Chapter 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.