in hope of eternal
life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,
Titus 1:1
Dear Heavenly
Father, this is the week before we
celebrate God coming down to earth, wrapping himself in flesh to do what was
planned before time began. The humility of
Christ is so overwhelming. I can get so
wrapped up in myself and my circumstances.
I pray that you remind me everyday my need for you. I pray that reminding won't have to
be the "hard way."
Please keep me humble and hungry for your Word. Thank you.
You are so wonderful. In Jesus's
name I pray, Amen.
This verse is still
in the "Sender" part of the letter.
Paul continues to describe his belief and commitment to Christ. To bring deeper understanding to today's
text, let's examine some key words and their companion or similar verses.
"Hope" in
the Greek is elpis which means
expectation, trust, confidence, expectation of what is sure, certain, joyful
and confident expectation of eternal salvation.
It is from the root word, elpo,
which means to anticipate, welcome.
"Eternal"
in the Greek is aionios which means
age long, unending, partaking of a character of that which lasts for an age - as
contrast with that which is brief and fleeting, operates simultaneously outside
of time/inside of time/beyond time,
without beginning or end, never ceasing, infinity. "Life" in the Greek is zoe which means both physical and spiritual
existence, the vital life, living soul, life real and genuine. 2 Timothy 1:1 states "Paul, an apostle
of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is
in Christ Jesus." Hebrews 9:15
states "And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by
means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first
covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal
inheritance." In hope, we welcome
certain, joyful, confident expectation of unending, never ceasing genuine
salvation, an eternal
inheritance of the redemption of our sins.
"Cannot
lie" in the Greek is apseudes which
means free from falsehood, not guilty of falsehood, truthful, without lie. The root word is pseudos with means falsehood, untruth, lie. Pseudos
is where we get psuedo in the English
which means not genuine; spurious or sham.
By placing the negative participle "a," the word is changed to "not lie." This word is only used in Titus. Numbers 23:19 states "God is not a man,
that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and
will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" 2 Timothy 2:13 states "If we are
faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself." Hebrews 6:18 states "that by two
immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have
strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before
us."
"Promised"
in the Greek is epaggelllomai which
means to proclaim, profess, declare a promise that is fitting (apt), making a
claim, to announce, to promise of one's own accord, to voluntarily engage. Romans 1:2 states "which He promised
before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures."
"Before"
in the Greek is pro which means in front
of, of time, earlier than, prior.
"Time" in the Greek is chronos
which means a particular time, season, succession of moments, duration in the
physical space world, time in sequence, long ages, before times, eternal times
during something that occurs. 2 Timothy
1:9 states "who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was
given to us in Christ Jesus before time began." God, who is forever truthful, proclaims His
promise of life before time began. This
is accomplished by God not by anything that we do.
"I
promise." That phrase is so easy
for us to say. We start using it nearly
at the beginning of life, "I promise mommy, I didn't do it." "Promise" in English means assure
someone that one will definitely do, give, or arrange something; undertake or
declare that something will happen.
Synonyms of the word are give one's word, swear, pledge, vow, undertake,
guarantee, assure, swear/take an oath, covenant.
While we may not
always take a promise seriously or just use the word to placate someone, God
keeps His promises. He is always
faithful to His Word. There are many
promises in the Bible, but let's just examine a few that might match our
text. 2 Chronicles 7:14 states "if
My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek
My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and
will forgive their sin and heal their land." This promise is clarified and reinforced in
the New Testament as well. Acts 17:30
(New Living Translation) states "God did not remember these times when
people did not know better. But now He tells all men everywhere to be sorry for
their sins and to turn from them."
Luke 13:3 states "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will
all likewise perish." 1 John 1:9 states "If we confess our sins, He
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness."
Paul bases his hope
for salvation on what God promised before time existed. If we aren't sorry about our wrong doings,
our crimes against God, we will die. It
all starts with faith. The belief that
Christ is God, lived the perfect life, took the punishment for our crimes on
the cross, and rose to life. There is no
one good, no not one. We need a lawyer
to mediate for our crimes before God.
Jesus is that savior. Believe on
Him and live, else you will perish. You
will suffer death, typically in a violent, sudden, or untimely way. Choose life, choose Christ.
based on the hope
and divine guarantee of eternal life, [the life] which God, who is ever
truthful and without deceit, promised before the ages of time began,
Amplified Bible
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