Titus Study #5

“Living Looking Upward”

Titus 2:11-14

Study #5 in Titus Series

 

INTRODUCTION: 

·       What is your “perspective” on life?

ü  Are you an optimist, or a pessimist?

ü  Are you a giver, or a taker?

ü  Are you a doer, or a watcher?

·       Our English word “perspective” comes from the Latin verb, perspicere, meaning “to see through, to inspect, to look through, or to look closely at,” as with a lens or a telescope.

·       We all see through some sort of lens:

ü  our education

ü  our beliefs

ü  our values

ü  our convictions

ü  our experiences, etc.

·       For a Christian, the New Birth, God’s Word, and the indwelling Holy Spirit should determine our attitudes and everything we see or think.

·       A “new creature” should be new in every way. (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17)

 

TRANSITION: 

Titus 2:11-14 tells us what our perspective should be. There are few passages in the NT that so vividly explain the moral and spiritual power of the Incarnation as this passage does. (i.e., God become a man so that He might redeem us to Himself through the Cross.)

 

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 11: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,

·       “…the grace of God” (Greek χάρις, charis) = A gift freely given with no thought of receiving something in return; in this case shown even to enemies!

·       “…has appeared” = The Greek verb is ἐπιφαίνω from which we get our word, epiphany (see also in vs. 13). This occurred in the fulness of time in the past.

·       “…bringing salvation” = σωτήριος (sotérios) is a one-word Greek adjective qualifying the word grace, i.e., salvation bringing grace. (N.B. the word order does not change the meaning)

·       Note that Paul is not saying that all men are saved, but that God has graciously provided salvation all over the world for those who will take advantage of it.

 

Verse 12: …instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age,

·       “instructing us” = Greek παιδεύω, paideuō, is the word for teaching children, e.g., how to print their letters, brush their teeth, tie their shoes, etc.

·       “…to deny ungodliness and worldly desires” – (negative command). Deny = disown, not ignore. See Isaiah 1:16, “Cease to do evil; learn to do good.” We are not born knowing how to live godly lives. We must be taught.

·       “…worldly desires” – Chrysostom, one of the Early Church Fathers, defined worldly desires as things which do not pass over with us into Heaven but are burned up together with this present world. They are kindling, thus a waste of time and effort.

·       “…to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in this present age” = (a positive command). We live in a wicked world in wicked times. We need to be instructed in how to navigate our way through the swamp. 

 

[N.B. Past = Verse 11, Present = Verse 12, Future = Verse 13]

 

·       “…to live sensibly” = The word means soberly and prudently, with temperance. Thus, we must be careful and watchful, living life with our eyes wide open.

·       “…to live righteously” = This word focuses on our horizontal relationships with other people. We are to live justly, giving people their just due, treating them fairly.

·       “…to live godly” = A synonym is “reverently.” It refers to our relationship with God, and speaks of a life of devotion, faith, reverence, and obedience.

·       “…in this present age” = The Greek phrase is νῦν αἰών, nun aiōn. We are immersed in this world. It is like the very air we breathe. But the world is not to be in us, and we are not to be of the world. (e.g., A boat on the water is good; but water in the boat is bad, very bad.)

 

Verse 13: …looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,

·       “…looking for” = Like the lookout up in the “crow’s-nest” of a ship watching out for icebergs; or like refugees coming into NY Harbor trying to catch a first glimpse of the Lady of Liberty; or like the families of the Colombia crew scanning the sky to see their loved ones coming back into the atmosphere.

·       “…the blessed hope and appearing”  – This is the same word, epiphany, that we saw up in verse 11. The “blessed hope” is the appearing of Christ. These are not two different things, but one and the same thing. In Greek grammar the Granville Sharp Rule states that when two nouns of the same case are joined by καί (and) with the first noun having the definite article, then the two nouns are equal. That means that “the blessed hope” and “the appearing” are equal, they are the same thing. The Blessed Hope equals the Appearing of Christ’s Glory. His glorious return is the blessed hope of the believer.

·       Paul is telling us that we are to “Live Looking Upward,” thus, the title of this study.

·       “…our great God and Savior” = The same Granville Sharp Rule applies to this verse. Paul is saying that Jesus is our Savior and our God. 

 

Verse 14: …who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

·       “…who gave Himself for us” = He gave Himself in our place, on our behalf, in place of us. (e.g., “I’ll give you this for that.” = meaning in exchange for, in trade) – cf. 2 Cor. 5:21, “He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

·       “…to redeem us…for Himself” = Meaning to buy us back out of the slave market of sin.

·       N.B. The Negative (-) = Notice, He redeemed us from the power of lawlessness, sin, and iniquity.

·       The Positive (+) = He purifies us and makes us fit for Heaven to belong to God.

·       “…for His own possession” In Greek “His own possession” is just one word, περιούσιος, perioúsios. The KJV translates this as “…a peculiar people” which to us implies weird or strange. But that is not the meaning! The word actually means “special, set apart, reserved for.” The word was used for that part of the spoils of a battle or a campaign that the conquering king set aside, especially for himself. Through the work of Jesus Christ, the Christian becomes fit to be the special possession of God. He becomes good enough to belong to God through no effort of his own but by the purifying work of the Word and the Holy Spirit of God.

 

CONCLUSION:

That is the power of Christ’s redemptive work! – for the past, present, and future

1.    Past = Christ liberated us from the power and penalty of past sin.

2.    Present = He enables us to live a victorious godly life here and now.

3.    Future = He cleanses and transforms us to fit into the life to come as God’s own precious possession. 

 

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A personal note to my readers:

I love producing these studies and putting them online. While I am no longer in active full-time ministry since retiring, I still teach a weekly community Bible study here in Eastern Oregon where we now live. These study notes are what I am teaching each week. My prayer is always that they will be helpful to people seeking to know the Bible better. At the end of every study there is a comment box for people to weigh in with observations or questions but almost no one ever does that. I do not know why. Over the past few months, the number of people who are accessing the blog has increased and I am curious about who you are, how you found me, and how you are using the studies. Are you mostly using them in your personal devotions, or as source material for your teaching or preaching? Any way you choose to use them is fine with me. I am just happy that you are finding them helpful. Please tell me a little about yourself – where in the world you live, what your life is like, how you are growing as a Christ follower – things like that. You can use the comment box or if you prefer, my email address is nosliwekim88@gmail.com. May God pour out His richest blessings on you and your loved ones. Mike