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Wednesday, October 9th, 2024
the Week of Proper 22 / Ordinary 27
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聖書日本語

テトスへの手紙 1:5

5 あなたをクレテにおいてきたのは、わたしがあなたに命じておいたように、そこにし残してあることを整理してもらい、また、町々に長老を立ててもらうためにほかならない。

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Bishop;   Church;   Commandments;   Crete;   Elder;   Minister, Christian;   Titus;   Scofield Reference Index - Bishops;   Elders;   Thompson Chain Reference - Christian Elders;   Church;   Crete;   Duty;   Elders;   Ministers;   Order in Church;   Titus;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Discipline of the Church;   Ministers;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Crete;   Elders of Israel;   Titus;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Apollos;   Crete;   Elder;   Mission;   Paul;   Timothy, letters to;   Titus;   Titus, letter to;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Age, Old (the Aged);   Appoint;   Elder;   Leadership;   Ministry, Minister;   Overseer;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Bishop;   Episcopacy;   Ministry, Gospel;   Ordination;   Pluralist;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Crete;   Elder;   Titus;   Titus, Epistle to;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Bishop;   Church;   Crete;   Timothy;   Titus;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Crete;   Elder;   Island;   Ordination, Ordain;   Titus;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Bishop;   Church Government;   Timothy, Epistles to;   Titus;   Titus, Epistle to;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Bishop, Elder, Presbyter;   Church Government;   Clement of Rome, Epistle of;   Commandment;   Elder (2);   Marriage;   Nicopolis ;   Ordination;   Paul;   Philippians Epistle to the;   Priest;   Timothy and Titus Epistles to;   Titus;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Bishop;   Crete, Cretians;   Elders;   First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians Written;   Ordain;   Paul;   Titus, Epistle to;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Renew;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Bishop;   Church;   Crete;   Elder;   Titus;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Crete,;   Ti'tus;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Bishop;   Crete;   Episcopalians;   Ordination;   Presbyterians;   Titus;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Acts of the Apostles;   Bishop;   Church Government;   Crete;   Ordain;   Order;   Pastoral Epistles, the;   Presbyter;   Titus;  

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I left, 1 Timothy 1:3

Crete: Acts 2:11, Acts 27:7, Acts 27:12, Acts 27:21

set: 1 Chronicles 6:32, Ecclesiastes 12:9, Isaiah 44:7, 1 Corinthians 11:34, 1 Corinthians 14:40, Colossians 2:5

wanting: or, left undone

and: Acts 14:23, 2 Timothy 2:2

Reciprocal: Leviticus 14:42 - General 1 Chronicles 15:16 - chief Ezra 8:17 - ministers Ezekiel 44:9 - General John 10:2 - he that John 15:16 - ordained Acts 11:30 - to the Acts 17:14 - but Acts 20:17 - the elders Acts 28:30 - Paul 1 Thessalonians 5:12 - and are 1 Timothy 5:1 - an elder 1 Timothy 5:22 - suddenly Titus 1:7 - a bishop James 5:14 - for 1 Peter 5:1 - elders

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For this cause left I thee in Crete,.... Not in his voyage to Rome, Acts 27:7 but rather when he came from Macedonia into Greece, Acts 20:2. Crete is an island in the Mediterranean sea, now called Candy; Acts 20:2- :. Here Paul preached the Gospel to the conversion of many; but not having time to finish what he begun, left Titus here for that purpose:

that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting; that is, form the young converts into Gospel order, into a regular Gospel church state; settle a proper discipline among them; instruct them more largely into the doctrines of the Gospel; and correct their manners, and direct them in everything, both with respect to faith and practice:

and ordain elders in every city: for this island, though it was not above fifty miles in breadth, and two hundred and seventy in length, yet had an hundred cities in it d; and it seems as if the Gospel had been preached in most, if not all of them, and churches were formed: however, in as many of them as there were churches, the apostle would have Titus see to it, and take care that they had proper officers fixed in them, particularly elders, pastors, or overseers, to preach the Gospel, and administer the ordinances to them, to watch over them in the Lord, and put the laws of Christ's house in execution, and keep up a strict discipline in it, according to the will of God. What Titus was to do in this affair, was to put the churches upon looking out, and choosing from among themselves proper persons for such service, and to direct, assist, and preside at the elections and ordinations of them: for we are not to suppose, that the ordination of elders was the sole act of Titus, or alone resided in him; but in like manner as Paul and Barnabas ordained elders in every church, by the suffrages of the people, signified by the stretching out of their hands; in which they directed, presided, and also assisted in prayer, with fasting, Acts 14:23

