Support for the Ministry

The conclusion of Paul’s letter to Titus (Titus 3:12–15) teaches us that God will support those ministers who are called and sent by Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “The laborer is worthy of his wages.” No soldier of any country supports himself. We serve Jehovah Jireh (the God who provides). The Lord is our shepherd, and as his ministers, we lack nothing. Many ministers are either called by a church or called by themselves. Such people do not preach the gospel, and they rightly lack support.

When Jesus sent out his disciples, he instructed them, “Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep” (Matt. 10:9–10). He also told them, “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages” (Luke 10:5–7).

The Lord is with every true minister to provide for him and protect him. He said, “I will be with you always, even unto the end of the ages” (Matt. 28:20). This has been true for me. My own story is described in Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, where the apostle exclaimed, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Eph. 3:20–21).

In this passage, then, Paul is giving certain apostolic instructions to Titus that we should also heed.

First Apostolic Instruction

Paul begins, “As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there” (v. 12). Paul was commanding Titus to leave Crete and join him at Nicopolis after he sends Artemas or Tychicus to replace him. Titus, Timothy, Tychicus, Crescens, and Mark were Paul’s delegates in the churches. They did not work in one place permanently. The permanent officers of God’s churches are elders and pastors.

Titus was sent to Crete to appoint elders in every church (Titus 1:5). Paul would later send Titus to Dalmatia to work with the believers there (2 Tim. 4:10). So Titus is commanded to join Paul after either Artemas or Tychicus came to Crete to replace him. At the time he wrote this epistle, Paul was not certain which one he would send. God would make that clear in the future as he prayed.

When we are not sure about a course of action, we must pray. And God, who is light, will enlighten us and guide us in the way we ought to go. We do not know anything about Artemas. We know more about Tychicus. He was from Ephesus and traveled with Paul to Jerusalem with the offering to help the poor there. Tychicus was the bearer of the epistles to the Ephesian and Colossian churches. Paul calls him a dear brother and said he was trustworthy. Can your pastor say that you are trustworthy?

As soon as his replacement came, Titus was to join Paul at Nicopolis, which was two hundred miles northwest of Athens. It was a port city, the capital of Epirus in Greece. It was a Roman colony founded by Augustus in 31 BC to celebrate his victory in Actium in the battle against Antony and Cleopatra. God was guiding Paul to spend the winter months in Nicopolis. He was very certain of it. He says, “I have decided.” It is in the perfect tense.

When people could not travel, they spent the three winter months in certain places. Nicopolis was a fine winter resort. It was God’s plan that Paul and Titus evangelize the people who would winter there as well as in the surrounding area.

Paul was not going to Nicopolis for vacation. A minister of the gospel is always working for the Lord. He is always engaged in the labor of spreading the gospel. Paul also desired to fellowship with Titus. Later Paul would instruct Timothy to join him in Rome before winter came (2 Tim. 4:21).

Second Apostolic Instruction

Then Paul wrote, “Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need” (v. 13). He was instructing Titus to do his best to provide hospitality and to give a good sendoff to the two ministers, Zenas and Apollos, Paul was sending through Crete to another destination. Zenas was a lawyer, probably practicing Roman law. Apollos was a brilliant theologian, a Jew from Alexandria. Apollos was mighty in Scriptures and fervent in spirit. Yet he was humble and teachable (Acts 18:24–25). Though he had accurate knowledge of Jesus, Aquila and Priscilla gave him accurate knowledge of Christian baptism and baptism in the Holy Spirit. Apollos worked in Corinth for some time, preaching the gospel. Paul wrote, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow” (1 Cor. 3:6).

Paul told Titus to do everything he could to help these two ministers. God-sent ministers are to be supported by God’s people. The Greek word propempô has the technical meaning of providing every necessary support for true ministers.

