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| Titus 3:15 |
All that are with me salute thee.
Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with
you all. Amen.
It was written to Titus, ordained the first
bishop of the church of the Cretians, from Nicopolis
of Macedonia. |
This section has 4 verses.
Titus 3:12-15
12 When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus
[TIK-uh-kus], be
diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis [nih-KOP-uh-lis]:
for I have determined there to winter.
13 Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their
journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto
them.
14 And let ours also learn to maintain good works
for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.
15 All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that
love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.
We will begin with the Barclay commentary.
FINAL GREETINGS
First, the paraphrase of verses 12-15:
When I send Artemas or Tychicus [TIK-uh-kus]
to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis [nih-KOP-uh-lis],
for I have decided to spend the winter there.
Do your best to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on
their way. See to it that nothing is lacking to
them. And let our people too learn to practice fine
deeds, that they may be able to supply all necessary
needs, and that they may not live useless lives.
All who are with me send you their greetings. Greet
those who love us in the faith.
Grace be with you all. Amen.
AS usual, Paul ends his letter with personal
messages and greetings. Of Artemas, we know nothing
at all. Tychicus [TIK-uh-kus]
was one of Paul’s most trusted messengers. He was
the bearer of the letters to the Colossian and the
Ephesian churches (Colossians 4:7; Ephesians 6:21).
Nicopolis [nih-KOP-uh-lis]
was in Epirus [ih-PI-ruhs]
and was the best centre for work in the Roman
province of Dalmatia. It is interesting to remember
that it was there that Epictetus [eh'pih-KYUR-uhs],
the great Stoic philosopher, later had his school.
Quoted verses:
Colossians 4:7
All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is
a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and
fellowservant in the Lord:
Ephesians 6:21
But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do,
Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in
the Lord, shall make known to you all things:
Apollos was the well-known teacher (Acts 18:24). Of
Zenas [ZEE-nuhs],
we know nothing at all. He is here called a nomikos.
That could mean one of two things. Nomikos is the
regular word for a scribe, and Zenas may have been a
converted Jewish Rabbi. It is also the normal Greek
for a lawyer; and, if that is its meaning, Zenas has
the distinction of being the only lawyer mentioned
in the New Testament.
Quoted verse:
Acts 18:24
And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria,
an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came
to Ephesus.
Paul’s last piece of advice is that the Christian
people should practice good deeds, so that they
themselves should be independent and also able to
help others who are in need. Christian workers work
not only to have enough for themselves but also to
have something to give away.
Next come the final greetings; and then, as in every
letter,
Paul’s last word is grace.
~Barclay Commentary
Now to the other commentaries. We will begin
with the general and move to the specific. First to
the Matthew Henry Main which covers verses 9-15. We
will pick it up where it begins speaking to verse
15:
IV. The apostle concludes with salutations and
benedictions, Titus 3:15. Though perhaps not
personally known (some of them at least), yet
all by Paul testify their love and good wishes to
Titus, owning him thereby in his work, and
stimulating him to go on therein. Great comfort and
encouragement it is to have the heart and prayers of
other Christians with and for us. Greet those that
love us in the faith, or for the faith, who are our
loving fellow-Christians. Holiness, or the image of
God in any, is the great endearing thing that gives
strength to all other bonds, and is itself the best.
Grace be with you all. Amen. This is the closing
benediction, not to Titus alone, but to all the
faithful with him, which shows that though the
epistle bears the single name of Titus in the
inscription, yet it was for the use of the churches
there, and they were in the eye, and upon the heart,
of the apostle, in the writing of it. “Grace be with
you all, the love and favour of God, with the fruits
and effects thereof, according to need, spiritual
ones especially, and the increase and feeling of
them more and more in your souls.” This is the
apostle's wish and prayer, showing his affection to
them, his desire of their good, and a means of
obtaining for them, and bringing down upon them, the
thing requested. Observe, Grace is the chief thing
to be wished and begged for, with respect to
ourselves or others; it is, summarily, all good.
Amen shuts up the prayer, expressing desire and
hope, that so it may, and so it shall be.
~Matthew Henry Main
Note: For a salutation, there is much here.
This is the way of Paul. He knew his language and he
knew how to take us deep in just a few words.
Notice:
1] He sends salutations of love and good wishes to
Titus from all those with him, even if some of them
did not know Titus or anyone with him.
2] He stimulates and encourages Titus forward.
3] He shows [God shows] us that there is
comfort and encouragement to know that we have the
love and prayers of other Christians.
4] He encourages Titus to greet those in Crete that
love Paul, the brethren and the Work of God.
