TITUS 1:4

The Apostle Paul wrote in Titus 1:4, “To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.” Of course, this verse identifies exactly to whom Paul was writing: Titus. Paul called Titus, “mine own son after the common faith.” Evidently Paul introduced Titus to Jesus Christ. It is interesting that words used to describe the closest of human relationships are the words used by the Holy Spirit to represent the relationships that believers should have for each other. Too many people in churches and other religious organizations treat each other as if they had business relationships with one another. Christians are supposed to view each other as being in the same family. “The common faith” is what puts people into the same family. Remember that the word “faith” means to “trust” and to rely upon. Christians are relying upon the same Father and the same Savior.

Paul expressed his own desire that Titus would have “grace, mercy, and peace.” If we have those three things, we have the things that are the most important. We especially need grace because grace refers to the things that God does for us freely through Christ. These are all the things that we can never earn or never merit. Many people think of God as a judge who punishes people and gives them only what they deserve. Sometimes God gives people what they deserve but God often gives freely; even when nothing is deserved. God “giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not.” “The law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” We need grace for the things that we cannot do for ourselves. We need grace when we do not deserve anything, and that is quite often. We can expect grace and rely upon it because of the death of Christ on the cross.

Paul also said that he desired that Titus would receive “mercy.” We need mercy because we are sinners. If I always did what was right, I would not need mercy. So Paul is admitting that he realizes that Titus was not perfect. When we were saved, we came to Christ for mercy, but we also rely upon His mercy every day. There are only two ways of walking in fellowship with Christ every day. One way is to never do what is wrong. The other way is to rely upon His mercy and find forgiveness whenever you do what is wrong. Unless you are perfect, you will be relying upon His mercy quite often. First John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” No one is rightly related to God because of their own goodness. We are all totally dependent upon His mercy. Because God is merciful, I can walk in fellowship with Him. Only because He forgives my sins can I walk in fellowship with Him.

The third thing that Paul desired for Titus is “peace.” We live in a world that has many reasons for insecurity or worry, at least from a human standpoint. Life is temporary. Things change. Bad things happen. In an always changing and sometimes dangerous world “peace” can be a rare commodity. Certainly believers need peace because of the spiritual storms that will rage around us. Peace is possible for believers because Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Jesus can give peace in the midst of the storm. Jesus can give the command just like He did when he was on the earth, “Peace, be still,” and the storm that is raging around you will quiet and you will have peace in your heart. Some people pray that they will have no storms in their life, but that is not likely. It is much better to pray that you will have peace no matter what is the storm. If you have committed all things in your life to God, and if you believe that Christ is all powerful and in control, then you can have peace. Remember the apostles had peace after Christ quieted the storm, but Jesus had peace even before the storm was quieted. The goal is to be like Jesus.

Paul finished his introduction, and now by the Holy Spirit Paul is going to state directly just exactly why he is writing this epistle to Titus. The Bible says in Titus 1:5, “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.” Evidently Paul is reminding Titus of exactly why Paul left Titus on the island of Crete. There was something important that needed to be done on the island of Crete, very important. The gospel had been spread. Groups of Christians had been established. These groups are called churches, made up of the ones who have been called out of the world and who belong to the Lord. In other words a lot of good things had been done, but in order for those good things to remain and to become even better, something else needed to take place. The churches needed pastors.

Notice that the pastors are called “elders” in this verse. There has been a lot of confusion about the words pastor, elder, and bishop. Actually the three words refer to the same person, and this passage of scripture helps to demonstrate that fact. As we have already seen, this verse speaks of “elders,” and then verse 7 continues to talk about the elders and says, “For a bishop must be blameless.” So we see that the words “elder” and “bishop” are used interchangeably here. In other passages all three of the words are used in reference to the same person. A good example of that is Acts chapter 20. Acts 20:17 identifies those to whom Paul was speaking, “the elders.” The reason that there were multiple elders is because there were multiple congregations in the city of Ephesus. Then speaking to these “elders” Paul said in Acts 20:28, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” The word that is translated “overseers” is the word for “bishops.” Elders are bishops. The word elder refers to the dignity of the office of pastor. A pastor should be wise both from a spiritual and a practical standpoint. Older usually means wiser, and that is why the word “elder” is used. That is also why Paul wrote that a pastor cannot be a “novice.” A younger man could be a pastor if he has the wisdom that surpasses his age. This does not usually happen but it can sometimes, as it happened in the case of Timothy. That is why Paul told Timothy, “Let no man despise thy youth.”

