V. The Grace of God. A. The Life of Grace (Titus 2:11-13)

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1 V. The Grace of God November 4/5, 2008 Titus 2:11-15 Aim: To grasp the comprehensive nature of God s grace in justifying us, sanctifying us, and glorifying us. The problem in the new churches on the island of Crete was a gap between the truth of the gospel they professed and the way they were living. The gap was caused first by a basic selfishness and subjectivism which seemed to come more naturally than usual to the Cretan national character, and secondly by various forms of false teaching in Crete. Why should Christians live loving, outgoing, self-denying, godly lives? Why should Christian men be temperate and patient? Why should Christian wives be kind and submissive to their husbands? Why should Christian slaves show their masters that they can be fully trusted? Paul deals with these questions head on in these verses. Paul culminates this practical instruction with a monumental section about the saving work of God. He begins where we should always begin with the grace of God. Grace rightly perceived compels holiness. A. The Life of Grace (Titus 2:11-13) Note the word for at the beginning of verse 11. This verse leads on directly from the last. Paul is giving the reason for, and spelling out the logic behind, Christian living. The motivation is the grace of God. The close connection of this section with the preceding bears out the general relationship between theology and ethics in the New Testament. 1. Grace Appeared in the Past (2:11) a) Grace The term grace (charis) can mean beauty or elegance. When it is used of God it refers particularly to His beautiful character, which delights in generosity to the undeserving. Grace is the kindness and love of God. The grace of God is a phrase used fifteen times in Paul s letters to describe unmerited divine favor. God s grace is His unmerited favor toward wicked, unworthy sinners, by which He delivers from condemnation and death. God s grace is that despite our total spiritual bankruptcy before Him because of our sin, He still wants to have a relationship with us. God s heart of compassion and spontaneous mercy to us in our failure and moral ugliness is such that He loves mankind and desires to provide for us in all our needs. b) Appeared In Greek literature, the word appeared can function as a technical term to describe a hero (or a god) breaking into a helpless situation to rescue someone from danger. The ancients would have understood a god who came to rescue a person, a group, a city, or even a nation from a personal crisis. The ancient Greek and Roman plays included the deus ex machina by which a god intervened to rescue from a specific crisis. Paul speaks of the grace of God appearing, being made visible, or materializing. Has appeared is from epiphainō, which carries the meaning of coming to light, especially that of becoming manifest in a way that previously was unseen. This verb is used only twice in the New Titus Notes.doc p Oct-09

2 Testament outside Titus (Lk. 1:79; Acts 27:20). The cognate noun (epiphaneia) is in the Pastorals a characteristic description of the second advent. Jesus brought God s saving purpose out of the shadows, as it were, into full light. What Paul is saying is that God s gracious dealings with Israel are like a shadow compared to the fullness of grace which has been ushered in with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many times in the Old Testament God had saved His people. But those rescues are only scale models of the true salvation that has come in Christ. A new area of the world has begun in history. God has found full expression for His grace and has intervened directly to bring eternal salvation. His grace has appeared. Grace is not some abstract or theological concept. Grace comes as Christ does. Grace is personal as He is. The grace of God is more than a divine attribute; it is a divine Person, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ not only is God incarnate but He also is grace incarnate. The unmerited favor of God is what Jesus is about, but it is also who He is. c) Salvation The single word salvation (sōtērios) sums up the longing of God that is manifested in His redemptive work, because it denotes deliverance, rescue, and release from sin. In His sovereign grace, God often saves from physical danger, affliction, and even death. But unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, when Scripture, either Old or New Testament, refers to salvation or redemption, it is always in regard to deliverance from sin and its consequences (spiritual death and separation from God) and from its penalty (eternal damnation). Paul reminds his readers of their own undeserved deliverance. No one has been saved by what they have themselves accomplished or vanquished. We are saved