TITUS 1:1-4

But I go afield.  Who are you?  Supposing you don’t live in a dream world – who are you in reality, in truth?  What is most important for people to know about you?  When asked the question, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?  For many – even most, it is bound in productivity – what you do, or what you’re planning to do.  And I suppose there is some truth in that – I’m a pastor, a doctor, a lawyer, a professor, a musician, teacher, aid worker, chef, a mom, a dad, etc.  There is much to be said about what we do.  
I do wonder, though, how long it would take before we got to who God made us, through the work of His Son.  That is, how long would it take us to say something like, I’m a believer, a follower of Jesus, a Christian.  Is that the first thing that comes to mind? A sinner saved by God’s marvelous, matchless, unearned and undeserved grace?  Is there really anything more important than that?  Now, I know we’re sitting in a church building, with the church, and so I’m sure we’d answer, well no, there’s nothing more important than that.  But how important it is really, to our conscious identity?
4 …If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh [if anyone else has a reason to brag], I far more:
5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee;
6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.
7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,
Galatians 1:1 – Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father).
I and II Thessalonians 1:1 – (simply) Paul and Silvanus and Timothy.
I and II Corinthians 1:1 – Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.
Romans 1:1 – Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.
Ephesians 1:1 – Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.
Philippians 1:1 – Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus.
Colossians 1:1 – Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.
Philemon 1:1 – Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus.
I Timothy 1:1 – Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope.
II Timothy 1:1 – Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.
And our letter today, Titus 1:1 – Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.
Notice, as Paul identifies himself as the writer, dare I say he self-identifies with two descriptive nouns – in a sense, with what he does.  First, he said I am a bond-servant.  The word is literally slave, but because of the ethnic and horrible history of our own country’s slavery, the word is typically translated bond-servant or bond-slave.  The bond-slave was purchased by the owner.  The slave could have become so as a prisoner of war, been born into it, or the person could have sold him- or herself into slavery to satisfy debts.  It was often for economic gain – and it was seldom the result of ethnic oppression.  It is said that as many as one-third of the Roman Empire was made up of such bond-slaves.  They were often treated as employees, or even family members.  They were often well-trained in business or domestic affairs or education, etc.  That is not to imply they were all well-treated – they weren’t.  But in most cases, it was economically advantageous to be a bond-servant.  In fact, in many cases, due to the economic benefit, the slave could purchase his or her own freedom.  
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
When speaking to the Elders of Ephesus, He said in Acts 20, 28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”
Peter wrote in I Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession…”
Here’s the point I’m trying to make – God sovereignly and graciously and lovingly owns you, and you could not have a better Master.  If you know Jesus, you are a bond-servant of God, purchased to do His will, and to be His child.
Paul goes on to call himself an apostle of Jesus Christ.  Now, the word apostle simply means one sent – a sent one.  It speaks of an authoritative messenger sent with the message and authority of the sender.  We remember from Paul’s biography that, as Saul, he was on his way to Damascus with letters of authorization to arrest followers of the Way – followers of Jesus.  But Jesus met him on the way, converted him, and called him to be an apostle – the one sent with the message and authority of Jesus and His gospel – to the Gentiles.  
Paul never forgot that.  As we saw earlier, he often identified himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ.  Owned by God, sent by Jesus.  This is how Paul self-identified.  It would not take long in a conversation with him before he got to Jesus and the gospel.  Even when he was writing letters to Timothy and Titus, his sons in the faith.  Yes – he expected the letters to be read to the churches, so this self-identification lent authority to Timothy and Titus as they read the letters.  But this is how Paul saw himself first – and I’m suggesting, it should be the way we see ourselves – owned by God, and sent with His message of the gospel.
