Speaker: Dustin Scott

Passage: Titus 1:4-9

THE BOOK OF TITUS: SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY

We’re going to dive into the Book of Titus, and we’re going to talk about spiritual authority. We’re going to deal with what does it mean to share in one common faith? We’re going to look at the shared truth of the faith, and then we’re going to look at the shared life of the faith– how the truth of the Kingdom should be informing the way we minister to one another, the way we grow in community, the way we step into this calling of being a royal priesthood. 

And that’s the part I’m really excited for, and I don’t think we’ll get there this morning. But I want to encourage you guys, this morning is going to be a bit more of the analytics, a little bit more of the step-by-step. 

What does spiritual authority look like in the Church? What’s the process, what’s the protocol, what is the structure that God gives us? And next week, we’re going to dive into the abundant life which proceeds when the Church walks in the spiritual authority and calling of Jesus. So, I want to encourage you this morning, it will be a little technical, but I’m so excited for next week. 

Would you stand with me? We’re going to dive into the Book of Titus. You knew I would do it, didn’t you? Starting in verse 4 of Titus: “My genuine child in the faith, we share grace and peace from God the Father, in Christ Jesus our Savior, I left you behind in Crete for this reason, so that you should put in order what remained to be done, and should appoint elders in every town as I directed you, someone who is blameless, married only once, whose children are believers, not accused of debauchery and not rebellious. A bishop or overseer, as God’s steward, must be blameless. He must not be arrogant or quick tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain, but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, self controlled, upright, devout and restrained, holding tightly to the trustworthy word of the teaching so that he may be able to exhort with sound instruction and refute all those who contradict it.” 

Let’s pray. Holy Spirit, we pray that You would be with us this morning, that You would be tangible and immediate to us. You are the Lord and giver of life. You’re the One who takes the life of Jesus and extends it to all God’s people so we can walk in the love, the power, and authority of Your Kingdom. 

So, this morning, would You teach us? Would You instruct us, and would You begin to show us what it looks like to live as Your royal priesthood, to be emissaries of You to our families, at our work, amongst our friends, in our city, in our state? 

Show us the abundant life of Your Kingdom, the protocol of Your Kingdom, and the excitement of Your Kingdom, so that when the world sees us, they see You. That is our prayer. We ask it in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And everyone said, Amen. You may be seated. 

THE COMMON FAITH

Jesus will speak of His disciples in the Gospel of John 10, and say, “I came that they might have life and have life abundantly.” What does it mean to live the abundant life of the Kingdom? What should this life look like within the relationships and community of the church? Paul is going to begin this section of Titus in verse 4 by calling Titus a genuine child in a shared faith. 

The topic of this morning’s teaching from verses 4-9 is spiritual authority. What is the source of our spiritual authority? What is the purpose of our spiritual authority? What qualifies us to hold spiritual authority within the life of the Kingdom, and what is a proper response to spiritual authority? 

All these questions are really about how does Biblical spiritual authority enable the abundant life of the Kingdom of Jesus? 

Paul is going to begin his letter to Titus with an observation which may prove offensive to us as 21st-century Americans. I promise I’m not trying to offend our American sentiments this morning. 

He says that spiritual authority is intended to draw others into the unifying truth in the transformative life of one shared faith. Faith is where God’s people rally around a common truth, and also where they live a life of giving and receiving– the common life of the one faith. The Scriptures will elsewhere tell us that we have one Lord, one faith, one baptism. We see that in Ephesians 4. 

In John 17, Jesus is speaking with the Father, and He says this prayer: “I pray that my disciples may live as one, even as I, the Son, am one with You, the Father.”

Let me restate Paul in a more simple way, in a way which seems so alien to many of our modern evangelical sentiments. I do not have my own private faith. You don’t have your own private faith. Faith is not something we individually possess. 

The Scriptures teach that all of us personally engage in one shared faith. There’s only one faith, and we all get to be personal members of it. I think this is such a beautiful picture. 

This is what the Scriptures and the Church Fathers would speak of when they would say that the church is Catholic. And I mean by Catholic, I don’t mean you go to the church of Rome and you find guys in long robes and pointy hats. I have some friends who are priests, and they’re like, These robes are kind of itchy and not that fun to wear. 

It’s perfectly possible to have a faith which has a Catholic character and still be charismatic and evangelical. What do I mean by that? The faith which is Catholic is the faith which holds to the truth of faith, and the life of faith, as it has been known by all of God’s people throughout history. 

