Packing It In

Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, but at the proper time revealed His word in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior;  Titus 1:1-3  NASB

Of God – What’s the difference between this introduction and the opening of Paul’s letter to the Romans?  You remember that first verse: “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, . .”  In Titus, Paul is a doúlos of God.  In Romans, he’s a doúlos of Yeshua HaMashiach.  Does this mean that God and the Messiah are the same person?  The designation apóstolos is the same, a “sent-out one” from the Messiah.  But what about the slavery issue?

I own a house.  My son is the leasing agent and property manager.  Since he’s my son, he technically owns the house too because it is in my will which distributes this property to him at my demise.  For now, he acts as my authorized agent.  When he leases the property, the lessor deals with him, reports to him, and is directed by him.  Of course, since my son is my agent, technically the lessor is dealing with me as the owner.  But practically the lessor deals with my son.  If the lessor says, “I’m leasing a property from Michael,” that is the current observational reality, but if he says, “I’m leasing from Skip” that is also equally true.  It just depends on who the lessor is interacting with at the moment.  It does not mean that Skip and Michael are the same person.  And since the Messiah is the fully authorized agent of YHVH, Paul is actually a doúlos of both.  It’s just a matter of perspective.  Furthermore, if you read ahead a bit, you will see that Paul recognizes God as Savior.  Does this mean Yeshua plays no role in salvation?  Of course not, but the same multilevel relationship applies.  God is the savior—and Yeshua is God’s fully authorized saving agent.  Yeshua himself acknowledges this: “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher, and go home” (Luke 5:24).  Who gave him this authority?  The answer is obvious.  The authority rests with the giver, distributed to the recipient.

Paul packs a lot more into this opening.  You probably noticed “chosen of God,” a nice theological conundrum phrase involving the issue of election, but I’d like to pay attention to the next twister: “in the hope of eternal life.”  You’ll notice that Paul considered this a “promise” made long ago.  That’s a bit strange considering there is virtually nothing about eternal life in the entire Tanach.  Perhaps Paul is referring to rabbinic material post-exile.  That would mean we’d have to search through the Talmud, for example, to determine when God made the promise.  But that doesn’t make any sense here, in this letter.  Why?  Because Titus isn’t Jewish.

Paul wrote his letter to Titus from Nicopolis in AD 63, after his release from Roman imprisonment.  Sometime earlier Paul had sent Titus to Crete.  Now he writes to Titus concerning order in the assembly and other administrative duties.  But Titus is Greek, and it is very unlikely he had any rabbinic education.  Talmudic references are irrelevant, especially since at this point Talmudic instruction was oral.  Whatever Paul means has to be something Titus would understand in his own Messianic world.  The key is the next phrase, “but at the proper time revealed His word.”  Since Paul goes on to explain that he has been commissioned to proclaim this revelation, we can be confident that he is referring to the story of the Messiah and its implications for living.  And now we recognize something quite important.  Eternal life is not living forever.  The temporal duration is not the focus here.  It might be true that once engaged the temporal reality extends indefinitely, but that isn’t what constitutes “eternal life.”  Eternal life is the experience of intimacy with God now—and in every subsequent moment.  This is what was promised long ago—fellowship with the Father.  And this is what has recently been revealed in the Messiah, namely, fellowship with the Father.  Note the phrase “at the proper time revealed His word.”  Boyarin would probably point to Logos theology here.  What is revealed is the third attempt of Wisdom to enter the world, this time in the form of the Messiah.  According to Paul, this occurred “at the proper time,” the kairósmoment, the decisive point when a slice of the divine shows up in human chronology.  The kḗrygma (proclamation) that has been entrusted to Paul is simply this: God has shown His favor to men once again with an invitation to fellowship through His agent Yeshua.

Paul puts a lot in this opening.  Amazingly, Titus, the Greek, got it.  So should we.

Topical Index: of God, kḗrygma, proclamation, doúlos, slave, Titus 1:1-3