To Titus …
Summary: The Bible does not give us much detail about Titus, or anyone else for that matter. The focus of the Bible is on God, which is the way it should be.
In our meditations on 1 Peter, we talked about Silas the scribe in “Unsung Hero.” Today, we introduce another “unsung hero” of the New Testament; Titus.
Outside of the fact that Paul thought enough of Titus to write a letter to him, we do not know much about Titus. Other than this letter, his name appears once in 2 Timothy (4:10), twice in Galatians (2:1,3) and nine times in 2 Corinthians (2:13; 7:6, 13, 14; 8:6, 16, 17, 23; 12:18). Reading through these references, we learn that Titus:
- Was considered a brother by Paul (2 Cor 2:13)
- Was also considered a partner and co-worker (2 Cor 8:23)
- He was a Greek (Gal 2:3)
The rest of what we know about Titus comes from this letter. We can infer certain things from what has been said about him and to him. This letter we are studying will tell us a lot about him. How Paul talks to him and what he says will paint a picture of what Titus is capable of doing. Even so, that is a very indirect picture. It is a bit like the silhouette cutouts teachers used to make of their young students in grade school. You can see the outline of the person, but there is no detail.
This kind of thing is rather common in the Bible. We know very little about any of the people in the New Testament. We know what they said and did, but very little about who they were. What did Paul like to do with his spare time? What was his family like? What did Luke look like, or Peter? Did they have a favorite food? Were they chatty or quiet? In most cases, we don’t know.
There is a reason for this: The Bible is not about them. It is about God.
It is God’s book, not man’s. If it were a book about men, do you think we would know every mistake made by every person the Bible talks about from Adam on down? No, of course not. If this were a book by men, it would be about how great men are. We would be reading about the success of the Tower of Babel instead of its demise. There would be no stories about great floods. The Jews would never have recorded their embarrassing years as slaves in Egypt. And every king who ever lived, from David on down, would have been hyping their successes instead of their failures.
The Bible is about God. Every ounce of glory in the Bible belongs to God. The Bible is about our dependence on God and our need for him. In the case of this letter called “Titus,” it is about God’s instructions to Titus as given through Paul. Paul and Titus are incidental to this story. What is important is what God has to say.
Application: Our story is really part of God’s story. Without God we are nothing and the ending is dark and grim. With God, our story is joyful and our joy is in praising our Maker and Redeemer.
Food for Thought: How does this letter to Titus glorify God?
Excellent devotion brother. It is all about God and His glory. People cannot save us, only Jesus saves. The book of Titus glorifies God because it points us to Him. It reveals more about how to be in His will and grow in relationship with Him. I think you kind of answered your own question 😉
Thank you, Rich.
My answer was kinda general. You folks in Commenter’s Land get to do the heavy lifting. 🙂
How does this letter to Titus glorify God?
Titus himself glorified God: He was a Gentile who had not grown up worshiping the one true God, Galatians 2:3. He listened to Paul’s teachings, and believed in Jesus as his heart responded to the message, Titus 1:4. Paul took him to Jerusalem to show the apostles and other Jewish believers how a Gentile could love God just as much as they did, Acts 15:2.
He represented all the non-Jewish people who became Christians and were completely accepted by God through their faith in Jesus Christ. He traveled with Paul on missionary journeys and helped share the gospel, 2 Corinthians 8:6,16-17, 23.
The written truths of God being preserved by God for almost 2,000 years glorifies God. God is glorified in every empowered act of the believers remaining on earth.
1:1, God has sends messengers to lead, encourage, provide strength to those He calls, which leads to godliness.
1:2-4, God promised eternal life to and equips His people, has provided the way for our salvation, gives all grace and peace. .
1:5-:9, God is Holy, His standards for righteous living are far above those of men.
1:10, The ways of the disobedient of this world are detestable, worthless for any good work of God.
2:1-5, God empowers the older men and women to properly teach the younger to uphold, not dishonor His word.
2:6-8, God provides purity, self control and integrity to his faithful, to the younger men which is seen in their good works.
1:9-10, Bond servants are obedient, trustworthy, bring credit to the teachings of God by the power of God.
2:11-12 The grace of God brings salvation for all people. The power to reject ungodliness, immoral desires and live sensible upright lives with a purpose reflecting spiritual maturity.
2:13 Gods people wait confidently wait for the returning of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
3:1, Gods people are subject to rulers and authorities, obedient, ready and willing to do good,
3:2-3, We are empowered to live without slander or abuse, kind, conciliatory, gentle, showing consideration and courtesy toward everyone. 3 For we were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various sinful desires and pleasures, spending and wasting our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.
3:4-6, The goodness, kindness of God our Savior, His love for mankind appeared as the Man, Jesus Christ, 5 He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we have done, but because of His own compassion and mercy, by the cleansing of the new birth, spiritual transformation, regeneration, and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out richly upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior,
3:7 Our Savior God has made us free of the guilt of sin by His compassionate, undeserved grace, we live, acknowledged as acceptable to Him, made heirs of eternal life actually experiencing it according to His guarantee.
Ron,
Nice work! There is a lot in Paul’s letter to Titus that points the glory to God. I especially appreciated your point about, “The written truths of God being preserved by God for almost 2,000 years glorifies God. ” This is a testament to God’s oversight of his word.
Jeff, as you and Rich have said so very well, it’s all about God!
Ron
Titus got mentioned in the bible 12 times.
I got mentioned in the bible only once. The part about sinners falling short of the glory of God…ya, that was me God is referring to.
Happy Monday.
Rob,
You make me smile, brother! I am pretty sure you have a lot of company! 🙂
I knew that passage was about Rob 😉
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Lol.