There’s only one faith in this. Faith is the end of our religious individualism. Faith isn’t something we own. It’s not something which can be done alone. If we think about the communion of saints, as it’s spoken of in the Scriptures, faith is the doorway to generations of worship, beauty, prayer, creativity, charity, theology, study of the Scriptures, and serving and communal life amongst the whole of God’s people. 

It’s what Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians, chapters 11 and onward. You are a part of one body. This picture is so much bigger than you, and it’s so much bigger than me. It includes all of us. 

There’s nothing that quite emphasized this to me as when I was in the city of Cambridge, and I went to an ancient cathedral there, and you could see grooves in the stone in front of the pews from all the generations of Christians who had knelt there. There was nothing like that to show me just how small of a piece I am in this bigger story of faith. 

And according to Paul in the Book of Titus, this is the one shared Christian faith. If I were to put it in incredibly simple terms, the Christian faith is so much bigger than me. Walking in spiritual authority recognizes that we are members of His faith, not our own individual faiths. 

I am not the Bride and Body of Christ alone. We are the Bride and Body of Christ as we live together as disciples of Jesus. 

And this is where it gets really hard in our culture. I have surrendered my ability to live in individual truth and have an individual life in a private faith because His story– the story of the Scriptures and the story of all His people– is so much bigger than me. Paul gives us this story through the Book of Titus,

It would be easy to miss in Titus 1, we learn that God– Father, Son, and Holy Spirit– was preparing a plan of redemption before the world even existed. That’s a pretty big picture. 

In chapter 2, we learn that God has already reconciled Himself to the whole of humanity through the person of Jesus, all we need to do is accept His generous gift of redemption. 

And in chapter 3, we learn that God’s Spirit comes to dwell within us, not just within us privately, but in each one of us, inviting us, working within us, challenging us to live in accordance with our new nature in Jesus. 

And the whole of Titus speaks to a Gospel which must transform every aspect of what we believe: how we act, our attitudes, and our relationships. 

If I were to put it this way, in the shared faith of Jesus, I cannot hold a private opinion which contradicts the Scriptures and the teaching of the Church throughout the ages, and say, Hey, leave me alone. It’s just my faith. This belongs to me. 

I can’t live a disobedient lifestyle which grieves His Holy Spirit and doesn’t align with the nature of Jesus, and say, Hey, leave me alone. This is my own private faith. That’s none of your business. It’s mine. 

And most importantly– and this is the part I’m most excited about– we cannot isolate from others, separating ourselves from the love, the fellowship, the community, and the mutual accountability of His people, and say, Hey, leave me alone. I’m over here living my private faith. 

SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY

Like ancient Crete, we live in a time where novelty, entertainment, individuality, self-expression, are being glorified in the church. And what’s the tragedy of that? He isn’t being glorified. The world is seeing far too much of me and far too little of Him because His story– the story of all His people as they live together– is a story which is greater than each and every one of us individually because it takes a whole people. 

We are not to put on displays. We are to display Him in spiritual leadership. Spiritual authority doesn’t exist for individuality or self-expression; it exists to communicate His truth and promote His life so that the watching world can see Jesus living in us and through us. 

The modern charismatic preoccupation with celebrities, new movements, self-expression, I don’t think these things have advanced the Gospel in our time. I think they’ve reduced it. And more than anything, the Christian unwillingness to live the Gospel has reduced the impact of the Gospel.

Why? Because transformed people transform others. How many of us have heard broken people or hurt people hurt others? What about changed people change others? That’s the life of the Church. That’s the life of His Body.

An individual life, a private faith, a separated spirituality, these things aren’t spiritual authority. They’re spiritual impotence. They have no power. The world is full of ideas and opinions, and it’s clashing like a battle all around us. 

It’s a shared faith. It’s the transformative faith. It’s the one faith of the Scriptures in God’s people, which carries spiritual authority, and it’s that Gospel which changes the world. So, in the shared faith, the leadership of Jesus is the source of our spiritual authority. 

So, if we think about that, the leadership of Jesus is the source of our spiritual authority. Where has God placed you within His story to exercise spiritual authority? Are you a parent? Are you a business owner? Are you a teacher? Where has God given you influence in order to lead others to Jesus?

Maybe you’ve been placed under authority. Maybe you’re a kid and you have parents, and sometimes they say things you don’t like. Maybe God’s put you in that position so that you can reveal Jesus, not to just those around you, but perhaps even to your own parents. 

Maybe you’re in a workplace where God has put you beneath a demeaning and arrogant boss. Maybe the whole reason you’re there is to reveal Jesus to them because the revealing of Jesus is the purpose of our spiritual authority. 

