_THE CHURCH IN CRETE AND ITS ORGANIZATION.--THE APOSTLE'S DIRECTIONS FOR
APPOINTING ELDERS._
"For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in
order the things that were wanting, and appoint elders in every
city, as I gave thee charge; if any man is blameless, the husband of
one wife, having children that believe, who are not accused of riot
or unruly. For the bishop must be blameless, as God's
steward."--TITUS i. 5-7.
This passage tells us a great deal about the circumstances which led to
the writing of the letter. They have been touched upon in the previous
chapter, but may be treated more comprehensively here.
It is quite evident: (1) that the Gospel had been established in Crete
for a considerable time when St. Paul wrote this to his delegate, Titus;
(2) that during the Apostle's stay in the island he had been unable to
complete the work which he had in view with regard to the full
establishment of the Church there; and (3) that one of the chief things
which remained undone, and which St. Paul had been compelled to leave to
Titus to accomplish, was a properly organized ministry. There was a
large and scattered flock; but for the most part it was without
shepherds.
It is quite possible that the Gospel of Christ was at least known, if
not by any one believed, in Crete before St. Paul visited the islands.
Cretans were among those who heard the miraculous preaching of the
Apostles on the day of Pentecost; and some of these may have returned to
their country, if not converts to Christianity, at any rate full of what
they had seen and heard of "the mighty works of God," as shown forth in
the words spoken on that day, and in their consequences. Certainly there
were many Jews in the island; and these, though often the bitterest
opponents of the Gospel, were nevertheless the readiest and best
converts, when they did not oppose; for they already knew and worshipped
the true God, and they were acquainted with the prophecies respecting
the Messiah. We may therefore conclude that the way was already prepared
for the preaching of Christ, even if He as yet had no worshippers in
Crete, before St. Paul began to teach there.
There are three things which tend to show that Christianity had been
spreading in Crete for at least some years when the Apostle wrote this
letter to Titus. First, the latter is charged to "appoint elders _in
every city_," or "city by city," as we might render the original
expression (=kata polin=). This implies that among the multitude of
cities, for which Crete even in Homer's day had been famous, not a few
had a Christian congregation in need of supervision; and it is not
improbable that the congregation in some cases was a large one. For the
interpretation is certainly an untenable one which forces into the
Apostle's words a restriction which they do not contain, that each city
is to have just one presbyter and no more. St. Paul tells Titus to take
care that no city is left without a presbyter. Each Christian community
is to have its proper ministry; it is not to be left to its own
guidance. But how many elders each congregation is to have, is a point
to be decided by Titus according to the principles laid down for him by
St. Paul. For we must not limit the "as I gave thee charge" to the mere
fact of appointing elders. The Apostle had told him, not merely that
elders must be appointed, but that they must be appointed in a
particular way, and according to a prescribed system. The passage,
therefore, tells us that there were a good many cities in which there
were Christian congregations, and leaves us quite free to believe that
some of these congregations were large enough to require several elders
to minister to them and govern them. Secondly, the kind of person to be
selected as overseer seems to imply that Christianity has been
established for a considerable time among the Cretans. The "elder" or
"bishop" (for in this passage, at any rate, the two names indicate one
and the same officer) is to be the father of a family, with children who
are believers and orderly persons.
The injunction implies that there are cases in which the father is a
good Christian, but he has not succeeded in making his children good
Christians. Either they have not become believers at all; or, although
nominal Christians, they do not conduct themselves as such. They are
profligate, riotous, and disobedient. This implies that the children are
old enough to think for themselves and reject the Gospel in spite of
their parent's conversion; or that they are old enough to rebel against
its authority. And one does not use such strong words as "profligacy" or
"riotous living" of quite young children. The prodigal son, of whom the
same expression is used, was no mere child. Cases of this kind,
therefore, in which the father had been converted to Christianity, but
had been unable to make the influences of Christianity tell upon his own
children, were common enough to make it worth St. Paul's while to give
injunctions about them. And this implies a condition of things in which
Christianity was no newly planted religion. The injunctions are
intelligible enough. Such fathers are not to be selected by Titus as
elders. A man who has so conspicuously failed in bringing his own
household into harmony with the Gospel, is not the man to be promoted to
rule the household of the Church. Even if his failure is his misfortune
rather than his fault, the condition of his own family cannot fail to be
a grave impediment to his usefulness as an overseer of the
congregation.[72] Thirdly, there is the fact that heresies already exist
among the Cretan Christians. Titus, like Timothy, has to contend with
teaching of a seriously erroneous kind. From this also we infer that the
faith has long since been introduced into the island. The misbeliefs of
the newly converted would be spoken of in far gentler terms. They are
errors of ignorance, which will disappear as fuller instruction in the
truth is received. They are not erroneous doctrines held and propagated
in opposition to the truth. These latter require time for their
development. From all these considerations, therefore, we conclude that
St. Paul is writing to Titus as his delegate in a country in which the
Gospel is no new thing. We are not to suppose that the Apostle left
Titus in charge of Christians who had been converted a very short time
before to the faith.
