Sermon: How To Govern The Church (Titus 1:1-5)

How To Govern The Church
Sunday, June 22^nd, 2025
Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Titus 1:1–5

Prayer

Father, we thank you for manifesting your Word through preaching, and as we now hear Your Word proclaimed, we ask that you would subdue us by Your sweet mercy, rule us by your awesome power, and teach us by Your Holy Spirit of Truth, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Introduction

If you have ever tried to plant a garden, you know that it is not enough to just toss some seed in the soil and then come back three months later to a beautiful and abundant harvest. Ever since Adam’s sin in God’s garden, our lot has been that of Genesis 3:17-18 where God says to man, “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you.”

• Because of our sin, fruit no longer comes easily. This is true in the natural world, and it is also true in the supernatural world.
  • In proof of this consider Galatians 5:22-23, where Paul says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
    • Now ask yourself, does that supernatural fruit come easily and without effort? Do you find it easy to be gentle with obstinate and dishonest people? Do you find it easy to be joyful when your car breaks down, or when a steady stream of medical bills continue to arrive in the mail? Do you find it easy to be patient when you have a migraine, and a fussy baby, and you still have to cook dinner for your ungrateful husband?
    • We all know the answer is No, fruit of the spirit does not come easy. And Paul himself acknowledges this by saying in the very next verse (vs. 24), “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
    • That is to say, if you are the hard ground where you want a fruitful garden to grow, you have to constantly tend the soil of your heart by crucifying selfish and sinful desires. You have to pull up bad habits at the root. You have to mow down and burn the thorns and the thistles, and only after that soil has been prepared are you ready in the words of James 1:21 to, “receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”
    • Jesus himself speak of the Word preached as seed that falls into many different kinds of soil. But it is only in the soil that has been made ready and fertile by grace, that any true and lasting fruit comes forth.
• Now this morning we are beginning Paul’s letter to Titus. And the whole purpose of this letter is to instruct the church in how she can become a fruitful and pleasant garden for God.
  • The Apostle Paul had worked hard to plant the church on the Island of Crete, but he did not have time to ordain and test elders, organize the leadership, and give the church the protection and teaching she would need to become a healthy garden for years to come.
  • And therefore, he leaves behind his coworker Titus, “to set in order the things that are wanting (lacking) and ordain elders in every city.”
  • So just as after you prepare the soil and plant the seed, you still need to water and tend, guard and keep your garden from birds and pests, weeds and disease, so also it is in the church. And in God’s Garden elders are His appointed gardeners.
    • Yes, every individual Christian is responsible to tend and keep his own soul, but because we are often irresponsible and inexperienced, God commands that certain qualified men, keep watch, oversee, and protect His garden.
    • And so this letter from Paul to Titus, which is ultimately a letter from Christ to His church, are detailed instructions in how the church is to be governed.
    • And because many people do not like to be governed, Paul has written to Titus in the form of an open letter. So that as Titus is making changes, rebuking heretics, installing qualified pastors, and telling everyone else in the church how they must live in accord with Christ, they all can see and hear that Titus is not just making things up on the fly. Titus is not being legalistic or arbitrary in what he commands, he is simply commanding what God has commanded.
• And so as we study this letter in the months to come, we are all going to receive some very pointed and at times uncomfortably specific instructions. And it will be good for us!
  • This letter to Titus is one of the most practical letters in the New Testament. Luther calls it “an epitome and summary of Paul’s wordier epistles.” And William Tyndale says that “in this letter is contained all that is needful for a Christian to know.”
  • For in it, Paul teaches us both good doctrine, true theology, and how to live a holy life.
  • We might say that a major theme of this book is the marriage of truth with practice, right doctrine with good living.
    • He is going to tell us how pastors must conduct themselves, and then how older men, older women, younger women, and younger men must behave, at the same connecting good behavior with the grace of the gospel.
  • So with that by way of introduction, let us consider these opening verses together.