The only thing the Father is interested in doing, and the Spirit is interested in doing, is glorifying the Son. The Scriptures say the time is coming where He will become all and all. That’s what the life of faith is all about. The Father has such profound love for His son that He wants to see Jesus in you and in me and in us as we live together. 

So, it’s the lifestyle of Jesus– adopting the patterns of Jesus, the attitudes of Jesus, the love of Jesus– which is our qualification for spiritual authority. It’s how our lives carry real power. 

And lastly, the sovereignty of Jesus, that’s what governs our response to spiritual authorities. How many of us have ever been given an authority or influence in your life that you didn’t want? Maybe you were in school and you got a group assignment, and everyone’s like, You can take the lead on this, and you’re like, No way. So, all of us know what it’s like to have spiritual authority and influence we don’t want. 

How many of us have ever been placed in a position where it’s like, I’m under someone else’s authority, and I really, really, really, really, really don’t like it. We’re Americans, so the answer is, Yeah. Started with England. No, just kidding. Blot that from the notes. 

What keeps us comforted, what keeps us at peace, what gives us stability in the midst of all these different arrangements of spiritual authority, it’s that our life is under His sovereign control, which is exactly why Paul, with complete confidence, can send Titus into this island, which is an absolute chaotic mess. Why? Because we can trust the sovereignty of Jesus. 

So, the questions are: where has God positioned you, and where has He positioned me to exercise spiritual influence? What’s my place within His wider story? 

Next is process. What is governing my exercise of spiritual authority? Am I relying upon the Scriptures and His voice and prayer to lead me, or am I choosing worldly wisdom, selfish ambition, good business tactics in order to influence others? 

Lastly, is purity. Are we walking in alignment with Him as we exercise our spiritual authority? If I were to put it more simply: do I make it easy for those under my care to see and experience the love, the holiness, and abundant life of Jesus? Do I reveal His bigger story to others? 

Can my kids say, Hey, my dad makes it easy to experience the love of Jesus. Can those whom I supervise say, Man, his life makes it easy to see and experience the love of Jesus. Can my boss, can my manager say, He really makes it easy to see and experience the love of Jesus?

WHAT IS AN ELDER?

That is the challenge which Paul is laying before us in verses 5-9. So, are we ready? Let’s talk about placement, beginning in verse 5. “I left you behind in Crete for this reason, so that you should put in order what remained to be done and should appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.” 

Here’s where we get into the technical part: what is an elder? Several weeks ago, David Mitchell shared a message on Kingdom masculinity. From these verses, we learned about what Paul was saying in regards to eldership. 

In light of David’s passion to see men walk in the fullness of their calling in Jesus, I was at youth camp. I was corralling kids, trying to get them to clean their rooms so that I could go home and take a rest because youth camp can be crazy. This year was awesome, and God was doing amazing stuff in the lives of our young people. 

But I had a chance to dive onto the podcast and listen to David’s teaching, and I thought it was incredible. The only thing I would add is this: Paul esteems the qualities of eldership as something we all should aspire to. 

We learn in Titus 2:3 that the role of an elder is not merely reserved for men, but also given to women. Both men and women can exercise eldership within the church. And we’ll speak more to the details of that as we begin to dive into chapter 2. 

But for now, it is sufficient to say that the apostle Paul stresses eldership is a necessary role in the life of the church. So, what’s an elder? The role of an elder was inherited by the Church from the structure of the Jewish synagogues, where men of age, wisdom, and maturity were appointed to authority on the basis of their faith and Godly life experience. 

Here, Paul makes it clear that the Church requires the spiritual covering of elders. The Church needs pastors. Why? Because the Church was never intended to be a free-for-all. It was intended to be aligned with the one faith of Jesus through proper spiritual headship, and the churches of Crete were faltering because they lacked the vision, the ordering, and the spiritual protection, which comes from eldership. 

We find a principle here: a lack of spiritual leadership always creates a lack of focus on Jesus. Why? Because chaotic churches become distracted, they lose sight of the main thing. So, is eldership a spiritual quality we’re all supposed to live as believers, or is it an appointed role within the church? 

It’s at this point I want to go into a bit of a side conversation. Most of you know that I love the Greek language, and I’m a bit of a nerd about it, so here’s a bit of wisdom when it comes to the original language in the text: all translation requires interpretation. 