as I had appointed thee; when he left him at Crete; when he gave him orders and instructions, both with respect to the persons, and their qualifications, whom he would have ordained, and with respect to the manner in which it should be done: the former of these he repeats in the following verses. From all which it clearly appears, that there were churches in Crete, and pastors placed over those churches; very probably the Cretes, who were at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2:11, and heard Peter's sermon, and were converted by him, some of them returning to their own country, might first bring the Gospel to this island, and lay the foundation of a Gospel church state here. It seems by what is said in this text, that the Apostle Paul was in this island himself, and preached the Gospel, and after him Titus, whom he left behind; and if any credit is to be given to the subscription of this epistle, he was the first bishop of the church in it: and it is certain, that in the "second" century there were churches in this island, particularly at Gortyna, and other places, to whom Dionysius e, bishop of Corinth, wrote letters, in which he greatly extols Philip their bishop; and in another letter of his to the Gnossians, or to the church at Gnossus, another city in Crete, he makes mention of Pinytus as their bishop, and whom he commends for his orthodox faith, great knowledge of divine things, and care of his flock; and both these lived in the times of the Emperors Antoninus Verus and Commodus f; which churches, no doubt, continued in the "third" century, since in the "fourth" we read of bishops sent from Crete to the synod at Sardica: and in the "fifth" century, a bishop of Gortyna in Crete is reckoned among the bishops in the council of Chalcedon: and in the "sixth" century, Theodorus, bishop of the same place, subscribed in the fifth synod at Constantinople: and in the "seventh" century, Paul archbishop of Crete, Basil bishop of Gortyna, with several other bishops of churches in the island, were present at the sixth synod at Constantinople: and in the "eighth" century, as appears from the acts of the Nicene synod, Helias was bishop of Crete, Anastasius bishop of Gnossus, a city in it, and Melito, Leontins, and Galatas, bishops of other places in the same island: and in the "ninth" century, a bishop of Gortyna, in defence of the cause of Christ, became a martyr g; so far churches, and bishops, bearing the Christian name, are to be traced in this island.

d Plin. l. 4. c. 12. Mela, l. 2. c. 14. Solin, c. 16. e Apud Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 3. c. 24. f Sophronius in Hieron. Catalog. Script. Eccl. c. 38. 40. g Hist. Eccl. Magdeburg. cent. 4. c. 2. p. 5. c. 9. p. 425. cent. 5. c. 2. p. 6. cent. 6. c. 2. p. 6. cent. 7. c. 2. p. 4. c. 10. p. 255. cent. 8. c. 2. p. 6. cent. 9. c. 2. p. 4.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For this cause left I thee in Crete - Compare the notes, 1 Timothy 1:3. On the situation of Crete, see the Introduction, Section 2.

That thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting - Margin, “left undone.” The Greek is: “the things that are left;” that is, those which were left unfinished; referring, doubtless, to arrangements which had been commenced, but which for some cause had been left incomplete. Whether this had occurred because he had been driven away by persecution, or called away by important duties demanding his attention elsewhere, cannot now be determined. The word rendered “set in order”, ἐπιδιορθώσῃ epidiorthōsē, occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means, properly, “to make straight upon, and then to put further to rights, to arrange further.” Robinson, Lexicon - There were things left unfinished which he was to complete. One of these things, and perhaps the principal, was to appoint elders in the various cities where the gospel had been preached.