Outline of the Text

• In verses 1-3 Paul establishes his authority as descending from God through Christ to himself (that is the hierarchy).
• In verses 4-5 Paul communicates that authority to Titus and explains the reason/cause for leaving him in Crete.

Verse 1

¹Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;

• Paul identifies himself first as a servant of God.
  • What is a servant? A servant is someone who lives not for their own sake but for someone else’s sake. A servant does not do his own will and desire, he does the will and desire of his superior.
  • And therefore, a servant of God is a person who lives entirely for God. He has relinquished his will and says with the Lord Jesus, “Not my will, but yours be done (Luke 22:42).” Can you say that?
  • Paul says in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” Can you say that? If not, then you are not yet a servant of God.
  • A good servant from love does the will of his master. And this is who Paul is.
• Next, he identifies himself as “an apostle of Jesus Christ.”
  • What is an apostle? An apostle is the highest human authority in the church,and he is appointed directly and personally by Jesus Christ, and therefore has authority with Christ to lay the foundation of the church.
    • Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
    • So Apostles are founders of the church who preach Christ as the cornerstone. And then on top of that foundation they charge lesser men, like Timothy and Titus, pastors and teachers, to build on that foundation taking heed how they build.
    • How should Titus build?
• Paul models for Titus how to wield divine authority. He says it is, “according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;”
  • That is to say, his ministry is in harmony with and for the sake of teaching and protecting God’s people. Titus must water, weed, and guard the faith of God’s elect.
    • This includes both the act of faith, and the content/articles of faith.
      • The act of faith is simply believing whatever God has spoken and acknowledging it as true. This faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17), and therefore the word of God must be proclaimed.
      • The articles of faith are the guiding first principles which every true Christian holds in his heart (some more explicitly and some more implicitly). This is the contents of our faith, sometimes called “the faith of Jesus Christ,” (Gal. 3:22-25) and Paul’s apostleship and Titus’ ministry in Crete was to be in accord with this faith, keeping in step with the gospel.
  • Moreover, the sign that the true gospel has been preached and believed, is that godliness follows from it. This is what he means by, “the acknowledging of the truth which is after (kata/according to) godliness.”
    • He says essentially the same thing in 1 Timothy 1:5, “Now the end/telos of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.”
    • In other words, pure doctrine should lead to pure living. Your acknowledgment of Christ’s lordship should lead to Christ-like treatment of others, which is charity.
    • And as Jesus says in Matthew 7:20, “by their fruits ye shall know them.”
• This leads us to verse 2 where Paul states the objective/purpose for Christ calling him as an apostle.

Verse 2

²In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

• Paul was given divine authority, not for his own ego or puffing up, but in order to lead the Gentiles from darkness to light.
  • It says in Acts 13:46-48, “Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said [to the envious Jews], “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us [quoting Isaiah 49:6]: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”
• So the fact that Christ ascended and gave to the church a government: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Eph. 4:11), was all in hope of eternal life.
  • Paul says in Romans 8:24, “For we are saved by hope.”
  • And in Romans 5:5, “Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
• And so when the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is proclaimed, we believe in hope that his resurrection is our resurrection. “Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming” (1 Cor. 15:23).
• Further we do hope that our sins which are many shall not be counted against us. But having been justified by faith we have peace with God in this life, and the next. Therefore,we hope for eternal life because God, who cannot lie, promised this before the world began.
• What does this mean?
  • It means that before Genesis 1:1, before God created the heavens and the earth, He had you in mind and He wanted you. The Father set his love upon you in His Son, and the Spirit together with Father and Son chose to write your name in The Book of Life never to be blotted out. And then having predestined you for salvation, the world was spoken into existence.
  • This is how Paul can say in Ephesians 1:4-6, “He hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”
  • What makes you acceptable to God? It is that you are found in His beloved Son. And this brings us to verse 3 which explains how the elect are united to the Son. How does this promise of God in eternity past become known to the saints such that we can believe?

