Latest / Pastor John Piper's answers / Why Should We Submit to Paul’s Letters Titus 1:1–4, Part 3

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Why Should We Submit to Paul’s Letters Titus 1:1–4, Part 3 · Pastor John Piper's answers

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: This is part three of Titus one through four. And
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: the next thing we will look at is the phrase
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: apostle of Jesus Christ. Paul a slave of God, which
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: is what we look at last time, and an apostle
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: of Jesus Christ for the sake of And then you
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: get this amazing unpacking of the purpose of Paul's apostleship
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: and his entire ministry. But let's make sure that we
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  Speaker 1: have a good handle on Paul's self identification here as
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  Speaker 1: an apostle. So, Father, as we ponder again this glorious
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  Speaker 1: title that doesn't apply to every Christian leader, and you
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: didn't apply to many Christian leaders in the first century,
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  Speaker 1: just those initial twelve and then the apostle Paul in
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  Speaker 1: the fullest authoritative way, Oh, show us the application this
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  Speaker 1: has for us as we read our Bibles, I pray
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  Speaker 1: in Jesus name. Amen. So the first question I want
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  Speaker 1: to ask before we tackle the very word, is why
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  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, When in fact, six other places in Paul's
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  Speaker 1: letters he says that he's an apostle of Christ Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: For example, one Timothy Chapter one, Paul an apostle of
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  Speaker 1: Christ Jesus. Two Timothy one Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: But here Paul, slave of God, apostle of Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 1: Why would that be? I don't know. We know this
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: Jesus was the historical name of the incarnate son of God.
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  Speaker 1: So on the earth he had the name Jesus, which
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  Speaker 1: was the Greek version of Joshua, which means deliverer or savior.
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  Speaker 1: You will call his name Jesus because he will save
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  Speaker 1: these people from their sins. Christ is a designation of anointed,
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  Speaker 1: the Christos, the christen one, the anointed one that is
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  Speaker 1: the Messiah. So this is a title, This is a
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  Speaker 1: personal name, Jesus the Messiah or Messiah Jesus. They both
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  Speaker 1: became personal names eventually, and so I'm not able to
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  Speaker 1: make any distinction. If there is one, Perhaps you can
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  Speaker 1: figure out why that would be. Here in Titus, I
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  Speaker 1: have been able to Jesus Christ, the historical son of God,
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  Speaker 1: who is the Messiah. Paul was an apostle of that great, glorious,
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: unique god man, Jesus Christ. What does Paul have to
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  Speaker 1: say about his apostleship. He's a good place to start.
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  Speaker 1: One Corinthiance fifteen, Paul says Christ was buried. He was
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  Speaker 1: raised on the third day. In accordance with the scriptures,
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  Speaker 1: he appeared to seaph Us, that is Peter, and then
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  Speaker 1: to the twelve, that is the Apostles, the original Apostles.
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  Speaker 1: Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at
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  Speaker 1: one time. By the way, we know, Judas is gone here.
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  Speaker 1: So the twelve has become a kind of technical phrase.
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  Speaker 1: I think Jesus chose twelve apostles as representatives, like the
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  Speaker 1: twelve tribes of Israel, to say these are the people
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  Speaker 1: of God in miniature, and so the fact that there
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  Speaker 1: were only eleven here didn't stop him from saying the twelve,
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  Speaker 1: and He's gonna make it twelve in due time. But
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  Speaker 1: immediately after the resurrection, Judas has gone, Matthias hadn't been
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  Speaker 1: chosen yet, Paul had not been added. Then he appeared
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  Speaker 1: to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most
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  Speaker 1: of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
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  Speaker 1: Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,
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  Speaker 1: last of all, as to one untimely born. He appeared
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  Speaker 1: also to me, for I am the least of the apostles,
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  Speaker 1: unworthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church.
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  Speaker 1: So when Jesus met Paul on the Damascus road and
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  Speaker 1: chose a secutor of the church to add to the
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  Speaker 1: Apostolic band, Paul was stunned out of his mind that
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  Speaker 1: he would be shown such mercy. But there it is.
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  Speaker 1: He is chosen to be part of the twelve, which
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  Speaker 1: made it more than twelve. But the fact that eleven
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  Speaker 1: were called twelve here and now thirteen can be called twelve.
