Titus 2.12-The Grace of God Teaches All Christians to Live According to Godly Standards While Rejecting Satanic Standards
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday May 25, 2014
Titus: Titus 2:12-The Grace of God Teaches All Christians to Live According to Godly Standards While Rejecting Satanic Standards
Lesson # 23
Please turn in your Bibles to Titus 2:11.
Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age. (NASB95)
“Instructing” is the verb paideuō (παιδεύω), which means “to teach, instruct, train, educate” since it pertains to providing instruction to someone with the intent of forming proper habits of behavior which will lead to maturity.
Here in Titus 2:12, the subject of this verb is the grace of God, which appears in Titus 2:11.
It refers to the incarnation of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ as well as His earthly life, teaching, substitutionary spiritual and physical death’s on the cross as well as His resurrection from the dead, which provided eternal salvation for all mankind.
Therefore, here in Titus 2:12, the verb paideuō indicates that the grace of God as manifested through these events in the life of Jesus Christ instruct, educate, teach or train the Christian to reject ungodly ways, worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.
The participle form of this verb paideuō is a temporal participle.
This indicates that the grace of God has been manifested during the First Advent of Jesus Christ offering salvation for the benefit of every member of the human race “while at the same time” instructing Christians to reject ungodly ways, worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.
Thus, while the First Advent provided the offer of salvation to all of unregenerate humanity, it also instructs the Christian to reject ungodly ways, worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.
“Us” is referring to the apostle Paul and his fellow Christians on the island of Crete and throughout the Roman Empire in the first century A.D.
“To live” is the verb zao (ζάω), which means, “to conduct oneself in a particular manner” specified by the context and here it is used here of the Christian’s conduct while on planet earth in the devil’s world.
“Sensibly” is the adverb of manner sōphronōs (σωφρόνως), which means “self-controlled” since it pertains to restraint exercised over one’s impulses, emotions and desires.
Therefore, this word indicates that the grace of God as manifested through the First Advent of Jesus Christ instructs all Christians to live “self-controlled” in the sense that it teaches the Christian to exercise restraint over their impulses, emotions and desires.
“Righteously” is the adverb of manner dikaiōs (δικαίως), which means “uprightly, righteously, in a right way” since it pertains to doing right by God and one’s fellow human being.
Thus, it refers to the Christian fulfilling their obligation to God to love Him with their heart, soul, mind and strength and fulfilling their obligation to all people in loving their neighbor as themselves.
“Godly” is the adverb of manner eusebōs (εὐσεβῶς), which refers to conduct that honors God because it is the direct result of experiencing eternal life which is accomplished by appropriating by faith the Spirit’s teaching in the Word of God that the Christian is crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ.
It refers to conduct that honors God because it is based upon an accurate knowledge of His character, ways and will.
It also denotes that this conduct honors God because it is in obedience to His commands and prohibitions and is empowered by His Spirit.
This conduct expresses one’s reverence for God and is thus an act of worshipping Him.
“In the present age” refers to the particular period of human history in which the devil is the temporary ruler over planet earth in contrast to the age to come, i.e. the millennium, when Christ will rule planet earth (cf. Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 1:20; 1 John 2:17).
It refers to the spirit of this age in which the devil rules over the earth, which seeks to be independent of God and the Bible.
It is an age in which people characteristically seek self-gratification regardless of the consequences or cost to self or others.
“Deny” is the verb arneomai (ἀρνέομαι), which means “to reject” and is used of the Christian “rejecting” ungodliness in the sense of refusing to conduct oneself in an ungodly way.
The participle form of this verb arneomai is a temporal participle indicating that the grace of God as manifested during the First Advent of Jesus Christ instructs all Christians to live in a self-controlled manner, righteously and godly during this present age “while simultaneously” rejecting ungodliness.
“Ungodliness” is the noun asebeia (ἀσέβεια), which pertains to living in a manner which dishonors God and is irreverent towards Him.
It speaks of the Christian conducting himself or herself in a manner which is out of fellowship with God as a result of not appropriating by faith the Spirit’s teaching in the Word of God that one is crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ.
It refers to conduct that dishonors God because it is not based upon an accurate knowledge of His character, ways and will.
It also denotes that this conduct dishonors God because it is in disobedience to His commands and prohibitions.
This conduct expresses one’s irreverence towards God and is thus an act of refusing to worship Him.
“Worldly desires” refers to the various lust patterns of the sin nature and the manifestation of these lust patterns characterize the cosmic system of Satan whose standards are in opposition to God.
In our context, it is used of sexual lust, as well as power lust, approbation lust, social lust, monetary lust, materialism lust, inordinate ambition resulting in inordinate competition, revenge lust, criminal lust, chemical lust, crusader lust, and pleasure lust.
At the heart of such lusts is the desire to live independently of the will of God, which again is the essence of evil.
Titus 2:11 For the grace originating from God has been manifested offering salvation for the benefit of each and every member of the human race. 12 It simultaneously instructs us that we are to live in a self-controlled manner, righteously as well as godly during this present age while rejecting that which is characterized as ungodliness, specifically, that which is characterized as worldly desires. (My translation)
Paul teaches that while the grace of God has been manifested offering salvation for the entire human race, it simultaneously instructs all Christians to live in a self-controlled manner, righteously as well as godly during this present age while at the same time teaching them to reject ungodliness and specifically worldly desires.
It teaches that there is a purpose for which God saves the sinner, namely to live in a manner which brings glory to Him and honors Him and is an act of worshipping Him.
The question arises as to how or in what way does the First Advent of Jesus Christ teach the Christian to live in a self-controlled manner, righteously and godly during this present evil age in which Satan is the god of this world?
The Christian is taught these things when they are taught about the purpose and significance in relation to them of the incarnation of the Son of God, His earthly life, His teaching, His substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths on the cross, and resurrection from the dead.
In relation to the Christian, the purpose of the incarnation is to bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10) and conform the justified sinner to the image of Christ (Romans 8:28-29; Ephesians 4:11-16).
The purpose of His earthly life is to give us a perfect example to follow in doing the Father’s will and to love like God (John 13:33-34).
The purpose of His teaching was to instruct the Christian on how to live a life pleasing to God the Father.
The purpose of His death and resurrection was to identify the Christian with Christ in His death and resurrection which gives them the victory over sin and Satan.
The purpose of His resurrection was to give the Christian a resurrection body like Christ’s resurrection body which results in the perfection or completion of the Christian’s salvation, and sanctification.
When the Christian exercises faith in the teaching with regards to each of these things, it will result in them living in a self-controlled manner, righteously and godly.
Simultaneously it will result in the Christian rejecting ungodliness and specifically worldly desires which characterize those under the power of sin and Satan.
Living in a self-controlled manner, righteously and godly are all accomplished by the Christian experiencing fellowship with the Triune God.
This is the direct result of experiencing eternal life which is accomplished by appropriating by faith the Spirit’s teaching in the Word of God that the Christian is crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ.