No Other Doctrine Sermon
1:1. Paul’s typical salutation includes an identification of both author and recipient, combined with a more or less ritualized greeting. Here as in each of his other epistles except Philippians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon, Paul identified himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus. He no doubt used the term “apostle” in its more restricted sense to refer to those who had been personally commissioned by the risen Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 8:23 [“representatives”]; Phil. 2:25 [“messenger”] for its broader usage). Paul’s apostleship was not something he had sought; it had come to him through a heavenly command (Gal. 1:11–2:2; cf. 1 Tim. 2:7). In several of his other epistles Paul commonly made a similar point by stressing his apostolic “calling” according to “the will of God” (1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 2 Tim. 1:1). Paul was often in the position of having to defend his authority which came from both God the Father and God the Son. The identification of God our Savior has an Old Testament ring to it but is common in the Pastorals (cf. 1 Tim. 2:3; 4:10; Titus 1:3; 2:10; 3:4). Jesus is described as our hope, a term which directs the reader’s attention to the certain fulfillment of God’s saving plan in Christ (cf. Col. 1:27).