What Does Titus 2:12 Mean?

(12) **Teaching us.**—Literally, *disciplining us; *educating us by life’s sad experiences. God’s grace is in truth a stern discipline of self-denial and training for higher things. **Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts.**—More accurately, *to the intent that, having denied, *&c. The object of the loving discipline of our Father in heaven is that we, having done with those things in life which are offensive or dishonourable to God, having put aside as worthless all inordinate desires for the things of this world—all those things which exclusively belong to this life and have nothing to do with the life to come—having denied all this, that we should live as righteous men the remainder of our lives here. **We should live soberly, righteously, and godly.**—In these three terms the blessed life our Lord would have His own to lead on earth is summed up—to ourselves, to our neighbour, and to our God. The first, “soberly,” to ourselves—wisely and temperately, keeping ever a mastery over our passions; the second, “righteously”—justly and honourably, having due regard to our duty towards our neighbour; the third, “godly”—piously, ever remembering to live as in the presence of the Eternal. **In this** **present world.**—Or, *in the present course of things.* The Apostle adds these words to his summary of the life Christians should lead, to remind them that the present world was but a transitory, passing scene after all, and that there was another and a different “course of things” at hand; and this leads him on to another point. The manifestation of the “grace of God,” in the first coming of the Lord *in humiliation* (Titus 2:11), teaches us to live our lives in expectation of the second manifestation of His glory in His second coming *in power* (Titus 2:13). We must—in this great passage contained in Titus 2:11-14—bear in mind that there is a two-fold epiphany spoken of: the one, the manifestation of the “grace of God”—*that* is *past* (it was the first coming and the earthly life of Christ); the other, the manifestation of the “glory of God”—*that is to come.* It will be shown in the second advent when the Lord comes in glory with His holy-angels; and the first epiphany (*manifestation*) in humiliation is an ever-present reminder to us to live in continued expectation of the second in glory.