Titus 1:5-7

[clark thompson]

Titus 1:5-7

KJV 5 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: 6 If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. 7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;



Titus 1:5-7 Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB)


5 ¶ For this cause I left thee in Crete, that thou should correct that which is lacking and set in place elders in every city, as I had commanded thee:

6 ¶ He who is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children who can not be accused of dissoluteness, nor insubordinate.

7 For the bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God; not arrogant, not quick to anger, not given to wine, not hurtful, not greedy of dishonest gain,



Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) 2000, 2001, 2010 by LIFE SENTENCE Publishing


These are my thoughts, please share yours.


5 Paul was showing that he trusted Titus to do what was needed to be done, he was also giving him a chance to serve and be used for the Lord, they weren’t divided but working in two different areas, we often times see working else where as division and often times it is because we make it that way. We have instructions from the Lord for what we are going to do as Christians, we are trusted to keep those instructions and serve.


6 An elder those who help thru Christ keep the church up and going. To have more then one wife or be chasing more then one woman shows a lack of focus and is a distraction from serving the Lord. If the man can not keep his household in line then how can he keep the church in line.


7 This man is not going to be perfect. But he should strive for the Lord and live like Jesus. The men who serve should be humble and patience and not let anything move them but the Spirit alone, they should not be searching for money lust or anything from the flesh but search things from the Lord, His fruit.

 

[SHINY4UJESUS]

Seems to me that verse 5 is the "outline" verse; detailing what it was Paul wanted Titus to do. This is implementing the idea of "order and structure," in intermediary leadership roles such as elders, deacons, ministry aides, etc. His premise was that A) The newly birthed Christian Body (aka) church, needed to establish a structure for orderly operation and accountability. B) That such a structure was lacking in its implementation and C) That since Paul had previously conferred with Titus on this subject, (IE, " as I had commanded thee,) then this inherently meant that Paul felt Titus was the "man for the job."

Then in verses 6&7 (and additionally in verses 8&9) Paul delivers a basic standard or "formula,"; a set of minimum criteria for those in such positions to meet in order to qualify. Your interpretations and insights of these character traits is right on point. There was a tactical and necessary reason for leadership to maintain these traits; yet it goes far deeper than simply having those traits for the sake of their intrinsic value. Much more critical is that we understand where the early church was at in this era, and why these requirements were necessary.

You see, the Hebrew nation had just been rocked to its core by Christ; whose message of righteousness and justification by faith seemed directly opposed to Old Testament Law, which required strict obedience and constant sacrifice. As such, it was quite hard for those who wanted to believe in Jesus to break away from the age-old habit towards legalism and outward behavior/presentation of righteousness. in order for the early church to grow exponentially and efficiently; one had to be certain all avoidable obstacles were out of the way. The message of Christ was already violently and militantly opposed; many religious leaders and average Jewish followers already sought to compromise the Word of God, the work of Christ, and this new message of salvation by faith. Ergo, any failing on the part of those seen as having spiritual authority or station within the church could be detrimental to the message so elders needed to be "above reproach." Thus the strict set of requirements; so the message and movement of God in Christ would not be unnecessarily impeded and compromised by folks judging the message by the inconsistencies of its "elders."

In the end I just wanted to broaden the view of your selected passage and shine a light as to its general purpose; I do not in any way discount your valid and true insights as to interpreting principles within those verses. i applaud your willingness to look deeper and delve for the "unwritten," concepts that are implied via Spirit. Well done.