Titus 1:10 Komentář

In this chapter we have, I. The preface or introduction to the epistle, showing from and to whom it was written, with the apostle's salutation and prayer for Titus, wishing all blessings to him (Tit 1:1-4). II. Entrance into the matter, by signifying the end of Titus's being left at Crete (v. 5). III. And how the same should be pursued in reference both to good and bad ministers (v. 6 to the end).

This chapter contains the inscription of the epistle, the apostle's salutation and preface to it; an account of the qualifications of an eider, or pastor of a church; a description of these teachers; and a charge to Titus to rebuke the Cretians for their errors and immoralities. The inscription and salutation are in Tit 1:1, in which the writer of the epistle is described by his name and office; by the faith and hope he had; and by the ministration of the Gospel, committed to him by the order of Christ: and the person to whom it is written is mentioned by name; and is described by the spiritual relation he stood in to the apostle, and to whom he wishes grace, mercy, and peace: the preface to the epistle is in Tit 1:5 which gives the reason of the apostle's leaving Titus in Crete, which was to set things in order there, and to ordain elders in all the churches; which leads him to point at the necessary qualifications of them for his direction; some of which respect their moral life and conversation, and others their doctrine, and are in Tit 1:6 and on occasion of the latter, and which is a reason why the elders should be sound in the faith, and hold it fast, the apostle takes notice of the false teachers that were in Crete, whom he describes by their noisy, vain, and deceitful talk; by their being pernicious and hurtful to whole families; and by their covetousness and sensuality, which is confirmed by a testimony out of one of the Cretian poets, Tit 1:10 wherefore he charges Titus sharply to rebuke either these false teachers, or those they had corrupted, that they regard sound doctrine, and not Jewish fables, and the commandments of erroneous men, Tit 1:13 and instances in things forbidden in the law of Moses as unclean, which were not now to be attended to by those who were pure in heart, and sound in faith, to whom all things were pure and lawful; and as for others that were impure, whose minds and consciences were defiled, and were unbelieving, nothing was pure to them, Tit 1:15 and who are further described as professors in words of the true knowledge of God, and yet practically were deniers of him; and as abominable in their nature and actions, disobedient to law and Gospel, and unfit for any good work whatever, Tit 1:16.

For there are many unruly,.... Persons who are not subject to the law of God, or Gospel of Christ; whose spirits are not subject to the prophets; and who will not submit themselves to them that have the rule over them, nor attend to the admonitions of the church, nor be brought into any regularity and order; and there were many of this sort, who were not sent forth by Christ, or his churches, but went forth of themselves, and were corrupters of the word; and therefore Christ's ministers ought to hold fast the faithful word, and convince such opposers by sound doctrine; and vain talkers; who deliver out in their discourses empty, trifling, superficial, and frivolous things; which have no solidity and substance in them, nor do they tend to edification; only great swelling words of vanity, vain jangling and babbling about things to no profit. And deceivers; both of themselves and others; who lie in wait to deceive, and are deceitful workers; and by their good words, and fair speeches, deceive the hearts of the simple; and so are dangerous persons, and of pernicious consequence: especially they of the circumcision; or "of the Jews", as the Ethiopic version renders it; that is, not the unbelieving Jews, but such as professed Christianity, judaizing Christians, who joined Moses and Christ and blended the law and Gospel together; who taught that circumcision, and the observance of other ceremonies of the law, were necessary to justification and salvation; and hereby did a great deal of mischief among the churches.

I therefore, yet not I, out the love of Jesus Christ, "entreat you that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment." For there are some vain talkers and deceivers, not Christians, but Christ-betrayers, bearing about the name of Christ in deceit, and "corrupting the word" of the Gospel; while they intermix the poison of their deceit with their persuasive talk, as if they mingled aconite with sweet wine, that so he who drinks, being deceived in his taste by the very great sweetness of the draught, may incautiously meet with his death. One of the ancients gives us this advice, "Let no man be called good who mixes good with evil." For they speak of Christ, not that they may preach Christ, but that they may reject Christ; and they speak of the law, not that they may establish the law, but that they may proclaim things contrary to it. For they alienate Christ from the Father, and the law from Christ. They also calumniate His being born of the Virgin; they are ashamed of His cross; they deny His passion; and they do not believe His resurrection. They introduce God as a Being unknown; they suppose Christ to be unbegotten; and as to the Spirit, they do not admit that He exists. Some of them say that the Son is a mere man, and that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are but the same person, and that the creation is the work of God, not by Christ, but by some other strange power.

"For there are," he says, "many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers:" Wherefore it was not said to all, "Ye are the salt of the earth." For there are some even of the hearers of the word who are like the fishes of the sea, which, reared from their birth in brine, yet need salt to dress them for food.

