Titus 2.11-15 / “Are you grace trained?” - Carpenter Flock teaching notes 140504

Titus 2.11-15   /   “Are you grace trained?”

1. What does this passage teach us about the grace of God?

2. What does this passage teach us about Christ?

There are few passages in the New Testament which so vividly set the moral power of the Incarnation as this does.  –William Barclay

I. THE LESSON: ¹¹ For the grace of God  in a John 1:14 sense

·         “in the Greek, ‘has appeared’ stand emphatically at the beginning , stressing the manifestation of grace as a historical reality.  The reference is to Christ's entire earthly life—his birth, life, death, and resurrection.  The verb epephne, from which we derive our word ‘epiphany,’ means ‘to become visible, make an appearance,’ and conveys the image of grace suddently breaking in on our moral darkness.  – Thomas Constable

·         à In the ethical terminology of the Greek schools, charis (χαρις) implied a favor freely done, without claim or expectation of return. Aristotle, defining charis (χαρις), lays the whole stress on this very point, that it is conferred freely, with no expectation of return, and finding its only motive in the bounty and free-heartedness of the giver. But in pagan Greece, this favor was always conferred upon a friend, not upon an enemy. When charis (χαρις) is taken over into the terminology of the New Testament, it takes an infinite leap forward, and acquires an added meaning which it never had in pagan Greece, for the favor God did at Calvary’s Cross, He did, not for a race that loved Him but which hated Him. Thus, in the N.T., charis (χαρις) refers to an act that is beyond the ordinary course of what might be expected and is therefore commendable.  --Wuest

·         that brings sal all men vation

…an adjective qualifying “grace.”  --Wuest

 (σωτήριος). Lit. saving. N. T.; Const. with χάρις grace. The saving grace of God.  –Marvin Vincent

·         has appeared to all men,

“Hath appeared” is epiphainō (πιφαινω), “to appear, become visible, to become clearly known.”  --Wuest

Const. with that bringeth salvation, not with hath appeared. The grace of God which is saving for all men. Comp. 1 Tim. 2:4.  –Marvin Vincent

all men  This phrase might best be understood as all men in the sense of all kinds of men (like in vv. 1-10 old and young, men and women, also slaves)

·         ¹² teaching us that,

II. THE LIVING:

A. denying

The verb means that we do it once and for all.  It is a settled matter. --Wiersbe

·                     ungodliness and

·                     worldly lusts,

·          “Worldly” is kosmikos (κοσμικος), “worldly, having the character of this present age.”  --Wuest

·         Chrysostom said that worldly things are things which do not pass over with us into heaven but are dissolved together with this present world.  –William Barclay

B. we should live … in the present age,

·          The word kosmos (κοσμος) is used here of the world system of evil of which Satan is the head, the fallen angels and the demons are his emissaries, and all the unsaved are his servants, together with the pleasures, pursuits, practices, and purposes of the individuals involved.  … It is pernicious. It surrounds us like the air we breathe.  –Wuest

·         Christ has redeemed us from this present age” (niv), but they do not live like it or for it.  Christ has redeemed us from theis evil age (Gal. 1:4).  –Wiersbe

à These three seem to have in view our personal life (soberly), our dealings with others (righteously), and our dealings with God (godly).

·         soberly,  Strong's G4996 - sōphronōs :  with sound mind, soberly, temperately, discreetly

…the prudence which has everything under perfect control, and which allows no passion or desire more than its proper place;  –William Barclay

·         righteously, and  Strong's G1346 - dikaiōs:  just, agreeably to right

…justice which enables us to give both to God and to men that which is their due…  –William Barclay

·         godly  Strong's G2153 - eusebōs:  piously, godly

III. THE LOOKING:  ¹³ looking for

A.  Looking for (προσδεχομενοι [prosdechomenoi]). Present middle participle of προσδεχομαι [prosdechomai], old verb, the one used of Simeon (Luke 2:25) and others (Luke 2:38) who were looking for the Messiah.  --A.T. Robertson

The Greek verb prosdechomenoi is the present tense indicating that indicating that this waiting should be our characteristic attidude, always ready to welcome the returning of the Lord.  --Constable

