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| Titus 1:2 |
| In hope of eternal life, which God,
that cannot lie, promised before the world began; |
This section has 4 verses:
1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus
Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and
the acknowledging of the truth which is after
godliness;
2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot
lie, promised before the world began;
3 But hath in due times manifested his word through
preaching, which is committed unto me according to
the commandment of God our Saviour;
4 To Titus, mine own son after the common faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.
We will begin with the Barclay:
AN APOSTLE’S GOSPEL
FURTHER, in this passage we can see the essence of
an apostle’s gospel and the central things in an
apostle’s task.
(1) The whole message of the apostle is founded on
the hope of eternal life. Again and again, the
phrase eternal life recurs in the pages of the New
Testament. The word for eternal is aioŻnios; and
properly the only person in the whole universe to
whom that word may correctly be applied is God.
The Christian offer is nothing less than the offer
of a share in the life of God. It is the offer of
God’s power for our frustration, of God’s serenity
for our disquiet, of God’s truth for our guessing,
of God’s goodness for our moral failure, of God’s
joy for our sorrow. The Christian gospel does not in
the first place offer an intellectual creed or a
moral code; it offers life, the very life of God.
(2) To enable people to enter into that life, two
things are necessary. It is the apostle’s duty to
awaken faith in men and women. With Paul, faith
always means one thing – absolute trust in God. The
first step in the Christian life is to realize that
all we have to do is receive. In every sphere of
life, no matter how precious an offer may be, [it
remains ineffective until it is received[.
(3) It is the apostle’s duty also to equip others
with knowledge. Christian evangelism and Christian
education must go hand in hand. Faith may begin by
being a response of the heart, but it must go on to
be the possession of the mind. The Christian gospel
must be thought out in order to be tried out. No one
can live forever on the crest of a wave of emotion.
The Christian life must be a process of loving
Christ more and understanding him better each day.
(4) The result of faith and knowledge must be a
truly religious life. Faith must always be evident
in life; and Christian knowledge is not merely
intellectual knowledge but the knowledge of how to
live. Many people have been great scholars and yet
completely inefficient in the ordinary things of
life and total failures in their personal
relationships. A truly religious life is one in
which we are on the right terms with God, with
ourselves and with one another. It is a life in
which we are able to cope both with the great
moments and with the everyday duties. It is a life
in which Jesus Christ lives again [actually
in and through us].
It is the duty of Christians to offer to everyone
the very life of God, to awaken faith in people’s
hearts and to deepen knowledge in people’s minds [by
being a light and example], to enable them to live
in such a way that others will see the reflection of
the Master in them.
~Barclay commentary
Let us go to the other commentaries beginning with
the general and going to the specific.
We will begin with the Matthew Henry:
In (or for) hope of eternal life, Titus 1:2.
This is the further intent of the gospel, to beget
hope as well as faith; to take off the mind and
heart from the world, and to raise them [your
heart and mind] to heaven and the things above.
The faith and godliness of Christians lead to
eternal life, and give hope and well-grounded
expectation of it; for God, that cannot lie, hath
promised it. It is the honour of God that he cannot
lie or deceive: and this is the comfort of
believers, whose treasure is laid up in his faithful
promises. But how is he said to promise before the
world began? Answer, By promise some understand his
decree: he purposed it in his eternal counsels,
which were as it were his promise in embryo: or
rather, say some, pro chronoŻn aioŻnioŻn is before
ancient times, or many years ago, referring to the
promise darkly delivered, Genesis 3:15. Here is the
stability and antiquity of the promise of eternal
life to the saints. God, who cannot lie, hath
promised before the world began, that is, many ages
since. How excellent then is the gospel, which was
the matter of divine promise so early! how much to
be esteemed by us, and what thanks due for our
privilege beyond those before us! ~Matthew Henry
Quoted verse speaking to the promise darkly
delivered:
Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman,
and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise
thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Now to the Matthew Henry Concise:
All are the servants of God who are not slaves of
sin and Satan. All gospel truth is according to
godliness, teaching the fear of God. The intent of
the gospel is to raise up hope as well as faith; to
take off the mind and heart from the world, and to
raise them [to heavenly things]. How
excellent then is the gospel, which was the matter
of Divine promise so early, and what thanks are due
for our privileges! Faith comes by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God; and whoso is appointed
and called, must preach the word. Grace is the free
favour of God, and acceptance with him. Mercy, the
fruits of the favour, in the pardon of sin, and
freedom from all miseries both here and hereafter.
