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Epistle to Titus (Tit)

The Epistle to Titus is the third of the pastoral epistles, the shortest (3 chapters, 46 verses). Addressed to Titus, a collaborator of Paul left in Crete to organise the nascent Churches, it structures the presbyteral and episcopal ministries (Tit 1:5-9) and formulates a Christian household code (Tit 2:1-10) that orders Christian social life by categories (older men, older women, the young, slaves). It also contains two major confessions of faith (Tit 2:11-14 and 3:4-7) that marked the Christian liturgy.

Overview

Author
"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ" (Tit 1:1). Pauline authenticity strongly disputed as for 1-2 Tim (cf. the detailed notice on 1 Tim). The majority critical position: deutero-Pauline authorship; the conservative position: authenticity.
Date of composition
If authentic: c. AD 63-65, between the two Roman captivities (the hypothesis of a release between 62 and 64 defended by Bruce, Marshall). If deutero-Pauline: c. 90-110.
Addressees
Titus, an uncircumcised Greek collaborator of Paul (Gal 2:1-3), left in Crete to organise the Churches. Titus is mentioned in 2 Cor (a mission of reconciliation), Gal (the presentation at Jerusalem), 2 Tim 4:10 (a sending to Dalmatia). Beyond the individual addressee, the epistle is aimed at the nascent Cretan Churches.
Place of composition
If authentic: Nicopolis (Tit 3:12, a city of Epirus founded by Augustus) or Macedonia. If deutero-Pauline: probably Asia Minor.
Occasion / context
Three objectives: (1) to organise the Cretan Churches (the establishment of presbyters in each town, Tit 1:5); (2) to combat the false teachers "especially of Jewish origin" (1:10); (3) to instruct on Christian life in society (the household code 2:1-10) and civil obedience (3:1-2).
Original language
Koine Greek. Vocabulary and style close to 1-2 Tim (pastoral vocabulary: εὐσέβεια, σωφροσύνη, ὑγιαίνουσα διδασκαλία "sound doctrine"). 35 hapax in 46 verses.
Place in the canon
Received universally from the 2nd century (Polycarp possibly, Irenaeus, the Muratorian Canon, Tertullian). Absent from the canon of Marcion (who rejected the pastorals).

Authenticity and authorship criticism

The authenticity of Titus is part of the global debate on the pastoral epistles (cf. the detailed notice on 1 Tim).

Arguments specific to Titus:

  • (1) Biographical details: Titus left in Crete (1:5), the request to come to Nicopolis for the winter (3:12), the sending of Zenas and Apollos (3:13). These precise elements are arguments for authenticity (difficult to invent in a pseudepigraphy).
  • (2) The mention of Crete: no mention of a Pauline mission in Crete in Acts or the undisputed epistles. This suggests either a release of Paul between the two Roman captivities (with a mission in Crete and other regions), or a pseudepigraphic historical fiction.
  • (3) The famous Cretan citation (Tit 1:12): "One of them, their own prophet, said: Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons" — a citation attributed to Epimenides of Crete (6th c. BC), taken up by Callimachus (Hymn to Zeus). This verse constitutes a classic case of the liar paradox (a Cretan affirms that all Cretans lie).
  • (4) Literary kinship with 1-2 Tim: the three pastorals share a specific vocabulary. A strong argument for their common composition, but an ambiguous one (by a late Paul, by a common secretary, by a disciple).

The dominant critical position: probable deutero-Pauline authorship (like 1-2 Tim). The conservative position: Pauline authenticity. The median position: written within the Pauline circle.

Literary structure

  1. Salutation and mandate (Tit 1:1-4)

    A developed theological salutation: Paul, "a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth, which is according to piety, in the hope of eternal life, promised before eternal times by the God who does not lie" (1:1-2, ἀψευδὴς θεός — the God who does not lie, an implicit contrast with the lying Cretans of 1:12). Address to Titus, "my legitimate child in our common faith" (1:4).

  2. The establishment of presbyters (Tit 1:5-16)

    The mandate: "to establish presbyters (πρεσβυτέρους) in each town" (1:5). Criteria for the presbyter-overseers (1:5-9, parallel to 1 Tim 3:1-7): irreproachable, the husband of one wife, faithful children, not arrogant, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for sordid gain, hospitable, loving the good, wise, just, pious, master of himself. The doctrinal criterion: "holding fast the true word according to the teaching received, so as to be able to exhort by sound doctrine and to refute the contradictors" (1:9). Confrontation with the false teachers: "many insubordinate people, vain talkers and deceivers, especially among the circumcised" (1:10). The citation of Epimenides: "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons" (1:12). "This testimony is true" (1:13). A warning against "Jewish myths" (1:14) and corrupt men (1:15-16).

  3. The Christian household code (Tit 2:1-10)

    Teaching by social categories (a Christian Haustafel): (a) Older men (πρεσβύτας) — sober, dignified, moderate, sound in faith, love, patience (2:2). (b) Older women (πρεσβύτιδας) — reverent in their bearing, not slanderers, not slaves to wine, teaching the good, forming the young women (2:3-4). (c) Young women — loving their husband, their children, wise, chaste, keepers of the home (οἰκουργούς), good, submissive to their husband, "so that the word of God may not be blasphemed" (2:4-5). (d) Young men — moderate (2:6). (e) Titus — a model of good works, sound speech beyond reproach (2:7-8). (f) Slaves (δούλους) — submissive to their masters in everything, not contradicting, not pilfering, showing perfect fidelity, "so as to make the teaching of God our Saviour honoured in everything" (2:9-10).

