Titus 2

Titus 2 is the second of the three chapters of the Epistle to Titus. Titus 1 dealt with the qualifications of elders and with guarding against false teachers; this chapter gives concrete instruction, according to age and social station, on the kind of life that befits "sound doctrine."

Outline

• Verse 1 Titus is told to speak the things that become sound doctrine.
• Verses 2–5 Older men are to be temperate and godly. Older women are to be holy in behavior and to teach the younger women. The stated purpose is that the word of God not be blasphemed.
• Verses 6–8 Titus is to exhort the young men to be sober-minded. Titus himself is to show himself a pattern of good works in all things.
• Verses 9–10 Servants are to obey their masters, not to steal, and to show all good fidelity.
• Verses 11–14 The basis for these exhortations is given. The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared and instructs believers, who look for the glorious appearing of Christ. Christ gave Himself to redeem believers and to make them a people zealous of good works.
• Verse 15 Titus is to speak these things with authority and to rebuke, letting no one despise him.

Key Verses

• Titus 2:11 "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men" — shows that grace is the foundation of all the preceding exhortations about conduct.
• Titus 2:13 "the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" — frequently cited as a verse that addresses both the hope of the Second Coming and the deity of Christ.
• Titus 2:14 "a peculiar people, zealous of good works" — connects the purpose of redemption with a life of good works.

People and Places

• Titus: The recipient of the letter, addressed in the text as "thou."
• Paul: Traditionally accepted as the author of the letter.
• Crete: Titus's field of ministry, mentioned in chapter 1, and the setting in which the exhortations of this chapter were given.

Points to Consider

• Translation and interpretation of verse 13 Some interpreters read Titus 2:13 as referring to a single person, "our God and Savior Jesus Christ," while others read "God" and "our Savior Jesus Christ" as distinct. Translations also differ somewhat in their wording. The former reading is used in Christology as support for the deity of Christ.
• "All men" in verse 11 Interpreters in the Calvinist tradition tend to understand the phrase as referring to the various classes of people listed earlier in the chapter. The Arminian and Wesleyan traditions tend to read it as meaning that grace is extended to all people.
• The submission of wives and the obedience of servants The exhortations for wives to submit to their husbands and for servants to obey their masters are household codes similar to those in Ephesians 5:21–25, Colossians 3:18–19, 1 Peter 3:1–7, and Ephesians 6:5–9. Some interpret them as an order to be applied unchanged today. Others see them as exhortations intended to keep the gospel from being reproached within first-century society and hold that their underlying spirit is what should be applied.
• The expression "peculiar people" This expression in verse 14 recalls the phrase "a peculiar treasure unto me" in Exodus 19:5–6.

In the Korean Church

The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) assigns Titus 2:11–14 as an epistle reading for Christmas. Churches that follow the church year and the lectionary therefore read this passage around Christmas.