Verse 4
There is not enough information in the New Testament to clarify the sense in which Titus, like Timothy, was Paul’s "true child" (Gr. gnesio tekno) in the faith. Perhaps Paul had led him to Christ. [Note: William Barclay, The Letters of Timothy, Titus and Philemon, p. 265.] But the apostle had definitely taken him under his wing as a protégé. Paul made it clear to all readers that he regarded Titus, an uncircumcised Gentile, and himself, a Jew, as sharing the same faith.
Note the testimony to the deity of Christ that Paul gave by referring to both Christ Jesus and God the Father as "our Savior" (Titus 1:3-4).
"Here alone he [Paul] calls Christ soter, ’Savior,’ rather than kurios, ’Lord.’ It is as if he anticipates the two crucial theological arguments that undergird his ethical exhortations in chapters 2 and 3, in both of which Christ as Savior is at the center (Titus 2:13; Titus 3:6) as the one through whom God’s grace has come to save us and to instruct and enable us in living godly (Titus 2:11 ff.) and peaceful (Titus 3:1 ff.) lives." [Note: Knight, p. 286.]
"But both colliding and resonating with this story line was the religious-political discourse of Imperial Rome. At this point in time, the emperor freely took the title ’savior’ to himself. A Savior Christology, such as Paul constructs powerfully in this letter, would surely also level a subversive blow at this claim (cf. on 1 Timothy 6:14)." [Note: Towner, The Letters . . ., p. 676.]
"This theologically rich introduction to the Epistle to Titus moves in scope from Paul’s reflections on the sovereignty of God in human salvation to Paul’s role in achieving God’s purposes." [Note: Griffin, p. 274.]
"Although this theology is common in salutations, . . . it addresses specific issues in Crete, where Titus was dealing with a Jewish influence that most likely downplayed Christ (cf. Titus 1:10)." [Note: William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, p. 383.]
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