Start of a new week!

Titus 1:4, “[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 – a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and at His appointed season He brought His word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,] to Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.”

Interesting points:
1. With this verse, the focus in this introduction transitions from Paul to Titus. There are three significant points we can derive from this verse:
a. First, Paul calls Titus his "true son" signifying that Paul must have played a critical role in Titus accepting Jesus as Lord of his life and an important role discipling him.
b. Second, they shared a faith in Jesus Christ as the Messiah. They both lived with the belief that Jesus was the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).
c. Third, their faith was not just "shared," but "common." Despite the fact that Paul was a Jew and Titus was a Gentile, they were both Christians: despite the many differences and historical divisions between Jews and Gentiles there is unity in the body of Christ. Because of the Jesus, we all belong to one spiritual family.

2. In his letters, Paul frequently references grace and peace in his introductory comments. Besides their words emphasizing his blessing to Titus, these two terms parallel God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. Verse 3 ends with the words “God our Savior" while Verse 4 ends with "Christ Jesus our Savior": taken together, these verses clearly present Jesus as equal to God the Father in the triune Godhead.

Application.
Brothers, last week we came to understand the implications of Paul’s legacy as God commanded us with the Great Commission. Today’s verse reminds us that despite the many differences in culture and history, our Lord Jesus Christ loves and died for each individual and desires a relationship with them. Despite the habits, actions and norms that may repulse or antagonize us, we would do well to remember God’s overarching love that propels us to reach out to them with the Gospel – His Truth – not that we receive the credit because God is the Savior, but we -- like Paul -- can have many true sons in our common faith that we can guide, coach and mentor as the Holy Spirit works in and through us.