King James Version
Titus 1
16 verses with commentary
Greeting
Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;
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<strong>Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ</strong>—The dual title δοῦλος (doulos, slave/servant) and ἀπόστολος (apostolos, sent one) establishes Paul's authority. He grounds his ministry <strong>according to the faith of God's elect</strong> (κατὰ πίστιν ἐκλεκτῶν θεοῦ)—divine election precedes and produces faith, not vice versa. Reformed theology's ordo salutis appears here: G...
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(1) **Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ.**—The titles here assumed by St. Paul in his introductory greeting are in some respects slightly different to any of his usual designations. In the other two so-called Pastoral Epistles addressed to Timothy, St. Paul simply styles himself “an Apostle of Jesus Christ.” Possibly, the longer and more formal title is here adopted because hi...
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9. (1Co 9:4-6, &c.; Ga 6:6.)
In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; In: or, For
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<strong>In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised</strong>—The phrase ὁ ἀψευδὴς θεός (ho apseudes theos, the unlying God) appears only here in Scripture, emphasizing God's ontological truthfulness. His very nature makes deception impossible (cf. Hebrews 6:18, Numbers 23:19). This isn't mere reliability but metaphysical incapacity for falsehood.<br><br><strong>Before the world b...
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(2) **In hope of eternal life.**—Better translated, *resting* *on the hope of eternal life.* The connection of the preceding clauses with these words has been well summed up: “The Apostle’s calling had for its object the faith of the elect and the knowledge of the truth; and the basis on which all this rested was the hope of eternal life.”
**Which God, that cannot lie.**—Possibly, this singular an...
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**10. For even--**Translate, "For also." We not only set you the example, but gave a positive "command."
**commanded--**Greek imperfect, "We were commanding"; we kept charge of you.
**would not work--**Greek, "is unwilling to work." Bengel makes this to be the argument: not that such a one is to have his food withdrawn from him by others; but he proves from the necessity of eating the necessit...
Read full commentary →But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;
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<strong>But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching</strong>—God's pre-temporal promise (v. 2) reaches temporal fulfillment κατὰ καιροὺς ἰδίους (kata kairous idious, at proper seasons). Divine timing is perfect; Galatians 4:4 says Christ came in "the fullness of time." The vehicle is κήρυγμα (kerugma, proclamation/heralding)—God's ordained means is not philosophy or mysticism but v...
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(3) **But hath in due times.**—Or better, *but hath in his own seasons*—that is, in the fitting seasons, those fixed by Him for the manifestation.
**Manifested his word.**—That is, His gospel. (See Romans 16:25.)
**Through preaching.**—Or, *in the preaching.* Paul does not shrink from calling his preaching the vehicle in which the Word or the gospel of God was to be publicly manifested, because he...
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**11. busy bodies--**In the Greek the similarity of sound marks the antithesis, "Doing none of their own business, yet overdoing in the business of others." Busy about everyone's business but their own. "Nature abhors a vacuum"; so if not doing one's own business, one is apt to meddle with his neighbor's business. Idleness is the parent of busybodies (1Ti 5:13). Contrast 1Th 4:11.
To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.
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<strong>To Titus, mine own son after the common faith</strong>—The term γνήσιον τέκνον (gnēsion teknon, genuine child) indicates spiritual parentage; Paul led Titus to faith. κοινὴ πίστις (koinē pistis, common faith) stresses the shared, objective nature of Christian belief—not private mysticism but the apostolic deposit once-for-all delivered (Jude 3).<br><br><strong>Grace, mercy, and peace</stro...
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(4) **To Titus.**—We know comparatively little of Titus’ earlier career. In the Acts he, singularly enough, is never mentioned; for what knowledge of him we possess we are entirely dependent upon a few casual allusions to him in the Epistles. This presbyter, in charge of the Cretan Church, was a Greek, the son of Gentile parents, and uncircumcised. It has been suggested, but upon very slight groun...
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**12. by--**The oldest manuscripts read, "IN the Lord Jesus." So the Greek, 1Th 4:1, implying the sphere wherein such conduct is appropriate and consistent. "We exhort you thus, as ministers IN Christ, exhorting our people IN Christ."
