Titus 1:3

But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(3) But hath in due times.—Or better, but hath in his own seasons—that is, in the fitting seasons, those fixed by Him for the manifestation.

Manifested his word.—That is, His gospel. (See Romans 16:25.)

Through preaching.—Or, in the preaching. Paul does not shrink from calling his preaching the vehicle in which the Word or the gospel of God was to be publicly manifested, because he was conscious that he was divinely instructed in the secrets of the eternal counsels.

Which is committed unto me.—Literally, with which I was entrusted.

According to the commandment of God our Saviour.—The commandment came to St. Paul direct from God; we have several intimations of this. Amongst others, on the Damascus road, when the Lord appeared to him; in the Temple at Jerusalem; in the ship, during the memorable voyage which ended with shipwreck; in the visions mentioned in 2Corinthians 12:1-9. St. Paul dwells with emphasis on the thought that he was entrusted with the preaching of the gospel according to the commandment of God. The work was not undertaken by him, from any will or wish of his own. “God our Saviour” in this place, as in 1Timothy 1:1, must be understood as “God the Father.” The First Person of the blessed Trinity fitly possesses the title of “our Saviour,” because through the death of His dear Son He redeemed us from death and made us heirs of eternal life. The Second Person of the Trinity is likewise a possessor of the title, because He shed His blood as the price of our redemption. The epithet of “Saviour”—the title just given to the Father, in the very next verse ascribed to the “Son”—is one of the many indications we possess of St. Paul’s belief that the Son was equal to the Father as touching His Godhead.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

1:1-4 All are the servants of God who are not slaves of sin and Satan. All gospel truth is according to godliness, teaching the fear of God. The intent of the gospel is to raise up hope as well as faith; to take off the mind and heart from the world, and to raise them to heaven and the things above. How excellent then is the gospel, which was the matter of Divine promise so early, and what thanks are due for our privileges! Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God; and whoso is appointed and called, must preach the word. Grace is the free favour of God, and acceptance with him. Mercy, the fruits of the favour, in the pardon of sin, and freedom from all miseries both here and hereafter. And peace is the effect and fruit of mercy. Peace with God through Christ who is our Peace, and with the creatures and ourselves. Grace is the fountain of all blessings. Mercy, and peace, and all good, spring out of this.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But hath in due times - At the proper time; the time which he had intended; the best time: see the notes at 1 Timothy 2:6; compare the notes at Matthew 2:2.

Manifested his word through preaching - See the notes at 2 Timothy 2:10. The meaning here is, that he has made known his eternal purpose through the preaching of the gospel; compare the notes at Romans 10:14-15.

Which is committed unto me - Not exclusively, but in common with others; see the notes at 2 Timothy 1:11.

According to the commandment of God our Saviour - Paul always claimed to be divinely commissioned, and affirmed that he was engaged in the work of preaching by the authority of God; see Galatians 1:1-12; 1 Corinthians 1:1; Romans 1:1-4.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3. in due times—Greek, "in its own seasons," the seasons appropriate to it, and fixed by God for it (Ac 1:7).

manifested—implying that the "promise," Tit 1:2, had lain hidden in His eternal purpose heretofore (compare Col 1:26; 2Ti 1:9, 10).

his word—equivalent to "eternal life" (Tit 1:2; Joh 5:24; 6:63; 17:3, 17).

through preaching—Greek, "in preaching," of rather as Alford (see on [2514]2Ti 4:17), "in the (Gospel) proclamation (the thing preached, the Gospel) with which I was entrusted."

according to—in pursuance of (compare 1Ti 1:1).

of God our Saviour—rather as Greek, "of our Saviour God." God is predicated of our Saviour (compare Jude 25; Lu 1:47). Also Ps 24:5; Isa 12:2; 45:15, 21, Septuagint. Applied to Jesus, Tit 1:4; Tit 2:13; 3:6; 2Ti 1:10.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

But hath in due times; in proper time, (saith the Greek), in such time as God had eternally purposed, and as seemed good to the Divine wisdom.

Manifested his word through preaching; he hath by setting up the ordinance of preaching, or publishing the gospel, by men sent by him, manifested this promise of eternal life, which lay much obscured under the veil of temporal promises under the Old Testament.

Which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour; which office of preaching, or which word, was committed to me, by the will of God, or immediate command of God: as to which, see Acts 26:17,18.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

But hath in due times manifested his word,.... Either Christ, his essential Word; or the word of truth, the Gospel of salvation; or rather his word of promise of eternal life in Christ Jesus:

through preaching; through the ministry of the word by the apostles; in which Christ is revealed in the glory of his person, and the fulness of his grace, and in the efficacy of his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice; and in which the Gospel, that was ordained before the world was, and is the fellowship of the mystery which was hid in God, is published; and in which the promise of eternal life, which lay in God's heart, in the covenant of grace, and in the hands of Christ, and which with Christ, and his Gospel, were hid under the dark types, shadows, and sacrifices of the law, is clearly made known: "in due times"; appointed by God, agreed between the Father and the Son, and suitable to the state, case, and condition of men; when the law of Moses, and the light of nature, legal sacrifices, and moral power, had been sufficiently tried, the one in the Jewish, the other in the Gentile world; and after that the Son of God was become incarnate, which was in the fulness of time; and when he had suffered for the ungodly, which was in due time; see 1 Timothy 2:6.