Ver. 10. "For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, especially they of the circumcision;" Ver. 11. "Whose mouths must be stopped." Seest thou how he shows that they are such? From their not wishing to be ruled, but to rule. For he has glanced at this. When therefore thou canst not persuade them, do not give them charges, but stop their mouths, for the benefit others. But of what advantage will this be, if they will not obey, or are unruly? Why then should he stop their mouths? In order that others may be benefited by it. "Who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not for filthy lucre's sake." For if he has undertaken the office of a Teacher, and is not able to combat these enemies, and to stop their mouths who are so shameless, he will become in each case the cause of their destination who perish. And if some one has thus advised, "Seek not to be a judge, unless thou canst take away iniquity" (Ecclus. vii. 6); much more may we say here, "Seek not to be a Teacher, if thou art unequal to the dignity of the office; but though dragged to it, decline it." Dost thou see that the love of power, the love of for filthy lucre, is a cause of these evils? "Teaching things which they ought not," he says, "for filthy lucre's sake."

For there are many who are not subject, vain talkers, and deceivers of minds: especially those who are of the circumcision, who must be indicated as silent: who overturn whole houses, teaching what they ought not, for the sake of base gain. Let him who is to be a prince of the Church have eloquence associated with integrity of life, lest his works be taciturn without speech, and let his words blush when his deeds fail: especially when they are not a few, but many: neither subject, but insolent, who do not care to say what the Psalmist says: Is not my soul subject to God (Ps. 61:1)? But let them overthrow the good seed of minds, which naturally have knowledge of God, with empty persuasion. For this, it seems to me that Paul meant when he said "deceivers", not as the Latin interpreter simply translated "deceivers", but "deceivers of the mind". And indeed, without the authority of the Scriptures, their talk would not have faith, unless their perverse doctrine appeared to be confirmed by divine testimonies. These are of the circumcision of the Jews, who at that time were striving to subvert the nascent Church of Christ and to introduce legal precepts, on which Paul explains more fully both to the Romans and to the Galatians. And just a few months ago, we presented three volumes on the explanation of the Letter to the Galatians. Men of such a kind, as the Doctor of the Church, to whom the souls of the people are entrusted, ought to surpass with reason the Scriptures, and to impose silence upon them in evidence: they overthrow not merely one or few houses, but all homes with owners and families, teaching [them] about differences of foods, about the long-ago abolition of the Sabbath, about the harm of circumcision: and if they did this very thing by zeal for the faith, it might be pardoned to some extent, with the Apostle saying: I bear witness that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge (Romans 10:2). But because God is their belly, they willingly seek to make their own disciples for shameful gain, so that they may be fed by their followers as masters. But we can interpret this, which has been said for the sake of shameful gain, in another way: that we may think the Apostle used a common word, by which all heretics with their perverse teachings usually assert that they are gainers of men. When in fact it is not gain, but destruction, deceiving the souls of the deluded. On the contrary, he who has corrected his erring brother according to the Gospel, if he was converted, has gained him. For what greater gain can there be or what is more precious than if one gains a human soul? Therefore, every teacher of the Church who persuades rightly by the reason of faith in Christ is an honest gainer. And every heretic who deceives and is deceived by certain tricks of men, speaks what ought not to be spoken, for the sake of shameful gain.

For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, especially those from the circumcision. They must be silenced, who overturn whole households, teaching things they ought not for dishonest gain. Paul said the root of all things, from which the rest also grow. For the disobedient person does not want to yield themselves, but desires to rule and oversee others. Then it is necessary that he who rules with ecclesiastical authority also teaches, but he who teaches before he has learned, because he does not obey others, is rightly found to be a babbler and a deceiver of minds. especially those from the circumcision. For even Christ reproached them for seeking power: who, even after receiving faith, did not abandon this disease. They must be silenced. For if a bishop has the care and leadership entrusted to him of others, and does not know how to silence the mouths of babblers and seducers, and to convict them, he becomes the cause of loss for those who perish. And rightly it is said: must be silenced: that is, by the force of rebukes, they should not even be allowed to speak, so that from this there may also be found listeners. teaching things they ought not for dishonest gain. There is nothing that this passion does not urge to transgress.

He pointed to the root of all evils — insubordination. Since the insubordinate person does not want to be under authority, but pushes forward to have authority over others, he has obviously learned nothing sound or right, because he did not want to endure being taught. One who deceives himself and others is an idle talker and a mind-deceiver. The Lord also reproached them for their love of preeminence, because they had not abandoned this malady even after they came to believe.