  4. The first confession of faith (Tit 2:11-14)

    A major declaration: "For the grace of God, a source of salvation for all men, has been manifested (ἐπεφάνη γὰρ ἡ χάρις τοῦ θεοῦ σωτήριος πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις). It teaches us to renounce impiety and worldly desires, and to live in the present age according to wisdom, justice, and piety, awaiting the blessed hope (μακαρίαν ἐλπίδα), and the manifestation of the glory (ἐπιφάνειαν τῆς δόξης) of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, in order to redeem us from all iniquity, and to make for himself a people of his own, purified by him and zealous for good works" (2:11-14). A theological hymn structuring universal grace, present ethics, eschatological hope.

  5. Civil submission and Christian life (Tit 3:1-2)

    An exhortation to civil submission: "Remind the faithful to be submissive to the principalities and the powers (ἀρχαῖς ἐξουσίαις), to render themselves obedient to the authorities, to be ready for every good work, to slander no one, to be peaceable, moderate, showing all gentleness towards everyone" (3:1-2). Parallel to Rom 13:1-7 and 1 Pet 2:13-17.

  6. The second confession of faith (Tit 3:3-8)

    Before: "for we too were formerly foolish, disobedient, led astray, enslaved to every kind of desire and pleasure, living in malice and envy" (3:3). But: "When the kindness of God our Saviour and his love for men (ἡ χρηστότης καὶ ἡ φιλανθρωπία) were manifested, he saved us, not because of the works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the baptism of regeneration (λουτροῦ παλιγγενεσίας) and the renewal (ἀνακαινώσεως) of the Holy Spirit, which he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that, justified by his grace (δικαιωθέντες τῇ ἐκείνου χάριτι), we might become, in hope, heirs of eternal life" (3:4-7). A major verse on justification by grace and the regenerating baptism. A conclusion on good works (3:8).

  7. Warning and conclusion (Tit 3:9-15)

    To avoid "foolish questions, genealogies, disputes, quarrels about the law" (3:9). The discipline of the heretic: "After a first and a second warning, keep away from the one who provokes divisions" (3:10, αἱρετικὸν ἄνθρωπον — one of the rare uses of αἱρετικός in the NT). Personal notes: the sending of Artemas or Tychicus, the request to join Paul at Nicopolis (3:12). Help for Zenas and Apollos (3:13). Greetings and final grace (3:15).

Principal theology

Universal grace (Tit 2:11)

Titus 2:11 contains one of the most universal affirmations of grace in the NT: "For the grace of God, a source of salvation for all men, has been manifested" (ἐπεφάνη γὰρ ἡ χάρις τοῦ θεοῦ σωτήριος πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις).

Exegetical analysis. The verse may be read in two ways:

  • (a) "The grace that is salvific for all men has been manifested" (πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις qualifying σωτήριος) — an affirmation of the universal scope of salvation.
  • (b) "The grace of God has been manifested to all men" (πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις qualifying ἐπεφάνη) — an affirmation of the universal manifestation of the Gospel.

Both readings are grammatically defensible. The majority of critics prefer (a) or a combination of the two: the salvific grace that appeared in Christ is manifested to all and destined for all.

Theological scope. Tit 2:11 nourished the theologies of salvific universalism (in the broad sense: God wills to save all men, without saying that all will effectively be saved), often in connection with 1 Tim 2:4 ("God our Saviour wills that all men be saved") and 2 Pet 3:9 ("he wills that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance").

Confessional debates.

  • Strict universalism (the apokatastasis of Origen, Gregory of Nyssa in part, certain modern thinkers such as Karl Barth potentially, Karl Rahner on the "anonymous Christians"): all will effectively be saved at the end of history. A minority position in historical Christianity, condemned as such by the Second Council of Constantinople (553, the condemnation of Origen).
  • Universalism of the scope of salvation (classical Catholicism, Arminianism, Wesleyan Methodism, Lutheranism): God wills to save all, salvation is offered to all, but free acceptance is required (and some may refuse).
  • Particular election (strict Augustinianism, classical Calvinism): the salvific grace is offered universally in its external extension (preaching) but it is efficacious only for the elect, freely chosen by God (electio). The Synod of Dordrecht (1618-1619, against Arminianism) systematises the five points of TULIP. Tit 2:11 is interpreted: "all men" = "all categories of men" (Jews, Greeks, slaves, free, men, women — as enumerated in the household code 2:1-10), not "each man individually."

Contemporary confessional reception.

  • Catholicism: Lumen Gentium 16 and Gaudium et Spes 22 (Vatican II) affirm the possibility of salvation for non-Christians of good will. Karl Rahner develops the theology of the "anonymous Christians." Dominus Iesus (CDF, 2000) specifies: Christ is the sole Saviour, but his grace can reach non-Christians by ways that God knows.
  • Orthodoxy: the tradition of the love of God for men (φιλανθρωπία, a term taken up in Tit 3:4) that structures Orthodox soteriology. A prudent position on strict universalism (the official rejection of Origen), but the maintenance of a broad hope.
  • Protestantism: a divided tradition. Confessional Calvinist Reformed (TULIP) maintain particular election. Contemporary evangelical Reformed (J. I. Packer, Tim Keller) modulate. Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, Baptists (generally) affirm the universality of the scope of salvation without strict universalism. Karl Barth (KD II/2) proposes an original doctrine of election: Jesus Christ is at once the elect (the Elect of God as Man) and the reprobate (assuming the reprobation for all), which theoretically opens onto universalism without affirming it dogmatically.

