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== The Epistle to Titus ==


[[Titus]] was an early Christian companion and disciple of [[Paul the Apostle]], mentioned in several of the Pauline epistles including the Epistle to [[Titus]] likely written about the same time as the First Epistle to [[Timothy]] considering the similarities. Titus brought a letter from Paul to raise funds in Corinth, to supplement the [[daily ministration]] in [[Jerusalem]]. 

In Crete, Titus, as an [[elder]] of his own family, and servant to other ministers was appointed as a [[bishop]] and remained there into his old age, dying in Gortyna, near the city of Candia (modern Heraklion).

Titus was a Greek who studied Greek philosophy and poetry in his early years. He seems to have been converted by Paul and aided him in service to the people. In the year 49, Titus accompanied Paul to the council held at Jerusalem and was a part of the controversy concerning circumcision being required for Gentile converts. In some manuscripts of Galatian Titus is circumcised.

Epistle to Titus describes the requirements and duties of ministers of the Church. These were not positions of authority over men but of [[Servants|service]] to men so that they could practice [[Pure Religion]].

There is even some reason to believe and there are those who argue that Titus meaning "pleasing" is just another name for Timothy, concluding they are the same individual.  It seems clear that there was a circumcising Timothy on Acts 16:3 but  Titus may not have been forced to comply Galatians 2:3 although there are manuscripts of Galatians 2:4 which indicate that Paul did circumcise Titus.<Ref> Cooper, Stephen. Marius Victorinus' Commentary on Galatians. Oxford University Press, 2005.</Ref>

There is some doubt that The Epistle of Titus and other pastoral epistles are truly written by the [[Paul the Apostle]], due to issues of style, circumstance, and references church [[office]]s like [[elder]]s and bishops. There is no evidence in Paul's day that these terms meant an [[office]] of authority of one man over another like we think today. An [[elder]]  or ''presbyter'' was not an [[office]] of the Church but a condition of being a head of a family.

In any case, the letter was written to Titus, but it was also written to the Christians on the island of Crete. 

When Paul used the term ''bondservant'', he chose the ancient Greek word ''doulos''. This word designated a low slave  “the most abject, servile term in use among the Greeks for a slave”. It was also the word for a slave by choice. This fits directly into the teachings of Christ that the highest among you is to be a servant to all.

Understanding that the [[Church]] included the [[called out]] [[disciples]] who were [[appoint]]ed a kingdom under the directives of [[Christ]] and that the people gathered in [[free assemblies]] or congregation of [[tens]] as [[commanded]] by Christ is as important to a clear picture of Christianity as the [[daily ministration]] of [[Pure Religion and its [[Christian conflict]] with the [[covetous practices]] of [[Rome]] and the [[Corban]] of the [[Pharisees]] and their [[wages of unrighteousness]].

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{{Titus 2}}

{{Titus 3}}


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== Footnotes ==


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[[Category:New testament]]
[[Category:Titus]]