Chapter 1

Theophylact of Ohrid, Exposition of the Epistle to Titus

1 Chapter One

¹ Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ. He sets these terms down without distinction—now “servant of Christ” and “apostle of God,” now the reverse—for he knows no difference between the Father and the Son.

² According to the faith of God’s elect, and the full knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness. You may understand this in several ways: either that “I am an apostle for the purpose of bringing the elect to faith through me”; or that “I was appointed an apostle, not because I had achieved anything, but because it pleased God to entrust His elect to me.” So the whole is of the grace of Him who entrusted it; and it was not as one worthy, but for the sake of the elect, that I received this dignity. Then, to show that we too must contribute something, he added and the full knowledge of the truth—that is, because I came to know the truth of the doctrine, for this reason it was entrusted to me. Or rather, not even our knowledge is our own, but He Himself is the cause of it; for it is by being first known that we thus come to know. Or else: “I believed, just as the rest of the elect did, and I came to know the truth.” And he said of the truth to set it in contrast with the things of the Jews; for those were not truth, yet neither were they falsehood, but a type and a shadow. And by calling us “elect,” he sets them aside; for even if they were elect once, they are so no longer. Observe, too, that faith comes first, and from it knowledge arises, not from reasonings. And having said of the truth, he added which is according to godliness, because in worldly matters also there is a true knowledge—for instance, a man may truly know farming or carpentry. It is not, then, of that truth that he speaks, but of the truth that is according to godliness.[1]

³ In hope of eternal life. Having told how many benefits God has bestowed on us for the present, he tells also how many He will give in the age to come. For the full knowledge of the truth is itself the greatest benefit to us, who have been delivered from error; and beyond this very gift He grants us, as a reward, eternal life. “Because we have come to know Him,” he says, “we hope also for eternal life.” Do you see how, right from the opening words, he recounts the benefits of God, that he may make both the bishop himself and still more the disciples more eager to please their Benefactor? And in saying “in hope of eternal life” he shakes the foundations of the Jewish way, for they held the present life to be their recompense.

⁴ Which the God who cannot lie promised before eternal times. If He cannot lie, He will certainly give what He promised, even after death. From of old, he says, He foreordained these things, and not out of any change of mind; nor is it because the Jews did not come to Him that He now gives these things to us, but from of old it was so determined, and before the ages He loved us. And it is a proof of our noble standing, that we were loved from the beginning.

⁵ But He manifested His word in due seasons, in the proclamation. Lest anyone ask, “Why did He defer giving the things that were determined before eternal times?”—he answers that it was for the sake of the divine economy, and in order to act at the fitting time. For Scripture calls the opportune moment a “season,” as in the verse, It is time for the Lord to act.[2] “In His own seasons,” then, he says—that is, in the ones that suit what is due. And what did He manifest? “His word,” he says—that is, the Gospel. How? “In the proclamation”—that is, openly, with boldness. He who proclaims neither adds nor takes away; and so we too proclaim the very things we were commanded, only in the hearing of all, as Christ also said, Proclaim it upon the housetops[3]—by the manner and the place setting forth the boldness with which the teaching may be spoken. But note that the sequence of thought called for him to say, “He manifested it in due seasons”—that is, eternal life; yet he did not continue in this way, but said, “He manifested His word.” And rightly so, for the Gospel embraces all things: both the gifts given us for the present—godliness, faith, truth—and the things of the age to come, namely eternal life. Some, however, have understood “the word” to mean the Son Himself.

⁶ Which was entrusted to me, according to the commandment of God our Savior. “The proclamation that was entrusted to me,” he says. “If, then, it was entrusted to me, I must not think thoughts unworthy of the One who entrusted it, nor feign reluctance or chafe against what has been committed to me.” And “it is to me by commandment”—that is, “I am constrained to do this work even against my will.” For of the things to be done, some come about by commandment, others by exhortation: thus, Be reconciled to your brother[4] is a command, and the one who does not do it is punished; but Sell what you have[5] and Let the one who is able to receive it, receive it[6] are exhortations, and the one who does not do them is not punished. “I, then,” he says, “was entrusted with the proclamation by commandment”—that is, so as to do it of necessity. For woe is me, he says, if I do not preach the Gospel.[7] And this is not a matter of love of rule, but of necessity. And whose is the commandment? God our Savior’s. So then, since the God who wills us to be saved has enjoined these things, how shall I not lend my service to a saving work?