The baptism of regeneration (Tit 3:5)

Titus 3:5 is one of the most important verses of the NT on baptism: "He saved us [...] through the baptism of regeneration (διὰ λουτροῦ παλιγγενεσίας) and the renewal of the Holy Spirit (ἀνακαινώσεως πνεύματος ἁγίου)."

Vocabulary.

  • λουτρόν (loutron, "bath," "ablution") designates here Christian baptism. The same term is used in Eph 5:26 ("having purified her by the bath of water accompanied by the Word").
  • παλιγγενεσία (palingenesia, "regeneration," literally "new birth") is a New Testament hapax associated with baptism — a term taken up for the eschatological regeneration in Mt 19:28. It evokes the new birth (Jn 3:3-7; 1 Pet 1:3,23) and the new creation (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15).
  • ἀνακαίνωσις (anakainōsis, "renewal") designates the progressive action of the Holy Spirit in sanctification (Rom 12:2; Col 3:10).

Baptismal theology. The verse closely associates water baptism and the renewal of the Spirit. It structured the doctrine of baptismal regeneration in the Christian tradition.

Confessional readings.

  • Catholicism: baptism operates the regeneratio (regeneration) ex opere operato (by the force of the rite accomplished) — sanctifying grace is conferred by the sacrament (CCC 1262-1284; Trent sess. V and VII). Baptism effaces original sin and all actual sins, confers divine adoption, incorporates into Christ and the Church, imprints an indelible character. The practice of infant baptism is traditionally justified by 1 Cor 7:14 (the children of believers are holy), by the "households" baptised in Acts (Lydia, the Philippian jailer, Crispus, Stephanas), and by the necessity of baptismal grace for salvation.
  • Orthodoxy: a position similar to Catholicism on baptismal regeneratio, but with an accent on illumination (φωτισμός — a patristic term for baptism) and deification (θέωσις) which begins with baptism. A trinity of initiation: baptism + chrismation + first communion, celebrated together for infants.
  • Anglicanism: 39 Articles art. XXVII: "Baptism is not only a sign of profession [...] but it is also a sign of Regeneration or new birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive baptism rightly are grafted into the Church." Baptismal regeneration is affirmed but with nuance (the 19th-century Tractarians would harden it; the Anglican evangelicals would modulate it).
  • Lutheranism: Luther (Small Catechism, 1529, part IV): "Baptism works the forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal beatitude to all who believe what the words and promises of God declare." The maintenance of baptismal regeneratio. Infant baptism strongly defended.
  • Reformed: Calvin (Inst. IV, 15) defends baptism as a sign and seal of the covenant, but nuances the regeneration ex opere operato. Baptism does not operate mechanically, but signifies and seals what God does. The practice of infant baptism in coherence with the covenant (the children of believers are included in the covenant as the Jewish children were circumcised). The position of the Second Helvetic Confession (1566, ch. XX) and of Westminster (1647, ch. XXVIII).
  • Anabaptists: the rejection of infant baptism. The Schleitheim Confession (1527, art. I): "Baptism shall be given to all those who have learned repentance and amendment of life, and who truly believe that their sins are taken away by Christ." Baptism requires a conscious and personal faith. Regeneration precedes baptism and is not operated by it (baptism signifies the regeneration already come about). This position is the origin of the name "Anabaptist" (re-baptisers): they re-baptised the adults who had received an infant baptism invalid in their eyes. Contemporary position maintained: Mennonites, Baptists, Brethren, Pentecostals practise believer's baptism.

The Christian household code (Tit 2:1-10)

Titus 2:1-10 is one of the principal examples of the Christian household code (Haustafel, "table of the house") of the NT — a Greco-Roman literary genre taken up and Christianised. The household codes articulate family and social life by categories: husbands/wives, parents/children, masters/slaves.

The household codes of the NT.

  • Col 3:18-4:1 (wives/husbands, children/parents, slaves/masters).
  • Eph 5:21-6:9 (an enlarged version with Christ-Church as the model of the couple).
  • 1 Pet 2:18-3:7 (slaves, wives, husbands).
  • Tit 2:1-10 (by categories of age and status: older men, older women, young women, young men, slaves).
  • 1 Tim 2:8-3:13; 5:1-6:2 (men, women, ministers, widows, slaves).

Origin and adaptation. The household codes borrow their form from popular Stoic and Peripatetic philosophy (cf. Aristotle Politics I,12-13 on oikonomia). But the NT transforms them by:

  • (a) The christological anchoring: the Christ-Church relation is the model of the couple (Eph 5:21-33).
  • (b) The new reciprocity: husbands must love as Christ loved the Church (sacrificially), masters must treat slaves justly (Col 4:1; Eph 6:9), recognising that they too have a Master in heaven.
  • (c) The missionary finality: Tit 2:5,8,10 repeats "so that the word of God may not be blasphemed," "so that the adversary may be put to shame," "so as to make the teaching of God our Saviour honoured in everything." The respectable Christian life is apologetic.

Contemporary readings. The household codes are among the most discussed texts of the contemporary NT:

  • The complementarian reading: the household codes ground a universal and normative divine family order (the authority of the husband, the submission of the wife, the obedience of the children). A position defended by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (1987), the Danvers Statement.
  • The egalitarian reading: the household codes are a historico-cultural adaptation to Greco-Roman society, to be read in the light of the baptismal equality of Gal 3:28. The missionary objective ("so that the word may not be blasphemed") suggests that these codes were strategic for the mission, not normative in themselves. The position of Christians for Biblical Equality (1987), of feminist exegesis (Schüssler Fiorenza, Osiek).
  • The critical reading (Schüssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her, 1983): the household codes mark a patriarchal regression in relation to the Jesus movement and the more open authentic Paul. Titus and the pastorals reflect the "routinisation" and conformity to the Greco-Roman patriarchal norms in the second Christian generation.