not on the basis of our goodness, station, or class, but solely on the basis of God s sovereign action on our behalf. The very point of the redemptive grace of God through Jesus Christ is to save men from the corruption and damnation of sin sin that debilitates and crushes human life, that separates sinners from a holy God, and that persists in unredeemed mankind like an incurable and fatal disease. If, as some Christians maintain, salvation can be forfeited, it then would be obvious that God s grace lacks everlasting power, that the life He bestows on believers is not eternal. A believer s hope could only be temporary. He would be in continual danger of losing salvation, because it would be dependent on his own faithfulness and power to avoid sin that would cast him back into his lostness. If that were true, one s own power to sin would be greater than God s power to save, and any testimony given to unbelievers to bring them to salvation would be undermined. Or, if as others maintain, a believer cannot lose his salvation but can lose his faith, disregard Christ s Lordship, turn from Him to complete disobedience, and continue to live in sin, his testimony is equally impaired, because his life gives no evidence of God s saving power. d) All Men It is doubtful whether the AV is correct in attaching to all men to the verb, thus asserting the universality of the manifestation. Sōtērios ( salvation ) followed by the dative as here is a classical expression meaning bringing deliverance to ; to all men should therefore naturally belong to the noun (as RV), showing the universal scope of Christian salvation. All men can be understood in the sense of all classes of men, even slaves. Titus Notes.doc p Oct-09

3 (1) Appeared to All Men What is more, his grace is not restricted. It has appeared to all men. It is a historical fact accessible to all. Christ lived and died and rose again. It is preached and proclaimed and offered to the whole wide world. It is held out and made available to everyone in the Lord Jesus Christ. The grace of God reaches out to all. Paul is not contenting that worldwide evangelism has already occurred, but rather that the message of God s grace has been made available to all kinds of people. The message of the Savior has not been withheld from anyone on the basis of age, class, or gender. (2) Brings Salvation to All Men To all men (pansin anthrōpois) does not, as some maintain, refer to universal salvation, but rather to the universal opportunity for salvation (cp. 1 Tim. 4:10). God is Savior of all men in the sense of delaying their deserved judgment for sin and of granting them countless temporal blessings that they do not deserve but nevertheless receive because of His gracious love. Christ s appearance is not limited in scope to a man or a clan. The unique Christian message is that God s rescue is offered and is sufficient for all men regardless of their human designation or demerit. Thus the rescue that God our Savior engineers is both intimate and immense. Paul cannot think of salvation apart from the grace of God. It is the grace of God that brings salvation, not our achievements or deserving. It is all undeserved and unconditional, as we come to Christ. That is precisely why it is a salvation which can be offered freely to sinners and freely to all, because it is without qualification it is salvation by grace. 2. Graces Trains in the Present (2:12) Paul s major emphasis in this passage is on salvation from the power of sin. In Jesus Christ, God s redeeming grace breaks sin s power and dominion in our lives and gives us a new nature that desires holiness. The grace of God is here almost personified as a schoolmaster with the task of educating us in the art of living. The word teach (paideuō) here indicates a total training. It carries the closely related meanings of teaching, training, discipling, educating, and nurturing. It is the term from which we get pedagogy. Revealed and personified in Christ, God s sovereign saving grace not only is a deliverer but also a teacher, a guide, a counselor. Grace changes our way of thinking. It educates our minds, giving us the reason for living godly lives. Our present earthly life is a time of sanctification, a two-sided process of becoming less and less like our old and sinful self and more and more like our new and Christlike self. Because sanctification is both negative and positive, separating believers from sin and to righteousness, what the grace that has appeared requires is phrased in both negative and positive implications. a) Graces Says No (2:12a) The first thing grace does is teach us to abhor sin. Our teacher firstly gives us a double denial. We are made to see why we must reject both ungodliness (practical atheism) and worldly passions (selfish desires rooted solely in this present age). To deny (arnēsamenoi) carries the idea of a conscious, purposeful action of the will. It means to say no. It is to confess and consciously turn away from that which is sinful and destructive and to move toward that which is good and godly. Titus Notes.doc p Oct-09