⁷ To Titus, my true child. For it is possible to be a child and yet not a true one—as the fornicating Christian, or the covetous man, who is a child insofar as he was reborn in baptism, but not a true child, since he is unworthy of the Father.

⁸ According to the common faith. Having called Titus his child, and having himself taken the rank of a father, he again lessens this honor, saying in effect, “I have nothing more than you in respect of the faith, for it is common, and through it both I and you were begotten.” How then does he call him his child? Either to show his deep affection, or because he himself baptized him. For insofar as the faith is the same for both, they are brothers of one another; but insofar as Paul baptized Titus, he is his father. At any rate, “according to the common faith” indicates their brotherhood.

⁹ Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. By this too he shows their brotherhood, in saying “God the Father,” and he rouses Titus to remember whose Son He is, and that He is the Son of God. And see how the very things he prays for the laity, these he prays also for the bishop and teacher. For the bishop has all the more need of the grace of God, since he bears many burdens; and of mercy, since he is answerable for many; and of peace, since he lives amid troubles and countless wars. For one good deed leads the bishop up to heaven, and one sin drags him down to hades.

¹⁰ For this cause I left you in Crete, that you might set in order the things that are lacking. Just as in a household one of those appointed to the services does one task and another does another, so these men too each took a different part of the world as their portion, and all were at work. This, then, is what he hints at here in saying, “I left you in Crete”—as having himself, evidently, gone off elsewhere to labor there. And see how he is not ashamed to write to his disciple that he should “set in order the things I left undone.” For he had an eye to the common gain, not to his own honor. Notice too how the tasks that involved toil and struggle he accomplished himself, while those that brought honor or praise he entrusts to his disciple—I mean the ordinations of bishops, and the rest of the things that needed fuller completion.

¹¹ And appoint presbyters in every city, as I directed you. Here he calls the bishops by this name, as he does also in the Epistle to Timothy. And he says “in every city,” for he did not wish the whole island to be entrusted to one man, but that each city should have its own shepherd. For in this way the labor is lighter, and the oversight more exact.

¹² If anyone is blameless. If he has a life free from accusation, if no one has found fault with his conduct. For if the light be darkness, how great is the darkness![8]

¹³ The husband of one wife. To stop the mouths of the heretics who disparage marriage, he admits to the episcopate the man who has married. For marriage is so honorable that even together with it one may ascend the holy throne. But to chasten the licentious, he says “the husband of one wife.” For the man who has kept no affection toward the wife who has departed—how shall he preside well over the Church? The bishop must be blameless; but the twice-married man is not blameless, even if he seems so by the laws of those outside.

¹⁴ Having faithful children, not accused of profligacy, or unruly. For the man who has not trained his own children, how shall he set others in order? It is plain that, had he from the start brought up his children well and carefully, they would not have turned out unruly. For sins are not by nature, that they should overcome so much care. And he did not say simply “not profligate,” but having no reproach at all on the score of profligacy, nor being of evil repute.

¹⁵ For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God. And how could he be blameless, if he has unbelieving and untrained children? God has set him over His own household; he holds the place of God; he must therefore be scrupulously exact in every respect.

¹⁶ Not self-willed. For rulers in the world govern unwilling subjects, and therefore resort to self-will, that is, to self-pleasing. But the bishop, who rules willing subjects, ought not to be self-willed, so as to act by his own judgment and his own counsel, without the mind of those he governs; for that is tyrannical.

¹⁷ Not quick-tempered. Self-pleasing is necessarily followed by irascibility, from which also the bishop must accordingly abstain. For how shall he teach others to master this passion, if he has not trained himself?

¹⁸ Not given to wine. That is, an insolent man. For what need is there of insolence? One must frighten the disobedient with the threat of gehenna, not insult them.

¹⁹ No striker. Neither striking with the hands, nor with bitter and harsh words out of season. For he is a physician; and the physician rather heals the wounded, he does not himself strike.

²⁰ Not greedy for base gain. That is, showing great disdain for money. For all gain, even if it be just, is disgraceful for a bishop.