The question of slavery. Tit 2:9-10 ("Let slaves be submissive to their masters in everything, let them be pleasing to them, let them not contradict them") is one of the texts of the NT that were long used to legitimise Christian slavery. The Anglo-Saxon abolitionist controversy of the 19th century opposed: (a) the defenders of slavery who cited these texts; (b) the abolitionists (Wilberforce, Wesley, Lincoln) who invoked Gal 3:28 and baptismal dignity as an overarching hermeneutical principle. The contemporary Christian conscience unanimously recognises the absolute dignity of every human being and the condemnation of slavery as an institution. This poses the hermeneutical question: if Tit 2:9-10 has been surpassed on slavery, can one apply the same hermeneutical principle to 1 Tim 2:11-15 or Tit 2:5 on gender roles?

Major theological disputes

The following disputes draw on the six great confessional voices (Catholic, Orthodox, Reformed, Lutheran, Anglican, Anabaptist), with interjections from Professor Tryphon Goldberg, the site's Jewish pedagogical persona.

Baptismal regeneration and infant baptism

Tit 3:5 ("the baptism of regeneration") is one of the pillars of the doctrine of baptismal regeneration. But what precisely does it mean that baptism regenerates? And should infants be baptised, or only conscious believers?

Catholic

Baptism operates the regeneration (regeneratio) ex opere operato. CCC 1262-1284: "By baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as all the punishments of sin. Indeed, in those who have been regenerated, nothing remains that would prevent them from entering the Kingdom of God" (CCC 1263). Three effects: (1) the purification of sins; (2) new birth in the Holy Spirit; (3) incorporation into the Church. Baptism imprints an indelible character (CCC 1272). A position strongly defended against the Anabaptists in the 16th century (Trent sess. VII, can. 13). Infant baptism is obligatory in the Catholic Church (Code of Canon Law can. 867: parents must procure baptism for their children in the first weeks). Founded on: the necessity of baptismal grace for salvation, the "households" baptised in Acts, the apostolic tradition attested from the 2nd century (Tertullian De baptismo, Origen Comm. Rom. V,9, who speaks of a tradition "received from the apostles"). The question of children who die without baptism: the traditional doctrine of limbo (a state of natural happiness but without the beatific vision) was called into question by the International Theological Commission in 2007 (The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptised).

Orthodox

Orthodox position: baptismal regeneration strongly affirmed, in connection with deification (θέωσις). Baptism is "illumination" (φωτισμός) and "new birth." Triple immersion (in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit). A trinity of initiation: baptism + chrismation + eucharistic communion, celebrated together for infants and all new adult converts. The baptised and chrismated child receives communion immediately. A unique practical position: the Orthodox Christian infant communes from baptism. Infant baptism is obligatory in Orthodoxy. Theological justification: original sin (understood in Orthodoxy as "mortality" and "propensity to sin" rather than as inherited guilt in the Augustinian manner) requires the ontological healing of baptism. Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev: "Baptism is our personal Passover, our passage from death to life." Contemporary position maintained.

Reformed

Reformed position: baptism as sign and seal of the covenant, not as an efficient cause ex opere operato of regeneration. Calvin (Inst. IV, 15): baptism "does not make us children of God, but testifies and seals that we are so." The Calvinian distinction: regeneration is the work of the Holy Spirit independently of the rite, baptism is its visible sign and its sacramental seal. For the elect, baptism and regeneration effectively coincide; for the non-elect, baptism remains an external sign without interior efficacy. Infant baptism defended in coherence with the theology of the covenant (Abraham, Gen 17: the covenant with Abraham and his descendants; the children of believers are included in the covenant as the Jewish children were circumcised). The position of the Second Helvetic Confession (1566, ch. XX) and of Westminster (1647, ch. XXVIII art. 4: "Not only those that do actually profess faith in and obedience unto Christ, but also the infants of one, or both, believing parents, are to be baptized"). Contemporary position maintained in the Reformed Churches, but with a more contemporary attention to the place of the profession of faith (catechism, confirmation) as an act of personal reception.

Lutheran

Lutheran position: baptismal regeneration strongly affirmed. Luther (Small Catechism, 1529, part IV): "Baptism works the forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal beatitude to all who believe what the words and promises of God declare." Faith receives the divine promise attached to the sacramental sign. A position close to Catholicism on the efficacy of baptism, but corrected by: (a) baptism operates by the Word of God attached to the water (Small Catechism: "It is the water thus comprehended in God's commandment and bound to God's word"), not by the rite alone; (b) faith is required to receive the benefit ("fides accipit") — grace is offered universally by the sacrament, but it profits only the one who believes. Infant baptism defended: children have faith received by the gift of the Spirit (the fides infusa of the scholastics, taken up by the Lutherans). The pedobaptist practice is maintained in all the traditional Lutheran Churches.