4 Ungodliness (asebeia) is a reference to the Christian s conduct or, in this negative phrasing, his misconduct. It means a lack of true reverence and devotion to God (cp. Rom. 1:18). A person whose life is characterized by ungodliness cannot be truly saved, no matter how vocal and orthodox his profession of Christ may be. We are also to say no to worldly passions or desires (kosmikai epithumiai). This expression literally means all desires centered in the present world system. It refers to sins that, although we may not actually have committed, we nevertheless long to commit. These desires include all of the countless sinful lusts and cravings that characterize the natural man. This means we are to deny ourselves not only external conduct that betrays God but also similar internal impulses. When we have seen God clearly in the appearance of His grace, we have an intense awareness of our own unholiness. A true apprehension of grace instructs us of the magnitude and repugnance of our sin. That is why Paul says that the grace of God that has appeared teaches us to say No to ungodliness. We want to be rid of what stained us before the radiance of His glorious grace. But saying no is not our only obligation. There are positive compulsions that also arise from grace. b) Grace Lives Yes (2:12b) Grace also instructs us to live in assent to God s requirements. Our teacher secondly makes clear to us why we are to pursue self-controlled, upright, and godly lives. Sensibly or soberly translates the adverb sōphronōs, which carries the basic idea of having a sound mind. Paul has used other forms of that word four previous times in this letter in referring to a quality that should characterize elders (1:8), older men (2:2), young women (2:5), and young men (2:6). The Christian who lives sensibly has control over the issues of life. He not only is careful not to become involved in things that are immoral or unspiritual, but also avoids things that are simply trivial and unproductive. By the enablement and power of the Holy Spirit in His redeemed inner person, he brings the unredeemed flesh under control. Christ also graciously instructs us to live righteously (dikaiōs), faithfully obeying the Word of God, the divine standard of what is right. The first two terms in this list could fairly be called the antithesis of ungodliness and worldly passions. The earlier, negative terms were about unrighteousness and the lack of restraint. These first two of the positive terms are about control of passions (i.e., righteous constraint on one s own impulses), and uprightness (i.e., righteous conduct in dealing with others). Christ graciously instructions us to live godly (eusebōs), which has the obvious meaning of close fellowship with our heavenly Father. This requirement is the exact counterpart of the first denial. It is not enough to renounce ungodliness; life must be lived in a godly manner. Because the emphasis in the verse thus far is on controlled behavior, the third term ( godly ) in the list of positive characteristics taught by grace has particular significance. If being a Christian only involved self-control over our passions and upright behavior before others, we might get the idea that the Christian life was only a matter of living according to certain rules or performing in an acceptable way. By adding the word godly to the ways grace teaches us to live, the apostle reminds us that the Christian life is one of dependence on God. Godliness is not a consequence of human resolution or willpower. It is a relation with God that results in a life honoring to God. Titus Notes.doc p Oct-09

5 This trio of virtues can be seen as covering all the relationships of our lives. Self-control refers to our relationship to ourselves and our behavior. Uprightness refers to loving honesty in all our dealings with other people. Godliness refers to a humble, reverent, and obedient walk with God who is at the center of our lives. Our gracious instruction could be seen as three-dimensional. The first, living sensibly, could relate to the divine and continuing change within us. The second, living righteously, connects with our changed relationship toward others, both saved and unsaved. The third, living godly, may refer to our changed relationship to God Himself. Thus, taking the three positive characteristics taught by grace in order, we learn that the life of grace is comprehensive involving oneself, one s relationship to others, and one s relationship with God. The cross demonstrates that God is love real love that sacrifices itself and gives itself to others, even for the unlovely and undeserving. That being the