Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Tt 2.2 and following. Indeed, alongside those who are elders in the congregation, every Christian – young or old, brother or sister – must have a good witness. What is asked of slaves applies to all the Redeemed of the Lord. Few do not have a leader above them and in any case everyone should be able to say to themselves, like Paul, a slave of God. Let us be “ornaments” that enhance our Master’s teaching (1 Kings 10:4-8).
God’s grace manifests itself in two ways: First, it brings to all men a salvation that they could not attain on their own. Then heteaches the child of God, teaching him to live soberly in his personal life; precisely in his relations with others; piously in his relations with the Lord. The whole Christian life is held in these three adverbs. And what sustains it is the hope that fills the soul with present happiness (Tit 1:1-9; Tt 3.4-8). “Our Savior God… our great God and Savior Jesus Christ”: this title, contained in the name of Jesus (God Saviour) reminds us that we owe Him everything. However, let us never forget it: He did not save us for ourselves, but “for Himself.”
In relation to blessed hope and the appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ: This is part of the teaching of grace. For it teaches us to wait for the lord’s coming to take us away from Him. How can we not call this hope blessed? It is without any mixture of fear or apprehension; no cloud passes through it; it is for the redeemed the triumph and crowning of grace. But this hope is not separated from the appearance of glory, for the one who is taught by grace. Both, though separated as two acts, as to their time, belong to the same event, the Coming, but one is the coming of the Lord in grace, the other his coming in glory; one his coming for the saints, the other his coming with the saints; one his coming visible to the eyes of the redeemed, the other his coming visible to the eyes of the world; one his coming for the ineffable blessing of his own, the other his coming for the mercyless judgment of the world; one his coming to introduce us into the heavenly abodes, the other his coming to establish on earth his reign of justice and peace; one coming to take us to Him, the other to manifest us in the same glory as Him.
The apparition is that of “the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” Our great God! What supreme dignity, what majesty Jesus will be clothed in when he appears! The world will lament and beat its chest when it sees it coming with the clouds, but our hearts will be filled with ineffable joy, for we will say: This great God is our God, this great God is our Savior Jesus Christ! As soon as he has pronounced this name of Savior, the apostle finds himself carried into the presence of the sufferings of Christ and considers the practical purpose of the work he has done: Who gave himself for us, so that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself an acquired people, zealous for good works. “He gave himself for us!” This is what our Savior is and where His love led Him! It is not only true that God gave His Only Begotten Son, that He delivered Him for all of us, but Jesus gave Himself, gave Himself whole, for us. His death and suffering have other purposes, as we shall see; but here we are the ones who are the goal.
Let’s list a few other passages about the purpose of his sacrifice:
1° Gal 2:20 “The Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me”.
This passage is with that of Titus 2:14, one of the most precious to our hearts: He gave himself up to acquire whom? Me, an individual. I would have been alone in the world that he would have devoted himself to the point of suffering death for me alone! In Titus 2, it is for us, all of his redeemed. He wants to have here on earth a people who are his. Romans 5:8 shows that He died for us when we were still sinners. How this fact exalts the greatness of his love! When we were nothing but sinners, He saw in us the results of the work He was going to do. He regarded us in the light of redemption, but His love found in sin itself a reason to give his full measure.
2° 1 Cor 15:3 “Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures.” This word sums up the whole gospel. This is the first great object of Christ’s death. To possess us, He had to settle the question of our sins.
3° Gal 3:13 He died to “redeem us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.” Can we conceive of the Holy and the Righteous identifying to such an extent, in his love, with cursed beings?
4° Gal 1:4 “He gave himself for our sins, so that he would take us out of the present evil century.” Are Christians sufficiently aware that Christ’s purpose in dying to atone for our sins was to separate us from the world, and do they achieve this goal in all their conduct?
5° John 11:52 “Jesus was going to die… not only for the nation, but also to gather in one the scattered children of God.” Here is another purpose of his death: He wanted to gather his own in the unity of God’s family here on earth. We say “the family” because John does not speak of the Church to which this passage may as well apply. Here we notice it again: Christians do not appreciate the purpose of Christ in dying any more than they appreciate his purpose in the first chapter of the Galatians.
6° 1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ suffered once for sins… that he may bring us to God.” Immense result of his sacrifice! “I have carried you on eagle wings,” said the Lord, “and brought you to me.” And again, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (Ex. 19:4; John 14:6).
7° 2 Cor 5.15. “He died for all, so that those who live no longer live for themselves, but for the One who for them died and was resurrected.” The appreciation of Christ’s death destroys in us the selfishness that always makes man his own center, the object for which he acts and to which he relates everything. All the things spoken of in Nos. 3 to 7 can only be achieved if we continually have before our eyes the death and suffering of the One who gave Himself for us.