²¹ Hospitable. Not only not making gain from others, but even giving out his own goods to strangers.

²² A lover of good. By this he means the forbearing man, the moderate man, the man who does not envy.

²³ Sober-minded. That is, pure.

²⁴ Just. In his dealings with men—that is, impartial.

²⁵ Holy. That is, reverent in the things of God, falling short in nothing that is owed to God.

²⁶ Self-controlled. Master not only of his appetite for food, but also of his tongue, his hands, and his unruly eyes; for this is self-control in the proper sense.

²⁷ Holding fast the faithful word that is according to the teaching. That is, giving heed to it, making it his work. And “faithful” means either “true,” or “handed down through faith and not from syllogisms.” He said according to the teaching to show that one can teach even without outward wisdom. For there is no need of a pompous display of words, but of experience in the Scriptures and power of thought; for from these the teaching prospers, as did Paul’s own.

²⁸ That he may be able both to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to refute those who contradict it. That is, that he may both guard and strengthen his own people, and turn back the enemies. For the man who is able neither to do battle with the enemies and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,[9] nor to exhort and admonish and strengthen his own people, is a false bishop. For the other virtues one might find even among the laity—hospitality, sober-mindedness, and the rest; but what most characterizes the bishop is teaching.

²⁹ For there are many unruly men, idle talkers, and deceivers of minds. He named the root of all evils, insubordination. For the unruly man, unwilling to be ruled but leaping at the chance to rule over others, naturally has learned nothing sound or right, since he would not endure to be taught. He is an idle talker and a deceiver of minds, deceiving both himself and others.

³⁰ Especially those of the circumcision. These the Lord too reproached for their love of rule, that even after the faith they did not put off the disease.

³¹ Whose mouths must be stopped. That is, refuted vehemently, so as to shut their mouths. And what is the gain, if they are unruly? For themselves, none; but for others—for those who would be corrupted if the bishop kept silent, for whose corruption he himself will give account. Therefore one must stop the mouths of such people; and if you cannot, then do not be a bishop at all.

³² Who overturn whole households, teaching what they ought not, for the sake of base gain. Do you see how, along with insubordination, the love of money and base greed overturn households? For they are the devil’s levers, by which he tears down the houses of God.

³³ One of them, a prophet of their own, said: Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies. This testimony is true. It is asked why he brought forward a testimony from the Greeks and praises it, and that though it was not rightly given; and further, who it was that said this. Now the one who said it is Epimenides, a man who, among the wise of the Greeks, was especially devoted to divinations and rites of aversion, and was thought to succeed at soothsaying. This man, then, seeing that the Cretans had built a tomb for Zeus and honored him as one of mankind, and as though zealous on behalf of his own god, composed this to Zeus: “The Cretans, who are such and such, built you a tomb; but you did not die, for you are forever.” To this saying Paul now bears witness as true. How, then, does he do this? For if it was truly said, then Zeus too is immortal! But it was not with this in view that he called the testimony true, but because it called the Cretans liars and the rest. And what need was there of a Greek testimony? In this way he most of all put them to shame, bringing forward against them the testimony of their reproach from their own house and from their own people. Paul is wont to do this, just as he reasoned with the Athenians from Aratus; the very things that poet attributes to the false-named god Zeus, Paul himself applies in testimony to the true God—since men are best stopped from their own resources. So too with the Jews he always reasons from the prophets, and not from the Gospels. This God Himself also does, drawing each kind by what is familiar and trusted among them: the magi by a star; Saul by the woman with the divining spirit, since he had trusted her; and the diviners by the oxen that drew the ark—not that the diviners speak truth, but He refutes them out of their own mouths. He also permits Balaam to bless and prophesy. For He is always wont to condescend for our benefit. How then did Christ, and this same Paul, forbid the demons to speak and bear witness to them? Because the signs were sufficient to persuade, and Christ proclaimed Himself and that sufficed. And the demons were not being worshiped, for it was no idol that spoke. For this reason they are forbidden to speak.

³⁴ For which cause rebuke them sharply. Since, he says, they are also liars—which belongs to deceitfulness—and shameless, and gluttons, they need a vehement and cutting word, because gentleness does not help them. For just as the one who strikes the forbearing man destroys him, so the one who flatters the shameless man ruins him, by not letting him come to know himself. But here, he says, it is not strangers that one must rebuke, but one’s own people.