case, it makes sense for us to similarly live a life of love. Why? Because God is like that; when we live a life of love, we are in tune therefore with ultimate reality, with God Himself. To live selfishly, by contrast, is to be at odds with ultimate reality. The grace of God, therefore, educates us and gives us the rationale for love rather than selfishness. It teaches us to say No to ungodliness and Yes to Christlike living. c) Errors That Presume Upon Grace One of the most dangerous threats to the life of the church down the centuries has been the error of antinomianism. This error is the idea that because Christ has atoned for sin, it does not matter if our minds are lax, or our discipline is slack as Christians, because God has paid it all. This is the wrong conclusion to draw from the cross. The grace of God teaches us to hate sin. It teaches us to say No to worldly passions. If one vast threat to the life of the church throughout history has been moral laxity and antinomianism, the other great threat is the opposite danger of legalism. The legalist is the person who has an outwardly respectable life and keeps all the rules, but it is all an empty façade. Without a sincere love for God, the legalist is a person who draws his satisfaction from his performance in comparison with others, rather than from the fact that God loves him. This was the case with the Pharisees of Jesus day. Contrary to the contention of the Pharisees and of most man-made religions, no amount of good works can produce a right relationship with God. It is rather the opposite: only a right relationship with God (secured through personal trust in His Son, Jesus Christ) can produce truly good works. The bottom line of legalism is that it has never grasped the grace of God. Legalism at root is about trusting our own religious activity, rather than trusting in the mercy of God. The whole direction of God s grace is to lead us, not only away from moral laxity, but also away from the deadness of legalism. We are not to rely on our own efforts, neither are we to fall into antinomian laxity. Rather we are to live a life of thankful love. 3. Grace Hopes in the Future (2:13) a) Blessed Hope One of the marvelous truths implied in this promise is that one day, when our salvation is perfected, we will be glorified, made fully like our Lord in purity and righteousness (cp. 1 Jn. Titus Notes.doc p Oct-09

6 3:2). That future blessed encounter with our Lord will bring total and permanent removal of sin from our lives. Self-control, which underlies all godliness, involves the postponing of immediate gratification in the light of a more distant but greater goal. The true Christian is someone who waits. He sees the present in the light of a better future. He spurns the so-called pleasures of sin in this present transitory world, in order to follow Christ, and so gain the far greater and eternal pleasure of the world to come. Godliness remains our obligation until Jesus returns. Looking for translates a participle form of prosdechomai, which carries the meaning not only of longing and waiting bur also of eager and certain expectation. Hope translates elpis, which includes the connotation of confident certainty. It does not indicate merely what is wished for but what is assured. It is an especially blessed (makarian) or happy hope of believers because Paul is not speaking about a fond human wish but about a divinely promised certitude. The blessed hope signifies the certain future prospect which brings blessing. The blessed hope of the Christian is that when Christ returns at His second coming His glory will be unveiled, and there will be a quantum leap of transformation and eternal blessing for all His people, and for the whole universe. b) Glorious Appearing Appearing is from epiphaneia, which has the root ideas of uncovering, unveiling, and disclosing. Paul uses the term both of Jesus first and second comings (cp. 1Tim. 6:14; 2 Tim 1:10; 4:1; 8). Appearing and hope are introduced by the same definite article, indicating that they are the same event. What Paul adds by introducing the blessed hope phrase is a definition of what the glory of the appearing will include. The elements of this blessed hope include Christ s return, the resurrection of those who have died in Christ, the union of living believers with Christ, the reunion of the faithful living and dead, and eternal life with Christ (cp. 1 Th. 4:13-18). The rendering of the NASB ( the appearing of the glory ) is a more accurate rendering than that of the KJV ( the glorious appearing ). The Greek demands the appearing (epiphaneia) of the glory. In this context, glory (doxēs) like grace (2:11) is not simply a description of Christ but also a personification. In His incarnation, His first appearing, Christ was grace personified. In His second appearing, He will be glory personified. Here is