Titus 1:4

4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith. Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior.

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 Their faith and this knowledge are based on the hope of eternal life that God, who doesn't lie, promised before time began.

3 God revealed his message at the appropriate time through preaching, and I was trusted with preaching this message by the command of God our savior.

4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith. Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior.

5 The reason I left you behind in Crete was to organize whatever needs to be done and to appoint elders in each city, as I told you.

6 Elders should be without fault. They should be faithful to their spouse, and have faithful children who can't be accused of self-indulgence or rebelliousness.