Titus 1:5

Paul and Titus had visited Crete. The book of Acts did not record the visit. So, it probably happened after Paul had been a prisoner (Acts 28:16). Paul may have visited Crete for only a short time. He did not have enough time to complete his work. But he had told Titus what to do. Therefore, Titus had Paul’s authority to do the work.

Titus had to ‘put everything in order’. He had to organise the church properly. His first job was to appoint *elders in every town. ‘*Elder’ is another name for a Christian leader. Groups of Christians met in many of the towns in Crete. Each group needed good leaders who were in charge of the Christians. *Elders were often older mature men. However, a young man could be an *elder if he was a strong Christian. Paul had already told Titus how to appoint *elders. So, in this letter, Paul told Titus what qualities *elders and leaders should have. These qualities and standards still apply to Christian leaders today.

*Elders and leaders

This list is very similar to the list in 1 Timothy chapter 3.

The qualities that an *elder should have:

Verse 6

1 An *elder should behave well. He should not *sin on purpose. A leader who pleases God always tries to obey God. 1 Peter 5:3 says that a leader should be a model for other Christians. If a leader behaves badly then Christians will not learn to respect God. They will not learn how to behave properly. And other people will accuse the *elders too.

2 An *elder should have one wife. This means that a married *elder should be loyal to his wife. He must not have affairs with other women. However an *elder can marry again if his wife has died. It may also mean that all *elders should be married, not single, men.

3 An *elder’s children should behave well too. An *elder should be able to teach his children about God. He should teach them how to behave properly. People would not respect a man who could not control his own family (1 Timothy 3:4-5). This probably refers to *elders whose children still live at home.