13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Titus 2:13-14
We began last week to consider the theology in which Paul grounds his exhortations to the believers in the churches of Crete in Titus 2:2-10. We saw that in 2:11-12 he recognizes that the basis for their ability to live faithfully in their season or station of life is that the grace of God has appeared uniquely in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is by grace that God has accomplished all that is needed for our justification, but it also by grace that He continues to train us to live godly lives in Christ Jesus (our sanctification). He continues in 2:13-14 to describe the proper perspective that Christians are to have as they live faithfully in the present age.
For Paul, faithful living is related directly to our perspective. Therefore, Paul exhorts us to first look towards the future, specifically the appearing of the Lord Jesus (the rapture of the Church) which he refers to as “our blessed hope.” The use of this phrase is probably intended to link the return of Christ for His Church to the “appearing” of God’s grace mentioned in 2:11. God’s grace has come to us initially through first appearing of Christ, but it will be made complete in us at His second appearing. This is the great hope for believers who live in the present age. Although we currently dwell in a fallen world and still experience the difficulties associated with living with a sinful nature, we can be assured that the Lord Jesus will, upon His return for us, complete the good work that He has begun. Believers are therefore to live with expectation, having our hope set upon this great event that will be accomplished in the future.
Although we are to wait expectantly for the future work of Christ, we must also look back to the work that Christ has accomplished for us in the past. In 2:14, Paul reminds us that the Lord Jesus gave Himself for us in order to “redeem” us from all lawlessness. The reality is that we were born enslaved to sin, walking in it naturally and intentionally. The emphasis of this passage is on the work of Christ to liberate us from this situation. He died in our place as a ransom for us in order that we might be delivered from sin’s penalty and power. The language here is associated with the sacrifices pictured in the OT. Not only did these atone for sin, they affected a cleansing of the one on whose behalf the sacrifice was offered. Having been redeemed from lawlessness, we are cleansed from the defilement of sin. We are therefore a people that have been set apart for God through the work of Christ.
It is vital for us as believers to maintain this perspective, looking forward with anticipation to the return of Christ but also resting in the truth of what He has done for us and is doing in us. This allows us to live passionately as His people, seeking to serve Him by serving others. When we understand that we are fit for service to the Lord because we are in Christ, we grow to share the Lord’s own passion for loving and serving God. The Lord has done great things for us, is continuing to work in us, but has also set us apart as His people in order that He might work through us in the present age.
These truths which pertain to sound doctrine are to be proclaimed by Titus to the believers in Crete (2:15). Christians are therefore to be exhorted to believe them and live the out, being corrected in our thinking as is necessary. We must heed the apostle Paul’s exhortations to faithfulness while also understanding the vital truths of what God has done for us in Christ. In so far as we keep these things in balance, we will live faithfully as Jesus’ witnesses during these days that He has given to us.
Join us this Sunday as we look together into the Word of God in order that we might be fit for service to our Lord!
Soli Deo Gloria.
Thomas