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Titus (A Companion Of Paul) Series
Contributed by John Lowe on Jan 4, 2022 (message contributor)
Summary: Titus was a Gentile (Galatians 2:3) who was led to faith in Christ by Paul (Titus 1:4). He was drawn to the ministry and became a co-worker with Paul, accompanying him and Barnabas from Antioch to Jerusalem.
Titus (A Companion of Paul)
There are several questions that this article will attempt to answer about Paul's companion and friend, Titus. Thus the first section is titled:
Titus (A Companion of Paul)
Titus was an early church leader, a trusted companion of the Apostle Paul, and a faithful servant of the Lord. Paul the Apostle is mentioned in several Pauline epistles, including the Epistle to Titus, and according to tradition, he was consecrated as Bishop of the Island of Crete.
Titus was a Gentile (Galatians 2:3) who was led to faith in Christ by Paul (Titus 1:4). He was drawn to the ministry and became a co-worker with Paul, accompanying him and Barnabas from Antioch to Jerusalem (Titus is included in the "other believers" of Acts 15:2). At the Jerusalem Council, Titus would have been a prime example of a born-again Gentile Christian. Titus was living proof that the rite of circumcision was unnecessary for salvation (Galatians 2:3).
Later, Titus went to Corinth to serve the church there (2 Corinthians 8:6, 16-17).
On Paul's third missionary journey, which took place from A.D. 53 to 57, Paul arrived in Troas and expected to meet Titus there (2 Corinthians 2:12-13). Not finding his friend, Paul left for Macedonia. Titus rejoined Paul in Philippi and gave him a good report of the ministry in Corinth (2 Corinthians 7:6-7, 13-14). When Titus returned to Corinth, he hand-delivered the Epistle of 2 Corinthians and organized a collection for needy saints in Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8:10, 17, 24).
Later, in Crete, Titus appointed presbyters (elders) in every city and remained there into his old age, dying in Gortyna, near the city of Candia (modern Heraklion).
Several years later, Titus and Paul traveled to the island of Crete, where Titus was left behind to continue and strengthen the work. Titus's task was primarily administrative: he maintained sound doctrine and "straightened out what was left unfinished and appointed presbyters (elders) in every town" (Titus 1:5). When Artemas and Tychicus arrived in Crete to direct the ministry, Paul summoned Titus to join him in Nicopolis, a city in the province of Achaia in western Greece (Titus 3:12).
The last mention of Titus in the Bible indicates that he was with Paul during Paul's final Roman imprisonment. From Rome, Titus was sent to evangelize Dalmatia (2 Timothy 4:10), an area which later became known as Yugoslavia and is now called Serbia and Montenegro.
As a Gentile Christian, Titus would have been particularly effective in combating the heresy of the Judaizers. The Judaizers insisted that the Mosaic Law bound all Christians. Usually, the Judaizers honed in on circumcision: Gentiles must be circumcised, they said, in order to truly be saved (see Paul's refutation of this teaching in Galatians 5:1-6 ). Titus knew this teaching well, for the subject had come up in Syrian Antioch, leading to the Jerusalem Council, of which he had been a member.
Titus was a faithful servant of the Lord and a dedicated aide to Paul. Since Paul appointed him to the leadership in Corinth, Crete, and Dalmatia, he must have been trustworthy and dependable. Indeed, Paul calls him "my partner and fellow worker" (2 Corinthians 8:23). Knowing the problematic situations in both Corinth and Crete, we can infer that Titus was an insightful man who could handle problems with grace. Scripture says that Titus had a God-given love for the Corinthian believers; in returning to Corinth, Titus went "with much enthusiasm and on his initiative" (2 Corinthians 8:16-17).
May we have the same zeal for the Lord that Titus showed. Every believer would do well to model Titus's commitment to truth, fervor in spreading the gospel, and enthusiastic love for the church.
The second section is titled "Paul's Life."
Paul, a Greek, has studied Greek philosophy and poetry in his early years.
He seems to have been converted by Paul, after which he served as Paul's secretary and interpreter. In the year 49, Titus accompanied Paul to the council held at Jerusalem on the Mosaic rites.
Towards the close of the year 56, Paul, as he departed from Asia, sent Titus from Ephesus to Corinth, with a full commission to remedy the fallout precipitated by Timothy's delivery of 1 Corinthians and Paul's "Painful Visit," particularly a significant personal offense and challenge to Paul's authority by one unnamed individual. During this journey, Titus served as the courier for what is commonly known as the "Severe Letter," a Pauline epistle that has been lost but is referred to in 2 Corinthians.
After success on this mission, Titus journeyed north and met Paul in Macedonia. The Apostle, overjoyed by Titus' success, wrote 2 Corinthians. Titus returned to Corinth with an enormous entourage, carrying 2 Corinthians with him. Paul joined Titus in Corinth later. From Corinth, Paul then sent Titus to organize the collections of alms for the Christians at Jerusalem. Titus was, therefore, a troubleshooter, peacemaker, administrator, and missionary.
