Titus 3:12-15--Final Instructions and Greetings

Titus 3:12-15
English Standard Version

Final Instructions and Greetings
12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. 14 And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.

15 All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith.

Grace be with you all.

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Paul says he is going to be sending Artemas or Tychicus to Titus and the congregation he is leading in Crete.  This could be the ones carrying the letter or they could be coming later and this could be advance warning.  In either case, Paul wants Titus to let Artemas or Tychicus take care of the church so that Titus can come visit Paul in Nicopolis (he is going to be wintering there).

​Paul is waiting for Zenas the lawyer and Apollos and asks Titus to speed them along.  In the midst of all of this, Titus is supposed to focus on teaching the Elect of Crete to live in a way where people will see their good works and glorify their Father who is in heaven.  Titus is also supposed to help people learn to take care of each other's urgent needs (it should not be the responsibility of Titus or Paul's team to take care of all of them when they have either other to lean on for help and support).  They are to bear fruit (show evidence on the outside of what has changed on the inside).  For many years "fruitfulness" or "bearing fruit" was made to be synonymous with "soul winning," but that is not that totality of what Paul is talking about here--he's talking about them bearing the Fruit of the Spirit in all areas of their lives in all places at all times under all circumstances.  This speaks of their conduct towards each other in the church and outside the church in all those various relationships we talked about in this book.  We are ambassadors who are to represent our King and His Kingdom well until one day when we will no longer by ambassadors living among foreigners, but we will be citizens of the Kingdom that we will live in forever and ever.

Paul closes with his final greeting of "Grace be with you all."

We have now studied all the books of the Bible other than the book of Revelation (which I intentionally saved for last because it has so many references to so many other books that it's helpful to have exposure to the Old Testament Prophets before reading it--especially the book of Daniel).  I'm looking forward to studying it with you.