**with quietness--**quiet industry; laying aside restless, bustling, intermeddling officiousness (2Th 3:11).
**their own--**bread earned by themselves, not anoth...
Read full commentary →Qualifications for Elders
For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: wanting: or, left undone
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<strong>For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting</strong>—The verb ἐπιδιορθόω (epidiorthoō, to straighten further/set right) indicates ongoing correction. The Cretan church had foundational issues requiring apostolic authority. Paul's absence necessitated a duly authorized representative (Titus) to complete the organizational work.<br><br><s...
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(5) **For this cause left I thee in Crete.**—The “cause” is discussed below. Crete—over whose Christian population Titus had been placed by St. Paul—was a well-known large and populous island in the Mediterranean. It lies geographically further south than any of the European islands, and, roughly speaking, almost at an equal distance from each of the three Old World continents—Europe, Asia, Africa...
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**13. be not weary--**The oldest manuscripts read, "Be not cowardly in"; do not be wanting in strenuousness in doing well. Edmunds explains it: Do not culpably neglect to do well, namely, with patient industry do your duty in your several callings. In contrast to the "disorderly, not-working busybodies" (2Th 3:11; compare Ga 6:9).
If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.
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<strong>If any be blameless</strong> (ἀνέγκλητος, anegklētos)—not sinless perfection but a reputation above reproach, free from credible accusation. Public Christian witness matters; leaders' lives must adorn doctrine (2:10). <strong>The husband of one wife</strong> (μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἀνήρ, mias gynaikos aner)—literally "a one-woman man," emphasizing marital fidelity and sexual purity. This likely exc...
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(6) **If any be blameless.**—The candidate for the holy office must have naught laid to his charge; he must be of such a character that no one could bring a reasonable accusation against him. Blameless must be his life, spotless his name. As it has been well said, “the office of presbyter must never be allowed to cover or condone damaged reputations.”
**The husband of one wife.**—See Notes on 1Tim...
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**14. note that man--**mark him in your own mind as one to be avoided (2Th 3:6).
**that he may be ashamed--**Greek, "made to turn and look into himself, and so be put to shame." Feeling himself shunned by godly brethren, he may become ashamed of his course.
For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
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<strong>For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God</strong>—ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos, overseer/bishop) is synonymous with πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros, elder) in Titus 1:5-7 and Acts 20:17, 28. Biblical polity knows two offices: elders/overseers and deacons. οἰκονόμος θεοῦ (oikonomos theou, God's steward) stresses accountability; elders manage the Master's household and will give account (Hebre...
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(7) **For a bishop must be blameless.**—There is no doubt that the “bishop” here must be identified with the presbyter of Titus 1:6. In the Pastoral Epistles written between A.D. 63-67 these terms are clearly applied indifferently to the same person. The title presbyter refers to the gravity and dignity of the office; the title bishop suggests rather the duties which belong to an elder of the chur...
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**15. admonish him as a brother--**not yet excommunicated (compare Le 19:17). Do not shun him in contemptuous silence, but tell him why he is so avoided (Mt 18:15; 1Th 5:14).
But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; men: or, things
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After negative prohibitions (v. 7), Paul lists positive virtues. <strong>A lover of hospitality</strong> (φιλόξενον, philoxenon)—literally "stranger-loving," welcoming travelers and outsiders. Early Christians lacked church buildings; hospitality enabled gospel spread. <strong>A lover of good men</strong> (φιλάγαθον, philagathon)—or "lover of goodness," pursuing moral excellence. <strong>Sober</st...
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(8) **But a lover of hospitality.**—It has been suggested that this hospitality would be especially shown in the early centuries of Christianity, when Christians travelling from one place to another were received kindly and forwarded on their journey by their brethren; but the direction of St. Paul has that broader signification, so beautifully worded in the Epistle to the Hebrews, where we are to...
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**16. Lord of peace--**Jesus Christ. The same title is given to Him as to the Father, "the God of peace" (Ro 15:33; 16:20; 2Co 13:11). An appropriate title in the prayer here, where the harmony of the Christian community was liable to interruption from the "disorderly." The Greek article requires the translation, "Give you the peace" which it is "His to give." "Peace" outward and inward, here and ...