how grace educates our hopes and makes us content to shun our sin and follow Christ, because of the prospect of God s glory before us. The coming of God s glory is the coming of Christ. God cannot be separated from His glory: God and His glory are one; He shares it with no other. What began with the appearance of God s grace, salvation and a new way of life, is brought to completion in the appearance of God s glory, as Christ returns. c) Great Savior The certainty of this hope is underscored by Paul s identification of the Deliverer as our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. This is one of the many plain declarations in Scripture of the deity of Jesus Christ. There is but one definite article ( the, tou) which indicates the singularity and identity of God and Savior. Not only is Jesus the Christ, but as our great God He is also able to deliver the blessings of future grace for which the faithful hope. Because Christ is coming, we desire to live in fidelity to Him. And knowing that He will deliver us from trial and will vanquish all His and our enemies, we can live in faithfulness to Him. The glorious Titus Notes.doc p Oct-09

7 appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ is our cause for godly living in this present age. The grace of God encourages us to look beyond this life and enables us to experience something of Christ s presence now, and so educates our hopes and trains us in godliness. In summary, the grace God provides in our past, present, and future requires that we say no to the world and yes to God now. Grace does not change the requirement of godliness in the Christian life. B. The People of Grace (Titus 2:14) Having been explicit about the requirements God has for those claimed by His grace, the apostle now makes it just as clear that these standards are not the reason God loves us. Notice the purpose behind what in God s grace Christ did for us. It was to rescue us from wickedness, and to make us His special people marked out by the fact that we are eagerly pursuing doing good in our lives. The work of salvation is His, and we are His. The apostle designs every phrase of this beautiful verse to exude the wonder of Christ s work and the consequent status of His people. Paul uses two metaphors here to explain what Christ has done for His people. He gave Himself to redeem us and to purify us. 1. Redeemed Paul first reminds us that Christ gave (edōken) Himself. The words initially remind us that Christ s sacrifice was a gift neither earned nor deserved. Next we are reminded that the gift indicates that our God acted for us. He became our advocate, acting in our behalf though we were yet sinners. The first metaphor would make first-century readers like Titus think of the slave-market. To redeem someone was to pay a sum for the slave s release, or to bring the person into one s own service. With His blood Christ paid for our sins and so set us free from sin s dominion and consequences and has brought us into His own service, which is true freedom. The word redeem (from lutroō) literally means to release upon the receipt of a ransom (cp. Ps. 130:9; Ez. 37:23; Mk. 10:45; Gal. 1:4; 1 Tim. 2:6; 1 Pe. 1:18-19). The preposition translated for ( gave Himself for us ) can even be translated in the place of (huper) to drive home the concept of Christ rescuing us by becoming a ransom for sin on our place in order to satisfy divine justice and free us from our guilt. 2. Purified The second metaphor is that of washing and cleansing ( purify, kartharioē). This phrase reminds us of the various sacrifices and disciplines God established for His covenant people to demonstrate to them the need for cleansing from the taint of their sin. These words remind us that God has cleansed us from the defilement of our sin by the sacrifice of His Son (cp. 2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 5:26; Heb. 9:14; 1 Pe. 2:9). Through the cross Christ has released His Spirit into the lives and hearts of His people. We are given new life. Paul has in mind an inward purifying of our hearts which flows out of the work of Christ. The grace of God, then, affects our inner lives. 3. Possessed Next He claims us as a people that are His very own. The Greek phrase reflects the wording of Exodus 19:5 where God identified the covenant people as my treasured possession. Just as we Titus Notes.doc p Oct-09