B.  the blessed hope and glorious appearing of … Jesus Christ

and  και – kai: and, also, even, indeed, but

kjv, nasb95, nkjv—and; went—even; net—in the; nlt—when; rsv, esv, niv84—not translated

o         The Greek grammar here indicates that the blessed hope and glorious appearing refer to the same event.

o         Kαι is explanatory, introducing the definition of the character of the thing hoped for.  –Marvin Vincent

o           The Greek does not speak of “the glorious appearing.” It is “the appearing of the glory” of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.  The a.v. makes “that blessed hope” and “the glorious appearing” to be two different things, whereas the Greek text requires that they be construed as one. We have Granville Sharp’s rule here, which says that when there are two nouns in the same case connected by kai (και) (and), the first noun having the article, the second noun not having the article, the second noun refers to the same thing the first noun does and is a further description of it. Thus, that blessed hope is the glorious appearing of our Lord. The translation should read, “that blessed hope, even the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.” The same rule applies to the words, “the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” Both expressions refer to the same individual. The deity of the Lord Jesus is brought out here by a rule of Greek syntax.  –Wuest

o         …Paul is looking to the culmination of salvation, which will occur when Christ and Christian faith are finally vindicated by the visible display of glory evident to all the world.  ---Constable

o        The word ἐπιφανεια [epiphaneia] (used by the Greeks of the appearance of the gods, from ἐπιφανης, ἐπιφαινω [epiphanēs, epiphainō]) occurs in 2 Tim. 1:10 of the Incarnation of Christ, the first Epiphany (like the verb ἐπεφανη [epephanē], Titus 2:11), but here of the second Epiphany of Christ or the second coming as in 1 Tim. 6:14; 2 Tim. 4:1, 8. In 2 Thess. 2:8 both ἐπιφανεια [epiphaneia] and παρουσια [parousia] (the usual word) occur together of the second coming.  --A.T. Robertson

o       our great God and Savior,

o         The Greek grammar here indicates that God and Savior both refer to Christ.

o        à The god and saviour of the Roman empire was the Emperor himself, who was looked upon as a god and as the saviour of the world in that he by his government brought peace and prosperity to the people. He was worshipped as a god in the state religion of the Roman empire, which was Emperor Worship. But the Christian’s God and Saviour is Jesus Christ. This is a protest against emperor worship.  --Wuest

o       ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us, that

§         He might redeem us from every lawless deed

§         and purify

·         for Himself

·         His own

·         special people,

à  The word we have translated special (periousios) is interesting.  It means reserved for; and it was specially used for that part of the spoils of a battle or a campaign  which the king who had conquered set apart specially for himself.  –William Barclay

Περιούσιος also means possessed over and above, that is, specially selected for one’s own; exempt from ordinary laws of distribution. Hence correctly represented by peculiar, derived from peculium, a private purse, a special acquisition of a member of a family distinct from the property administered for the good of the whole family.   –Marvin Vincent

·         zealous for good works.

(ζηλωτην καλων ἐργων [zēlōtēn kalōn ergōn]). “A zealot for good works.” Substantive for which see 1 Cor. 14:12; Gal. 1:14. Objective genitive ἐργων [ergōn].  --A.T. Robertson

Judaism strongly praised “zeal” for God.   Although zeal was associated particularly with the Zealots in this period.  –BBC

Many are zealots for politics, etc…  We are to direct our zeal toward good works.

Some applications from the Ted Tripp "Instructing a Child's Heart" conference.
We need to be careful that regardless of the parenting tactics that work best for our kids that we do  not settle for too little.  It is important, but not enough, to have children that obey and a household that runs reasonably smoothly.  We need to have the grace of God teaching and change their hearts.
1. Are we willing to manipulate our children to obey for reasons they will later need to repent of (i.e. fear of man, self-interest, greed, Pharisee pride, etc.)? 
2. We need to give our children a bigger vision than just obeying. Submission is dignified and noble (as modeled by Christ).
3. Conflicts are opportunities to help children understand their desires that cause the conflicts (James 4.1-2). The external problems describe when, not why, we get angry.  

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