³⁵ That they may be sound in the faith, not giving heed to Jewish myths. So this is soundness: to bring nothing spurious or alien into the faith; whereas to subject oneself to the law is the act of one who does not trust the faith as sufficient to save. And this is no small disease. The things of the Jews are myths in a twofold way: both because the matter is out of season and now useless, and because giving heed to them is also harmful. As, then, one must not be persuaded by myths, so neither by these. The holy books of the Old Testament, rightly understood, are not myths—for how could they be, since from them we are taught the truth of the Gospel? But the misinterpretations and the secondary traditions, these are myths. Listen, then, to what follows.

³⁶ And to commandments of men who turn away from the truth. Do you see what he calls myths? The commandments of men,[10] as is written both in Isaiah and in the Gospel; and the other things too—evidently the observances of foods, as is clear from what follows.

³⁷ To the pure all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. So things are not pure or impure by their own nature, but according to the disposition of those who partake of them. For these men, being pure and godly, know all things to be pure, as God’s creatures, and only sin to be impure. For even if the law held certain things to be impure, this was not absolute, but in order to curb indulgence, since God knew that the Hebrews, being gluttons, would not have obeyed Him otherwise. If, however, those who partake be impure and ungodly, to these all things are impure. How so? Because fish too, as often feeding on human flesh, and the birds that seem clean, as feeding on dung, would appear impure to one who scrutinized them in this way. So the filthy mind, reasoning ill about these things, defiles them for itself, though they are not such by nature—just as the man with a queasy stomach thinks food distasteful even when it is pleasant, and to the man who is dizzy the earth, though it stands firm, seems to spin round; for such a notion belongs to his own affliction. These things fit the Manichaeans, and the Marcionists, and the heretics newly sprung from them, whom many call Galatians.

³⁸ They profess to know God, but by their works they deny Him, being abominable and disobedient, and unfit for any good work. Do you see what makes men impure and abominable? Having works that are evil and filthy. For truly faith without works is dead; and the dead man is abominable, and unfit for anything whatever.

2 Chapter Two

¹ But as for you, speak the things that befit the sound doctrine. Even if those men are disobedient and unfit, still you do your own part; do not keep silent, even if they will not receive it.

² That the older men be vigilant. Since it is a defect of old age to be sluggish and forgetful and hard to move, for this reason he says, “Let them be temperate”—that is, wide awake, keen.

³ Dignified, sober-minded. He calls the prudent “sober-minded,” from their “having their wits sound.” For there are even among the aged men who rave and are frenzied and out of their senses, some from wine, others from faintheartedness.

⁴ Sound in faith, in love, in patience. Patience above all is the most fitting charge for old men, because of their irritability and their proneness to petty grief.

⁵ The older women likewise, in demeanor reverent. He means the aged women, who from their very bearing and dress ought to appear seemly. Some, however, say he means the deaconesses of the Church, whom he requires to appear reverent from their very attire—that is, befitting the sacred ministries.

⁶ Not slanderers, not enslaved to much wine. For since old age is cold, it craves wine; then, being unable to withstand it as something weak, it is overcome—not by a moderate amount, but by much; and from this comes also the proneness to slanders.

⁷ Teachers of what is good. How, then, does he say elsewhere, I do not permit a woman to teach?[11] There he speaks of the public teaching in the Church, which is forbidden to women; but here, of the teaching that takes place in the home, privately, toward women. And that this is what he means, listen to what follows.

⁸ That they may train the young women to love their husbands. Not only their own daughters, but all the young women generally. For let each older woman train the younger; and first the chief of household goods, love for one’s husband. For where this is present, the rest will follow—prosperity of the house and abundance of goods; whereas where it is absent, all these things, even if present, will drain away.

⁹ To love their children. For she who loves the root, that is, the father, will much more love the fruit also, that is, the children.