The incompleteness of the Apostle's own work in the island is spoken of
in plain terms. Even in Churches in which he was able to remain for two
or three years, he was obliged to leave very much unfinished; and we
need not be surprised that such was the case in Crete, where he can
hardly have stayed so long. It was this incompleteness in all his work,
a defect quite unavoidable in work of such magnitude, that weighed so
heavily upon the Apostle's mind. It was "that which pressed upon him
daily,--anxiety for all the Churches." There was so much that had never
been done at all; so much that required to be secured and established;
so much that already needed correction. And while he was attending to
the wants of one Church, another not less important, not less dear to
him, was equally in need of his help and guidance. And here was the
comfort of having such disciples as, Timothy and Titus, who, like true
friends, could be indeed a "second self" to him. They could be carrying
on his work in places where he himself could not be. And thus there was
no small consolation for the sorrow of parting from them and the loss of
their helpful presence. They could be still more helpful elsewhere. "For
this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the
things that were wanting."
There were many things that were wanting in Crete; but one of the chief
things which pressed upon the Apostle's mind was the lack of a properly
organized ministry, without which everything must soon fall into
confusion and decay. Hence, as soon as he has concluded his salutation,
the fulness and solemnity of which is one of the many evidences of the
genuineness of the letter, he at once repeats to Titus the charge which
he had previously given to him by word of mouth respecting this pressing
need. A due supply of elders or overseers is of the first importance
for "setting in order" those things which at present are in so
unsatisfactory a state.
There are several points of interest in connexion with St. Paul's
directions to Titus respecting this need and the best way of meeting it.
First. It is Titus himself who is to appoint these elders throughout the
cities in which congregations exist. It is not the congregations that
are to elect the overseers, subject to the approval of the Apostle's
delegate; still less that he is to ordain any one whom they may elect.
The full responsibility of each appointment rests with him. Anything
like popular election of the ministers is not only not suggested, it is
by implication entirely excluded. But, secondly, in making each
appointment Titus is to consider the congregation. He is to look
carefully to the reputation which the man of his choice bears among his
fellow-Christians:--"if any man is _blameless_ ... having children who
are not _accused_ of riot.... For the bishop must be _blameless_." A man
in whom the congregation have no confidence, because of the bad repute
which attaches to himself or his family, is not to be appointed. In this
way the congregation have an indirect veto; for the man to whom they
cannot give a good character may not be taken to be set over them.
Thirdly, the appointment of Church officers is regarded as imperative:
it is on no account to be omitted. And it is not merely an arrangement
that is as a rule desirable: it is to be universal. Titus is to "appoint
elders in every city." He is to go through the congregations "city by
city," and take care that each has its elder or body of elders.
Fourthly, as the name itself indicates, these elders are to be taken
from the older men among the believers. As a rule they are to be heads
of families, who have had experience of life in its manifold relations,
and especially who have had experience of ruling a Christian household.
That will be some guarantee for their capacity for ruling a Christian
congregation. Lastly, it must be remembered that they are not merely
delegates, either of Titus, or of the congregation. The essence of their
authority is not that they are the representatives of the body of
Christian men and women over whom they are placed. It has a far higher
origin. They are "God's stewards." It is His household that they direct
and administer, and it is from Him that their powers are derived. They
are His ministers, solemnly appointed to act in His Name. It is on His
behalf that they have to speak, as His agents and ambassadors, labouring
to advance the interests of His kingdom. They are "stewards of His
mysteries," bringing out of what is committed to them "things new and
old." As God's agents they have a work to do among their fellow-men,
through themselves, for Him. As God's ambassadors they have a message to
deliver, good tidings to proclaim, ever the same, and yet ever new. As
"God's stewards" they have treasures to guard with reverent care,
treasures to augment by diligent cultivation, treasures to distribute
with prudent liberality. There is the flock, sorely needing, but it may
be not greatly craving, God's spiritual gifts. The longing has to be
awakened: the longing, when awakened, has to be cherished and directed:
the gifts which will satisfy it have to be dispensed. There is a demand;
and there is a supply; a human demand and a Divine supply. It is the
business of God's stewards to see that the one meets the other.
"God's steward" is the key to all that follows respecting the qualities
to be looked for in an elder or overseer of the Church: and, as the
order of the words in the Greek shows, the emphasis is on "God's" rather
than on "steward." The point accentuated is, not that in the Church as
in his own home he has a household to administer, but that the household
to which he has to minister is God's. That being so, he "as God's
steward" must prove himself worthy of the Commission which he holds:
"not self-willed, not soon angry, no brawler, no striker, not greedy of
filthy lucre; but given to hospitality, a lover of good, sober-minded,
just, holy, temperate; holding to the faithful word which is according
to the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort in the sound
doctrine, and to convict the gainsayers."