The Writer PaulA Bond-servant of GodAn Apostle of Jesus ChristFor the Faith of God’s ChosenFor the Knowledge of Godliness-producing Truth For (In) the Hope of God-promised Eternal LifePromised Long AgoManifested at the Proper TimeThrough His WordThrough my ProclamationThe Recipient TitusPaul’s True SonThrough a Common FaithThe GreetingGrace and PeaceFrom God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior
Second, Paul says I am an apostle for the knowledge of godliness-producing truth.  An apostle of Jesus Christ for the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness.  Please notice – to believe the truth of the gospel results in justification and a knowledge of the truth that produces godliness.  In other words, true justification results in sanctification.  You don’t just believe and go on living a life of self-gratifying sin.  No – we receive the knowledge of the truth, saving us, making us new creations, and setting us on a life-long, Spirit-empowered pursuit of godliness.  A life-long transformation into the image of His Son.  
17 In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath,
18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.
Ephesians 1:4 – just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.
II Thessalonians 2:13 – But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
Revelation 13 says the book of life of the Lamb was written from the foundation of the world.
Verses 5-6 – He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself…to the praise of the glory of His grace.
Verse 12 – to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.
Verse 14 – who [the Holy Spirit] is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
God so ordained all that is – to include our creation, rebellion, and salvation to the praise of the glory of His incredible grace.  Our salvation is so He gets the glory, which is why it is all – from beginning to end – of Him.  
Back to Titus.  Verses 2 and 3, so this was planned and promised from ages long ago – from eternity past, but was at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I [Paul] was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior.  Remember II Timothy – this promised plan was revealed at the proper time through the appearing of Jesus Christ.
The word of truth – the word of the gospel was manifested at the proper time.  It was a mystery in ages past, but now has been made known.  One of my commentators pointed out – this eternal plan intersected within time at the proper time.  I Timothy 2 says, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.”  Galatians 4 says, “When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
And the proclamation of this gospel was entrusted to Paul according to the commandment of God our Savior.  We remember from Paul’s biography, when he made it to Damascus as a blind, converted believer, that God appointed him to be His chosen instrument, to bear the name of Christ and His gospel to the Gentiles.  And Paul spent, and in fact gave his life carrying out that commission.  
Which brings us quickly and by way of conclusion to the recipient of the letter in verse 4.  Of course, it is Titus.  I mentioned a couple weeks ago that Titus’ name doesn’t appear in the book of Acts, which covers Paul’s three missionary journeys.  We find out from Galatians and II Corinthians that Titus was a trusted colleague of Paul – one Paul sent from place to place to operate on his apostolic authority.  In fact, we find Paul left Titus on the island of Crete to set things in order. 
We also found that Titus was a Greek.  He wasn’t a circumcised Jew, not even a circumcised proselyte to Judaism.  He was simply a believer in Jesus.  And here, we find he was Paul’s true child in a common faith.  Paul also called Timothy his son in the faith.  That simply means that both Timothy and Titus – who become Paul’s apostolic delegates and receive these pastoral epistles – these men had become Christians – followers of Jesus – through Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles.  Through Paul’s proclamation of the gospel.  
So the recipient of the letter is simply Titus, a believer, Paul’s son in a common faith – a common faith in Jesus.  Which brings us full circle to the introduction.  When letters were written at this time, the writer would often praise the recipient – citing their lofty positions or accomplishments.  But Paul simply calls Titus a true child in a common faith.  That’s how he identified the recipient.  Not by his accomplishments, not by accolades.  Not a long list of educational letters after his name.  Simply a follower of Jesus.  So again I ask, when asked to identify yourself – what’s the first thing that comes to your mind?
Finally, Paul offers his usual greeting of grace and peace.  But notice, from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Savior.  But wait a minute – back in verse 3, Paul called God our Savior – now he calls Jesus our Savior.  
Exactly.  He could use the term Savior interchangeably with God the Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.  You see, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  God’s eternal plan of salvation was carried out by the God the Son, and is applied by God the Holy Spirit.  In that sense, we can speak of God our Savior, Jesus our Savior, and the Spirit our Savior.  The entire Trinity is intimately involved in our salvation – from eternity past, to the fullness of time when the Son came, to today, when the Spirit regenerates us – makes us alive in Christ.  To the praise of the glory of His grace.