¹⁰ Sober-minded, chaste, keepers at home, good. For she who loves her husband will be both sober-minded and chaste—that is, pure in body and in mind from the intercourse and the desire of other men; and also a good keeper at home, that is, a good manager of the household. For loving her husband, she also cares for the house, busying herself neither with luxury, nor with unseasonable extravagances and adornments. For whom else would she wish to please, having once pleased her beloved? And notice how Paul, who draws people away from worldly affairs, now takes such care of household matters, because when these are in good order, the spiritual things too will fare well.

¹¹ That the word of God be not blasphemed. Do you see that he is concerned first of all for the preaching, not for worldly affairs? For if a believing wife living with an unbelieving husband were not virtuous, the blasphemy passes over onto the faith.

¹² The younger men likewise exhort to be sober-minded. Over the younger women he set the older women as teachers, women for women; but over the younger men, Titus himself, a man for men—for everywhere he preserves what is fitting. And what must he exhort or admonish these to do? To be sober-minded; for the fire of unseemly pleasures especially troubles the young, and this must be quenched, and one must hasten to be sober-minded.

¹³ In all things showing yourself a pattern of good works. Let the older women teach the younger women, and you yourself the younger men; but let the splendor of your own life be a common school and example of virtue, like some archetypal image set before all who wish to take an impress of the good things in it.

¹⁴ In your teaching, incorruptness. “Showing” is to be supplied from the previous clause: that the things you teach be not corrupted and false, but sound, and of right reason.

¹⁵ Dignity. That the teaching may have nothing novel or that dissipates the foolish, but all things venerable and worthy of God.

¹⁶ Sound speech, beyond reproach. That is, orthodox, having nothing open to censure.

¹⁷ That he who is of the opposing side may be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. By “he who is of the opposing side” he means either the devil, or anyone who serves him.

¹⁸ Servants are to be subject to their own masters, to be well-pleasing in all things. So then, the man who divorces wives from their husbands under the pretext of self-restraint, and draws servants away from their masters under the guise of godliness, is not beyond reproach. For he gives many handholds to all, and opens the mouths of all against the faith.

¹⁹ Not contradicting, not pilfering, but showing good faith toward all. See that he requires of servants the very things that most of all give rest to masters: not to contradict, not to steal, but to be trustworthy. For in worldly matters these things especially are much sought after.

²⁰ That they may adorn the teaching of God our Savior in all things. For indeed, if the servants are of this kind, they are to the glory of Christianity. For when the Greek sees his servant so trained by Christianity, how will he not marvel at the doctrine, as having such power that it can improve such a soul? For the class of servants is always somewhat reckless and intractable, because it is not well brought up, being neglected by the masters, and not regulated by the words or the company of earnest men. Not in vain, then, did Paul say elsewhere, As serving God, and not men.[12] For even if you serve your master, yet the honor runs up to God, since the goodwill toward the master also takes its beginning from that fear.

²¹ For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. Since he demanded much and great things of the household servants—I mean the adorning of the Lord’s teaching through their own virtuous conduct—he now shows that it is with reason that he requires such things of them. For to them too grace has appeared, even if they are servants; for he says “to all men.” And He has granted them too the forgiveness of many sins, and they therefore owe it, in their turn, to live for the glory of their Benefactor.

²² Training us, that having denied ungodliness and worldly desires. And from this too he puts them to shame. “For having obtained God as your trainer,” he says, “how do you not owe it to live worthily of Him?” And this grace, he says, is not only for the forgiveness of past evils, but also for securing us against the future. For it trains us to live soberly henceforth—we who beforehand utterly denied ungodliness and worldly desires. Now by “denying” he signifies the turning away that comes from a whole-souled disposition; and by “ungodliness” he names idolatry and evil doctrines. By “worldly desires” he means covetousness, luxury, and the rest—all those that do not pass over into heaven, but are of use in this world and perish along with it. For this reason, then, Christ came: that we might deny both the ungodly doctrines and the polluted life, hating both with the same disposition.

²³ We should live soberly, and justly, and godly. “Soberly” signifies not only abstinence from fornication, but also from the rest of the passions. For if you love money, you are not sober; rather, you are even more licentious, inasmuch as that passion is not even natural. And in a word, whoever is overcome by any of the other passions is not sober.

²⁴ In the present age. For this age holds the contest; the age to come holds the rewards.