In Acts 20:28 Paul told the elders/bishops to “feed” the church of God. The word that is translated “feed” comes from the same word as the word “pastor.” The word pastor means “shepherd.” A congregation is called a flock in the Bible just as it is here in Acts 20:28. A shepherd is responsible for feeding the flock. He feeds them the Word of God. It takes a spiritual gift to feed the Word of God to a congregation. That is why Ephesians 4:11 only mentions “pastor” of the three words elder, bishop, and pastor. Since the three words refer to the same person, only one of them needs to be mentioned.

An elder, a bishop, and a pastor: all three of these are one and the same person. The word elder refers to the wisdom of the person. The word bishop refers to the responsibility of the person. The word bishop means literally “overseer,” and that means “one who watches over.” In other words a bishop is a watchman who watches over the congregation for their spiritual benefit. The word pastor refers to the duties of the person. The word “pastor” means shepherd. A shepherd leads the flock. A shepherd feeds the flock. And a shepherd protects the flock from enemies who would destroy them.

Knowing that the Bible teaches these things about an elder, a bishop, and a pastor being one and the same person, it is obvious that many denominations do not use these terms correctly. The word “presbytery” comes from the Greek word for “elder”, and most uses of the word “presbytery” are based upon human tradition and not upon the scriptures. The words “Episcopal” and “Episcopalian” come from the Greek word for “bishop”, and most uses of these words today are also based upon human tradition in certain denominations and are not based upon the scriptures. An elder, a bishop, and a pastor are three terms used in the Bible to describe the same person.

A shepherd fulfills his duties in two primary ways: 1. By preaching and teaching. 2. By being an example. A pastor cannot do one without the other. We know that preaching is important based upon what Paul said in Titus 1:3. Paul wrote, “But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour.” Notice that Paul spoke of his own individual calling. Paul said that he preached according to the commandment of God our Savior. To be a preacher, a pastor, a teacher requires being called of God. There is a necessary divine element to it. But there is also a human element. Individual congregations must choose a pastor. Pastors had not yet been established on the island of Crete in all of the congregations.

Paul told Titus to “ordain elders in every city.” That is the human choosing that must take place. Some congregations call this: extending a call to a preacher. In other words they find someone whom they think would make a good pastor for their congregation, and they invite that person to take on the responsibility of pastor. This is the process of ordination, and we see that it is based upon this Biblical principle. What should congregations look for when they are choosing a pastor?

Paul used four verses to go into detail about the requirements for someone to be a pastor. These requirements do not deal with the personality of the man, or the appearance of the man, or the speaking ability of the man. These requirements are all about the character of the man, his habits and his life style. Jesus said concerning false teachers, “You shall know them by their works.” That is one of the dangers of supporting preachers that you see on TV. You do not really know what kind of a person they are. Paul wrote in Titus 1:6, “If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.”

Remember that the pastor is to be the example to the congregation and the leader of the church. The pastor in many ways is the representative of the church to the community. And so the first thing mentioned is that he be “blameless.” To blame means to speak against or to accuse. A person is “blameless” in this sense if they have a good reputation in the community. No one can justifiably bring any accusations against them. Of course, this is very general in nature, but Paul by the Holy Spirit immediately gets more specific.

The first specific requirement is what the King James translation calls “the husband of one wife.” This phrase is found in two places in the Bible: here and in a similar passage about the requirements of pastors in First Timothy 3:2. The phrase “the husband of one wife” means literally “a one-woman man.” The literal translation of this phrase gives the key to understanding what it truly means. It means a one-woman type of a man. Some men in human society pursue multiple women for the fulfillment of their needs for romance. We call them womanizers. If such a man became a pastor, he would cause unspeakable harm to the individuals with whom he comes in contact, with the whole church of God and with the community. Woe to the congregation that has such a man in the pulpit. Regrettably it has happened. It would not happen if this requirement were better understood. Some congregations think that they are following this requirement by insisting that a pastor never be divorced. But someone who has never been divorced could be a failure at this requirement. This phrase “a one-woman man” does not refer to a person’s past divorce or absence of being divorced, but it refers to a person’s present character.

To make a requirement that someone could never be divorced and still be a pastor would violate the concept of the forgiveness of sins. It is not what someone did in the past that disqualifies them from being a pastor. We are all sinners saved by the grace of Christ. The important thing is what kind of person someone has become. One thing that a pastor must have become is a one-woman type of a man.

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