Which is committed unto me; that is, which preaching or ministry of the word, the Gospel, and the dispensation of it, which, as a trust, was deposited in the hands of the apostle, and of which he was a faithful steward: according to the commandment of God our Saviour; either God the Father, so called, Titus 3:4 compared with Titus 1:6 and who is the Saviour of all men in a providential way, and of all the elect in a way of special grace, by his Son Jesus Christ; and by whom the apostle was appointed and separated to the preaching of the Gospel; and by whom this was committed to his trust: or rather the Lord Jesus Christ, who is truly and properly God, the great God, and our Saviour, Titus 2:13 and who is the only Saviour of lost sinners; and he it was that personally appeared to Paul, and made him a minister of the word, committed the Gospel to him, and gave him a commandment, and orders to preach it among the Gentiles, Acts 26:15.

Geneva Study Bible

{3} But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our {f} Saviour;

(3) This truth is not to be sought anywhere else, but in the preaching of the apostles.

(f) This word Saviour does not only signify a preserver of life, but also a giver of life.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

Titus 1:3. Ἐφανέρωσε δὲ καιροῖς ἰδίοις τὸν λόγον αὑτοῦ] ἐφανέρωσε forms an antithesis to ἐπηγγείλατο. True, the promise is a revelation, but only a revelation in which the point under consideration still remains hidden. The object of ἐφανέρωσε is not the same as that to which ἐπηγγ. relates, viz. ἥν, i.e. τὴν ζωὴν αἰώνιον; Beza: quam promiserat Deus … manifestam autem fecit … The object is τὸν λόγον αὑτοῦ, which is not to be taken as in apposition to ἥν (or as Heinrichs even thinks, to ἐλπίδα ζωῆς), though it is strange that ἐφαν. should begin a new sentence. This is one of the cases where—as Buttmann, p. 328, remarks—a relative sentence passes almost imperceptibly into a principal sentence, without such continuation changing the actual principal sentence into one subordinate.

τὸν λόγον αὑτοῦ] is, of course, not a name for Christ (scholiasts in Matthaei), but the gospel, which contains the ἀποκάλυψις μυστηρίου, Romans 16:26, or, as is said here, τῆς ζωῆς αἰωνίου.

καιροῖς ἰδίοις] comp. 1 Timothy 2:6. How this φανέρωσις of the divine word took place, is told in the next words: ἐν κηρύγματι ὃ ἐπιστεύθην ἐγώ] κήρυγμα (see 2 Timothy 4:17) is not quite “the general preaching of the gospel by the apostles” (Matthies, Wiesinger), the thought being limited by the words following; κήρυγμα is to be taken as forming one thought with what follows: “the preaching entrusted to me.” Paul had some reason for describing his preaching as the means by which this revelation was made, since he recognised the depth of the divine decree as no other apostle had recognised it, and by him it was proclaimed “to all peoples” (see 2 Timothy 4:17).

ὃ ἐπιστεύθην ἐγώ] see 1 Corinthians 9:17; Galatians 2:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:4; 1 Timothy 1:11.

To define and emphasize the thought that the κήρυγμα was not according to his own pleasure, Paul adds: κατʼ ἐπιταγὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Θεοῦ] comp. 1 Timothy 1:1. Hofmann construes differently, connecting together κατὰ πίστιν and ἐπʼ ἐλπίδι as well as ἐν κηρύγματι, and then joining κατʼ ἐπιταγήν immediately with ἀπόστολος. But this construction not only makes τὸν λόγον αὑτοῦ (which, according to Hofmann, is in apposition to ἥν) quite superfluous, but separates ideas closely attached to each other, κήρυγμα and λόγος, ἐπιστεύθην and κατʼ ἐπιταγήν.

Expositor's Greek Testament

Titus 1:3. ἐφανέρωσεν τόν λόγον: For φανερόω see note on 1 Timothy 3:16. We must observe that no N.T. writer speaks of a manifestation of the gift of eternal life (1 John 1:2 refers to the personal Incarnate Life). God’s message concerning it, which is the revelation of a divine secret purpose, is manifested. See Colossians 4:4 in addition to the last reff. given on ἐπηγγείλατο. περὶ ἧς may be supplied bef. ἐφανέρωσεν (von Soden).

καιροῖς ἰδίοις. See on 1 Timothy 2:6; 1 Timothy 6:15. The rendering his own seasons suits the context here.

τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ ἐν κηρύγματι: Note the distinction here indicated between the substance of the revelation (λόγος) given by God, and the form of it as expressible (κήρυγμα) by the human preacher. It is parallel to the use of λόγος and λαλία in John 8:43.

