ReNEWed COVENANT Ministry

SABBATH BIBLE STUDY

10-8

(2020)

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Compiled by JS LOWTHER
renewedcovenantministry.com
servant@renewedcovenantministry.com

A Community of Election and Order

(cont. from Why Can’t We Have Community?)

Part 4

Submit to Rulers and Authority 

(An expository reading of Titus)

Tit_2:1 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
Tit 2:2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
Tit 2:3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
Tit 2:4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
Tit 2:5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
Tit 2:6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
Tit 2:7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
Tit 2:8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
Tit 2:9 Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again;
Tit 2:10 Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.

Paul Exhorted The Elder of the elders , the bishop, or Overseer them to hold fast to the faithful word as they had been taught, that by this foundation sound doctrine could go forth and to instruct and rebuke gainsayer who would contradict that sound word and faith.

These principal men are stewards of God, that is they are God’s house Lawyers. this translates in their life as being seen as: above reproach, not arrogant not, quick-tempered, not a drunk, or violent or greedy for gain.
But rather as a steward of God his is: hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.

The main purpose of the Overseeing Elder is to affirm sound doctrine that is able to silence opposition and set up the family households under him on firm foundations of sound faith and doctrine.
This Elder over-seer is as a judge and head of his people will further with his example encourage the elder men in teaching and encouraging them to be: sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, love, and in perseverance.
The ordained Over-seer encourages : The elder women like he would the old men plus: to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or drunks.
The Overseer by this affirms to his fellow elders to encourage their wives, and the widows, and to teach what is good:
This translates to Elder women training the young women to:
love their husbands and children, the elder woman is exhorted to train the young women to be self-controlled, pure, home-keepers (oik-ou-rous), kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

The woman whose womb brings for the next generation to be raised in the covenant, is the one who teaches the child the house law by example foremost, by being the house keeper on the most basic level.
Just as a child learns to speak, and watch for food, and all of the characteristics of the home we raise a child in- so the young woman rearing her child keeps her household by teaching the law of the house: her submissiveness to her husband by the directives of the word of God is communicated.
The importance of this job is so immense upon the next generation and for those of the chaotic heathen world to see in witnessing the order which the law of God brings, is a ministry of its own. And for those of the contrary part who know the family nature of the Christian faith as instructed by the word law of God, as unbelievers are want to do, when they see submissiveness over turned it particularly blasphemes the Word of God.
To have an old or young woman that names the name of Christ and her way of life as “truth after godliness” and to be un-self-controlled, impure, not a home-keepers , un-kind, and un-submissive to her own husband is reviling or blasphemous to the word of God.
And therefore it is impinging upon the Elder Over-seer to teach the elders to teach the elder women to teach the younger women to be the woman God has Elected and to identify those who are blasphemers and not reckoned among the self controlled- keepers of house hold of God in aiding his word by submissiveness.

The Over seer is exhorting the Elders to exhort the young men to be self-controlled, in all respects to be a model or pattern of good works and in their doctrine to teach their family to show: integrity, dignity, to be of sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

And to the servant the Ordained Over-seer exhorts to be : submissive to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing and not argumentative, not embezzling from their masters as thieves but to be showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

The system Which Paul is exhorting the oversight to look out for is all about what is being threatened by mythical jewish doctrine, the expressed issues of Paul’s day, Titus’ day they are especially combating in the Cretan family-church and everywhere.
Taking elements of the Word of God such as circumcision and making faith subservient to that action done in the flesh. This is a mythical commandment of men because there is no work a non-elected, dead sinner can do to cause faith to be imputed as righteousness that is against the truth of scripture which teaches Faith imputed as righteousness that leads to one every good work. Where as the opposite myth and commandment of men turn away from the truth though it professes to know God and turns even the pure things into defilement that while saying “I know God” their works deny him, being rather abominable and disobedient, and worthless to all goodness.

And it is the natural choice of the fleshly mind to choose commandments of men and mythical truth over the logical truth of the word of God in Jesus Christ according to faith by Election in the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.

And the Grandfather and Grandmother, uncle and aunt, father and mother as well as the servant to be encouraged by the Over sight to guard and oppose this corrupting unsound doctrine.

To wit the apostle goes on to say:
Tit_2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Tit 2:15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

And so to these all :
Tit_3:1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
Tit 3:2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
ESV
Tit 3:1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,
Tit 3:2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

And so to all of these “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation” to all of these people in this Elected family to whom this Overseer is placed over in the ordained and familial we read yet again another exhortation of submission, to those rulers and authorities / principalities and powers ordained by God.
And while a case may be made from scripture to show that a faithful Christ is to acknowledge his captivity as having come from God and therefore the rulers and authority of that captivity to be obeyed, this is not what the context of Titus teaches at all.

Rather the obvious interpretation is in the context of the submission of slaves to masters, wives to husbands, youth to elders and elders to the over seer ordained to exhort the Godly home as the house law keeper. There is no place in this text to show anything but this God ordained family authority.
And this authority is derived directly from the Law of God and it’s application to the organic family s with the structure ordination of stewardship given to one Elder over seeing 10, 50, 100 and a 1000 for the purpose of exhorting the family and silencing the gainsayers who seek to upset the family structure of the church.

And so the apostle then reminds as part of the whole:

Tit_3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
Tit 3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Tit 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

This is being applied to the ‘all’ being ‘Put in mind to be subject to headship rulers and authorities’. Paul is reminding all men at every level to remember their own conversion in considering the way we deal with each other, that as recipients of God’s kindness and salvation in our seeing it: not by those mythical commandments of men we think are works of righteousness which we have done but according to:
His mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he poured on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

And so the order of salvation is set and further confirmed and expressed in the theo-centric statment made prior that what has happened to all of the Elected person instructed to walk orderly and submissively to their parental authority and Over sight is illustrated in the idea of:
God the Father according to his mercy, saves us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the holy spirit which he , God the Father pours or sheds on us through the conduit of Jesus who saved us in the justifying work which flowed from Jesus’ Grace.
There is no place in this text to place your works of righteousness in the process of regeneration, rather there is only the work of the tri-une God head: the Father’s mercy, pouring out the washing and regenerating person of the Holy Spirit through the mechanism of the work of Jesus free gift to His Elect.
There is no room for our mythical works of righteousness on any level, in any place to put our righteousness as part of the mechanism of Salvation.
And thus after this Common faith of the Elect is acknowledged as being wholly shed upon us by God, then we can speak of the actions and works of the believer, that:

Tit 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

We affirm constantly the good works of scripture as taught to us by the Word of God , by the Logos, we insist on it, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.
These things are excellent and profitable for people, and not just to the believers, but to all who are in contact with the believer who is devoted to the good works of the word of God.