In verse 13 Paul continues, “Awaiting the blessed hope, even the appearing of the glory of the great God and our Savior, Christ Jesus.” We are to await expectantly what is accepted in faith. According to verse 13, we are awaiting the blessed hope, which is the appearing of Christ in His glory. The appearing of Christ will bring us into full sonship, that is, the redemption of our body, that we may enjoy the freedom of the glory of the children of God for which we have been saved (Rom. 8:21-25). This is the hope of eternal life (Titus 1:2), a hope of eternal blessing, a blessed hope in the eternal life of the Triune God, based upon which Paul became an apostle.
In verse 13 Paul speaks of the glory of the great God; that is the glory of the Father (Matt. 16:27) which has been given to the Son (John 17:24) and into which we, as the many sons of God, will be brought (Heb. 2:10). Unto this glory God by His wisdom has ordained us before the ages (1 Cor. 2:7), and into this eternal glory the God of all grace has called us and saved us (1 Pet. 5:10; 2 Tim. 2:10). The weight of this glory is eternal (2 Cor. 4:17), and with it we shall be glorified (Rom. 8:17, 30). The appearing of this glory of Christ, our great God and Savior, is the blessed hope which we are awaiting.
In verse 13 Paul speaks of “the great God and our Savior, Christ Jesus.” Through the centuries there have been two schools of interpretation regarding this remarkable, marvelous, and excellent sacred and divine title. According to one school, two Persons are indicated, God and Christ. According to the other school, there is but one Person, Christ Jesus being the great God and our Savior, thus asserting the deity of Christ. We prefer the second, with a comma after Savior. This corresponds to the two sacred titles revealed at the birth of Christ: Jesus, Jehovah the Savior, and Emmanuel, God with us (Matt. 1:21-23). Our Lord is not only our Savior, but also God, and not merely God, but the great God, the God who is great in nature, in glory, in authority, in power, in deed, in love, in grace, and in every divine attribute. In 1 Timothy 2:5 our Lord is revealed as a man; here, as the great God. He is both man and God. His appearing in His divine glory will be not only for saving His people into the kingdom age, but also for the judgment of the entire world, that He may bring the kingdom of God to this earth. Hence, His appearing in His glory is the blessed hope.
Whether or not we shall be happy at the time of the Lord’s appearing depends on our living as Christians today. According to Matthew 25, all the Lord’s servants will give an account to Him at His coming. To some the Lord will say, “Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things; enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matt. 25:21). But others the Lord will rebuke as evil and slothful slaves (v. 26). The evil and slothful slave is not an unbeliever or a false believer. How could someone who is not a genuine believer in the Lord receive a talent from Him, and how could a false believer meet the Lord at His judgment seat in the air? Such things are impossible. Only genuine believers are spoken of here.
Many of today’s Christians will find themselves in a sorrowful situation at the time of the Lord’s coming. Instead of being commended by the Lord, they will be rebuked by Him. Oh, the superficiality among Christians today! Many have been drugged by superficial teachings concerning the Lord’s coming. They do not have a heart for the healthy teachings regarding God’s economy. Because they have been drugged, they imagine that they will have no problems with the Lord at the time of His appearing. They do not seem to realize that, according to Paul’s word in 2 Timothy 4:8, the Lord will appear as the righteous Judge. At that time, a great many Christians will hear a very sobering word from the Lord. However, I prefer to hear a sobering word from Him today. In contrast to much of the preaching among Christians today, the ministry in the Lord’s recovery does not present sugar-coated teachings. On the contrary, sobering messages are given to the saints.
In verse 14 Paul says that Christ “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all lawlessness and purify to Himself a people for His own possession, zealous of good works.” The words “for us” here mean on our behalf. They do not mean instead of us. To redeem means to buy with a price (1 Cor. 6:20; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 Tim. 2:6). Christ gave Himself for us not only that He might redeem us from all lawlessness, but also purify to Himself a people for His own possession. A people for His possession are a peculiar people. This expression is borrowed from the Old Testament (Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 26:18) and denotes a people privately possessed by God as His peculiar treasure (Exo. 19:5), His own possession (1 Pet. 2:9).
In verse 15 we have the apostle’s charge to Titus: “These things speak, and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one despise you.” By “these things” Paul means all the things in verses 1 through 14. Titus was charged to speak these things and to exhort and reprove with all authority. Authority here also means imperativeness. The literal meaning of the Greek word is command. With all authority modifies both exhort and reprove. To exhort and reprove with all authority is to advise and rebuke imperatively with words of authority in every way, as giving command.
Paul’s exhortation, “Let no one despise you,” is connected with the matter of authority in the preceding sentence. It is the conclusion of all the charges to Titus in this chapter. It mainly concerns his teaching (vv. 1, 7-8, 15). The healthy teaching with the healthy word according to godliness would keep him in gravity and invite the utmost respect.
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