²⁵ Awaiting the blessed hope, and the appearing of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Behold the prize as well: the second appearing, the truly blessed one. And well did he say “of the glory.” For he speaks of two appearings. The first, as was said above, brought grace and forgiveness, coming with forbearance and lowliness; the second brings recompense, displayed with glory—as also in the Gospel, When the Son of Man comes in His glory.[13] And where are those who diminish the Son, and will not even allow Him to be called God? Let them hear that He is both God, and great. And “great,” said of God, is not by comparison with some lesser being, but absolutely, as of One who is by nature great in Himself. And if, while we were enemies, He saved us, what will He not give then, when He finds us approved?

²⁶ Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity. This too is a proof of His authority—the giving of Himself; and not that He should redeem this one but not that one, but “from all iniquity.” So let us be abashed before our redemption.

²⁷ And purify for Himself a peculiar people. Through the washing of divine baptism, and through the working of His divine and cleansing commandments. And “peculiar” means “His own,” from the metaphor of the household servants who are occupied about the substance and wealth of their master—that is, choice, select, having nothing in common with the rest.

²⁸ Zealous of good works. That is, going to virtue with fervor, and showing zeal in all good things, and an ardent imitation. The redemption, then, is His alone; but to be zealous for the works is ours too.

²⁹ These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. First speak and exhort—that is, teach more gently; then rebuke; and not simply, but “with all authority”—that is, with severity, with full authority. For since they were hard, he introduces severity against them. There are, then, matters that do not need severity, but admonition and persuasion, such as utter contempt for money; but there are matters that do need it, such as adulteries, thefts, acts of greed, sorceries.

³⁰ Let no one disregard you. That is, “let no one despise you,” when you are stern at the proper time; for the one who rebukes out of season is rather despised.

3 Chapter Three

¹ Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work. Everywhere he wishes the faithful to be subject to the rulers. And he shows also how they might be subject: if they are prepared for every good work. From which it is clear that those prepared for evil are the ones who disobey the rulers. Or also that they should be ready, so as to be obedient toward what is good, not toward ungodliness, or anything else harmful to the soul.

² To speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, forbearing. Even if someone behaves badly, do not even then revile him—that is, do not abuse him. For our mouth must be kept pure from reviling. For whether the charge be true, it is not ours to judge, or whether it be false. See how great the danger is.

³ Showing all meekness toward all men. Both Jews and Greeks, and the wicked and those who do wrong.

⁴ For we too were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, enslaved to various desires and pleasures. In the Epistle to the Corinthians he frightens them by the things to come, that they may not judge, saying, Let the one who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall;[14] but here he makes them more sober by the things that are past, saying in effect: “Let us not revile others, since we ourselves sinned worse long ago.” This is what the thief too said to the other thief: that we are under the same condemnation.[15] And when were we foolish? Before Christ. For how was it not folly to worship such gods? And to sacrifice human beings—how was it not the greatest error? But we were also enslaved to various desires and pleasures. Here understand unions with males, with mothers, and with sisters, and the other forms of uncleanness; for in manifold ways the devil made sport of us.

⁵ Living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. “Living in malice and envy”—that is, spending our days ever in remembrance of wrongs and in envy, and having these for our very life; whence we were also worthy of hatred, as hating one another. And reasonably so; for from envy comes also hatred.

⁶ But when the kindness and love for mankind of God our Savior appeared. That is, when the Only-begotten was made flesh and was made like us.

⁷ Not by works that we did in righteousness, but according to His mercy He saved us. “He saved us, not by works that we did”—that is, “we neither did works of righteousness, nor were we saved from them, but His goodness did the whole.”

⁸ Through the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit, which He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. Astonishing!—that we were so steeped in malice that we could not even be cleansed, but needed to be born again. For this is what regeneration and renewal are: the second birth, and a new fashioning. For just as we do not prop up a very old house, but tearing it down to the foundations build it anew, so God too did not patch us up, but built us afresh from the ground. How? Through the Holy Spirit. For lest you ask the manner, “the Spirit,” he says, “accomplished the whole.” Whence is this clear? “Which He poured out on us richly,” he says. For not only did He refashion us through the Spirit, but He also imparted of Him lavishly, that the one might be shown through the other. And reasonably so: for since He cleansed us, then also He filled us with the Spirit ungrudgingly. For this is the meaning of “poured out.” For into the impure the pure does not enter. And these things are through Jesus; for He is for us the mediator and the procurer of all good things.

