Living in Grace and Looking for Glory!

In Titus 2:1-10, Paul described the imperativeness of adorning the gospel with our personal character and public conduct so that we would be advancing the gospel to the ends of the earth. His approach was different in his letter to Titus than in most of his other letters. In almost all the others he started with doctrine and then went to duty, with belief and then to behavior. But in chapter 2:1-10, he started with the duty of the believer and then moved to the doctrine that served as the basis or the empowerment and motivator for being and doing the Christian life.

Why? Because having exposed the false teachers and their hypocritical lifestyles in chapter 1:10-16, Paul follows up with what the gospel, lived out, should look like in older men, older women, young women, young men, in Titus, and in slaves (Titus 2:1-10).

However, if all we ever do is to describe what the gospel-based life should look like and repeat those commands to ourselves and others, regularly, it will lead to spiritual desperation, frustration and depression. Be self-controlled. I can’t. Well, try harder. I have.  

This is not good, transformative, and joy-filled news. It leads to joyless legalism and condemnation, and there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). The soul and the strength of our being disciples of Christ and making disciples, is the grace of God, active and all sufficient, and the glory of God, lived for and anticipated at the final coming of King Jesus.

Paul is telling Titus and us “the things [we] should teach” (2:15). These verses will give us what we need to disciple each other. We are to call each other to the self-control and submission of verses 1-10. But supremely we are to teach each other to love, long, and live in the availableness of grace and in the anticipation of the glory of God in the final coming of Christ (2:11-14).

The doctrine in Titus 2, on which Paul grounds his ethical appeal, is that of the two comings of Christ, which he here calls his two “epiphanies” or “appearings.” The word translated “appearings” is the Greek word “epephanē”, from which we get our word “epiphany”. The noun “epiphaneia” means the visible appearance of something or someone hitherto invisible, a coming into view of what has been previously concealed. The more liturgical churches observe a festival on January 6^th that is a commemoration of the first manifestation Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (Matthew 2:1–12).

Verse 11 says that the grace of God “... has appeared”, and verse 13 says that we wait for “the glorious appearing”. Moreover, both Christ's appearings have a saving significance. For what has already appeared is the grace of God that brings salvation (11), while what we are "waiting for is the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior” (13),

We are going to divide this section into two parts: (1) The Appearance of Grace; (2) The Appearance of Glory

I. The Appearance of Grace – 2:11-12

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,” 

The opening "For" looks back to verse 10. In the immediate context the Apostle had exhorted the believers to walk joyfully, warmly, and faithfully, so that they "adorned the doctrine of God our Savior in all things." It is deeply important that we should be sound or healthy in doctrine, because error acts upon the soul the same as poison does upon the body. Yes, it is very necessary that we be sound in the Faith, for it is dishonoring to God and injurious to ourselves to believe the Devil's lies, for that is what false doctrine is.

Arthur Pink writes, “There is something else which is equally important as being sound in doctrine, namely, that we adorn it by our conduct. The sounder I am in doctrine, the more loudly I advertise my orthodox views, the more do I bring that doctrine into reproach - if my life is worldly, and my walk carnal. How earnestly we need to pray for Divine enablement that we may "adorn the doctrine in all things." We need the doctrine of Scripture written upon our hearts, molding our character, regulating our ways, influencing our conduct. We "adorn" the doctrine when we "walk in newness of life," when we live each hour as those who must appear before the final judgment. And we are to "adorn the doctrine in all things" - in every sphere we occupy, every relation we sustain, every circle which God's providence brings us into.”

“The grace of God appeared”. This phrase is virtually synonymous with the Son of God and thus refers to the first advent of Messiah. In sum, the first coming of Christ is in essence the Personal manifestation of God’s grace. In the words of Chuck Swindoll, "Grace is summed up in the name, person, and work of the Lord Jesus Christ." (Read John 1:14, 16-17)

We know that grace did not come into existence when Christ came. God has always been gracious, indeed (“the God of all grace” - 1 Peter 5:10). But grace appeared visibly in Jesus the Christ. God's saving grace, given us before the beginning of time, "has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior.”  It was brightly displayed in his lowly birth, in his gracious words and compassionate deeds, and above all in his atoning death. He was himself "full of grace”. His coming was moreover an epiphany of saving grace, of grace 'that brings salvation’. It appeared to ‘all men’ in the sense that it is now publicly offered to all, even slaves (v 10).