Such men, wherever he can find them,--and "_if_ any man is blameless" is
not meant to hint that among Cretans it may be impossible to find
such,--Titus is to "_appoint_" as elders in every city. In the A.V. the
phrase runs "_ordain_ elders in every city." As we have seen already
(Chap. V.), there are several passages in which the Revisers have
changed "ordain" into "appoint." Thus in Mark iii. 14, "He ordained
twelve" becomes "He appointed twelve." In John xv. 16, "I have chosen
you and ordained you" becomes, "I chose you and appointed you." In 1
Tim. ii. 7, "Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle" becomes
"whereunto I was appointed a preacher and an apostle." In Heb. v. 1, and
viii. 3, "Every high priest is ordained" becomes "every high priest is
appointed." In these passages three different Greek words (=poieô=,
=tithêmi=, =kathistêmi=) are used in the original; but not one of them has
the special ecclesiastical meaning which we so frequently associate
with the word "ordain"; not one of them implies, as "ordain" in such
context almost of necessity implies, a _rite_ of ordination, a special
ceremonial, such as the laying on of hands. When in English we say, "He
ordained twelve," "I am ordained an apostle," "Every high priest is
ordained," the mind almost inevitably thinks of ordination in the common
sense of the word; and this is foisting upon the language of the New
Testament a meaning which the words there used do not rightly bear. They
all three of them refer to the _appointment_ to the office, and not to
rite or ceremony by which the person appointed is admitted to the
office. The Revisers, therefore, have done wisely in banishing from all
such texts a word which to English readers cannot fail to suggest ideas
which are not contained at all in the original Greek. If we ask in what
way Titus admitted the men whom he selected to serve as presbyters to
their office, the answer is scarcely a doubtful one. Almost certainly he
would admit them, as Timothy himself was admitted, and as he is
instructed to admit others, by the laying on of hands. But this is
neither expressed nor implied in the injunction to "_appoint_ elders in
every city." The appointment is one thing, the ordination another; and
even in cases in which we are sure that the appointment involved
ordination, we are not justified in saying "ordain" where the Greek says
"appoint." The Greek words used in the passages quoted might equally
well be used of the appointment of a magistrate or a steward. And as we
should avoid speaking of _ordaining_ a magistrate or a steward, we ought
to avoid using "ordain" to translate words which would be thoroughly in
place in such a connexion. The Greek words for "ordain" and
"ordination," in the sense of imposition of hands in order to admit to
an ecclesiastical office (=cheirothetei=, =cheirothesia=), do not occur in
the New Testament at all.
It is worthy of note that there is not a trace here, any more than there
is in the similar passage in 1 Timothy, of the parallel between the
threefold ministry in the Old Testament and a threefold ministry in the
Christian Church, high-priest, priests, and Levites being compared with
bishop, presbyters, and deacons. This parallel was a favourite one and
it was made early. The fact therefore that we do not find it in any of
these Epistles, nor even any material out of which it could be
constructed, confirms us in the belief that these letters belong to the
first century and not to the second.
In giving this injunction to Titus, St. Paul assumes that his disciple
and delegate is as free as he himself is from all feelings of jealousy,
or envy. "Art thou jealous for my sake? would God that all the Lord's
people were prophets," is the spirit in which these instructions are
given, and no doubt were accepted. There is no grasping after power in
the great Apostle of the Gentiles; no desire to keep everything in his
own hands, that he might have the credit of all that was done. So long
as Christ is rightly preached, so long as the Lord's work is faithfully
done, he cares not who wins the glory. He is more than willing that
Timothy and Titus should share in his work and its reward; and he
without hesitation applies to them to admit others in like manner to
share with them in their work and its reward. This generous willingness
to admit others to co-operate is not always found, especially in men of
strong character and great energy and decision. They will admit
subordinates as a necessary evil to work out details, because they
cannot themselves afford time for all these. But they object to anything
like colleagues. Whatever of any serious importance is done must be in
their own hands and must be recognized as their work. There is nothing
of this spirit in St. Paul. He could rejoice when some "preached Christ
even of envy and strife," "not sincerely, thinking to raise up
affliction for him in his bonds." He rejoiced, not because of their evil
temper, but because that at any rate Christ was preached. How much more,
therefore, did he rejoice when Christ was preached "of good will" by
disciples devoted to himself and his Master. They all had the same end
in view; not their own glory, but the glory of God.
And this is the end which all Christian ministers have to keep in view,
and which they too often exchange for ends that are far lower, and far
removed (it may be) from the cause with which we choose to identify
them. And as time goes on, and we look less and less with a single eye
at the will of God, and have less and less of the single purpose of
seeking His glory, our aims become narrower and our ends more selfish.
At first it is the triumph of a system, then it is the advancement of a
party. Then it becomes the propagation of our own views, and the
extension of our own influence. Until at last we find ourselves working,
no longer for God's glory, but simply for our own. While professing to
work in His Name and for His honour, we have steadily substituted our
own wills for His.
But it is only by forgetting ourselves that we find ourselves; only by
losing our life that we find it. "God's steward" must be ready to sink
every personal interest in the interests of the great Employer. He has
nothing of his own. He deals with his Master's goods, and must deal with
them in his Master's way. He who labours in this spirit will one day be
rewarded by the Divine voice of welcome: "Well done, good and faithful
servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things; I will set thee over
many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
FOOTNOTES:
[72] It is worth while here to repeat the caution that the Apostle's
language by no means implies that the "elder" or "bishop" _must_ be a
married man with children. But it implies that he will generally be
such; and in appointing him, the character of his family must be
carefully considered.