A Torah Verse By Verse Commentary Of Paul's Epistles by Re'tzon Ha'El - HTML preview

Chapter 1

V1-2 Paul commences with his classic introduction to his epistles, identifying himself as a doulos/ slave, bondman of Elohim the Father and an apostle of Yeshua haMashiach the Son, who personally commissioned him to preach the gospel cf Acts 9:15. Unique to this particular introduction is the appendage added detailing how one becomes a slave of Elohim and apostle of Yeshua, coupled with the purpose of so important a vocation.

There is a precise orderly and methodical process in which one is recruited into the army of Elohim:

a. Elohim through the gospel preached to all, gives a free invitation to salvation cf Matt 19:21; Rev 3:20

b. Those who hear, believe and do the word become Elohim’s eklektos/elect, chosen, favoured cf Acts 13:48; 2 Thes 2:13

c. By sanctification of the Holy Spirit, the elect acknowledging truth, walk in eusebeia/holiness, piety towards Elohim following His Torah

d. The end goal being eternal life, which is salvation itself, of which true saints live for in hope.

‘Apseudes’/ without lie is a characteristic delineating Yehovah from Allah of Islam, who is capricious, as anybody who would care to read the Koran would readily notice. Of this truth does our hope hinge upon. 

V3 ‘idios kairos’ translated ‘due times’ is Greek for one’s own opportune or seasonal time. Paul was not one of Yeshua’s original 12 apostles, but was chosen in his own separate epoch supernaturally, as outlined in Acts chapter 9. Paul in Acts 9:15 was delegated the duty of preaching not only to the Gentiles, as erroneously preached, but also to rulers and to the Israelites. A true apostle does not restrict proclamation of the gospel to a limited group but fulfils the full commandment of Yeshua given in Mark 16:15-18. It is important not to miss the mention of Elohim as Saviour, which is proof of Yeshua being Elohim in the triune Elohim-head of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

V4 Titos/ Greek for nurse, was a Greek convert cf Gal 2:1-3. Being a new Gentile convert in the narrative of Gal 2, he was not compelled to be circumcised, and would learn of this truth through full teaching to understand the significance of circumcision, before undergoing the ceremony. The beauty of being born-again is that one is not forced to immediately follow all of Torah aimlessly, as this is walking in Torah of one’s own works, which is futile. Rather, being justified by faith, progressive sanctification and revelation of the Holy Spirit through teaching imparted by elders in the ecclesia, is the true nature in which one should walk in Torah, guided by the Holy Spirit cf Acts 15:19-21. 

Paul considered Titus to be another of his sons in the faith, being also one of his proteges, as he did Timothy. Under his wing, he was able to mould him into a mature, righteous Christian, entrusted to win souls for Messiah. Grace, mercy and peace are all qualities of Messiah which Paul prayed for all saints to be imbued with cf Jn 1:17; Ps 57:3,10; Isa 9:6. 

Further cementing of the truth of Yeshua being Elohim, is established in Him being referred to as our Saviour, as Elohim is in v3.

V5 Paul by referring to Titus as his son in the faith, and by discerning the grace, mercy and peace of both Elohim the Father, and Yeshua the Son within him, found him trustworthy and capable of being left in charge of a whole congregation in Crete/Greek for ‘fleshy’, which is the largest island of the Mediterranean archipelago or Aegean Sea. For Titus to be commissioned to straighten the assembly in Crete, must have meant that they were in spiritual disarray. They lacked leadership, and Titus was tasked with ordaining presbuteros/elders, senior men within every city of Crete containing worshippers, in the hope that order would be established within each congregation. In the first century, Crete according to the reputable historians of the time, Josephus and Philo, abounded with wealthy and influential Jews cf Acts 2:7,8,11. Paul had evidently preached a great deal beforehand and brought multitudes to truth, since every city is said to have needed elders. Crete apparently had around 90 cities according to Homer’s Odyssey. 

Some commentators believe that Titus was not as dear to Paul as Timothy, but from this gargantuan task and responsibility thrown upon Titus’ shoulders, it is difficult to concur with such a statement. Acts 14:21-23 illustrates the importance of ordaining elders in one’s ministry. Converting a group of people to Christianity is a battle half won. It is imperative to ensure that elders are then delegated to govern the congregation, and for cohesion between separate congregations in the same locality, ensuring that the tenets of the gospel are adhered to, monitored and promoted in an orderly manner.

I refer you dear reader to the introduction for the commentary of 1st Timothy chapter 3, where the Organisational Structure of the Ecclesia is detailed. From this we see that each congregation required a plurality of elders, two at the very least. If 90 cities were present, some with probably more than one congregation each, 180 leaders at the very least were required to be found and appointed by Titus. This mammoth task, in my opinion, seemed to place Titus in greater degree of responsibility than Timothy, and I can only infer that he would have been a more mature Christian too, having begun his ministry with Paul sooner than Timothy, as gleaned from Galatians chapter 2. 