And peace is the effect and fruit of mercy. Peace
with God through Christ who is our Peace, and with
the creatures and ourselves. Grace is the fountain
of all blessings. Mercy, and peace, and all good,
spring out of this. ~Matthew Henry Concise
Now to the Biblical Illustrator:
Eternal life
I. What is that eternal life which is the object of
faith and expectation? Complete deliverance from all
evil, and the positive and perfect enjoyment of all
good forever.
II. Why do we relieve in it?
1. God has promised it.
2. Christ has actually taken possession of it.
3. The Holy Spirit, given to them that believe, is
expressly said to be the earnest and first fruits of
eternal life.
4. The real Christian has an undoubted and
undeceiving foretaste of this blessedness.
III. The influence which our relief of this great
truth should have upon our spirit and conduct.
1. It should influence us to a due consideration of,
and a diligent preparation for, the eternity to
which we are destined.
2. It should influence us to a decided consecration
of [dedication to the service and worship]
ourselves to that blessed Master whose service on
earth is connected with so great and so substantial
a reward in [The Kingdom].
3. It should induce us to a cheerful renunciation of
the world as our portion.
4. It should influence us to cheerful and patient
suffering under all the ills which can possibly
crowd upon us in the present state of existence.
5. It should influence us to indefatigable [not
yielding to fatigue] diligence in seeking the
salvation of the human soul.
6. Lastly, what comfort may not this subject inspire
in the prospect of our departure hence, our descent
into the cold grave, and our introduction into that
state, of which we have feebly enunciated the
reality. ~Biblical Illustrator
Here is a second piece from the same source:
God cannot lie
I. An argument for trust. God, in all views of His
character, may be safely trusted. He is wise,
mighty, good, and faithful.
II. An argument for truth. God, who cannot lie
Himself, hates lying in others. Be truthful, for God
cannot be deceived. ~Biblical Illustrator
Here is yet a third piece from the Biblical
Illustrator:
What God cannot do
Truth once reigned supreme upon our globe, and then
earth was Paradise. Man knew no sorrow while he was
ignorant of falsehood. Falsehood is everywhere; it
is entertained both by the lowest and the highest;
it permeates all society. In the so-called religious
world, which should be as the Holy of Holies, here
too, the lie has insinuated itself. We have
everywhere to battle with falsehood, and if we are
to bless the world, we must confront it with sturdy
face and zealous spirit. God’s purpose is to drive
the lie out of the world, and be this your purpose
and mine. After wandering over the sandy desert of
deceit, how pleasant is it to reach our text, and
feel that one spot at least is verdant with eternal
truth. Blessed be Thou, O God, for Thou canst not
lie.
I. The truth of the text.
1. God is not subject to those infirmities which
lead us into falsehood. You and I are such that we
can know in the heart, and yet with the tongue deny;
but God is one and indivisible; God is light, and in
Him is no darkness at all; with Him is no
variableness, neither shadow of turning.
2. The scriptural idea of God forbids that He should
lie. The very word “God” comprehendeth everything
which is good and great. Admit the lie, and to us at
once there would be nothing but the black darkness
of atheism forever. I could neither love, worship,
nor obey a lying God.
3. God is too wise to lie. Falsehood is the
expedient of a fool.
4. And the lie is the method of the little and the
mean. You know that a great man does not lie; a good
man can never be false. Put goodness and greatness
together, and a lie is altogether incongruous to the
character. Now God is too great to need the lie, and
too good to wish to do such a thing; both His
greatness and His goodness repel the thought.
5. What motive could God have for lying? When a man
lies it is that he may gain something, but “the
cattle on a thousand hills” are God’s, and all the
beasts of the forest, and all the flocks of the
meadows. Mines of inexhaustible riches are His, and
treasures of infinite power and wisdom. He cannot
gain aught by untruth, for “the earth is the Lord’s,
and the fulness thereof”; wherefore, then, should He
lie?
6. Moreover, we may add to all this the experience
of men with regard to God. It has been evident
enough in all ages that God cannot lie. ~Biblical
Illustrator
Now to the specific commentaries.