⁹ That being justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Again, “by grace,” not by debt. And this teaches humility too; for we did not ourselves achieve anything. And he makes us hopeful concerning the things to come: for if He saved by grace those who were so despaired of, much more will He give the things to come to those who have been justified. “That we should become heirs of eternal life,” he says, “even as we hope.” Or else, “that we are already heirs,” at least in respect of hope.

¹⁰ Faithful is the saying. Since he spoke of things to come, he adds trustworthiness to the word. For it is clear from what came before; for He who gave so much will give these things also.

¹¹ And concerning these things I want you to affirm confidently, that those who have believed in God may be careful to maintain good works. Since he had called to mind the unspeakable goodness of God, he says, “Thus I want you to teach concerning these things, that the faithful may learn not only to be humble-minded, and not to reproach others, but also to show mercy.” For the one who considers the mercy of God which he himself obtained will himself show mercy too. “That they may be careful,” he says—that is, having it as a continual work and earnest effort to help the wronged: to provide for widows, orphans, and in short for those in need. For this is what “to maintain good works” means; and not to wait for the needy to come to them, but themselves to be concerned about them.

¹² These things are good and profitable to men. The care and the maintenance of good works—or the good works themselves.

¹³ But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and strifes, and contentions about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. By “foolish” he means the unprofitable questions, such as the Jews bring against the faithful. And “genealogies,” which these same men make, tracing the patriarchs as their own ancestors and boasting in them. “Avoid,” then, means “decline.” For one must not neglect the necessary works and spend one’s time on idle talk and profitless quarrels. For what gain is there in fighting where no one is going to be taken captive for Christ? How, then, did he earlier urge that the contradictors be silenced? When they are out to harm others, then one must silence them; but where only their own benefit is at stake, one should not even attempt to talk with them at all, since they will gain nothing, being incorrigible.[16]

¹⁴ A heretical man, after a first and second admonition, reject, knowing that such a one is perverted, and sins, being self-condemned. How, then, does he say elsewhere, lest God should grant them repentance?[17] There he speaks of those who give some hint of a hope of correction; but here he calls “heretic” the incorrigible man, the one wholly perverted, who is also self-condemned—that is, without defense. For he cannot say, “No one admonished me, no one taught me.” When, therefore, after the exhortation he persists in the same things, he is self-condemned.

¹⁵ When I send Artemas to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis; for there I have decided to winter. Why is it that, having entrusted to Titus so great a Church and so large an island, he again draws him to himself, away from the work? In order to benefit him the more, and to equip him still further for the work, by examining him on the things committed to him. And Nicopolis is a city of Thrace, lying upon the Ister.

¹⁶ Zenas the lawyer, and Apollos, set forward diligently on their way, that nothing be lacking to them. By “lawyer” he means one skilled in the Jewish laws; for such was Zenas. And Apollos was more learned and mighty in the Scriptures. These men had not yet been entrusted with Churches. And “that nothing be lacking to them” means “make them to be in all abundance of the necessities”—of food, that is, and clothing.

¹⁷ And let our people also learn to maintain good works for the necessary needs, that they be not unfruitful. It is as though he said: “It was in my power to make the men I mentioned free from want by other means as well; but I do not wish it, so that our people”—that is, those around you—“may learn, from supplying these men, to maintain good works”: that is, to care for the needy, both in money and in words and in every way. Not that the needy should gain so much, but that they themselves may have fruit from their love for mankind toward their own kind. For indeed the Lord too, who fed the five thousand, could surely have fed both Himself always and His disciples, yet He chose to be supported by women, that they might gain thereby. So too in our case: He benefits the poor not so much through our giving as He benefits us through them. For the poor are to us the cause of forgiveness of sins, and of boldness toward God.

¹⁸ All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Either those who love him faithfully and without guile, or those who love him as believers—that is, as Christians.

¹⁹ Grace be with you all. Amen. He prays that the gift of God may be guarded for them; or that the love of God may be with them always, keeping them by grace. Or also, that it may be with us who most of all have need of it, and may guard both our souls and our bodies in the Holy Spirit. To whom be the glory unto the ages. Amen.