Monday 20 January, 2014
Titus 1:1-4
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— 2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 3 and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior, 4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Paul’s description of himself as a servant and an apostle says so much about his mission in life. Lets put it this way – as a servant of God he acknowledges ownership of his life in God’s hands. As an apostle [or one sent out on an assignment] Paul refers to his ministry dedicated to helping the faith of God’s elect.
His ministry is firmly based on the ‘hope of eternal life’ on which he works to build faith and knowledge. Its clear that Paul is supremely confident about this hope because it is a promise God gave before ‘the beginning of time!
Elsewhere in his letters Paul teaches that this ‘hope of eternal life’ has always been a secret, but has now been revealed through Jesus Christ our Saviour; and he has been given the order by Christ to speak out this incredible ‘hope of eternal life’ and to confirm it to the saints.
What a powerful word this must have been for Titus as he carried on his pastoral work in the towns on the island of Crete, to know that grace [the empowering presence of Christ] and peace [the overwhelming sense of well-being] was his; and what a great word for us. In a world which is increasingly characterised by distrust and suspicion, and in which the truth is often disregarded, it is so liberating to believe that God’s promise of eternal life is as solid today as it has always been! What I need to do now is keep on receiving everything God has promised in Christ.
Father, I do receive everything You have promised – hope of eternal life, Your empowering presence, Your peace and more – Holy Spirit please remind me daily of the promises God has made and revealed through Jesus Christ.
Written by Keith Bennett
I always take note when an attribute of God is clearly stated in the text. In this instance ‘God cannot lie’. This makes sense because people usually lie to get some form of advantage. For God the supreme being, there is no advantage that can ever be gained from lying. This is actually in sharp contrast to many of the worlds religions where the deities can and do lie.
Keith, I think we would all benefit from spending more time meditating on ‘the hope of eternal life’. Thanks!
Thanks for a timely reminder – also love the expansion of what peace and grace mean.