holding fast the
faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine,
both to exhort and convict those who contradict.
Titus 1:9
Dear Heavenly
Father, please speak to me today so I can continue to grow in the love and
knowledge of You. Let this passage
permeate my heart and help to live by it.
In Jesus's name I pray, Amen.
We are in the body
portion of the letter which focuses on doctrine and encouragement. In verse 9, Paul continues to outline
requirements for elders. To bring deeper
understanding to today's text, let's examine some key words and their companion
or similar verses.
"Holding
fast" in the Greek is antecho which
means hold against, hold firmly, cleave to, to keep one directly opposite to
anyone, endure, withstand, hold back, devoted.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 states "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for
you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for
salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to
which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or
our epistle." 1 Timothy1:15 states
"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus
came into the world to
save sinners, of whom I am chief." 2 Timothy 1:13 states "Hold fast the pattern
of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in
Christ Jesus."
"Faithful
Word" in the Greek is made of two words, pistos
which means reliable, trustworthy, believing, worthy of trust, can be relied on
and logos which means embodying an idea,
statement, speech, expressing the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit,
message. Therefore, "Faithful
Word" means the reliable, trustworthy message of Father God told through
the Holy Spirit. Elders must cleave and
be devoted to the trustworthy message of the Gospel that Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners.
"Taught"
in the Greek is didache which means
doctrine, teaching, reliable time honored teaching, summarized body of
respected teaching, instruction. Elders
keep firmly the doctrine taught by respected teachers.
"Able" in
the Greek is dunatos which means strong,
mighty, powerful, made possible by the power exerted, mighty in wealth and
influence, strong in soul, to be able to do something. By embracing the Gospel, elders are mighty in power, wealth and influence.
"Sound
Doctrine" in the Greek is made of two words, hugiano
which means healthy, reasonable, pure, uncorrupted, good working order, free
from debilitation, true, in corrupt and didaskalia
which means instruction, teaching, precepts, rule to regulate behavior or
thought. Therefore, "Sound
Doctrine" means reasonable, uncorrupted rules to regulate behavior and
thought. 1 Timothy 1:10 states "for
fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if
there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine."
"Exhort"
in the Greek is parakaleo which means to
call to or for, encourage, admonish, comfort, console, offering up evidence that stands up in God's
court, instruct, teach, beseech, ask urgently and fervently. "Convict" in the Greek is elegcho which means expose, reprove, rebuke,
discipline, show to be guilty, to convince with solid compelling evidence, bring light to, expose false
teachers. "Contradict" in the
Greek is antilego which means speak
against, oppose, resist, voicing opposition in a hostile argumentative way,
dispute in order to thwart, deny. With
quality instruction of uncorrupted rules to regulate behavior and thought and
the Good News, an elder has the fervent power to present solid, truthful,
compelling evidence that thwarts and exposes false teachers.
At the end of each
Bible Study blog, I add the Amplified Bible text for the study's
Scripture. The Amplified Bible is based
on the American Standard Version (ASV), but references various texts in
original languages to deepen the understanding and meaning for the
Scripture. I use the Amplified Bible to
compare and confirm the word studies done for the Scripture.
For today's verse,
the Amplified Bible confers to me a different meaning than from the New King
James version (NKJV). From the NKJV as
with the Amplified Bible, an elder has been taught the faithful, trustworthy
message from God. However in the NKJV,
the text shows by this teaching, the elder can dispute and expose false
teachers. The Amplified relays the same
thought, but adds that the elder also gives "accurate instruction in sound
[reliable, error-free] doctrine."
An elder is a teacher.
In previous verses,
Paul outlines the elder's characteristics both internal and external, but we
haven't touched on what an elder does.
In this verse, Paul begins to describe the tasks of an elder. An elder is a teacher and a lawyer. He will instruct people in the same Gospel
and doctrines that were taught to him.
He will also prosecute the Gospel to uncover, reveal misleading, corrupt
teaching that could lead people away from the true message. To have power to teach and prosecute, an
elder must be bathed and immersed in God's Word. So, no matter how difficult the entrapments and busyness of the world can be, you must diligently study and learn from the
Bible, God's Word, everyday.
He must hold firmly
to the trustworthy word [of God] as it was taught to him, so that he will be
able both to give accurate instruction in sound [reliable, error-free] doctrine
and to refute those who contradict [it by explaining their error].
Amplified Bible
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