Anglican

Anglican position: baptismal regeneration affirmed in the 39 Articles art. XXVII ("Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian men are discerned from others that be not christened, but it is also a sign of Regeneration or new birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive baptism rightly are grafted into the Church"). The Book of Common Prayer 1662 (the rite of baptism) includes the formula: "Seeing now, dearly beloved brethren, that this Child is regenerate, and grafted into the body of Christ's Church..." — an affirmation of baptismal regeneration. Infant baptism universally practised in the Anglican Communion. Internal tensions in the 19th century: the Gorham controversy (1849-1850, an English jurist maintaining that baptismal regeneration is not automatic but conditional on divine election) divided the Church of England. Anglo-Catholics (Pusey, Newman) defended a strong baptismal regeneration; Anglican evangelicals (Simeon, Ryle) modulated it in the Calvinian manner. A balanced contemporary position: baptismal regeneration affirmed liturgically, but with diverse theological interpretations.

Anabaptist

Anabaptist position: the rejection of infant baptism, the practice of believer's baptism. The Schleitheim Confession (1527, art. I): "Baptism shall be given to all those who have learned repentance and amendment of life, and who truly believe that their sins are taken away by Christ, and to all those who wish to walk in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and to be buried with him in death, so as to be able to rise with him." Three criteria: (1) personal repentance; (2) conscious faith; (3) the will to follow Christ. Baptism signifies the regeneration already come about, it does not cause it. Historical consequences: the re-baptism of adults who had received infant baptism (whence the name "Anabaptist" = re-baptiser) became an act of civil disobedience in the 16th century, punished by death under imperial law (the Edict of Speyer 1529). Felix Manz, the first Anabaptist martyr, drowned at Zurich in 1527 by decision of Zwingli ("whoever re-baptises, let him be drowned" — an ironic application of baptism as execution). Contemporary position: Mennonites, Baptists (issuing indirectly from Anabaptism via the English Baptists of the 17th c.), Brethren, Pentecostals practise believer's baptism. Mode: generally by total immersion, signifying death and resurrection with Christ (Rom 6).

Synthesis

Baptism is one of the most disputed sacraments/ordinances among the Christian confessions. Three axes: (a) efficacy (regeneration ex opere operato Catholic-Orthodox vs regeneration by faith Lutheran vs sign and seal Reformed vs profession of faith Anabaptist); (b) subject (pedobaptism Catholic-Orthodox-Lutheran-Reformed-Anglican vs believer's baptism Anabaptist); (c) mode (immersion, aspersion, infusion). Tit 3:5 ("baptism of regeneration") is read differently according to the traditions: a real sacramental effect (Cath, Orth, Luth, Angl), a sign and seal of the covenant (Ref), a sign of the regeneration already come about by faith (Anab). The modern ecumenical dialogues (BEM 1982, Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry) obtained a remarkable convergence: a common recognition of baptism as "participation in the death and resurrection of Christ," but without resolving the disagreement on pedobaptism. The mutual recognition of baptism among most of the Christian Churches (except certain strict Baptist and Anabaptist Churches) constitutes a major ecumenical advance.

Universal grace and predestination

Tit 2:11 ("the grace of God, a source of salvation for all men") is read differently according to the traditions: universalism of scope (Catholic, Arminian, classical Lutheran) vs particular election (strict Reformed Calvinism). This dispute has structured Christian soteriology since the 5th century (Augustine vs Pelagius).

Catholic

Catholic position: God wills to save all men (1 Tim 2:4; Tit 2:11). The salvific grace is offered universally. Christ died for all (the universality of the redemption). However, the free cooperation of man (by prevenient grace) is required for effective salvation. A position synthesised at the Council of Trent (sess. VI, 1547, Decretum de iustificatione): (a) original sin wounded but did not destroy human freedom; (b) prevenient grace precedes every human disposition to the good; (c) man cooperates freely (without strictly meriting) in his justification; (d) perseverance to the end is necessary and requires grace. A position against Luther (De servo arbitrio, 1525) who affirmed the bondage of the will; and against Pelagius (condemned at Carthage 411-418 and Ephesus 431). A position against Jansenism (Jansenius, Augustinus, 1640, condemned by Innocent X in Cum occasione 1653) which hardened Augustinianism in the direction of an irresistible grace for the elect. Vatican II Lumen Gentium 16 and Gaudium et Spes 22 reaffirm the universality of the offer of salvation, extended to non-Christians of good will.

Orthodox

Orthodox position: synergy (συνέργεια) between divine grace and human freedom. No absolute predestination in the Augustinian manner. Maximus the Confessor (7th c.), John of Damascus (8th c.) systematise it: God offers salvation universally (divine φιλανθρωπία, Tit 3:4), man cooperates freely through the works of virtue and the sacraments. Deification (θέωσις) is a synergistic process. Divine foreknowledge recognised (God knows free choices in advance), but not causal predestination (God does not determine the choices). A categorical refusal of Calvinist predestination. A refusal also of strict Pelagianism (grace is necessary but does not suppress freedom). Contemporary position maintained. Vladimir Lossky (The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, 1944): "The East and the Western West meet in the doctrine of the necessity of grace, but diverge profoundly on its nature." The East preserves human freedom as an indelible image of God.

Reformed

Classical Reformed position: unconditional election and double predestination. Calvin (Inst. III, 21-24): God, in his eternal decree, has elected some to salvation and reprobated the others. Election is unconditional (not founded on the foreknowledge of works or of faith), sovereign, particular. The Synod of Dordrecht (1618-1619), responding to Arminianism, formalises the five points of TULIP: Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement (redemption limited to the elect), Irresistible grace, Perseverance of the saints. Westminster (1647, ch. III) takes up the doctrine. Interpretation of Tit 2:11: "all men" = "all categories of men" (Jews, Greeks, slaves, free, men, women — as enumerated in the household code 2:1-10), not "each man individually." Likewise 1 Tim 2:4 ("God wills that all men be saved") is read as "all categories." A position strongly contested by the Dutch Arminians (Remonstrants, 1610) and by the Wesleyan Methodists. Contemporary position maintained in confessional Calvinism (PCA, OPC, URCNA, Free Church of Scotland); modulated in contemporary Calvinism (J. I. Packer, Tim Keller, John Piper); abandoned in liberal Calvinism.

