Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Titus 3

Christians have a duty to government. “The people” refers to the members of the churches, not to all Cretans in general. “Remind” indicates that the duties now insisted on are not new to them; Titus must repeatedly press these duties upon their consciences. Early Christian preaching was never limited to the way of salvation but included instructions concerning the practical implications of that salvation for daily living. Paul wants believers to make a favorable impression on the non-Christian world.

The duty of believers is “to be subject to rulers and authorities.” “To be subject” (GK 5718) implies voluntary acceptance of this position of submission. “Rulers and authorities” signifies not the individual rulers but the various forms of human government (cf. also Ro 13:1–7; 1 Peter 2:13–17); the known turbulence of the Cretans made such an instruction particularly appropriate here.

“To be obedient” (GK 4272) states the result and visible demonstration of their attitude of submission. The context implies obedience to the particular demands of government, though the practice of obedience is not to be limited to these areas. It is assumed that the obedience demanded does not contradict explicit Christian duties.

As good citizens, believers must also “be ready to do whatever is good”—be prepared and willing to participate in activities that promote the welfare of the community. They must not stand coldly aloof from praiseworthy enterprises of government but show good public spirit, thus proving that Christianity is a constructive force in society.

Believers also have obligations to pagan neighbors. Negatively, they must “slander no one,” i.e., abstain from hurling curses and vicious epithets at those offending or injuring them. The demand requires inner grace but is appropriate for followers of Christ, who did not revile when he was reviled (1 Peter 2:23). Furthermore, they must be “peaceable” (lit., “nonfighting”; GK 285), refusing to engage in quarrels and conflicts. The Christian must not adopt the arts of the agitator.

Positively, Christians must be “considerate” (GK 2117) or gentle, not stubbornly insisting on their own rights but acting in courtesy and forbearance. Another positive duty is continually “to show true [lit., all] humility,” an attitude of mind that is the opposite of self-assertiveness and harshness. Humility is not to be exhibited only in dealing with fellow believers but must be shown “toward all men,” including those who are hostile and morally perverse. It is a difficult test of Christian character but one that effectively proves the genuineness of Christian profession.

The remembrance of our own past should be a powerful motive for gentleness and consideration toward the unsaved. “We were,” standing emphatically at the opening of the sentence, implies that what was once true of us is still true of the unsaved neighbor. The added “too” stresses that the condition described in retrospect applied to Paul and Titus as well as to the Cretan Christians; it is, in fact, true of all believers everywhere. It is salutary to remember our own past moral condition when dealing with the unsaved in their degradation.

The picture of our past is vividly and concisely drawn. We were “foolish” (GK 485)—without spiritual understanding and lacking discernment of spiritual realities because of the darkening effect of sin on the intellect (Ephesians 4:18). As outward evidence of our alienated condition, we were “disobedient”—willfully disregarding authority, refusing obedience to God’s law, and fretting under human authority. “Deceived” pictures active straying from the true course by following false guides. By allowing our conduct to be dictated by a wide variety of personal “passions and pleasures,” we inevitably became enslaved to them. Never finding true personal satisfaction in their pursuit, we lived our lives in the grip of the antisocial forces of “malice and envy,” harboring an attitude of illwill toward others and enviously begrudging others their good fortune. “Being hated” denotes being odious, repulsive, and disgusting to others. “Hating one another” marks the climax in the active operation of mutual antagonisms that hasten the dissolution of human society.

Our salvation roots in a definite historical event, “when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared.” “Appeared” (cf. 2:11) looks back to the salvation manifested in the incarnate Christ. The salvation embodied in him manifested two aspects of the nature of “God our Savior”: (1) his “kindness” (GK 5983) that prompted him to bestow forgiveness and blessings; (2) his “love” (GK 5792) or affection for us that he displayed in spite of our sin and degradation. These two concepts are closely connected and form one whole. Through his action in Christ, God is now revealed as “our Savior.” “Our” is strongly confessional and associates Paul with all those who have appropriated this Savior as their own (cf. Galatians 2:20).

(5a) “He saved us” simply records the historic fact of his saving work in all who have accepted salvation in Christ. We now possess his salvation, although it is still incomplete, awaiting its consummation at Christ’s return.

The basis of this experienced salvation is never due to personal merit but to God’s sovereign grace. The negative clause repeats Paul’s well-known denial of salvation by works (Romans 4:4–5; Galatians 2:16–17; Ephesians 2:8–9). Our salvation did not arise out of works that we ourselves had performed in righteousness, for as sinners, we were not able to perform any righteous deeds. Positively, God saved us “because of his mercy” (GK 1799). In our wretchedness he graciously withheld deserved punishment and freely saved us.

(5b-6) God’s salvation was mediated to us “through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” “Washing” (GK 3373) denotes an act that cleanses us from the defilement of sin. This washing is the means of our "rebirth” (GK 4098), the spiritual regeneration of the individual believer. Most commentators take the washing as a reference to water baptism. But if water baptism is the means that produces the spiritual rebirth, we then have the questionable teaching of a material agency as the indispensable means for producing a spiritual result (but cf. Matthew 15:1–20; Romans 2:25–29; Galatians 5:6). Thus the washing is properly a divine inner act, although the experience is symbolically pictured in Christian baptism. In the NT the inner experience is viewed as openly confessed before people in baptism.

The expression “through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” is open to two interpretations grammatically. (1) Both “rebirth” and “renewal” may be regarded as dependent on “washing” to form one concept. Then the washing of rebirth is further described as a renewal wrought by the Spirit. (2) The other view holds that the preposition “through” must be repeated with “renewal.” This view sees two separate aspects of salvation, in which case the washing is viewed as producing an instantaneous change that ended the old life and began the new, while the work of renewal by the Spirit, beginning with the impartation of the new life, is a lifelong activity in the experience of the believer. In Ro 12:2 this renewal is viewed as a continuing process; in Eph 5:26-27 the act of cleansing of the church is followed by the work of sanctification until no spot or wrinkle remains. This process of renewal in the believer is the work of the Holy Spirit. He alone can produce a new nature that finds active expression in an entirely new manner of life.

“Whom he poured out on us generously” stresses that God has made ample provision for the development of this renewed life. “Poured out” (GK 1772) had its primary fulfillment at Pentecost, but “on us” marks the pouring out as individually experienced at conversion (Romans 5:5). The Spirit’s work in each believer as a member of the body of Christ is a continuation of the Pentecostal outpouring. Every faulty or inadequate experience of renewal is always due to some human impediment, never to God’s inadequate provision. “Through Jesus Christ our Savior” states the channel through which the Spirit’s renewing presence was bestowed—a bestowal based on the finished work of Christ as Savior (15:26; Acts 2:33). The “our” is again confessional. Our acceptance of Christ as Savior is the human condition for the bestowal of the Spirit. Note the Trinity in vv.5b-6: “the Holy Spirit,” “he” (the Father), and “Jesus Christ.” Each member of the divine Trinity has his own special function in the work of human redemption.