Epistle to Titus

Definition and Meaning

Titus is one of the 27 books of the New Testament, a short letter of three chapters and 46 verses. It takes its title from the name of its recipient, Titus. It is classified among the Pauline Epistles and is grouped with 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy as the "Pastoral Epistles." The name reflects the fact that these letters deal chiefly with the care and leadership of the church (pastoral ministry).

Biblical and Historical Background

Titus was an uncircumcised Greek (Galatians 2:3) and a coworker of Paul. Sent by Paul, he also visited the church in Corinth (2 Corinthians 7:6-7). According to the letter, Paul left Titus on Crete to appoint elders in every city (Titus 1:5).

• Chapter 1: Sets out the qualifications for elders and overseers and warns against false teachers.
• Chapter 2: Exhorts each group—older men and women, the young, servants, and others—to right living. As the basis for this, it declares, "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men" (2:11).
• Chapter 3: Teaches that salvation comes not by human works of righteousness but by God's mercy. It describes this salvation as "the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (3:5). Regeneration means "being born again."

Views on authorship are divided. The church has traditionally held that Paul wrote the letter after his release from his first imprisonment in Rome, and conservative scholars follow this position. Since the modern period, however, some scholars have pointed to differences in vocabulary and in the picture of church organization compared with the other Pauline letters, and have concluded that Paul's disciples wrote it in his name after his death.

In Korean Church Practice

• Qualifications for church officers: Titus 1:6-9, together with 1 Timothy 3, is frequently used in the election of elders and in sermons at ordination services. It is also one of the principal texts cited when explaining the qualifications of church officers.
• Elders and overseers: The person called an "elder" in 1:5 is called an "overseer" (KJV "bishop") in 1:7. Presbyterians take this as evidence that the two terms refer to the same office and use it to explain elder-centered church polity. Denominations with an episcopal structure read the passage as reflecting the titles used in the early church and therefore do not regard it as necessarily conflicting with the episcopal system that developed later.
• "The husband of one wife" (1:6): This phrase is often cited in debates over the ordination of women and in questions about whether divorced or remarried persons may hold church office. Interpretations differ among denominations.
• "The washing of regeneration" (3:5): Some interpreters read this verse in connection with baptism. Others hold that it refers to the inward work of the Holy Spirit in renewing a person rather than to the rite of baptism itself; the emphasis varies by denomination and scholar.