5] It is our individual and collective holiness that
gives strength to every one else in the Body of
Christ. This lends additional meaning to 1 Peter
1:16 which says, "Because it is written, Be ye holy;
for I am holy. It also sheds light on Amos 3:3 which
says, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
Only holy people can walk together in the Body of
Christ.
6] The prayer is given to Titus and those with him
in Crete, Grace be with you all. Amen.
7] Though this is a letter to Titus, it is for all
the churches in Crete. And it is a letter to all the
churches of God and all the forward-moving (holy)
firstfruits in them.
8] Paul carries the brethren with him in his heart.
This is what we are supposed to be doing. We are to
carry the brethren in our hearts. This goes far
beyond just praying for them.
9] Paul loves the brethren so much that he prays for
them grace [pardon of God], the love and
favor of God, as well as all the fruits and effects
of the salvation process according to the will of
God. We are to have the same prayers, not only for
the firstfruits but all those around them; their
loved ones and friends.
10] Paul [and God] desire that our love and
concern for the brethren grows more and more as we
mature in the salvation process.
11] It is Paul's wish and prayer to show his
affection to all the brethren. His desire is their
good and that God provide for them according to
their needs and desires.
12] Grace [the pardon of God that allows our
entrance into the salvation process and the calling
to be in that process] is the chief thing to be
wished and begged for, not only for us,
individually, but for all the brethren. We are to
pray for the good of all brethren. Paul put the,
"Amen" to this prayer, expressing his desire and
hope that it be so. We follow Paul as he follows
Christ and this last verse of Chapter is all about
Christ.
Do not let anyone try to tell you this is just some
salutation verse to end a letter to Titus.
Now to the Matthew Henry Concise which discusses
verses 12-15.
Christianity is not a fruitless profession; and its
professors must be filled with the fruits of
righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the
glory and praise of God. They must be doing good, as
well as keeping away from evil. Let “ours” follow
some honest labour and employment, to provide for
themselves and their families. Christianity obliges
all to seek some honest work and calling, and
therein to abide with God. The apostle concludes
with expressions of kind regard and fervent prayer.
Grace be with you all; the love and favour of God,
with the fruits and effects thereof, according to
need; and the increase and feeling of them more and
more in your souls. This is the apostle's wish and
prayer, showing his affection to them, and desire
for their good, and would be a means of obtaining
for them, and bringing down on them, the thing
requested. Grace is the chief thing to be wished and
prayed for, with respect to ourselves or others; it
is “all good.” ~Matthew Henry Concise
Now to the Biblical Illustrator that will speak to
some of those 12 points I gave you from the Matthew
Henry Main.
Greet them that love us in the faith
Christian love
Hence note that religion bindeth man to man in the
straightest bond; for
1. The Spirit is the tier [highest level-most
important] of it; and hence is it called the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; and indeed
it must be a wonderful bond that can reconcile such
deadly enemies as men are before they come into the
kingdom of Christ (Isaiah 11:6).
2. God’s image, wheresoever it is, is exceeding
beautiful, and a great binder, especially where
renewed and repaired [in our hearts and minds];
which being once espied [seen], let the
outward condition be what it can be, a religious
heart seeth sufficient matter of love, and will knit
the soul unto the soul of such a one.
3. It [Christian love] addeth strength and
firmness to all other bonds of nature, affinity,
etc., and maketh them more natural. What a true
friend was Jonathan to David! Because he saw that
God was with him his soul clave unto him; though the
kingdom was to be rent from him for it, yet could he
not rend his heart from David. If Joseph had not had
more than nature, he could not but have revenged
such infinite wrongs upon his brethren; whereas the
grace of his heart made him say, “It was not you, my
brethren, but God sent me before you.” Consider also
of the example beyond all imitation of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who gave Himself to the death for us
when we were yet His enemies.
Quoted verse:
Isaiah 11:6
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the
leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf
and the young lion and the fatling together; and a
little child shall lead them.
Use [Christian love; manifest it]
1. Whence we are taught most familiarly to embrace
them that love us in the faith, and to make most
account of their love. Many love in the face (friendships),
many in the flesh (physically), many in
nature (the material world), only the love of
Christians is a fruit of faith, a work of the
Spirit, and therefore a surer bond than they all.
Well knew the apostle that none was in comparison
worth having but this; he calleth for no other, he
careth for no other, he mentioneth no other.
