Titus 1:1-4 (Pt 1)

In Titus 1:1 Paul wrote that he was a servant (doulos) of God and an apostle (messenger, or one sent on a mission) of Jesus Christ. Paul is a servant of God. The only other place Paul uses that phrase, “servant of God” is in Romans 13 where he calls the governing authority a servant of God. But if you think back to Paul’s conversion in Acts 9. Paul was on his way to Damascus to kill Christians. On the way he encountered God. A bright light shone and a voice came asking, “Why are you persecuting me?” Paul’s response was, “Who are you Lord?” From that point on Paul did what God told him to do. He thought he was serving God, but after his conversion he began truly serving God. He is a servant of God. He is also a messenger of Jesus Christ. In Acts chapter 7 Paul was standing by, watching the stoning of Stephen, and approving of his death. Now Paul has become a messenger of Jesus Christ who will experience beatings, imprisonments, and worse because of the gospel, the message he has for the world.

Paul is a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the sake of God’s elect. When you read that you can’t help but go back again to Paul’s pre-conversion life. He did everything he could to destroy God’s elect, God’s chosen, believers in Jesus Christ. The church is called God’s chosen or elect, and Paul is serving God’s elect in order to serve God.

Perhaps we forget the significance of that. Serving God is not about sitting on a mountain meditating. Serving God is about serving others. It is about placing others above self. Paul wrote to the Philippians, in Philippians 2:4, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Whether we are talking about interpersonal relationships in life, marriage in particular, or church, we are called to be servants, placing others above ourselves.

The older I have gotten the more I realize how selfish I am. It’s humbling to look back over life and realize that those moments when I felt used, those moments when I wanted to do something fun rather than take five minutes to help someone, those moments when I got frustrated with my wife instead of seeing her needs ̶ those are the moments that reveal our hearts. God forgive us for failing to serve. Paul understood that he was a servant of God for the sake of God’s elect. Are we a servant of God for the benefits of being his servant, or for the sake of others?