Episode 8 "Titus 2"
Titus 2.1-10 – Instruction to believers
When this letter was written, there were, of course, no chapter breaks. Paul was writing a continuous thought to Titus. As we remember from last week, Paul is telling Titus to not pay attention to false teachers. As such when he writes in verse 1, “But, as for you, speak things that are sound doctrine”, he was merely telling Titus not to teach in the way others in Crete were teaching. Let your teaching, Titus, be “hygiano didaskalia”. Hygiano - the root of hygienic. Didaskalia – the root of didactic. Didactic means repetitive teaching, not in a negative sense, but in the sense of repetition and being consistent. As I like to say, same message, different audience. They needed didactic teaching then and it is needed today.
He goes on to give instruction on behavior to mature men, then to mature women, younger women, younger men and, finally, to slaves (doulos). When you look closely at the Greek text you find the instruction is remarkably similar and it focuses primarily on how each group should behave.
Remember the thesis for this letter: “Sound doctrine begets sound behavior”. That is essentially the point of the epistle and most certainly the point Paul makes in these 10 verses.
Titus 2.2 Instruction to mature men. Let’s look at the Greek – Presbytes einai nephalios, semnos, sophron, hygiano en pistis, en agape en hypomone.
Presbytes (men) and in the next verse presbytis (females) is usually translated older men and older women but it does not necessarily mean aged people! Presbytes(tis) would be anyone with significant experience in the faith and could easily be a 30 or 40-year-old as easily as an 80-year-old. Titus, himself was no more than 40 when this letter was written to him.
Einai means “to be”. As such, mature men are to be:
Nepholios – “free from wine”. Neph is a prefix meaning free from and olios is wine. Keep in mind Crete was the Las Vegas of their time. Drunkenness was common and Paul is saying to Titus do not be like the Cretes - be free from wine. It does not necessarily call for total abstinence but it is calling men to avoid drunkenness.
Semnos – “reverent or honorable”. This is the root of seminary, a place that graduates are called Reverend. Mature men need to be reverent.
Sophron – “limiting your freedom”. Sophron is used extensively in chapter 2. It literally means not doing what you naturally desire or “limiting your freedom”. (See Romans 12.3 where it is translated sound judgment)
Hygiano – “be sound or clean” in three area:
En pistos – “in faith (beliefs)”.
En agape – “in love”.
En hypomone – “in steadfastness” – think harmonious.
As the leaders, it is imperative the mature men set the example.
Titus 2.3 Instruction to mature women. Let’s look at the Greek – Presbytis hosautos en katastema hieroprepes, me diablos, me douloo polys oinos, kaladidaskalos.
Presbytis (women) hosautos (likewise) are to:
En katastema hieroprepes – Katastema is from two words katos meaning good and stema to set and is usually translated “behavior”. Hieroprepes is usually translated holy or godly living. This expression would mean mature women behave as godly people. It is just another way of saying be reverent.
Me diablos – not like the devil. Most translations read, “malicious gossip” or something similar. But literally he was saying, do not act like the devil, who was THE false accuser from the start.
Me douloo polys oinos – not given to much wine. Again, the admonition to avoid excessive drinking was essentially the same as the instruction he gave to the men.
Kalodidaskolos – provide good teaching (doctrine). This again is just another way of saying “hygiano didaskalia” which was the instruction in the first verse.
There is this misbelief that the Scripture teaches men are somehow better than women or more important than women. It is simply not true. Women are presented in Scripture as having the same rights as men (See 1Pet 3.1-7 women are “fellow heirs”).
Gal 3.28 says there is no distinction between the sexes in Christ. There are certainly differences between men and women, but men are not “better than” or “more capable than” women. They simply are given different roles in Biblical teaching. It really should come as no surprise that the presbytis (mature women) would be given essentially the same instruction as the presbytes (mature men).
Titus 2.4-5 Instruction to younger women. Let’s look at the Greek – Hina sophronizo tac neos einai philandros einai philoteknos – sophron, hagnes, oikouigos, agathos, hypotasso idios aner, hina me logos tov Theos blasphemeo.
