In verse 1 Paul says that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ “according to the faith of God’s chosen ones, and the full knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness.” Here we see that Paul’s apostleship was according to the faith of God’s chosen ones and according to the full knowledge of the truth, and that this truth is according to godliness. Three crucial words here are faith, truth, and godliness. Paul was an apostle not directly according to godliness, but according to the faith and to the full knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness. In verse 2 we see that Paul was an apostle also “in the hope of eternal life.” The relative pronoun “which” in this verse refers to eternal life. Eternal life implies hope. With temporal life there is no true hope, but with eternal life there is hope. Because eternal life is forever and cannot be terminated, it gives us hope.

The hope of eternal life was “promised before times eternal” by God, who cannot lie. The expression “times eternal” is a special term denoting eternity. In eternity God promised eternal life with its hope. When we go on to verse 3, we see that God not only promised eternal life, but “in its own times has manifested His word in the proclamation” with which Paul was entrusted. In these verses we see that God has done two things: promised eternal life and manifested His word.

In 1 Timothy 1:1 Paul says that he became “an apostle of Christ Jesus, according to the command of God our Savior.” However, in 2 Timothy 1:1 he says that he was an apostle “according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus.” Paul was appointed an apostle by God’s command with His requirement. A command requires something of us, but life supplies something to us. Apart from eternal life, Paul would not have had the supply to fulfill God’s requirement. In order for Paul to carry out God’s command with its extremely high requirements, he needed another life. This life is actually the life of God, the One who issues the command. Furthermore, this life is the very commanding and requiring God Himself. First, God makes a requirement, and then He comes in to supply what is needed to fulfill His own requirement. He requires by command, and He supplies by being life. When Paul received God’s command to carry out His New Testament economy, perhaps he said, “Lord, who am I to carry out such a command? I am not able to fulfill this requirement.” To this the Lord may have said, “Foolish child, I’ll come into you to supply you. If you submit to My requirement, I’ll come into you to fulfill it. I will be in you the life which is able to carry out My own requirement.”

At this juncture it is worthwhile to compare 1 Corinthians 15:10 with Galatians 2:20. In the former verse Paul says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” In the latter verse Paul says, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” The grace which was with Paul and which enabled him to labor more than others was actually God Himself. God in Paul was eternal life as his supply and support for the carrying out of His New Testament economy. Therefore, the God who commanded is also the God who supplies.

In Titus 1:1 Paul again speaks of his apostleship, but he adds something to what is written in 1 Timothy 1:1 and 2 Timothy 1:1. As we have pointed out, in 1:1 and 2 Paul mentions the faith of God’s chosen ones, the truth which is according to godliness, and the hope of eternal life. Although it is wonderful to see that Paul was an apostle according to the command of God and according to the promise of eternal life, we need to ask, in a thoughtful manner, how this eternal life can come into us. It comes into us through faith, through the organic union between us and the Triune God. Therefore, in 1:1 Paul says that he became an apostle not only according to the command of God and not only according to the life of God, but also according to the faith of God’s chosen ones, the faith which brought him into an organic union with God. This was the way Paul obtained the life supply and support to fulfill God’s command.

In 1:1 Paul is careful to point out that this faith is the faith of “God’s chosen ones.” We did not choose God; He chose us. Hence, the matter of our believing in Christ depends on God’s choice, not on ours. God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. We should praise Him and worship Him for choosing us. Today we are in the Lord’s recovery because God has chosen us. He was the One who took the initiative. How can you explain the fact that you believe in the Lord Jesus when others, perhaps members of your family, refuse to believe in Him? The only explanation is that God has chosen us. I can testify that I simply must believe in Christ. If I did not believe in Him, I would not have peace. If I did not believe in Christ, I would have no purpose for living. I would not be able to eat or sleep properly. No matter how others may treat me and no matter what my circumstances may be, I have no choice but to believe in the Lord.
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