經文
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness--2 a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,
3 and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,
4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
6 An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.
7 Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless--not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.
8 Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.
9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
1神的僕人，耶穌基督的使徒保羅，憑著神選民的信心與敬虔真理的知識，
2盼望那無謊言的神在萬古之先所應許的永生，
3到了日期，藉著傳揚的工夫把他的道顯明了；這傳揚的責任是按著神我們救主 的命令交託了我。
4現在寫信給提多，就是照著我們共信之道作我真兒子的。願恩惠、平安從父神和我們的救主基督耶穌歸與你！
5我從前留你在革哩底，是要你將那沒有辦完的事都辦整齊了，又照我所吩咐你的，在各城設立長老。
6若有無可指責的人，只作一個婦人的丈夫，兒女也是信主的，沒有人告他們是放蕩不服約束的，就可以設立。
7監督既是神的管家，必須無可指責，不任性，不暴躁，不因酒滋事，不打人，不貪無義之財；
8樂意接待遠人，好善，莊重，公平，聖潔自持；
9堅守所教真實的道理，就能將純正的教訓勸化人，又能把爭辯的人駁倒了。
單字片語
- elect: 選民
- godliness: 敬虔
- entrusted: 委託
- straighten out: 理順
- elders: 長老
- blameless: 無可指責
- overseer: 監督
- overbearing: 霸道
- quick-tempered: 性急
- hospitable: 好客
- doctrine: 教條
Reflection
Greetings from Paul to Titus (1:1~4)
Paul’s initial greeting to Titus presents his entire thesis for the letter in the very first verse. He introduces himself as both servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. The posture of a Christian leader is that of servanthood. This follows the example of Christ, “for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Paul continues, stating that his job as servant and apostle is to further the faith of the church and their knowledge of the Gospel, leading to godly living. And that is the whole point of the letter to Titus. The rest of the letter will unpack this theme little by little.- Do you desire to grow in your faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ and His Gospel so that you might live a godly life? What steps might you take today to make that goal a reality?
單字片語
- posture: 態度
- ransom: 贖金
- stating: 陳述
- godly life: 敬虔的生活
The Elder’s Character (1:5~9)
If you have ever looked at the criteria for a pastoral opportunity in a job forum, you might find that it lists much about what the pastor is expected to do, but little about the character requirements. In contrast, Paul lists numerous qualifications in regard to a pastor’s character, but says very little about what they are expected to do. There are two conclusions we can draw about what Paul writes regarding elder qualifications: 1) The qualifications have an overarching sense of spiritual maturity, meaning that a pastor should not be a recent convert. 2) The list is reflective of a leader’s heart, characterized by humility. It is the fruit of the Spirit in action in the life of someone gifted to lead like Jesus.- Biblical leadership is more about character than giftedness. How can you grow in this sort of character in order to be an asset to your church, whether you are in a leadership role or not?
單字片語
- criteria: 規範
- regarding: 關於
- qualifications: 資格
- overarching: 總體
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