Read full commentary →Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. as: or, in teaching
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<strong>Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught</strong>—ἀντεχόμενον (antechomenon, clinging to/holding firmly) depicts tenacious grip on doctrinal truth. τοῦ πιστοῦ λόγου (tou pistou logou, the faithful/reliable word) refers to apostolic teaching, the Christian deposit. κατὰ τὴν διδαχήν (kata tēn didachēn, according to the teaching) stresses conformity to received tradition, not inn...
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(9) **Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught.**—More literally, *according to the teaching; *but the English version gives the sense clearly and exactly. The elder must, St. Paul says, hold fast the faithful word or saying; or, in other words, must steadily adhere to that Christian doctrine taught by St. Paul and his brother Apostles. So St. Paul pressed on Timothy, the chief presby...
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17. The Epistle was written by an amanuensis (perhaps Silas or Timothy), and only the closing salutation written by Paul's "own hand" (compare Ro 16:22; 1Co 16:21; Col 4:18). Wherever Paul does not subjoin this autograph salutation, we may presume he wrote the whole Epistle himself (Ga 6:11).
**which--**which autograph salutation.
**the token--**to distinguish genuine Epistles from spurious on...
Read full commentary →Rebuke False Teachers
For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:
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<strong>For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers</strong>—Paul explains why doctrinal vigilance matters (v. 9). ἀνυπότακτοι (anypotaktoi, unruly/rebellious) refuse spiritual authority. ματαιολόγοι (mataiologoi, vain talkers) produce empty, useless speech. φρεναπάται (phrenapātai, deceivers) literally "mind-misleaders," seducing people from truth. The false teachers are characterize...
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(10) **For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers.**—Nominally in the congregations of Christians, but in reality refusing all obedience, acting for themselves, factious, insubordinate. Titus would, alas, discover many such; these often would be found to be possessed of the gift of fluent and deceptive speech, and would deceive many. Professor Reynolds characterises such restless, un...
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18. He closes every Epistle by praying for GRACE to those whom he addresses.
**Amen--**omitted in the oldest manuscripts It was doubtless the response of the congregation after hearing the Epistle read publicly; hence it crept into copies.
The Subscription is spurious, as the Epistle was written not "from Athens," but from Corinth.
Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.
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<strong>Whose mouths must be stopped</strong>—ἐπιστομίζειν (epistomizein, to muzzle/silence) is strong language requiring decisive action. The verb suggests restraining animals; false teachers endanger the flock like wolves. This isn't mere disagreement but spiritual warfare requiring forceful response. Modern tolerance has little place for Paul's militancy, but souls' eternal destiny requires it....
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(11)**Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses.**—The translation should run here, *seeing they subvert, &c.* There was, indeed, grave cause why these men should be put to silence; the mischief they were doing in Crete to the Christian cause was incalculable. It was no longer individuals that their poisonous teaching affected, but they were undermining the faith of whole families. Fo...
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THE PASTORAL EPISTLES OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO TIMOTHY AND TITUS
One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.
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<strong>One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said</strong>—Paul quotes Epimenides, a sixth-century BC Cretan poet-philosopher considered prophetic in Greek culture. <strong>The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies</strong>—the famous "liar's paradox" (a Cretan saying Cretans lie). The stereotype described Cretans as: ψεῦσται (pseustai, liars), κακὰ θηρία (kaka thēria, evi...
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(12) **One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said.**—St. Paul had spoken (Titus 1:10-11) in the severest terms of certain influential members of the Cretan Church; he had even alluded to their disastrous teaching ruining whole families, evidently implying that he had perceived among the Cretans a readiness to welcome a teaching which countenanced a laxer moral tone, the invariable result...
Read full commentary →This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;
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<strong>This witness is true</strong>—Paul affirms Epimenides's assessment. The Cretan stereotype had sufficient accuracy to be pastorally useful. <strong>Wherefore rebuke them sharply</strong> (ἔλεγχε αὐτοὺς ἀποτόμως, elegche autous apotomōs)—ἀποτόμως means "abruptly/severely/curtly," not gently. The adverb suggests cutting decisiveness, not gradually coaxing. Particular sins require particular s...
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(13) **This witness is true.**—St. Paul emphatically here endorses the very severe judgment which their own great prophet-poet had written on the national Cretan character. He (St. Paul) had lived long enough in their midst to be able to bear his grave testimony to the truth of Epimenides’ words. He had witnessed the sad havoc in Christian life which their evil national propensities had caused.