Lutheran

Lutheran position: tension preserved between the universality of the offer of salvation and the particularity of election. Luther (De servo arbitrio, 1525) strongly affirmed the bondage of the will and sovereign election, against Erasmus. But the Formula of Concord (1577, art. XI) tempers this: (a) predestination to life is affirmed, but without a symmetrical decretum reprobationis (the rejection of positive reprobation in the Calvinist manner); (b) grace is universally offered through the means of grace (the Word and the sacraments); (c) those who are saved are so by sovereign grace; those who are lost are so by their own fault (resistance to grace). This position is sometimes called asymmetrical or monergist on salvation, libertarian on loss. Contemporary position maintained: the Lutheran Church of Germany (EKD), Sweden, Norway, Finland, the ELCA, the Missouri Synod. The classical tension: how to articulate sovereign grace and human responsibility? The Formula of Concord refers to a mystery that reason cannot resolve.

Anglican

Anglican position: a via media between Calvinism and Arminianism. 39 Articles art. XVII (1571) is drafted deliberately ambiguous on predestination: "Predestination to Life is the everlasting purpose of God [...] whereby (before the foundations of the world were laid) he hath constantly decreed by his counsel secret to us, to deliver from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in Christ out of mankind." The article affirms predestination to life without defining double predestination. Anglican history: (a) the Elizabethan period mostly Calvinist (Whitgift, the Lambeth Articles 1595); (b) the Caroline divines (Andrewes, Laud, Cosin) more Arminian and sacramental; (c) Wesleyan Methodism (which left the Church of England in the 18th c.): strict evangelical Arminianism (John Wesley, Predestination Calmly Considered, 1752, against the Calvinist Whitefield). An extremely diverse contemporary position: moderately Calvinist Anglican evangelicals, Arminian-sacramental Anglo-Catholics, universalist liberals. The Anglican Communion has not decided dogmatically.

Anabaptist

Anabaptist position: the refusal of Calvinist predestination, the affirmation of human freedom and personal responsibility. The Schleitheim Confession (1527) does not explicitly address predestination, but Anabaptist practice supposes: (a) free and conscious repentance and conversion; (b) believer's baptism as an act of will; (c) a discipleship ethic requiring personal commitment. The Dordrecht Confession (1632) art. III: God wills that all men be saved, the Gospel is offered universally, reception requires free faith. A position close to classical Arminianism, which it historically prefigures (Jacob Arminius 1560-1609 was influenced by Anabaptist thought). Contemporary position: Mennonites, Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals mostly affirm the universality of grace and human freedom. A Reformed Baptist fringe (Reformed Baptists, Charles Spurgeon historically) maintains a Calvinist theology with believer's baptism. This "5-point Calvinist Baptist" position is a minority one but visible.

Synthesis

The doctrine of grace and predestination profoundly structures the confessional soteriologies. Three structural positions: (a) grace-freedom synergy (Catholic, Orthodox, Arminian-Methodist, majority Anabaptist-Baptist); (b) unconditional election with double predestination (strict confessional Calvinism, Reformed Baptists); (c) asymmetrical election or accepted tension (Lutheranism, via media Anglicanism). Tit 2:11 ("grace for all men") is drawn upon by all but interpreted differently according to the theological framework. The modern ecumenical dialogues (notably the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification 1999 Catholic-Lutheran, extended to the Methodists in 2006 and to the Reformed in 2017) have brought the positions on sola gratia closer, but without resolving the divergences on predestination. The Joint Declaration on Justification represents the major ecumenical advance: the recognition that Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, and Reformed agree on the fact that justification is by grace alone received through faith, even if the modalities of articulation differ.

Household codes and Christian equality

Tit 2:1-10 is one of the principal household codes of the NT. It articulates Christian life by categories (older men, older women, the young, slaves) with an assumed social hierarchy. How is one to read this text in a modern society that has abolished slavery and that profoundly questions gender roles?

Catholic

Catholic position: the recognition of the complementarity of men and women in family life, but an important evolution on slavery (condemned since Leo XIII In Plurimis 1888; definitively by Vatican II and John Paul II Veritatis Splendor 1993). Familiaris Consortio (John Paul II, 1981) and Mulieris Dignitatem (1988) develop a theology of complementarity: men and women are equal in ontological and baptismal dignity (Gal 3:28), but different in their proper roles (fatherhood-motherhood, proper ministries). The "household code" of Tit 2 and Eph 5 is read within the theology of the body (John Paul II, the Wednesday catecheses 1979-1984): the submission of the wife to the husband is mutual (Eph 5:21: "be submissive to one another") and christological (Christ-Church). Contemporary Catholic position: the refusal both of traditional patriarchy (a strict hierarchical marriage) and of undifferentiated egalitarianism (the negation of the sexual specificities). A distinction maintained between sacramental vocations (the priesthood reserved for men, motherhood reserved for women) and fundamental equality. A recent document: Spiritus Domini (Francis, 2021) opens the lectorate and acolytate to women.

