A exposition of Titus 3 and Colossians 3

Titus 3:3-8
Christians were often looked on with suspicion in the Roman Empire because their conduct was so different and they met in private meetings for worship (1 Peter 2:11-25; 3:13-4:5). It was important that they be good citizens without compromising the faith. Their pagan neighbors might disobey the law but Christians must submit to the authority of the state (Romans 13). "Ready to every good work" (Titus 3:1) means "cooperating in those matters that involve the whole community." Our heavenly citizenship (Philippians 3:20) does not absolve us from responsibilities as citizens on earth.

The believer should not have a bad attitude toward the government and show it by slanderous accusations and pugnacious actions. The word gentle (Titus 3:2) means "an attitude of moderation, a sweet reasonableness." Christians with this quality do not insist on the letter of the law, but are willing to compromise where no moral issue is at stake.

Again, Paul linked duty to doctrine. "Don't be too critical of your pagan neighbors," he wrote. "Just remember what you were before God saved you!" Titus 3:3 needs little explanation; we know what it means from our own experience.

What a difference "the kindness and love of God" (Titus 3:4) made!Salvation came not only because of God's kindness and love, but also because of His mercy (Titus 3:5). We did not save ourselves; "He saved us." How did He do it? Through the miracle of the new birth, the work of the Holy Spirit of God. I do not think that "washing" here refers to baptism because, in New Testament times, people were baptized after they were saved, and not in order to be saved (Acts 10:43-48). "Washing" here means "bathed all over." When a sinner trusts Christ, he is cleansed from all his sins, and he is made "a new person" by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Paul related this same cleansing experience to the Word of God (Ephesians 5:26). Salvation comes to a sinner when he trusts Christ, when the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to bring about the new birth.

We are born of the Spirit (John 3:5-6, where "water" refers to physical birth, which Nicodemus had mentioned earlier, John 3:4) and of the Word (1 Peter 1:23-25). "Which" in Titus 3:6 ought to be "whom," referring to the Holy Spirit who is given to us at conversion (Acts 2:38; Romans 5:5; 8:9).

Not only have we who are Christians been washed and made new in Christ, but we have also been justified (Titus 3:7). This wonderful doctrine is discussed in detail in Romans 3:21-8:39. Justification is the gracious act of God whereby He declares a believing sinner righteous because of the finished work of Christ on the cross. God puts to our account the righteousness of His Son, so that we can be condemned no more. Not only does He forget our sins, but He forgets that we were even sinners!

What is the result of this kindness, love, mercy, and grace? Hope! We are heirs of God! This means that today we can draw on His riches; and when He comes, we will share His wealth and His kingdom forever. This hope ties in with Titus 2:13: "Looking for that blessed hope." But there is something more involved: We should live godly lives and be "careful to maintain good works" (Titus 3:8). The only evidence the unsaved world has that we belong to God is our godly lives. "Good works" do not necessarily mean religious works or church work. It is fine to work at church, sing in the choir, and hold an office; but it is also good to serve our unsaved neighbors, to be helpful in the community, and to have a reputation for assisting those in need. Baby-sitting to relieve a harassed young mother is just as much a spiritual work as passing out a Gospel tract. The best way a local church has to witness to the lost is through the sacrificial service of its members.

Colossians 3:10

Because we are alive in Christ, we must seek the things that are above. And, because we died with Christ, we must put off the things that belong to the earthly life of past sin. The result is that we can become like Jesus Christ! God wants to renew us and make us into the image of His Son! The Greek verbs translated “put off” and “put on” (Colossians 3:9-10) indicate a once-for-all action. When we trust Christ, we put off the old life and put on the new. The old man has been buried, and the new man is now in control. But the word "renewed" is a present participle—"who is constantly being renewed." The truth of salvation leads to the process of sanctification, becoming more like Jesus Christ.

The Greeks had two different words for new. The word “neos” meant "new in time." The word “kainos” meant "new in quality, character, fresh." Sometimes the two words were used interchangeably in the New Testament, but there is still a fundamental difference. The believer has once and for all put on the "new man" (neos), and, as a consequence, he is being renewed (kainos). There is a change in quality(character), for he is becoming like Jesus Christ. The "new Man" is Jesus Christ, the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45), the Head of the new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). How does this renewal come about? Through knowledge. The word knowledge was one of the key terms in the vocabulary of the gnostics. But their so-called spiritual knowledge could never change a person's life to make him or her like Christ. The better they get to know Christ, the more they becomes like Him (Philippians 3:10).

Man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). This involves man's personality (intellect, emotion, will) and man's spirituality (he is more than a body). When man sinned, this image of God was marred and ruined. Adam's children were born in the image of their father (Genesis 5:1, 3). In spite of the ravages of sin, man still bears the image of God (Genesis 9:6; James 3:9).

We were formed in God's image, and deformed from God's image by sin. But through Jesus Christ, we can be transformed into God's image! We must be renewed in the spirit of our minds (Ephesians 4:23). As we grow in knowledge of the Word of God, we will be transformed by the Spirit of God to share in the glorious image of God (2 Corinthians 3:18). God transforms us by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2), and this involves the study of God's Word. It is the truth that sets us free from the old life (John 8:31-32). God's purpose for us is that we be "conformed to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29). This refers to character, the spiritual quality of the inner man.

When we see Jesus Christ, we shall be like Him and have glorified bodies (1 John 3:1-3); but while we are waiting for Him to return, we can become like Him and share His holy image. This is a process of constant renewing as the Spirit of God uses the Word of God.

Human distinctions and differences should be no barrier to holy living in the Church. In Jesus Christ, all human distinctions disappear (Colossians 3:11). In Christ, there are no nationalities ("neither Greek nor Jew"). There is no recognition of former religious differences ("circumcision nor uncircumcision"). The gnostics taught that circumcision was important to the spiritual life (Colossians 2:11). But Paul made it clear that this traditional act of physical surgery gave no advantages in the spiritual life.

There are also no cultural differences in Christ ("barbarian, Scythian"). The Greeks considered all non-Greeks to be barbarians; and the Scythians were the lowest barbarians of all! Yet, in Jesus Christ, a person's cultural status is no advantage or disadvantage. Nor is his economic or political status ("bond or free"). Paul made it clear that a slave should try to get his freedom (1 Corinthians 7:20-23), but he should not think he is handicapped spiritually because of his social position.

All of these human distinctions belong to the "old man" and not the "new man." In his Letter to the Galatians, Paul added, "There is neither male nor female," and thus erased even differences between the sexes. "Christ is all, and in all", was Paul's conclusion. "For ye are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).

It is wrong to build the fellowship of the church on anything other than Jesus Christ, His person and His work. Ministries that are built on human distinctions, such as race, color, or social standing, are not biblical. One of the evidences of spiritual growth and the renewing of the mind is this willingness to receive and love all who sincerely know Christ and seek to glorify Him. The gnostic "super saints" were trying to isolate the Colossian believers from the rest of the church, and this was wrong. Even though physically we do not lose our national heritage when we become Christians, we do not use that heritage as a test of what is spiritual.

"Christ is all and in all" is the emphasis in this letter. "That in all things He might have the preeminence" (Colossians 1:18). Because we are complete in Christ, we can look beyond the earthly differences that separate people and enjoy a spiritual unity in the Lord. The gnostic false teachers, like the false teachers today, tried to rob God's people of the richness of their oneness in Christ. Beware!

We are alive in Christ; therefore, we should seek the heavenly. We are dead in Christ; therefore, we should slay (kill) the earthly. We can become like Christ; therefore, we must strengthen the Christly and permit the Spirit to renew our minds, making us more into the image of God.