Titus 1:4

4 I write to Titus, my true son in the faith that we have in common. ¹ May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace.

Titus 1:4 Meaning and Commentary

Titus 1:4

To Titus, mine own son after the common faith
Not in a natural, but in a spiritual sense; the apostle being the instrument of his conversion, as he was of the conversion of Onesimus, and of many of the Corinthians, and therefore is said to beget them, ( Philemon 1:10 ) ( 1 Corinthians 4:15 ) and so was their spiritual father, and they his children: Titus was, in this sense, his "own son", or a true son, a legitimate one; a true convert; one really born again; a sincere believer, an Israelite indeed: and this he was "after the common faith"; either the doctrine of faith, which is but one, and is common to all the saints; or the grace of faith, which though different in degrees, yet is alike precious faith in all; the same for nature, kind, object, operation, and effects: and this phrase is used to show in what sense Titus was son to the apostle; as he was a believer, and no otherwise.

Grace, mercy, and peace
which is the apostle's usual salutation; see ( 1 Timothy 1:2 ) . The word "mercy" is left out in the Claromontane copy, and in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions.

Titus 1:4 In-Context

2 which is based on the hope for eternal life. God, who does not lie, promised us this life before the beginning of time,

3 and at the right time he revealed it in his message. This was entrusted to me, and I proclaim it by order of God our Savior.

4 I write to Titus, my true son in the faith that we have in common. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace.

5 I left you in Crete, so that you could put in order the things that still needed doing and appoint church elders in every town. Remember my instructions:

6 an elder must be without fault; he must have only one wife, and his children must be believers and not have the reputation of being wild or disobedient.

Cross References

• 1. 1.42 Corinthians 8.23;Galatians 2.3;2 Timothy 4.10.