Verse 3

But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;

• This word preached (logos) can refer either to the Divine Word, the person of Christ, the eternal Word made flesh. Or it can refer to the word about Christ Jesus which is the good news of forgiveness in Him.
• Whatever the case, this Word is made known through preaching, and that preaching of the Word was given to Paul by “the commandment of God our Saviour.”
  • Meaning, this religion we call Christianity, is not of human invention. It is the result of the Creator God commanding apostles and preachers to declare forgiveness in Christ with divine authority. Jesus Christ is Lord, and salvation is found by faith in Him.
  • Peter says in Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
  • And as the Philippian Jailer asked in Acts 16:30-31, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? They said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
• This is the preaching of the Word that God commanded. And if God commanded it, no man can stop it.
  • Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:9, that while the world may lockup and chain the him in prison, “the word of God is not bound.”
  • Even the Pharisee Gamaliel knew this was true. For he tells the Jews in Acts 5:38-39, “Refrain from these men [referring to the apostles], and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest ye even be found to fight against God.”
  • Here we are 2,000 years later, and Paul was right, and Gamaliel was right. Many enemies have tried to overthrow Christ, to fight against God, but they have not succeeded. Yes, there have been setbacks, yes, the church stumbles at times and needs to be reformed, but Jesus has promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail against His Church.
    • And so if we are His people, the sheep of his pasture, the garden in which he walks and resides, then we can be assured of His love and protection, His discipline and care. And the way Christ manifests that care is by calling and equipping elders to be his shepherds, his servants, his tenants, his gardeners who carry the water can (or a hose) and a pruning knife.
    • And so we find in verses 4-5 that this job is assigned to Titus. To exercise apostolic authority in finding those men who can do that work faithfully.

Verse 4

⁴To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.

• By this salutation Paul hands to Titus a three-fold shield in the Trinity.
  • Grace, mercy and peace are all effects of the Holy Spirit.
  • God the Father is the author and source of these graces.
  • And of course, the Lord Jesus Christ is the one we call Savior.
• Paul also adds that Titus is his own son after the common faith, because unlike Timothy who was circumcised, he says in Galatians 2:3, “But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.”
  • And so if there was any doubt about the unity of faith between Jews and Gentiles, Paul goes out of his way to emphasize this is a common/catholic faith. There is only “One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. 4:5-6).
• Therefore, the faith that Paul preaches is the same faith Titus preaches, and this is the same faith of all God’s elect.
• Finally in verse 5, he explains the cause for Titus being in Crete.

Verse 5

⁵For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

• Next week we will dedicate a full sermon to this one verse because it describes what we call Presbyterian church government. But for now I want you to observe just one thing, and that is: see how important church government is to Paul, and therefore to Christ.
• According to this verse, a church without a qualified pastor that is answerable to a plurality of fellow pastors, is a church that is wanting/lacking/deficient. And this was such a big deal to Paul, that he left Titus, his own son in the faith, there in Crete until that work was accomplished.
• It was not enough to simply evangelize and start a church. It was essential to ordain qualified elders/presbyters to guard and keep it.
• Because what is the church? It is God’s most precious possession. It is His temple, His sanctuary, His bride, His glory, His new garden of Eden.

Conclusion

God so loves the church, and every member within it, that He has prescribed in His Word how he wants it to be governed and who he wants to govern it. We’ll see in future weeks that he commands a plurality of qualified men, a pastor together with what we call ruling elders, who tend and keep, water and weed God’s garden, so that it will be fruitful.

• Jesus speaks of this government in the parable of tenants where the Jewish elders who kill him, are kicked out and replaced by faithful tenants.
  • Jesus says in Matthew 21:40-41, “When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants [who killed the owner’s son]?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
  • Those new tenants are the apostles and their successors. And as elders and ministers of Christ we want you to be fruitful for your sake and God’s sake. Because the one who owns you, wants that spiritual fruit in every season.
• And so I close with words of the Lord Jesus who tells us you exactly how to become fruitful. He says in John 15:4, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”
• May God grant you to abide by faith in Jesus, with hope for eternal life, and with genuine love for all the saints. IN the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.