Orthodox

Orthodox position: the Christ-Adam/Church-Eve typology that structures liturgical anthropology. A distinction of roles maintained, grounded on the creational order and on the sacramental typology. The household code of Tit 2 and Eph 5 read as the expression of a permanent theological order, not as a surpassed cultural adaptation. Slavery: long tolerated by the Orthodox Churches (the Byzantine Empire, then the Russian Empire), abolished progressively (Russia 1861 by Alexander II). Contemporary position: the moral condemnation of slavery, but without a systematic theological revision of the NT texts that suppose it. Gender roles: the maintenance of the traditional distinctions in the liturgy (women veiled, the separation of men and women in certain parishes, limited access to the sanctuary). The Orthodox theologian Elisabeth Behr-Sigel (1907-2005) questioned these practices from within, but her positions on the ordination of women remain a minority. A fundamentally conservative contemporary position but with a growing internal dialogue.

Reformed

Historical Reformed position: the Christian household code received as a divine order for the family and society. Calvin (Commentary on Titus): the distinctions between husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and slaves are willed by God for the civil and ecclesial order. A position shared by almost the whole of Protestantism until the 20th century. Protestant abolitionism in the 19th century (Wilberforce, Quakers, Wesleyans, Methodists, certain Presbyterians): baptismal dignity (Gal 3:28) overarches the apparently slavery-supporting texts. A long and difficult struggle against the American Southern Churches that defended slavery theologically. Evolution on gender roles: the Reformed Churches massively adopted egalitarianism in the 20th-21st centuries (the ordination of women, egalitarian marriage). Contemporary position: (a) complementarian evangelical Reformed (PCA, OPC) maintain the traditional reading of the household codes; (b) mainline Reformed (PCUSA, EELRS, EPUdF, RCA) have adopted a historico-cultural reading that relativises the household codes.

Lutheran

Lutheran position: the doctrine of the two kingdoms (Zwei Reiche) structures the reading of the household code. Luther (Von weltlicher Obrigkeit, 1523): God governs the world through two kingdoms — spiritual (the Gospel, the Church) and temporal (the Law, the State, the family). The household code belongs to the temporal kingdom, ordained by creation and divine providence. This allows the Lutherans to maintain the traditional family and social order without making it a religious dogma. Slavery: morally condemned since the 19th century, without a systematic dogmatic revision. Gender roles: a remarkable evolution. German, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian Lutheranism has ordained women to the pastorate (since 1958-1968 depending on the Land) and to the episcopate (Antje Jackelén Archbishop of Uppsala 2014-2022). The majority contemporary LWF position: the integration of the equality of men and women in all the ministries, a historico-cultural reading of the household codes. A conservative minority position: the Missouri Synod (LCMS), the Wisconsin Synod (WELS) maintain the traditional readings.

Anglican

Anglican position: a long evolution from the Elizabethan Homilies (which defended the patriarchal order) to the ordination of women (Florence Li Tim-Oi 1944, presbyteral 1976-1994 depending on the provinces, episcopal 1989 with Barbara Harris in Massachusetts) and the female archbishopric of Canterbury (Sarah Mullally, enthroned 25 March 2026 — the first woman at this primatial see). Historical Anglicanism on slavery: ambiguous (the Anglican Churches of the Caribbean and the Southern United States long tolerated slavery), then a major abolitionist force (Wilberforce, the Church Missionary Society). Gender roles: a profound transformation in the 20th-21st centuries. Contemporary position: (a) the Northern provinces (the Church of England, the Episcopal Church USA, the Anglican Church of Canada, the Anglican Church of Australia) ordain women to all the ministries, celebrate same-sex marriages (with variations); (b) the Southern provinces (GAFCON, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya) maintain the traditional positions. Major internal tensions (the consecration of Gene Robinson 2003, the partial schism of the ACNA 2009, continuous restructuring). Reading of the household codes: mostly historico-cultural in the Northern provinces; traditional in the Global South.

Anabaptist

Anabaptist position: radical baptismal equality in principle (priesthood of all believers), historical tensions on its implementation. Anneken Jans, an Anabaptist martyr of 1539, shows that the Anabaptist women of the 16th century were theologically active. Sara Davidsdotter, a 16th-c. Swedish Anabaptist preacher. But Anabaptist practice often conformed to the European patriarchal norms. Modern evolution: (a) mainline Mennonites (MC USA, MC Canada, European MWC Mennonites) have ordained women to the pastorate since the 1980s; (b) the Amish, Old Order Mennonites retain the traditional orders (men as pastors and bishops, women as mothers and wives, distinctive clothing); (c) Baptists divided (the American SBC hardened in 2000 against female ordination; European and progressive Baptists open). Slavery: the historical Anabaptists (North America, the Netherlands) were among the first abolitionists (Quakers, Brethren, Mennonites). Quakers (Society of Friends): since Margaret Fell (Women's Speaking Justified, 1666) and George Fox, the recognition of female preaching. The Quakers are one of the most precociously egalitarian Christian traditions.

Synthesis

The household codes (Tit 2:1-10; Col 3:18-4:1; Eph 5:21-6:9; 1 Pet 2:18-3:7) are among the most questioned texts of the contemporary NT. Three axes structure the positions: (a) slavery — a universal contemporary consensus of condemnation, despite the NT texts that suppose it; this unanimity shows that a historical-cultural hermeneutic is possible and necessary; (b) gender roles — persistent divisions between complementarianism (CBMW, Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Old Order Mennonites, the SBC, certain Southern Anglican provinces) and egalitarianism (CBE, mainline Anglicanism, LWF Lutheranism, mainline Mennonites, Quakers, mainline Reformed); (c) hierarchical family authority — modulated everywhere, abandoned in certain traditions, maintained with nuances in others. The hermeneutical question is central: how is one to read an ancient text in its context of origin and in its contemporary normative authority? The trajectory of Gal 3:28 ("there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female") as a critical principle overarching the household codes is widely received in the mainline traditions. Sarah Mullally at Canterbury in 2026 symbolises the completion of a trajectory that will have taken 19 centuries.