**...
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INTRODUCTION
**Genuineness.--**The ancient Church never doubted of their being canonical and written by Paul. They are in the Peschito Syriac version of the second century. Muratori's Fragment on the Canon of Scripture, at the close of the second century, acknowledges them as such. Irenæus [Against Heresies, 1; 3.3.3; 4.16.3; 2.14.8; 3.11.1; 1.16.3], quotes 1Ti 1:4, 9; 6:20; 2Ti 4:9-11; Tit 3:10....
Read full commentary →Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.
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<strong>Not giving heed to Jewish fables</strong> (μὴ προσέχοντες Ἰουδαϊκοῖς μύθοις, mē prosechontes Ioudaikois mythois)—μῦθος (mythos, myth/fable/fabrication) appears five times in the Pastorals, always negatively. These aren't Old Testament truth but rabbinic additions—midrashic speculation, genealogical minutiae, and halakhic traditions elevating human tradition over Scripture. Compare Jesus's ...
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(14) **Not giving heed to Jewish fables.**—Such as we now find embodied in the Talmud. (See Note on 1Timothy 1:4.) The oral law and traditional interpretations and glosses had, to a great measure, obscured the original simple text. The Israelite of the time of St. Paul, trained in the stricter Jewish schools, was taught that the way to win the approval of the Most High was through the observance o...
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**2. my own son--**literally, "a genuine son" (compare Ac 16:1; 1Co 4:14-17). See Introduction.
**mercy--**added here, in addressing Timothy, to the ordinary salutation, "Grace unto you (Ro 1:7; 1Co 1:3, &c.), and peace." In Ga 6:16, "peace and mercy" occur. There are many similarities of style between the Epistle to the Galatians and the Pastoral Epistles (see Introduction); perhaps owing t...
Read full commentary →Unto the pure all things are pure : but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
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<strong>Unto the pure all things are pure</strong> (πάντα καθαρὰ τοῖς καθαροῖς, panta kathara tois katharois)—refers to Old Testament ceremonial laws about clean/unclean foods, not moral license. Jesus declared all foods clean (Mark 7:19); the kingdom is not eating and drinking (Romans 14:17). The ritually pure person isn't defiled by ritual impurity because Christ's work supersedes ceremonial law...
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(15) **Unto the pure all things are pure.**—The spirit of this famous saying of St. Paul, occurring almost in the same language in the Roman Letter (Romans 14:20), was the groundwork of much of the Gentile Apostle’s teaching. The words of the Lord Jesus above referred to (Matthew 15:2; Matthew 15:11) contain the same grand truth. “All things” include much besides mere food—in a word, include all a...
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3. Timothy's superintendence of the Church at Ephesus was as locum tenens for the apostle, and so was temporary. Thus, the office of superintending overseer, needed for a time at Ephesus or Crete, in the absence of the presiding apostle, subsequently became a permanent institution on the removal, by death, of the apostles who heretofore superintended the churches. The first title of these overseer...
Read full commentary →They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. reprobate: or, void of judgment
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<strong>They profess that they know God</strong> (θεὸν ὁμολογοῦσιν εἰδέναι, theon homologousin eidenai)—ὁμολογέω (homologeō, confess/profess) indicates public claim. These false teachers made verbal profession of knowing God. <strong>But in works they deny him</strong> (τοῖς δὲ ἔργοις ἀρνοῦνται, tois de ergois arnountai)—ἀρνέομαι (arneomai, deny/repudiate) is strong language Jesus used for apostas...
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(16) **They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him.**—These bitter foes to the truth, Titus must remember, will present themselves under the guise of friends. They will rank themselves in the Christian company openly, with their lips confessing God, but in their way of life, in their acts, practically denying the very things they were so careful to affirm with their lips; in other ...
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**4. fables--**legends about the origin and propagation of angels, such as the false teachers taught at Colosse (Col 2:18-23). "Jewish fables" (Tit 1:14). "Profane, and old wives' fables" (1Ti 4:7; 2Ti 4:4).
**genealogies--**not merely such civil genealogies as were common among the Jews, whereby they traced their descent from the patriarchs, to which Paul would not object, and which he would no...
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