, you are escorted inside.
The servant leads you down a colonnade. Torchlight casts a flickering glow on the marble columns and the stone pavers under your feet. Ahead you see the light of the main room, and the sound of music drifts towards you on the scented air. Arriving, the servant pulls the curtain back and ushers you through.
The light inside is much brighter. You blink and look around. The music stops, and with it the conversation. The people inside turn to see who has arrived. The servant, standing to one side, announces you. In a loud and formal voice, he gives your name, followed by your credentials. Who you are in the hierarchy of Roman social life. Having been introduced, you smile at everyone who is there and descend three shallow steps into the heart of the room. The music and conversation resume and you are now part of the group.
Paul’s letter follows a similar pattern. Who is this letter from? Who is it to? It was not like there was a Post Office in Paul’s day to discretely and privately deliver words from one friend to another. Instead, a letter had to take on a life of its own. It had to find its way from the sender to the recipient. On the way, people might need to know who it was from and who it was going to.
In this case, Paul is writing instructions to the church as a whole. His muse is Titus, but the words he has written apply to all churches and all church leaders. Who is speaking through this letter is important.
Throughout history, God has spoken to the people of the earth through people he chose for the purpose. At the same time, Satan has inspired people to offer competing messages, also claiming to be from God. All through the Old Testament, people have had to decide, is this prophecy I am hearing from God or not? Is this instruction, this command from God, or is it a lie? The same thing was true in Paul’s day. People struggled to discern whether his words were from God.
The fact that this letter was from Paul was important. Paul’s entire life has been devoted to God. The first half of his life was devoted to misunderstandings about God. The second half of his life was devoted to the Living God, Jesus. It is right that Paul should follow the formalities of writing letters in his day. It is also right that he should present his credentials. Who wrote the words we are about to read is important to know. Paul wants to make sure that we have no question on that point.
Application: Look up the letters in the New Testament that were written by Paul. Examine the first paragraphs of each.
Food for Thought: What makes Paul uniquely qualified to offer Titus instruction on Christian life?
He is uniquely qualified for many reasons. But the “uniquely” word leads me to the fact that he was an apostle chosen by God for this purpose. The rest of verse one points this out – he was appointed as an apostle for a purpose. A purpose that uniquely qualifies him to instruct us in the Christian life.
Rich,
You are right! I guess the question kind of begs us to get ahead of ourselves. 🙂
Paul is an Apostle of Christ, obedient to the Holy Spirit to spread the Good News of Christ to the gentiles. On one of his missionary journeys, Paul had started a number of churches in Crete and for some reason had to leave. The Holy Spirit has directed this followup letter to be written to Titus, one of his disciples who he left in charge to attend to the ongoing details of organizing the church, and leadership to promote stability, growth and guard against the false doctrine.
Thank you, Ron.
You highlight one of Paul’s outstanding characteristics: He was obedient to the Holy Spirit. He went where he was told to go and said what he was told to say. This quality sets him apart as one of a very elite group of people who have been as faithful as he.
Maybe it’s because he was set against The Way until he was brought down by the Light that blinded him,..he put people through persecution and then went through it for himself,..that’s kind of unique,..Never have I read about Jesus disciples doing whay Paul had done,..other than maybe Judas Iscariot,..but we know what happened to him,..Paul on the other hand had a change of heart as well as a change of name,..he has experience in the details of Christian life,…sometimes it is good to learn from other peoples mistakes,..Paul gave a crash course on what not to do,..he has learned from his own mistakes,..kinda like us,..well I hope anyway,..I know I have learned from the plenty mistakes I have made in this life God has called me to live and I am thankful for the forgiveness Jesus gave me at the cross to live this life He has called me to live,..
John,
You make a great point! Paul was very unique in that sense. He covered both extremes of the spectrum. He was unique in his ability to relate to those who hated the truth of the Gospel as well as those who had been taken captive by God’s love.