So then when he says, for there are also many, he posits the necessity of teaching. In regard to the first he does two things: first, he describes the false teachers; second, the perverse things they study, at one of them. In regard to the first he does two things: first, he describes the condition of false teachers; second, the perversity of their learning at who subvert whole houses. Then first he shows their condition; second he prescribes a remedy, at who must be reproved. He describes their condition on four points: first, from the number, when he says, many: the number of fools is infinite (Eccl 1:15); second, from the vice of disobedience, when he says, disobedient, both to God and to superiors: disobedient to parents (Rom 1:30); stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry (1 Sam 15:23); third, from their speech, when he says, vain talkers, namely, in relation to themselves: the Lord knows the thoughts of men, that they are in vain (Ps 94:11): for all men who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature (Wis 13:1); and false teachers especially are foolish. Then he continues, seducers, namely, in relation to inferiors: evil men and deceivers will go on from bad to worse (2 Tim 3:13). Fourth, from their place when he says, especially they who are of the circumcision, who compelled men to observe Jewish practices: look out for the dogs, look out for the evil-workers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh (Phil 3:2). Against these he proposes a remedy; for they are not to be tolerated, because the people would become corrupt, and the shepherd would be blamed: you have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the Lord (Ezek 13:5); convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching (2 Tim 4:2); therefore, he says, who must be reproved.

The apostle's statement of his character, his hope, and his function, Tit 1:1-3. His address to Titus, and the end for which he left him in Crete, Tit 1:4, Tit 1:5. The qualifications requisite in those who should be appointed elders and bishops in the Church of God, Tit 1:6-9. Of false teachers, Tit 1:10, Tit 1:11. The character of the Cretans, and how they were to be dealt with, Tit 1:12-14. Of the pure, the impure, and false professors of religion, Tit 1:15, Tit 1:16.

There are many unruly - Persons who will not receive the sound doctrine, nor come under wholesome discipline. Vain talkers - Empty boasters of knowledge, rights, and particular privileges; all noise, empty parade, and no work. Deceivers - Of the souls of men by their specious pretensions. They of the circumcision - The Judaizing teachers, who maintained the necessity of circumcision, and of observing the rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic law, in order to the perfecting of the Gospel.

ADDRESS: FOR WHAT END TITUS WAS LEFT IN CRETE. QUALIFICATIONS FOR ELDERS: GAINSAYERS IN CRETE NEEDING REPROOF. (Tit. 1:1-16) servant of God--not found elsewhere in the same connection. In Rom 1:1 it is "servant of Jesus Christ" (Gal 1:10; Phi 1:1; compare Act 16:17; Rev 1:1; Rev 15:3). In Rom 1:1, there follows, "called to be an apostle," which corresponds to the general designation of the office first, "servant of GOD," here, followed by the special description, "apostle of Jesus Christ." The full expression of his apostolic office answers, in both Epistles, to the design, and is a comprehensive index to the contents. The peculiar form here would never have proceeded from a forger. according to the faith--rather, "for," "with a view to subserve the faith"; this is the object of my apostleship (compare Tit 1:4, Tit 1:9; Rom 1:5). the elect--for whose sake we ought to endure all things (Ti2 2:10). This election has its ground, not in anything belonging to those thus distinguished, but in the purpose and will of God from everlasting (Ti2 1:9; Rom 8:30-33; compare Luk 18:7; Eph 1:4; Col 3:12). Act 13:48 shows that all faith on the part of the elect, rests on the divine foreordination: they do not become elect by their faith, but receive faith, and so become believers, because they are elect. and the acknowledging of the truth--"and (for promoting) the full knowledge of the truth," that is, the Christian truth (Eph 1:13). after godliness--that is, which belongs to piety: opposed to the knowledge which has not for its object the truth, but error, doctrinal and practical (Tit 1:11, Tit 1:16; Ti1 6:3); or even which has for its object mere earthly truth, not growth in the divine life. "Godliness," or "piety," is a term peculiar to the Pastoral Epistles: a fact explained by the apostle having in them to combat doctrine tending to "ungodliness" (Ti2 2:16; compare Tit 2:11-12).

unruly--"insubordinate." and--omitted in the oldest manuscripts. "There are many unruly persons, vain talkers, and deceivers"; "unruly" being predicated of both vain talkers and deceivers. vain talkers--opposed to "holding fast the faithful word" (Tit 1:9). "Vain jangling" (Ti1 1:6); "foolish questions, unprofitable and vain" (Tit 3:9). The source of the evil was corrupted Judaism (Tit 1:14). Many Jews were then living in Crete, according to JOSEPHUS; so the Jewish leaven remained in some of them after conversion. deceivers--literally, "deceivers of the minds of others" (Greek, Gal 6:3).