2. Such as set into any society with others, if he
would have it comfortable unto him, let him
strengthen all other natural or civil bonds by this
bond of religion; let him labour to begin his love
in the faith, or, if he have begun elsewhere
already, let him reform the same hereby if he look
for any sound comfort in his estate; for this is the
cause that men often have so little return of love
from their wives, so little obedience from their
children, so little duty from their servants, so
slender respect from their equals, because they
begin their love and duties at a wrong end, and have
for other respects affected those with whom they
live, but the least, if at all, for grace and
religion, which of all is the soundest, most
profitable, and most comfortable. ~Biblical
Illustrator with minor editing by me
Shake hands
Shake hands with somebody as you go out of church.
The more of it the better, if it is expressive of
real interest and feeling. There may be a great deal
of the spirit of the gospel put into a hearty shake
of the hand. Think of Paul’s four times repeated
request—“Greet one another”—after the custom then in
common use, and one which is expressive of even
warmer feeling than our common one of handshaking.
Why not give your neighbours the benefit of the warm
Christian feeling that fills you to your finger
tips, and receive the like from them in return? You
will both be benefited by it; and the stranger will
go away feeling that the Church is not, after all,
so cold as he had thought it to be. ~Biblical
Illustrator
Christian love
A lady and her little daughter, passing out of
church, the child bade goodbye to a poorly dressed
little girl. “How did you know her?” inquired the
mother. “Why, you see, mamma, she came into our
Sabbath School alone, and I made a place for her on
my seat, and I smiled and she smiled, and then we
were acquainted.” ~Biblical Illustrator
Now to the specific commentaries.
The verse breaks out in three parts:
1] All that are with me salute thee.
2] Greet them that love us in the faith.
3] Grace be with you all. Amen.
1] All that are
with me salute thee.
All that are with me salute thee - All the apostles,
fellow labourers, and the ministers of the Gospel
that were with him; and all the members of the
church where he was, sent their Christian salutation
to Titus; he being a person greatly esteemed, and
whose praise was in all the churches: ~John Gill
2] Greet them
that love us in the faith.
Greet them that love us in the faith - not merely as
men, as their countrymen, as related to them in the
flesh; or on account of any external things, but as
believers; because of the doctrine of faith,
professed and preached; and because of the grace of
faith obtained and possessed; or who love us
faithfully, sincerely, and uprightly, from their
hearts, and not in word and tongue only. ~John
Gill
Greet them that love us in the faith - “Salute them
that love us in the faith.” All at Crete had not
this love rooted in faith, the true bond of
fellowship. A salutation peculiar to this Epistle,
such as no forger would have used. ~Jamieson,
Fausset, Brown
3] Grace be
with you all. Amen.
Grace be with you all, Amen - which is the common
concluding salutation in all Paul's epistles. This
shows that this epistle was not designed for Titus
only, but for the saints at Crete. ~John Gill
Grace be with you all, Amen - Greek, “The grace,”
namely, of God. ~Jamieson, Fausset, Brown
Remember those twelve points I gave you, for these
are the lessons of verse 15.
1] He sends salutations of love and good wishes to
Titus from all those with him, even if some of them
did not know Titus or anyone with him.
2] He stimulates and encourages Titus forward.
3] He shows [God shows] us that there is
comfort and encouragement to know that we have the
love and prayers of other Christians.
4] He encourages Titus to greet those in Crete that
love Paul, the brethren and the Work of God.
5] It is our individual and collective holiness that
gives strength to every one else in the Body of
Christ. This lends additional meaning to 1 Peter
1:16 which says, "Because it is written, Be ye holy;
for I am holy. It also sheds light on Amos 3:3 which
says, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
Only holy people can walk together in the Body of
Christ.
6] The prayer is given to Titus and those with him
in Crete, Grace be with you all. Amen.
7] Though this is a letter to Titus, it is for all
the churches in Crete. And it is a letter to all the
churches of God and all the forward-moving (holy)
firstfruits in them.
8] Paul carries the brethren with him in his heart.
This is what we are supposed to be doing. We are to
carry the brethren in our hearts. This goes far
beyond just praying for them.
9] Paul loves the brethren so much that he prays for
them grace [pardon of God], the love and
favor of God, as well as all the fruits and effects
of the salvation process according to the will of
God. We are to have the same prayers, not only for
the firstfruits but all those around them; their
loved ones and friends.
10] Paul [and God] desire that our love and
concern for the brethren grows more and more as we
mature in the salvation process.
11] It is Paul's wish and prayer to show his
affection to all the brethren. His desire is their
good and that God provide for them according to
their needs and desires.
12] Grace [the pardon of God that allows our
entrance into the salvation process and the calling
to be in that process] is the chief thing to be
wished and begged for, not only for us,
individually, but for all the brethren. We are to
pray for the good of all brethren. Paul put the,
"Amen" to this prayer, expressing his desire and
hope that it be so. We follow Paul as he follows
Christ and this last verse of Chapter is all about
Christ.
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