ὃ ἐπιστεύθην ἐγώ has τὸ εὐαγγέλιον κ.τ.λ. as its antecedent in 1 Timothy 1:11, where see note.

κατʼ ἐπιταγὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν θεοῦ: See note on 1 Timothy 1:1. There the order is θεοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν. Here θεοῦ is epexegetical of σωτῆρος ἡμῶν, as Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ is in chap. Titus 2:13. κατʼ ἐπιταγὴν is to be taken with ὃ ἐπιστεύθην ἐγώ, which is another way of expressing the notion of ἀπόστολος. On σωτήρ as a title of God, see notes on 1 Timothy 1:1; 1 Timothy 2:4.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

3. but hath in due times] See note on 1 Timothy 6:15 : and compare Galatians 6:9. The phrase may well be thought the Hellenistic equivalent of the more classical form with preposition and substantive alone, John 5:4; Romans 5:6 ‘in due season Christ died,’ in accordance with the growing use of idios, which occurs fifteen times in the Pastoral Epistles.

manifested his word] Bp Wordsworth follows Jerome in understanding this directly of Christ ‘manifested His Word’; but such an usage has no proper support in St Paul. ‘To understand with modern interpreters “the Gospel,” he says, is a feeble tautology.’ But Colossians 1:26 gives us ‘to fulfil (i.e. to preach fully) the word of God, even the mystery which hath been hid … now manifested … which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, whom we proclaim.’ Compare also Romans 16:25 quoted above. So Vulg. and Theod. Mops. Lat. ‘manifestavit verbum suum.’

through preaching] Rather, as R.V. margin, in the proclamation, to define the mode of manifestation—a historic creed, ‘declaring God’s mind not by dark intimations merely or distant promises but in great facts.’ For such a ‘proclamation,’ the earliest written ‘Gospel,’ see 1 Corinthians 15:1-8. Cf. also 1 Timothy 3:16 and the note.

which is committed unto me] More exactly as R.V., wherewith I was intrusted, as in 1 Timothy 1:2.

according to the commandment] Better, as in 1 Timothy 1:1, where see note, by authority from. And therefore Titus is to ‘reprove with all authority,’ ch. Titus 2:15.

of God our Saviour] The same phrase with the same force as in 1 Timothy 1:1 (see note), and again in this Epistle Titus 2:10, Titus 3:4. The reference is to God the Father, compare the Prayer for Peace and deliverance in the Prayer-Book, ‘that Thou art our Saviour and mighty Deliverer,’ while in the next verse the same title is given to God the Son. But observe the order here, as in 1 Timothy 2:3, our Saviour God; the closing emphasis on the word ‘God’ expresses still more forcibly than ‘God our Saviour’ the thought explained in Titus 1:1.

Bengel's Gnomen

Titus 1:3. Καιροῖς) χρόνοι were longer than these.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 3. - In his own seasons for hath due times, A.V.; in the message for through preaching, A.V.; wherewith 1 was entrusted for which is committed unto me, A.V. In his own seasons. The margin, its own seasons, is preferable (see 1 Timothy 2:7, note). The phrase is equivalent to "the fullness of the time" (Galatians 4:4). Manifested his Word. There is a change of construction. "The relative sentence passes almost imperceptibly into a primary sentence" (Buttmann in Huther); "his Word" becomes the object of the verb "made manifest," instead of "eternal life," as one would have expected. His Word is the whole revelation of the gospel, including the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Compare St. Peter's address to Cornelius (Acts 10:36). This "Word," which lay in the mind of God through the ages, and was only dimly expressed in the promises given from time to time (1 Peter 1:10-12), was now "made manifest," and proclaimed openly in that preaching of the gospel of God's grace which was entrusted to St. Paul. This same idea is frequently expressed (see Romans 16:25; Ephesians 1:9, 10; Ephesians 3:3-11; 2 Timothy 1:9-11; 1 Peter 1:20), In the message. Surely a poor and a false rendering. Ἐν κηρύγματι means "by the open proclamation" which St. Paul, as God's herald, κήρυξ, was commanded to make. But this is better expressed by the word which is appropriated to the proclamation of the gospel, viz. "preaching." So, as above quoted, Romans 16:25; 2 Timothy 1:11, and elsewhere frequently. According to the commandment (κατ ἐπιταγὴν κ.τ.λ..); Romans 16:26; 1 Timothy 1:1 (comp. Galatians 1:1). God our Savior (1 Timothy 1:1; 1 Timothy 2:3; Titus 2:10; Titus 3:4; Jude 1:25; and also Luke 1:47). Elsewhere in the New Testament the term "Savior" (Σωτήρ) is always applied to our Lord Jesus Christ. Titus 1:3

Vincent's Word Studies

In due times (καιροῖς ἰδίοις)

Better, in his (or its) own seasons. See on 1 Timothy 2:6.

Through preaching (ἐν κηρύγματι)

Rather, in a proclamation. See on 2 Timothy 4:17.

Which is committed unto me (ὃ ἐπιστεύθην ἐγὼ)

Betters wherewith I was intrusted. See on 1 Timothy 1:11.