This verse is divided into three parts but some
commentaries break some of these three into more.
1] In hope of eternal life.
2] Which God, that cannot lie.
3] Promised before the world began.
1] In hope of
eternal life.
In hope of eternal life - Margin, for. Greek, ep'
elpidi. This does not mean that Paul cherished the
hope of eternal life, but that the “faith of the
elect,” which he aimed to secure, was in order that
people might have the hope of eternal life. The
whole system which he was appointed to preach was
designed to secure to man a well-founded hope of
salvation. ~Barnes Notes
In hope of eternal life - In expectation of a state
of being and well being which should last through
eternity, when time should be no more. This
includes, [not only the salvation of the soul,
but also the resurrection of the body]. This was
a point but ill understood, and not very clearly
revealed, under the Mosaic law; but it was fully
revealed under the Gospel, and the doctrine
illustrated by the resurrection and ascension of
Christ. ~Adam Clarke
In hope of eternal life - The grand motive and
encouragement of every apostle and every servant of
God. Which God promised before the world began - To
Christ, our Head. ~John Wesley Explanatory Notes
2] Which God,
that cannot lie.
Which God, that cannot lie - On the phrase” cannot
lie,”. The fact that God cannot lie; that it is his
nature always to speak the truth; and that no
circumstances can ever occur in which He will depart
from it, is the foundation of all our hopes of
salvation. ~Barnes Notes
Which God, that cannot lie, promised - We have often
seen that the phrase, the foundation of the world,
means the Jewish economy, and, before the foundation
of the world, the times antecedent to the giving of
the law. This is evidently the meaning here.
~Adam Clarke
Which God, that cannot lie, promised before the
world began - eternal life is a "promise", and so of
free grace, and not by the works of the law, which
is inconsistent with a promise: it is the promise of
God, who is faithful to his word, and "can not lie";
being the God of truth, that can neither deceive,
nor be deceived: this does not contradict his
omnipotence, but argues the perfection of his
nature, which cannot admit of anything that implies
weakness and mutation: and this promise was made
before the world was, as early as the choice of
God's elect in Christ, and the gift of grace to them
in him; as early as the covenant was made with him,
and he was set up as the Mediator of it; who was
present to receive this promise as their head and
representative for them, and to whom it was made as
federally considered in him, and in whom it was
secured for them. ~John Gill
3] Promised
before the world began.
Promised - The only hope of salvation is in the
promise of God. It is only as we can have evidence
that He has assured us that we may be saved, that we
are authorized to cherish any hope of salvation.
That promise is not made to us as individuals, or by
name, but it becomes ours:
(1) because He has made a general promise that they
who repent and believe shall be saved; and,
(2) because, we may have evidence that we have
repented, and do believe the gospel. If this is so,
we fairly come under the promise of salvation, and
may apply it to ourselves.
Before the world began - That is, the purpose was
then formed, and the promise may be considered as in
fact then made; - for a purpose in the mind of God,
though it is not as yet made known, is equivalent to
a promise; compare the Matthew 25:34; 2Timothy 1:9.
~Barnes Notes
Quoted verses:
Matthew 25:34
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand,
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
2 Timothy 1:9 [see
Lesson]
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy
calling, not according to our works, but according
to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in
Christ Jesus before the world began.
I want to leave you with some quotes on the promises
of God.
"God never made a promise that was too good to be
true."
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as
some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to
us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but
that all should come to repentance." ~2 Peter 3:9
"I believe the promises of God enough to venture an
eternity on them."
"God does not give us everything we want, but He does
fulfill His promises, leading us along the best and
straightest paths to Himself."
"This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word
hath quickened me." or stated in another version:
"This is my comfort in my affliction, that your
promise gives me life." ~Psalm 119:50
"Gather the riches of God's promises. Nobody can
take away from you those texts from the Bible which
you have learned by heart."
"Faith...involves trusting in the future promises of
God and waiting for their fulfillment."
"When our children see us clinging to the promises
of God, they will grow up trusting in His goodness."
"The future is as bright as the promises of God."
"And this is the promise that he made to us--eternal
life." ~1 John 2:25
“Let God’s promises shine on your problems.”
And these are the lessons of verse 2.
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