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.