Then Paul personifies this grace of God. Grace the savior becomes grace the teacher. It teaches us (12a), or maybe disciplines us. Grace not only saves but undertakes our training. So all Christians become "learners in the School of Grace”.

What then does grace teach? Two main lessons. First, and negatively, it teaches us to say NO to ungodliness and passion. (12a). Secondly, and positively, it teaches us "to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present.” Thus grace disciplines us to renounce our old life and to live a new one, to turn from ungodliness to godliness, from self-centeredness to self-control, from the world’s deceitful ways to fair dealing with each other.

Paul’s mention of “God our Savior” (2:10) causes him to elaborate on the theological basis for our salvation and how understanding that inevitably leads to a life of godliness and good deeds. At the heart of everything is this crucial concept of God’s grace. In 2:11-14, we will consider some of the things that grace does in the believer’s life.

1. God’s grace brings salvation to all people (2:11). When Paul says that God’s grace brings salvation to allmen, he means, “all without distinction” not “all without exception”. He means “to all types of people, including those whom the world despises, even to slaves.” No one is beyond the reach of God’s grace. Despite being one of the go-to-verses of those who believe in the heresy of universalism (the belief that all will ultimately be saved), this verse does not teach the universal salvation of all who have ever lived.
2. God’s grace trains us who are saved in godliness (2:12-14a). The word “instructing” means, “child-training.” It includes teaching, but also, correcting and disciplining. It is a process that begins at salvation and continues until we stand before the Lord. But, note that grace does not mean, “I’m free to do as I please”; to “hang loose and live as carelessly as I wish.” Rather, grace trains, disciplines, and instructs us in godly living.
3. God’s grace trains us to say no to ungodliness (2:12a). This refers to a person who does not reverence God and thus lives by ignoring God. It obviously refers to the person who is openly immoral or evil, but it also includes the outwardly nice person who simply has no place for God in his life. His everyday life is organized, motivated, and run by self, with no place for God. The person who has tasted God’s grace will say no to such godless living.
4. God’s grace trains us to say no to worldly desires. This refers to desires that are characteristic of this world system that is opposed to God. John describes them as “the lust of the flesh,” “the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Grace trains us to say no to these things, because God and His grace are far more precious than anything the world can offer.
5. God’s Grace trains us to live sensibly. This is the word that we have repeatedly encountered in Titus (1:8; 2:2, 4, 5, 6), which means, living in a self-controlled manner, not yielding to various passions and impulses. It is synonymous with the last of the fruits of the Spirit, which is self-control.

Pastor Stephen Cole amplifies what this means as he says, “It is not enough to say no to ungodliness and worldly desires. You must also say yes to sensible, righteous, godly living. In the present age emphasizes that we do not need to isolate ourselves from this evil world in monasteries or Christian communes. Rather, in the midst of this present evil age, we are to live sensible, righteous, godly lives, so that those in the world will be drawn to our Savior. Many commentators have pointed out that sensibly refers to how you are to control yourself; righteously has reference to your relationships with others; and, godly refers to your relationship toward God.

6. God’s Grace trains us to live righteously. This refers to a life of integrity and uprightness in your dealings with others. It means conforming to God’s standards of conduct, as revealed in the commandments of His Word.
7. God’s Grace trains us who are saved to be zealous for good works (2:14b). “Good works or deeds” refer to works that are done out of sincere love for God and others in obedience to His Word. “Zealous” is a word that Paul used to describe his fanatical zeal for Judaism prior to his conversion (Gal. 1:14). It was also used to describe the fanatical Jewish sect that was devoted to ridding Israel of Roman domination. The Zealots were totally devoted to their cause, even to the point of risking their own lives to achieve their goals. You would not call them lukewarm!

Winston Churchill defined a fanatic as "someone who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." I am fanatically committed to the sure hope that Jesus will be known, loved and worshiped by all peoples. I cannot change my mind because my mind is bound by Scripture. I will not change the subject because my heart is conquered by Him. By this definition, may God give us more fanatical churches and fanatical Christians.