Historical reception

Patristic reception (2nd-5th c.)

Polycarp (Phil. possibly) cites Titus. Irenaeus (Adv. Haer. I,16,3; III,3,3) cites Tit 3:10-11. Tertullian (De praescriptione 6) cites Tit 3:10 on the heretic. John Chrysostom (Homilies on Titus) produces the major patristic commentary, foundational for the Eastern reading. Jerome and Augustine (Commentary) develop the Western reading. Tit 3:5 (baptismal regeneration) is cited by Cyprian (Ep. 73,5), Augustine (De baptismo) in the Donatist controversy, and structured into the doctrine of baptismal regeneration from the 5th century.

Medieval reception

The Glossa Ordinaria comments on Titus. Thomas Aquinas (Lectura super Epistolas Pauli) reads Titus within a sacramental theology of baptism and the ordained ministry. Bonaventure and Peter Lombard (Sent. IV) systematise it. The Cathar controversy in the 12th-13th century relies on Tit 3:10 ("keep away from the heretical man") to ground ecclesial and inquisitorial discipline.

Reformation reception

Luther and Calvin comment on Titus. Calvin (Commentary on Titus, 1549) makes it a central reading for pastoral and sacramental theology. Tit 2:11 (universal grace) and Tit 3:5 (baptism of regeneration) are cited in the confessions of faith. The Council of Trent (sess. VII, 1547) systematises baptismal regeneration ex opere operato, with reference to Tit 3:5. The Anabaptists (Schleitheim 1527) defend believer's baptism against the magisterial reformers. The Synod of Dordrecht (1618-1619) systematises TULIP with a Calvinist interpretation of Tit 2:11.

Modern reception (19th-21st c.)

The criticism of Pauline authenticity (Schleiermacher 1807, Holtzmann 1880) extends to Titus along with the other pastorals. The abolitionist movement in the 19th century (Wilberforce, Wesley, Lincoln) revisits Tit 2:9-10 (submissive slaves) in the light of Gal 3:28. Feminist criticism (Schüssler Fiorenza 1983, Osiek, Tamez, Schottroff) reads the household codes of Tit 2:1-10 as a patriarchal regression. Vatican II Lumen Gentium 16 and Gaudium et Spes 22 develop the universal grace of Tit 2:11. The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999) brings Catholics and Lutherans closer on sola gratia. The ordination of women in most of the Protestant and Anglican Churches, culminating with Sarah Mullally at Canterbury in March 2026. Contemporary readings of the household codes are massively historico-cultural in the mainline traditions, complementarian in the conservative evangelicals.

Selected bibliography

References selected according to the conventions of the SBL Handbook of Style (2nd ed., 2014).

  • Marshall, I. Howard. The Pastoral Epistles. ICC. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1999.
  • Mounce, William D. Pastoral Epistles. WBC 46. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000.
  • Knight, George W., III. The Pastoral Epistles. NIGTC. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992.
  • Quinn, Jerome D. The Letter to Titus. AB 35. New York: Doubleday, 1990.
  • Johnson, Luke Timothy. Letters to Paul's Delegates: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus. NTC. Valley Forge: Trinity Press, 1996.
  • Redalié, Yann. Paul après Paul : le temps, le salut, la morale selon les épîtres à Timothée et à Tite. Le Monde de la Bible 31. Geneva: Labor et Fides, 1994.
  • Towner, Philip H. The Letters to Timothy and Titus. NICNT. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006.
  • Dibelius, Martin, and Hans Conzelmann. Die Pastoralbriefe. HNT. 4th ed. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1966.
  • Oberlinner, Lorenz. Titusbrief. HThKNT XI/2,3. Freiburg: Herder, 1996.
  • Aletti, Jean-Noël. Saint Paul, Deuxième épître à Timothée, épître à Tite. Études bibliques NS. Paris: Gabalda, 2010.
  • Bird, Michael F., and Robert Shillaker. The Pastoral Epistles. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2024.
  • Balch, David L. Let Wives Be Submissive: The Domestic Code in 1 Peter. SBLMS 26. Chico: Scholars Press, 1981.
  • Osiek, Carolyn, and David L. Balch. Families in the New Testament World: Households and House Churches. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1997.
  • Schüssler Fiorenza, Elisabeth. In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins. New York: Crossroad, 1983.
  • Tamez, Elsa. Struggles for Power in Early Christianity: A Study of the First Letter to Timothy. Maryknoll: Orbis, 2007.
  • Schreiner, Thomas R., and Shawn D. Wright, eds. Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ. NACSBT 2. Nashville: B&H, 2006.
  • Marcel, Pierre. The Biblical Doctrine of Infant Baptism. London: J. Clarke, 1953.
  • Jeremias, Joachim. Infant Baptism in the First Four Centuries. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960.
  • Aland, Kurt. Did the Early Church Baptize Infants? Philadelphia: Westminster, 1963.
  • Wright, David F. What Has Infant Baptism Done to Baptism? An Enquiry at the End of Christendom. Carlisle: Paternoster, 2005.
  • Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification: Lutheran World Federation and Roman Catholic Church. Augsburg: 31 October 1999.

See also