Titus

Biblical Record

Titus was a Greek Christian who worked alongside Paul. His name appears only in the Pauline epistles and is never mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles.

• Visit to Jerusalem: When Paul went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, he took Titus with him. Although Titus was a Greek, he was not compelled to be circumcised (Galatians 2:1-3). Circumcision was the sign of the covenant that the Jewish law required of males.
• Relationship with the Corinthian church: Paul had no rest in his spirit when he did not find Titus at Troas (2 Corinthians 2:13). Later, in Macedonia, Paul was comforted when Titus arrived with news of the Corinthian church (2 Corinthians 7:6-7). Titus was entrusted with the collection for the saints in Jerusalem, and Paul called him "my partner and fellowhelper concerning you" (2 Corinthians 8:6, 8:23).
• Ministry in Crete: According to the Epistle to Titus, Paul left Titus in Crete to set in order the things that were wanting and to ordain elders in every city (Titus 1:5). Paul called him "Titus, mine own son after the common faith" (Titus 1:4) and asked him to come to Nicopolis (Titus 3:12).
• Dalmatia: 2 Timothy briefly mentions that Titus had gone to Dalmatia (2 Timothy 4:10).

Significance Within Scripture

Titus is an example of a Gentile believer who was received into the church without circumcision, and his case illustrates the question of Gentile inclusion in the early church. He is often compared with Timothy, who was circumcised (Acts 16:3). The Epistle to Titus, together with 1 and 2 Timothy, is known as one of the "Pastoral Epistles."

Interpretation and Debate

• Authorship: The church has traditionally held that Paul wrote the Epistle to Titus. Since the modern era, some scholars have argued that it was written by Paul's disciples after his death. Many Korean denominations and seminaries follow the traditional view.
• Understanding of church offices: In Titus 1:5 and 1:7, the terms "elder" and "bishop" appear to be used of the same person. Presbyterianism takes this as evidence that elder and bishop are the same office and as the biblical basis for a polity in which elders govern the church jointly. Episcopal traditions such as Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism sometimes read Titus's role in appointing elders in many cities as a precedent for an office that oversees local churches.
• Later traditions: Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History reports that Titus became bishop of the churches of Crete, and he later came to be known as the first bishop of Crete. Scripture, however, says nothing about his later life or death. The Roman Catholic Church commemorates Titus together with Timothy on January 26.

In the Korean Church

Titus 1:5-9, together with 1 Timothy 3, is frequently used as a sermon text at ordination services for elders and deacons. In preaching and Sunday school, Titus is presented alongside Timothy as a faithful coworker of Paul and a model for young ministers.