Could you rightly describe yourself as a fanatic for good works? For the most part, the vast majority of Christians do good works when it is convenient, or when they don’t have anything else that they’d rather do.

II. The Appearance of Glory – 2:13-14

A. God’s grace trains us to live in godliness by looking forward and backward (2:13-14). “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” 

The forward look is toward the second coming of Jesus Christ. The backward look is toward the cross and its implications on our lives.

1. Look forward to the blessed hope of Christ’s Final Coming (2:13). In the NKJV, we read that God’s grace instructs us to be “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” Christ’s first appearing was in grace, bringing salvation. During His first coming, His glory was mostly veiled. But His second appearing will be in glory, bringing salvation to His people, but terrifying judgment to those who have not believed in Him. His second coming is a “blessed hope” for those who know Him, because then we will fully experience all the blessings of His salvation.

John Piper declares, “I think it would be fair to say on the basis of these four verses (vv. 11–14) that the incentive and power to live a Christian life pleasing to God comes from two directions as it were: it comes from looking back with gratitude to the grace of God that appeared in Jesus Christ at his first coming when he purchased our redemption; and it comes from looking forward with hope to the glory of God that will appear at the second coming when he completes our redemption.

Hebrews 9:27–28 describes the connection between the past and future work Christ as clearly as any biblical text. “Just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”

“This passage teaches so clearly that the saving work of Christ began with his first coming when he bore our sin in his body on the cross and will be completed at his second coming when he saves us from the final wrath of God and gives us rest in his kingdom. Strip away the second coming and salvation is torn in half. (See also 1 Thessalonians 1:10; Romans 5:9–10.) And half a salvation is no salvation.”

Piper goes on to say, “The center of Christianity is the coming of the Son of God into the world as a real man to destroy the works of the devil and create a new people for his own glory. The very heart of our faith is that he did this by obeying the law of God, dying for the sins of his people, rising victorious over death, ascending to God’s right hand with all his enemies under his feet. The second coming of Christ is the completion of his saving work. If you take it away, the whole fabric of his saving work unravels.”

We should eagerly await the appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ because this is a BLESSED Hope. A blessed hope is the opposite of a cursed hope. So the first reason to be eager for this great day is that it will mean blessing and not cursing.

It is a VISIBLE Hope. It is the APPEARING of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. The apostle John seems to make everything hang on this one hope: “It does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

It is a GLORIOUS Hope. It is “the appearing of THE GLORY of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Behold, he is coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. And we shall glorify the Lord and enjoy his greatness forever and ever.

2. Look backward to the supreme demonstration of His love, which redeemed us from sin and made us His own possession (2:14a).

“Who” refers back to “our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” None other than He “gave Himself for us”! Paul shows that this past grace that was shown to us produces godliness in us.

a. Christ “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed” (2:14a). The word redeemwould have gotten the attention of any slaves. It was the word used for buying a slave out of the market so as to give him his freedom. Before we met Christ, we all were slaves of sin. He paid the redemption price in His own blood to free us from bondage to sin.

b. Christ gave Himself for us that He might “purify for Himself a people for His own possession.”Verse 12 focused on our need to purify ourselves, but verse 14 focuses on Christ’s purifying us through His blood. He bought us from the slave market of sin and washed off sin’s filth and defilement. Now we belong to Him as His personal possession. He prizes us more than anyone prizes a valuable treasure, because He paid for us with His blood. Again, what a motivation to live to please Him!

“In Jesus the Christ there has been an epiphany of God's grace, and there is going to be an epiphany of his glory. The best way to live now, in this present age, is to learn to do spiritually what is impossible physically, namely to look in opposite directions at the same time. We need both to look back and remember the epiphany of Grace, whose purpose was to redeem us from all evil, and to purify for God, a people of his own, and also to look forward and anticipate the epiphany of glory, whose purpose will be to perfect at his second coming the salvation he began at his first.

“This deliberate orientation of ourselves, this looking back and looking forward, this determination to live in the light of Christ's two comings, to live today in the light of yesterday and tomorrow, should be an essential part of our daily discipline. We need to say to ourselves regularly the great acclamation, “Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.” For then our present duties now will be inspired by the past and future epiphanies of Christ.” (John Stott)

Living in Grace and Looking for Glory! Hallelujah!