PAUL, A SERVANT OF GOD

May 2023

“Paul, 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.”

—Titus 1:1

Titus was a Gentile convert of Paul’s. We know very little of his early life. His name is found in only three Pauline epistles (II Cor. 7:6, 13-14; 8:6, 12:18; Gal. 2:1, 3; II Tim. 4:10). Galatians 2:3 tells us that Paul took Titus to Jerusalem as an example of the fruit of the gospel among the Gentiles. We also know that he was entrusted with the offerings received by many churches to help the impoverished saints in Jerusalem. As well, we know from this epistle that Paul sent Titus to Crete to oversee the churches, bring order, and install pastors. The purpose of the epistle was to encourage Titus and to reinforce his authority among the churches in Crete.

SERVANTHOOD

Paul begins his salutation with an emphatic declaration of servanthood to God: “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ.” One should be aware that Paul designates himself as a servant before his apostleship. Understanding that every word Paul wrote and the order in which he wrote them was ordained by the Holy Spirit. The idea is that if one cannot be a servant, then he cannot be an apostle.

In the Greek, the word servant is doulos, and it refers “to one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another, his will being altogether consumed in the will of the other.” Here, Paul is placing himself in the same position of the lowest slaves found in households throughout the Roman Empire. Paul is saying that his will is now swallowed up in the will of the Master of his heart, Jesus Christ.

At that time, a servant or slave disregarded his own interests to serve his master. So Paul, by identifying himself as a slave, is placing God’s will above his will. Self is hidden in Christ. It is no longer my will, but Thy will.

The only way one can truly have a servant spirit is through the cross. At Calvary, Christ died not only to save man from sin but also from self. Self-righteousness is the opposite of the servant principle, for the cross reveals who man really is. So, without a proper understanding of the cross, self is going to rule one’s life.

In II Corinthians 11 the apostle states: “In labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In jouneyings often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.”

How could one man endure all of this? The answer—he was a servant, and this is what had to be endured to carry out the will of the Master.

AN APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST

The office of the apostle is the highest of the five-fold ministry callings, yet Paul places it second. In this, the Holy Spirit wants us to understand that the apostle can be effective only if the servant is effective. Too often men are puffed up in religious pride as they throw their titles around, yet I have never heard one address himself as a “slave.”

Paul’s life and ministry exemplified the servant spirit. Though he was the one singularly chosen to be the bearer of the new covenant, we never see Paul acting in any way other than that of a gentleman. He never bossed anyone around, he never tried to exert authority over anyone. Instead, he was kind and humble—he was a slave to Jesus Christ.

Let us all strive to be servants and not run after titles.