If you ever have a friend who says, Hey, I have a literal translation of the Bible, they’re lying to you. Why? Because Greek is Greek, and Hebrew is Hebrew, and neither of them are English, which means to properly interpret the Bible, expert committees use their expertise, their wisdom, their knowledge of grammar and context and syntax, and they use those skills to best interpret the text into a different language, which means there’s no such thing as a literal translation. 

So, if anyone ever tells you that, just say, Cool. Why does that matter here? Because translation committees have debated the meaning of the term presbyteros, which is the word for elder. Does it mean an elderly person? Does it mean a mature man? Does it mean a presbyter or appointed pastor within the church? 

And you’ll find that the values and norms of particular Christian communities sometimes influence the translation of this passage, but I think Paul settles the issue for us because he tells us that elders are appointed by leadership. 

How many of you have grown older in your life? No one needed to appoint you to that position. It just kind of happened naturally, right? So, these are mature believers who are appointed to leadership, and Paul’s going to discuss that process and the purity necessary for that process in the coming verses. But for now, we can conclude that elders are appointed leaders within the church. They’re pastors. 

So, what is a pastor supposed to do Biblically? So, in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, we find that the Scriptural role of an elder or pastor is distinct from that of a deacon– which is a wider form of leadership in the church– in that elders are responsible for the public instruction of the Scriptures in the common faith. Pastors are to teach the truths of the faith. Deacons, as appointed spiritual leaders, are to promote the lifestyle of the faith. 

That’s what I’m excited for next week. I think the role of pastoring and ministering the faith is so much wider than the role of pastor. It’s something that all of us as members of the royal priesthood are called to take part in, but I’m saving it for next week. 

And lastly, all believers are called to live in the truth and lifestyle of the faith. Therefore, the question, Is eldership a spiritual quality or an appointed role is really the wrong question because the only thing that makes an elder distinct from every other believer is the vocation of teaching. 

When it comes to all these other qualities– self-control, holding to the faith, exercising moderation, being patient rather than full of rage– these are things we all are called to live as His followers. Every believer is a member of Christ’s priesthood and should be leading others to Jesus through their beliefs, their relationships, and their holy example. 

The question is: can people see Jesus in you and through you? And we know this one little tidbit, that every believing community should have appointed elders who are charged with the faithful teaching of Scripture. 

That’s the only thing that makes a pastor different than every other believer, is they are given the role of administering the Word. Otherwise, we are a royal priesthood. One person’s got to make the meal. The other people have to wash the dishes. Someone else sets the table. The other one leads conversation. It is a work that takes the whole body. 

So, the question is, where has the Lord positioned me to exercise spiritual influence? Where is He waiting upon me to reveal His nature in my family, in my business, amongst my friends? And am I embracing, or am I kicking against this present role? 

What does kicking against a present role mean? It means I show apathy. Maybe I show up as a dad, and I’m like, You know what? Mom can take care of it. I don’t care. That is repudiating a God-given role. 

Maybe you’re here and you’re a child and you’re like, I don’t give a rip about what my parents have to say. That is not walking in the life of spiritual authority. Maybe you’re here and you have a boss at work and you’re like, Man, if someone could just figure out how to make this guy or this lady disappear, everything would be so much better. That is not walking in spiritual authority. 

Spiritual authority comes from revealing Him. Its whole purpose is to reveal Him. It’s about being a part of a wider story. 

So, if I could end, am I using my position to reveal Jesus to those around me? Because that’s where the power of the Kingdom, the glory of the Kingdom, the supernatural life of the Kingdom, and the truth of the Kingdom reign in the Church, and it starts with each and every one of us recognizing I am a member of His royal priesthood. He has called me to walk in His spiritual authority. 

Would you stand with me? Let’s pray. Lord, as we embark into this two-week study on the royal priesthood and spiritual authority, would You lead us? Would You show us where You’ve called us to exercise responsibility, submission, love, and faithfulness in your Kingdom? 

Lord, I pray over everyone in this room that there would be no undervaluing of role, that dads would value the place that You’ve given them within families, that husbands would value their place, that wives and children would value their place, that leaders in the church would value their place, that those who serve on a team would value themselves. 

That everything we do, whether it be a church, in our families, at our workplaces, amongst friends, or even out in public having dinner, would be a part of this holy life of the church. May You do away with the false, sacred/secular divide in our lives, and instead, would You establish a life within us which reveals You? 

We ask for Your strength. We ask for Your grace. God, I pray that You would impart a supernatural peace upon my friends and family members here. Lord, the Scriptures say that we love because You first loved us. Would You reveal in a fresh way Your love for us so that we can reveal that love to the world? Our city needs it. Our region needs it. Our world needs it. We ask all these things in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.