8 formerly were possessed and enslaved by sin, now we are possessed by and enslaved to Jesus Christ. His possession of His people is not temporary but permanent. The attitude of the Redeemer toward the redeemed is that we are precious to Him despite the sin that required such sacrifice from him. These words breathe the grace that characterizes our God and should inspire us to do the good works that please our Savior. 4. Zealous The people that are God s own by virtue of His unconditional favor and sacrifice are to be eager to do what is good (cp. Eph. 2:10). Here again is the theme that grace leads to godliness. Good deeds are not to be an adjunct to our Christian lives, something that we do at our convenience, but are to be a natural, integral, and zealous part of our daily living. It has always been God s purpose for His people to be righteous and holy as a testimony to His own righteousness and holiness before the unbelieving world. These statements that characterize our status as a result of Christ s work are our great protection against legalism and our great propulsion toward godliness. Because Christ s work alone purchases our salvation through the redeeming price of His blood, and because Christ s work alone purifies us through the cleansing that His blood supplies, we do not look to our works as the basis of acceptance with God. What does being a loved people do to us? It makes us more sensitive to sin. We should note well the order of the apostle s descriptions of God s work and response. God s people are first ransomed by his work, then purified to be His own, and then they are zealous to do good. C. The Message of Grace (Titus 2:15) The opening verse of the chapter was like a literary opening of the bracket, and verse 15 is the equivalent closing of the bracket. Paul had explained to Titus: You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine (2:1). He has opened up the requirement for behavior which matches the gospel for men and women, old and young, and for slaves. Thus he has explained how the gospel motivates us in living according to that gospel lifestyle, touching our minds and our hearts. Now Paul rounds off and underlines what he has explained by saying, These, then, are the things you should teach. This single verse is one of the clearest and strongest statements in Scripture about the spiritual authority of men whom God calls to minister His Word and shepherd His people. Authority translates epitagē, which refers to something that is in its proper order or place. The term came to be used figuratively of an official command, directive, or injunction. The preacher is called to accurately interpret and proclaim Scripture with sympathy, compassion, and humility. But he also has the divine charge to present biblical truth with strong authority, commanding God s people to hear, believe, and obey God s Word. As long as he is faithful to God s Word, a pastor has the awesome privilege of ministering with God-given authority. The message that Titus was to proclaim with authority is summarized in the phrase with which the verse begins these things, which refers back to what Paul has mentioned so far in this chapter regarding holy living and the precious gospel, summed up in the phrase the things which are fitting for sound doctrine (2:1). So wondrous are these truths that Paul insists they must be the standard message of Titus. What are these things? The context indicates they are the message of grace that enables Titus to Titus Notes.doc p Oct-09

9 encourage (cp. 1:9; 2:6; 1 Tim 6:2) and the message of intolerance to sin that requires Titus also to rebuke (or refute; cp. 1:9, 13) when it is appropriate. Each of Paul s instructions to Titus concerning these things (i.e., teach, encourage, rebuke ) comes as a present imperative, indicating the need for an ongoing emphasis of each in his ministry. Speak (from laleō) points to the pastor s responsibility to preach, announce, reveal, and disclose. Exhort is from parakaleō, which carries the ideas of beseeching, entreating, and pleading. It involves more than simply stating and explaining truth. Whereas exhort is a positive command to do what is right, reprove (elenchō) is a negative command meaning to convince and correct one who does not yet recognize or admit that he must turn away from what is wrong. Summing up, the preacher must strive to bring his hearers to understand, believe, and obey God s truth. Some will accuse us of promoting license on one hand, and some will accuse us of being legalists on the other hand. Still, we must not cease from making the message of grace and godliness our standard. Whether accused of being a prude or a profligate, Paul says the leader of God s people should not let anyone despise him. Paul s closing admonition on this chapter, Let no one disregard you, adds muscle to the command to speak with authority. Disregard is from periphroneō, which has the literal meaning of thinking around something, usually for the purpose of evasion. Eventually the world came to be used almost exclusively in the negative sense of strongly disagreeing with an idea and of treating it with disrespect or disregard. God s truth is to be proclaimed with authority, and obedience to it demanded in the church. No disobedience can be tolerated or overlooked. For next time: Read Titus 3:1-7. Titus Notes.doc p Oct-09