Or, Embodied Doctrine for a Possessed People
Scripture: Titus 2:11-15
Date: August 25, 2024
Speaker: Sean Higgins
A good house starts with a good foundation. Often with a house, once it’s finished, we give little attention to the foundation unless there’s a clear problem. The household of God also has a good foundation: the faith once for all delivered to the saints, built on the Cornerstone Himself, Jesus Christ. Our conduct—the part most visible and frankly most considered, is built on truth, teaching, doctrine, the gospel.
We’re familiar with the flow of many epistles with indicative followed by imperative. Believe this, and based on that believing, behave like this. And yet in Titus 2, not only is there attention again on the foundation, the foundation comes after the virtues.
We’ve worked group by group through the first ten verses in Titus 2. There hasn’t been doctrine per se but what accords with sound doctrine, and even a final urging to adorn the doctrine. We’ve considered the fitting gravity for older men, how older women are generation makers and younger women are house builders, that younger men should be choice men, that is, self-controlled, and then how slaves make the doctrine of salvation look good.
It’s said that to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. So for Paul, any time God as Savior came up he had to hit it with some rejoicing. How much papyrus did Paul waste just praising God again for the gospel we presumably all know?! Well, of course, it was a lot of ink but none of it a mere spill.
Titus 2:11-14 is one sentence in Greek and as translated by most English versions. Even in the sentence, Paul gets a running start, referring to our conduct before getting to the cross. One immediate application I get from this is, when it comes to the doctrine of God our Savior, all are yours. You only hurt yourself if you can only talk about one part of it, the finished part or the current part or the future part. Such limitations on doctrinal focus can lead to less beauty in doctrinal fruitfulness, meaning, stuck in a rut of wearing your adornment hairstyle since the 80s, or something like that.
When it comes to saving doctrine, live it up. When it comes to saving doctrine, love it all. It’s all about grace, and the God of all grace making a possessed people. Grace trains us to live.
For points us toward the foundation. Here’s the basis of the behaviors, here’s the doctrine we get to adorn. For the grace of God has appeared, and this has to refer to the incarnation and up to ascension of God in Christ. It was an epiphany (epephanay).
Grace appeared…bringing salvation for all people means for old men and old women and young women and young men and even slaves. It means salvation is even for Cretans, lazy and lying evil beasts (Titus 1:12). Grace comes for all kinds of people, for people like you.
Grace appeared…training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age. All by grace, not by works, but all by grace, changing all the works.
You’ve heard once saved always saved, we could say, once graced always graced. Grace forgives, and it’s good to say grace also gives us good that we don’t deserve. But grace is a teacher with a telos. Grace has lesson plans for us, and discipline when we aren’t prepared for temptation class.
The word training is a verbal form of pedagogy. One dictionary has it as “to provide instruction for informed and responsible living; to assist in the development of a persons ability to make appropriate choices” (BAGD). Educate, yes, and enculturate.
The grammar emphasizes that the goal of training is to live, and the prerequisite is what we deny.
To renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, which two parts could be understood as root and fruit. A disposition of disregard for God leads inevitably to desires for whatever offers to fill the God-hole. We can’t get away from desires; even the Stoic desire to subdue desire is…a controlling desire. The want-engine will run, and grace keeps the car out of the ditch. Turn away, deny on purpose.
And to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age. Our old friend self-control visits again for the fourth time in the chapter, and note that grace and self-control are buds, not competitors. So many Christians want grace to cover their lack of self-control rather than grace that makes them choice men. Upright is just, in transactions of all kinds. Godly has all the smell of reverence. As one commentator observed, these could be three relational spheres: individual (inward), community (outward), divine (upward).
Give up epithumia for eusebia, lust for likeness to God.
All this is in the now, in the present age; this is the stage. Grace keeps us put in the present, for such a time as this.
That said, we do look forward. Waiting for another appearing (epiphaneian). Grace appeared, in Christ, and Christ will appear again. He is our blessed hope, personalized. We wait for the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
This is eschatological, this is future, this is end times. I do have some shape in my mind about what things will be like before the Second Coming, but what is the gist of this passage? Our grace-waiting for the blessed hope includes the expectation that He Himself will put things right when He comes, not that we will finish putting all things right and then He comes.
His coming will be the King’s kiss (think Psalm 2). Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.
There are arguments about whether it’s two persons of the godhead appearing or one. The context argues that Jesus is God. The grammar doesn’t just allow it, it expects it (especially with one article governing the two nouns matching all the particulars of Granville Sharp’s rule). While “God our Savior” in verse 10 allows for all the Trinitarian ingredients, this sentence highlights that Jesus is God.
His work finishes in verse 14. Jesus gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.
He bought us, He paid the price of Himself. He is cleansing (see similar giving for sake of sanctifying in Ephesians 5:25-27).
So we are a people of zealots, enthusiasts, loyalists. We are a people possessed by God in order to be possessed with zeal for God.
Verse 15 bookends chapter 2 with a repetition of “speak” (λάλει).
Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.
Paul told Titus to Speak, and keep on speaking. The these things are at least what accords with sound doctrine throughout the chapter. When others are reluctant and sleepy, exhort. When they are wrong, rebuke. When they won’t listen, keep speaking.
Grace trains to live. Grace educates us with eschatological earthiness. Grace has made us a possessed people.
Remember what was (grace in salvation), what is (grace in self-control), and what is to come, or Who is to come, our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Grace trains us to live. Which, working backward means, living takes training which takes grace. You who are His possession, live all by grace. By the grace of God be self-controlled, upright, and godly in the present week, for the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. (Philippians 3:20–4:1 ESV)