8° Eph 5:25-27. “Christ loved the Assembly and gave himself up for it.” He made this sacrifice of love, in order to acquire his Bride, the object dearest to his heart; and after acquiring it, he purifies it during the journey of the desert, so that it may be worthy of Him, when he enters into glory. Do Christians think of loving, not their wretched sects, but the Church the Assembly, because Christ loves her?
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
- Promised old age
-Promised to Abraham Gen 15:15 You will go in peace to your fathers, you will be buried after a happy old age.
-Praying about old age Ps 71:9 Do not reject me in the time of old age; When my strength goes away, don’t abandon me!
-Of the righteous, honorable Pr 16.31 White hair is a crown of honor; It is in the path of justice that we find it.
-Devoid of pleasure Ec 12:1 Young man, rejoice in your youth, surrender your heart to joy during the days of your youth, walk in the ways of your heart and according to the eyes of your eyes; but know that for all this God will call you to judgment.
-The divine presence in the promised old age Tt 2:2-3 Say that the elderly must be sober, honest, moderate, healthy in faith, in charity, in patience. 3 Say that the elderly women must also have the exterior that suits holiness, not be gossiping or indulge in wine; that they must give good instructions,
- Duties of husbands, wives
#Pr 15:18 A violent man stirs up quarrels, but the one who is slow to anger soothes arguments. Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church, and surrendered himself for her, 1 Pet 3:7 Husbands, in turn show wisdom in your dealings with your wives, as with a weaker sex; honor them, as must also inherit with you the grace of life. So be it, so that nothing will stand in the way of your prayers.
# East 1.20 The king’s edict will be known throughout his kingdom, no matter how great, and all women will honor their husbands, from the greatest to the smallest. Tt 2:4 for the purpose of teaching young women to love their husbands and children, 1 Pet 3:1 Women, be likewise submissive to your husbands, that if some do not obey the word, they may be won over without words by the conduct of their wives,
- Discretion
Pr 2:11 Reflection will watch over you, Intelligence will keep you, Isaiah 28:26 His God taught him the way to follow, He gave him his instructions. Mk 12:34 Jesus, continuing to teach in the temple, says: How do the scribes say that Christ is the son of David?
- People of God
-Possession cherished as a treasure Ex 19:5 Now, if you listen to my voice, and if you keep my covenant, you will belong to me among all peoples, for the whole earth is mine;
-Cherished by the Lord Dt 14:2 For you are a holy people to Jehovah your God; and Jehovah your God has chosen you, that you may be a people who belonged to him among all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
-Raised above the nations Dt 26:19 that he may give you superiority over all the nations he has created in glory, fame, and magnificence, and that you may be a holy people to Jehovah your God, as he told you. Ps 29:11 The Lord gives strength to His people; Jehovah blesses His people and makes them happy.
-Led as a flock Ps 78:52 He made His people leave like sheep, He led them like a flock into the wilderness. Ps 100:3 Know that Jehovah is God! It is He who made us, and we belong to Him; We are his people, and the herd of his pasture.
Prepared for service Luke 1:17 he will walk before God with the spirit and power of Elijah, to bring the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the rebels to the wisdom of the righteous, in order to prepare for the Lord a well-disposed people. Acts 15:14 Simon recounted how God first cast his eyes on the nations to choose from among them a people who bore his name.
-Characterized by the zeal Tt 2:14 which has given itself for us, in order to redeem us from all iniquity, and to make a people that belongs to it, purified by it and zealous for good works.
“The law is written on his heart Hb 8:10 But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel, After those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, I will write them in their hearts; And I will be their God, and they will be my people. 1 Pet 2:9 You, on the contrary, are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, an acquired people, that you may proclaim the virtues of him who called you from darkness to his admirable light, Rev 21:3, and I heard from the throne a loud voice that said: Behold the tabernacle of God with men! He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them.
From all the above, we note that gentleness, grace, support, love win hearts, the act of authority represses evil. The Lord Himself spoke authoritatively to the rebellious waves of the sea, commanded with authority to the filthy spirits, but this was not the essential side of his activity, nor was it that of the ministry of Titus, the apostle’s delegate. I am meek and humble of heart, says the Lord. His character, as a true servant, is not only to “dry out the sea by his rebuke,” but to “sustain by a word he who is weary” (Isa. 50:2, 4). As for Titus’ case, it was not only special because of the environment in which he was called to act, but because of his age. That is why the apostle adds: Let no one despise you (1 Tim. 4:12). Wonderful love, for the one who has probed before God the depth of his degradation! This is the story of the treasure and the pearl of great price (Mat 13). Jesus felt that acquiring us was worth his own life; so He saw us, not according to who we were, but according to the perfections that His love wanted to clothe us in. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “Obligations of Believers; objects of divine mercy.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty.