Testimonia — Early Christian Bible Commentary

Enter a reference such as John 1:1, then press Enter.

Titus 1

1Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness,

2in hope of eternal life, which God, who can’t lie, promised before time began;

3but in his own time revealed his word in the message with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior,

4to Titus, my true child according to a common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.

5I left you in Crete for this reason, that you would set in order the things that were lacking and appoint elders in every city, as I directed you—

6if anyone is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, who are not accused of loose or unruly behavior.

7For the overseer must be blameless, as God’s steward, not self-pleasing, not easily angered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain;

8but given to hospitality, a lover of good, sober minded, fair, holy, self-controlled,

9holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to convict those who contradict him.

10For there are also many unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,

11whose mouths must be stopped: men who overthrow whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for dishonest gain’s sake.

12One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and idle gluttons.”

13This testimony is true. For this cause, reprove them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,

14not paying attention to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.

15To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.

16They profess that they know God, but by their deeds they deny him, being abominable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.

Early Christian commentary

Late 1st century AD (traditionally c. 95–100) | Clement of Rome

Having then this hope, let our souls be bound to Him who is faithful in His promises, and just in His judgments. He who has commanded us not to lie, shall much more Himself not lie; for nothing is impossible with God, except to lie. Let His faith therefore be stirred up again within us, and let us consider that all things are nigh unto Him. By the word of His might He established all things, and by His word He can overthrow them. “Who shall say unto Him, What hast thou done? or, Who shall resist the power of His strength?” When and as He pleases He will do all things, and none of the things determined by Him shall pass away. All things are open before Him, and nothing can be hidden from His counsel. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handy-work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. And there are no words or speeches of which the voices are not heard.”

Commentary · First Epistle to the Corinthians, Chapter XXVII · Original source · The Writings of the Apostolic Fathers (T. & T. Clark, 1870), edited and translated by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson; independent electronic transcription: David King and the Online Proofreading Team, Project Gutenberg ebook 77576. · Licence · Source revision · Whitespace normalized; source pagination and footnote reference markers removed. English wording unchanged.

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg™ License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Full Project Gutenberg License · Complete original ebook