And ordain - The word “ordain” has now acquired a technical signification which it cannot be shown that it has in the New Testament. It means, in common usage, to “invest with a ministerial function or sacerdotal power; to introduce, and establish, and settle in the pastoral office with the customary forms and solemnities” (Webster); and it may be added, with the idea always connected with it, of the imposition of hands. But the word used here does not necessarily convey this meaning, or imply that Titus was to go through what would now be called an ordination service. It means to set, place, or constitute; then, to set over anything, as a steward or other officer (see Matthew 24:45; Luke 12:42; Acts 6:3), though without reference to any particular mode of investment with an office; see the word, “ordain,” explained in the notes at Acts 1:22; Acts 14:23. Titus was to appoint or set them over the churches, though with what ceremony is now unknown. There is no reason to suppose that he did this except as the result of the choice of the people; compare the notes at Acts 6:3.

Elders - Greek: Presbyters; see the word explained in the notes at Acts 14:23. These “elders,” or “Presbyters,” were also called “bishops” (compare the notes at 1 Timothy 3:1), for Paul immediately, in describing their qualifications, calls them bishops: - “ordain elders in every city - if any be blameless - for a bishop must be blameless,” etc. If the elders and bishops in the times of the apostles were of different ranks, this direction would be wholly unmeaningful. It would be the same as if the following direction were given to one who was authorized to appoint officers over an army: “Appoint captains over each company, who shall be of good character, and acquainted with military tactics, for a Brigadier General must be of good character, and acquainted with the rules of war.” - That the same rank is denoted also by the terms Presbyter and Bishop here, is further apparent because the qualifications which Paul states as requisite for the “bishop” are not those which pertain to a prelate or a diocesan bishop, but to one who was a pastor of a church, or an evangelist. It is clear, from Titus 1:7, that those whom Titus was to appoint were “bishops,” and yet it is absurd to suppose that the apostle meant prelatical bishops, for no one can believe that such bishops were to be appointed in “every city” of the island. According to all modern notions of Episcopacy, one such bishop would have been enough for such an island as Crete, and indeed it has been not infrequently maintained that Titus himself was in fact the Bishop of that Diocese. But if these were not prelates who were to be ordained by Titus, then it is clear that the term “bishop” in the New Testament is given to the Presbyters or elders; that is, to all ministers of the gospel. That usage should never have been departed from.

In every city - Crete was anciently celebrated for the number of its cities. In one passage Homer ascribes to the island 100 cities (Iliad ii. 649), in another, 90 cities (Odyssey xix. 174). It may be presumed that many of these cities were towns of not very considerable size, and yet it would seem probable that each one was large enough to have a church, and to maintain the gospel. Paul, doubtless, expected that Titus would travel over the whole island, and endeavor to introduce the gospel in every important place.

As I had appointed thee - As I commanded thee, or gave thee direction - διεταξάμην dietaxamēn - This is a different word from the one used in the former part of the verse - and rendered “ordain” - καθίστημι kathistēmi. It does not mean that Titus was to ordain elders in the same manner as Paul had ordained him, but that he was to set them over the cities as he had directed him to do. He had, doubtless, given him oral instructions, when he left him, as to the way in which it was to be done.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 5. For this cause left I thee in Crete — That St. Paul had been in Crete, though nowhere else intimated, is clear from this passage. That he could not have made such an important visit, and evangelized an island of the first consequence, without its being mentioned by his historian, Luke, had it happened during the period embraced in the Acts of the Apostles, must be evident. That the journey, therefore, must have been performed after the time in which St. Luke ends his history, that is, after St. Paul's first imprisonment at Rome, seems almost certain.

Set in order the things that are wanting — It appears from this that the apostle did not spend much time in Crete, and that he was obliged to leave it before he had got the Church properly organized. The supplying of this defect, he tells Titus, he had confided to him as one whose spiritual views coincided entirely with his own.

Ordain elders in every city — That thou mightest appoint, καταστησης, elders - persons well instructed in Divine things, who should be able to instruct others, and observe and enforce the discipline of the Church. It appears that those who are called elders in this place are the same as those termed bishops in Titus 1:7. We have many proofs that bishops and elders were of the same order in the apostolic Church, though afterwards they became distinct. Lord Peter King, in his view of the primitive Church, has written well on this subject.

In every city. - κατα πολιν. This seems to intimate that the apostle had gone over the whole of the hecatompolis or hundred cities for which this island was celebrated. Indeed it is not likely that he would leave one in which he had not preached Christ crucified.


 
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