V6 -9 Similar to 1 Tim 3:1-7 the qualities of a suitable elder are laid out by Paul for Titus:

1. aneGreekletos/unaccused, blameless meaning lacking any scandals tied to him

2. Married and monogamous specifically to one woman. It may seem to be crude and ludicrous to stress this point, but it is horrifying to know that in these days of great apostasy, some churches are headed by monogamous homosexuals, which should be disqualified and excommunicated for so grave a sin.

3. The elder’s children not only need to be also believers but are further instructed to obey their parents wholeheartedly cf 1 Tim 3:4; Ex 20:12. If an elder has a rebellious household, it would be impossible for him to be able to contain rebellion in a whole congregation of people not even related to him. In essence he needs to lead by example, if he is to be taken seriously not only by Elohim, but also by His flock entrusted to him.

4. He must have a clean record in order not to be accused of asotia/profligacy translated ‘riot’. This quality is flagrantly promoted by the self-appointed false elders of the prosperity gospel churches that have severely corrupted our society. Worldly extravagance which has been disgracefully equated with Elohim’s blessings, has led many bewitched congregations down the broad and wide path of destruction.

5.  ‘Anupotaktos’ translated unruly, describes a refractory individual. It may seem impossible to believe stubborn, disobedient elders exist, yet almost every Christian church is headed by deluded leaders who stubbornly reject and disobey Torah, the very foundation which is to be laid down in the body of Messiah, the Torah giver!

6. An elder is to be the oikonomos/steward, superintendent of the ecclesia. The Greek word ‘oikia’ means ‘house’, and ‘nomos’ means law. Hence the oikonomos directly translated to English would be ‘house of the law’. If an elder has no set of rules to obey, then his position is null and void by definition. Almost all of Christendom is lacking the biblically-defined, law-abiding stewards required of Elohim, in the pulpits of today.

7. Must not be ‘authades’/arrogant. Humility again is wanting of our churches today.

8. Must not be ‘orgilos’/irascible, prone to anger.

9. It is of paramount importance to have an elder who does not imbibe alcohol of any sort, lest it be for Holy Communion. It is no coincidence that the Holy Spirit, through Paul wrote this in juxtaposition with irascibility, as wine is indeed the creator of a brawler cf Pro 20:1

10. ‘Plektes’/striker means being pugnacious, which no presbyter should ever be.

11. A great number of pulpits would be deserted if an audit were done of avaricious preachers needing to be removed from the body of Messiah. ‘Aischrokerdes’ translated ‘given to filthy lucre’, simply means greed for money.

12. Philoxenos/lover of hospitality in the literal form means love of foreigners i.e. the antithesis of xenophobia. Christianity has no racial or ethnic segregation. This was endemic amongst the Judaizers who claimed Yehovah to themselves solely.

13. Philagathos/love of goodness should be a standard quality. Torah, according to Rom 7:12 is holy, just and good. Also, cf 1 Tim 1:8. An elder teaching against it is therefore unsuitable for service. 

14. Sophron/sober is better rendered as being of a sound mind, which represents an individual who has no fear of evil and will readily take on any demonic attack against his congregants cf 2 Tim 1:7.

15. Dikaios/righteous means observing divine laws i.e. Torah

16. Hosios/holy is better rendered undefiled by sin or religiously observing every moral obligation, which is the definition of observing Torah cf 1 Jn 3:4.

17. Enkrates/temperate involves having self-control

18. Finally, if the elder is to be able to overcome disputers of truth, he is to have a thorough understanding of the gospel, which is in the scriptures. The only scripture present in the first century was the Tanakh, referred to as the Old Testament. Hence to claim the Old Testament is no longer relevant contradicts all that Paul taught, and gave a commentary on in his epistles, which is tantamount to heresy.

V10 The Cretan community was filled with ethnic Jews, whose suspicion of the gospel of Yeshua presented a refractory response to His teachings. As a result, the Cretan ecclesia was bedevilled with mataiologos/wranglers, people full of empty talk; and mind deceivers. The new Gentile converts were highly susceptible to being deluded by these malicious Jews, hence explaining Paul’s desire for elders exhibiting the eighteen qualities described in v6-9, to be stationed in each congregation, to counteract and thwart the evil desires of these agents of the devil.