It is obvious Paul wants the younger women to be taught by the older women. Sophronizo tac neos means to teach the neos (in the context obviously means younger girls, not boys) this principle of “sophron” to limit one’s freedom.
The young girls are to be taught by the older women:
Einai philoandros – to be (einai) friends (philo) of their husbands (Andros).
Philoteknos – friends (philo) of their children (teknos).
Sophron – again the idea of limiting one’s freedom.
Hagnes – means chaste, the idea is they should be very different from the Cretes who were given to every type of immorality.
Oikouigos – this is an awesome word meaning guard the home. Many texts read, “keeper of the house” which works as well, but it is far more than just keeping the house clean.
Agathos – means good.
Hypotasso (subject to) idios (your own) aner (husband) – Over the years this has taken on a sinister meaning leading to all sorts of spousal abuse. That is not what is being said. The idea is there is to be order in the house. (See Eph 5.22-28) When a wife yields to the husband’s leadership (who is himself also living in accordance with the Scripture) she is guarding the home and not blaspheming (dishonoring) the Word of God (hina me logos tov Theos blasphemeo).
The key here is women need to put their family and their house first while at the same time allow their husbands, who are putting God first, to be the leader they are called to be.
Titus 2.6-8 Instruction to young men. Let’s look again at the Greek – Neos hosautos parakeleo sophroneo (v7) peri pas parecho seautov typos kalos ergon en didaskalia adiaphthoria semnotes aphtharsia (v8) hygies logos akatagnostos hina ek enantios entrepo echo me deis phaulos lego peri hymon.
Verse 6 says simply – “Boys likewise be exhorted to sophron (limit your freedom)”. Parakaleo is the same word Paul uses in Titus 1.9 saying elders need to able to exhort. So here is telling them how to exhort the young men and boys coming up – sophroneo (in sophron). He then gives the list of what boys should be exhorted by their elders to do:
Paul writes, “Peri pas parecho seautov” – in all things show yourself to be:
Typos (exact replication) kalos (good) ergon (works) – a repeated example of good works.
En didaskalia (in the same doctrinal teaching) adiaphothoria (without corruption).
Semnotes – reverence (same instruction he gave to older men and women).
Hygios logos – clean words, in other words have good speech.
Akatagnostos – this is a very cool compound word - A (without) Kata (good) Gnostos (root word for gnostic meaning accusatory). It is like the word he used about elders (anegkletos) which is normally translated “above reproach”. It is sort of a double negative but the essence of the word is accusations will be proven “not good”. This leads to the sentence “hina ek enantios entrepo echo me deis phaulos lego peri hymon”. That the accuser (enantios) will be shamed (entrepo) not being able to say anything negative about us.
This is essentially what he says to everyone starting in v1. Paul is saying to the boys, be an example of good works, have pure doctrine, be reverent, have excellent speech and when accusations come, and they will, let your accusers be shamed when their accusations are found false, having nothing negative to say about any of us in the church.
Titus 1.9-10 Instructions to slaves (doulos):
Remember slaves in those times were not like the slaves we think of in the modern era. They were not racially divided or necessarily forced into slavery. Slavery was, at some point, a choice of the head of the household for that household. Getting out of being a slave however was not an easy matter. Once you became a slave it was forever and it continued for your children and their children until the master was bought out and the slave set free. They called this redemption and is a lesson for another day.
Nevertheless, the instruction to slaves was like the teaching to everyone else:
Be subject (hypotasso) to your master in all things.
Be well-pleasing (euarestos)
Me antilego – not with bad words
Me nosphizo – not stealing (often the translators use pilfering)
Pas agathos pistis – “all good faith (literally belief)”
Pas didaskalia – “all teaching or doctrine’’ of God and Savior
So even to the slaves the instruction remained. He was determined that the believers in Crete were different from the Cretans in four ways:
Sophron – that each limited their freedom and behaved in a way different from the norm.
Semnotes – that each were revenant, putting godly living over Cretan abundance.
Hygiano Didaskalia – that their teaching was pure – Sound doctrine.
Speech be pure.