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  Speaker 1: In other words, there's this unique, limited band of authoritative
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  Speaker 1: scent spokesman who are to do what what's their job.
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  Speaker 1: Here's Ephesians two, and Paul gives us another glimpse. You
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  Speaker 1: are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow
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  Speaker 1: citizens with the saints, members of the household of God.
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  Speaker 1: You gentiles, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.
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  Speaker 1: There is a foundational dimension to the Apostolic teaching. The
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  Speaker 1: apostles are the foundation. So we gather their writings, the
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  Speaker 1: Apostolic writings into the New Testament that generation ceases. Their
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  Speaker 1: teaching is preserved in the New Testament, and we now
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  Speaker 1: have a foundation to stand on in God's inspired apostolic word,
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  Speaker 1: how do they relate to the prophets, who, together with
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  Speaker 1: the apostles, are the foundation. And I think this probably
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  Speaker 1: is New Testament prophets, not Old Testament prophets. Look at
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  Speaker 1: this and you'll see how Paul conceived of his relationship
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  Speaker 1: to the prophets of his own day. If anyone thinks
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  Speaker 1: that he's a prophet or spiritual, he should acknowledge that
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  Speaker 1: the things I am writing to you are a command
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  Speaker 1: of the Lord. If anyone does not recognize this my
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  Speaker 1: authority to give the Lord's word, he is not recognized,
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  Speaker 1: Which means that when it says here apostles and prophets,
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  Speaker 1: there was no doubt in Paul's mind that the apostles
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  Speaker 1: were uniquely authoritative even over prophets. Prophets were authoritative derivatively
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  Speaker 1: insofar as their word was matching up with the final
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  Speaker 1: authority the apostles, which you can see when Paul says,
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  Speaker 1: if anyone does not recognize this, namely that I, an apostle,
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  Speaker 1: am writing the command of the Lord, then prophecy or not,
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  Speaker 1: prophet or not, he's not recognized. This all began in
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  Speaker 1: the teachings of Jesus. The ministry of Jesus, Mark three.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus went up on the mountain and called to him
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  Speaker 1: those whom he desired, and they came to him. So
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  Speaker 1: the disciples are a larger band, and now the apostles
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  Speaker 1: are a smaller group within the disciples. And he appointed
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  Speaker 1: twelve whom he also named apostles, so that they might
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  Speaker 1: be with him and that he might send them out
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  Speaker 1: to preach. And I should have added and have authority
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  Speaker 1: over demons, because that's the next phrase after verse fourteen.
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  Speaker 1: So authority and preaching sent by Jesus, and Jesus sent
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  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit uniquely to them to secure their truthful
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  Speaker 1: teaching for the church. I think that's what this text means.
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  Speaker 1: In John sixteen, I still have many things to say
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  Speaker 1: to you, he says to the apostles on that last
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  Speaker 1: night before he was crucified. I have many things to
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  Speaker 1: say to you, but you cannot bear them. Now. When
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  Speaker 1: the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into
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  Speaker 1: all truth. So I'm sending a spirit, the Holy Spirit.
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  Speaker 1: When he comes, he will guide you into all truth.
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  Speaker 1: For he will not speak on his own authority, but
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  Speaker 1: whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will declare
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  Speaker 1: to you the things that are to come. So this
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  Speaker 1: is the great promise of inspiration that Jesus gives to
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  Speaker 1: those whom he has appointed apostles and scent with his
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  Speaker 1: own authority. So when Paul says here at the beginning
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  Speaker 1: of Titus, I write now to you, Titus, even though
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  Speaker 1: you're my dear true child in a common faith, I
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  Speaker 1: write with God's authority. I write with the authority of
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  Speaker 1: the historical Messiah, son of God, who has appeared to
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  Speaker 1: me and appointed me and sent me as a reliable
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  Speaker 1: preacher and teacher of the Gospel. And when we read
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  Speaker 1: this now, we should read it with a deep sense
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  Speaker 1: of submission and humility. And oh how much thankfulness that
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  Speaker 1: God has been pleased to preserve for us the true
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  Speaker 1: and apostolic teaching.