V11 Whole congregations were being deceived by these false Judaizing Christians, who were peddling beguiling doctrines to dupe the spiritually immature into giving up their money. This is all too familiar in the churches of today, where the guise of Judaism no longer needs to be utilized to swindle the ignorant masses. Worryingly, those who feel they have jumped out of the pan of contemporary watered-down Christianity, for the seemingly brighter truth of Hebraic roots Christianity, have found themselves in the fire of even greater racketeering of so-called blessings for the collection of money for Israel. These fiends of Satan will use any ruse to worm their way into the pockets of the unwary, aloof, non-Bible reading prey.

V12 This is a quote made by Paul from a hexameter, a poem written by Epimenides circa 600BC of Gnossus in Crete. He was considered a divine man i.e. a prophet by Plato and Cicero respectively. Paul was not averse to quoting heathen scholars in his epistles to various Gentile assemblies, as this fostered a sense of familiarity for the readers, which was a style of literature cleverly utilized to promote the gospel, without defiling it. This quote of Cretans being liars, was not uniquely used by Epimenides, as other revered scholars such as Plato, Challimachus, Polybius, and Ovid also shared such sentiments. Even more worrying of the Cretan people was their association with an evil, cruel, depraved temperament coupled with a slothful, gluttonous sensuality. 

V13 Paul agreed with this centuries old standpoint, and one can only imagine how extremely challenging Titus’ mission would be. He truly was a spiritual heavyweight, to have been chosen to enter such difficult trenches to battle the enemy. ‘Apotomos’ translated ‘sharply’ underplays the severity of Paul’s command. He instructed Titus to abruptly and severely elegcho/chatsen, reprove the assemblies of Elohim in Crete, to root out and eliminate the toxic doctrines that had sunk their tentacles in, and corrupted, the masses. A true saint will not pussyfoot around sin in the body of Messiah. Churches of today have been sterilized by a spineless approach to sin, which unsurprisingly has engulfed its members, beginning with the very deceived leaders themselves, further hampering any chance of rehabilitation.

V14 ‘Muthos’ translated ‘fables’, is better rendered as fiction or falsehood. Yeshua was at constant loggerheads with the Pharisees and Sadducees for perpetuating age-old falsehoods, which to this very day are referred to as traditions of the fathers by Talmudic Jews. The forced washing of hands, and condoning of disrespect of parents for instance were examples that riled our Messiah cf Matt 15:1-9. Titus had a mammoth of a task to return the beguiled congregants to truth.

V15-16 Katharos/pure in the Old Testament Septuagint Bible exclusively referred to a state of cleanliness strictly defined by none other than the Torah. Miaino means defiled with sin. The non-Yeshua believing amongst the Cretan congregations were also devoid of Torah understanding, steeped in sin, yet taking it upon themselves to lead the converts, corrupting the ecclesia with false doctrine. No matter how well a preacher’s wishes may be, if they lack the basic tenets of truth found in Torah observance, the whole being from body, to mind to conscience inevitably becomes defiled. Satan’s demonic host does not play fair, and will use every opportunity to trip up anybody not protected by the truth found in Torah.

Verse 16 perfectly describes the great multitude of contemporary preachers, teachers, elders and pastors who claim to know Elohim, claim to have visions from Elohim, claim to speak in tongues and exhibit supernatural Holy Spirit power, and yet reject Torah, teaching that it was abolished at calvary. Satan and his fallen angels give counterfeit gifts to these men, appearing as genuine to the non-discerning mind cf 2 Cor 11:13-15.

As I have mentioned several times in my other commentaries, one of my most frightening verses is Matt 7:21-23. Many believe that they are genuinely doing Elohim’s will. They even cast out demons, heal the sick and do all manner of miracles, further convincing themselves of assured salvation. Yet they do not do the works that they hear in the gospel, which define the will of Elohim. They refuse Torah and loathe any teaching of its centrality in one’s Christian walk. I will never fool myself into being convinced of guaranteed salvation as Paul never taught such. I would also rather follow Elohim’s laws, even if the rest of the world teaches that they were nailed to the cross, as I have absolutely nothing to lose in so doing.

Christians often preach to the heathen and more so to the atheist, that they have nothing to lose but all to gain to believe in a God, since if at death it is discovered that no God exists, they lose nothing, but if they discover that there is a God then at least they will not suffer damnation. Why is it that in the same vein, these Christians believe in Torah, for if at death they discover that it was nailed at the cross, then at least they lose nothing. However, if they discover that Torah was never abolished, then at least they also will not suffer damnation, for having obeyed it. I ask you this dear reader: Is there surely a judgement of eternal hellfire for believing and following the laws that Yehovah Elohim personally boomed down from Mt Sinai? Is there not a greater chance of judgement for not following Torah, than there is for doing so? Simple reasoning would surely lead one not to gamble their eternal destiny over man’s interpretation of Paul’s epistles, over the sure words of Yeshua Himself in Matt 5:17-19; 7:24-27.