There are many ministers who are false. We must reject such men after testing them by the essential gospel. We are warned throughout the New Testament about such ministers:

• 2 John 10–11: “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching [the apostolic teaching], do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.”
• 1 John 4:1–2: “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.”
• Revelation 2:1–2: “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false” (Rev. 2:1–2).
• 2 Corinthians 11:13–15: “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”

If a person does not understand essential theology and if he is not led by the Holy Spirit, these false so-called ministers will deceive him by preaching a different Jesus, a different gospel, and a different spirit. We must take warning. Paul told the Galatians: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ” (Gal. 1:6–7). Many people throughout the world today are perverting the gospel. Paul continues, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (Gal. 1:8).

God-sent ministers will be supported by the true people of God. The people of God are to provide for them while they are ministering to them. And when they leave, God’s people are to give them a good send-off. They should supply them with all necessary things for the next leg of their missionary journey, including money, food, arranging for companions, means of travel, clothing, and the like.¹

This word propempô is very important. Send them off! We find this direction to help God’s ministers several places in the Bible.

• Acts 15:3: “The church sent them on their way [that is, giving them whatever necessary].”
• Romans 15:24: “I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you [send me] assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.”
• 1 Corinthians 16:6: “Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me [it is the same Greek word] on my journey, wherever I go.”
• 1 Corinthians 16:11: “No one, then, should refuse to accept him. Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers.”
• 2 Corinthians 1:16: “I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea.”
• Titus 3:13: “Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need.”
• 3 John 5–8: “Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.” Jesus said, “If they receive you, they receive me. If they receive me, they receive the Father who sent me.” So John says, “You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out.” These brothers trusted in God when they went out to preach the gospel. John continues, “receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.” Everyone is not called for full-time ministry as a pastor. But when you help, you are contributing to the work of God.
• Galatians 6:6: “Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.”
• 1 Timothy 5:17–18: “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, ‘Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,’ and ‘The worker deserves his wages.’”
• 1 Corinthians 9:4: “Don’t we have the right to food and drink?” The Greek word is exousia, the divinely given right.
• 1 Corinthians 9:14: “In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.”

The prophet Elijah was sent by God. So God himself commanded ravens to bring him daily bread and meat (1 Kings 17:1–6). Then he was sent to a very poor widow, and she provided him with water and bread (1 Kings 17:7–24). Then Elijah went his own way, away from serving Christ. Even then, God sent an angel to help him and provide him with water and fresh bread (1 Kings 19:5–9).

If God has called a man to minister, he will take care of him. He has many ways of providing. So the Bible teaches that those who are ministered to are to give for the Lord’s work generously, joyfully, proportionately to their income, and sacrificially, knowing that those who sow the gospel especially by preaching have the divine right to reap a material harvest for their physical support. This divine right (exousia) appears five times in 1 Corinthians 9:4–14.²

Third Apostolic Instruction

Paul’s next instruction to Titus was, “Let our people learn of doing good works” (v. 14, author’s wording). In the pastoral epistles, there is great emphasis on doing the work of the Lord. Cretans were known for their laziness. Earlier in this epistle Paul wrote, “Even one of their own prophets has said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons’” (Titus 1:12). He also said, “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good” (Titus 1:16).

These Cretans were like the one talent man who hid his talent, refusing to work (Matt. 25:26a, 30). So the master told this one talent man, “You wicked and lazy servant!” Then he told others, “Throw that worthless servant outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” In other words, throw him to hell.

Paul was emphasizing that the Christian Cretans needed to learn to work hard six days a week and to abound in good works. This theme is repeated throughout his epistles:

• Titus 2:7: “In everything set them an example by doing what is good.”
• Titus 2:14: “[Christ] gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”
• Titus 3:1: “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good.”
• Titus 3:8: “This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.”
• Titus 3:14: “Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.”
• 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12: “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”
• 2 Thessalonians 3:10–12: “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat.’ We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.”

True Christians are hardworking and therefore very successful in the sight of God. They work hard to please the Lord. (PGM) Jesus said, “My Father is working always until now, and I work” (John 5:17).

Jesus also said, “Occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13, KJV). Occupy means to work, to engage in business. So Paul exhorts, “He who stole, let him steal no longer but let him work with his hands that he may have something to give to those who are in need” (Eph. 4:28).

Some Thessalonian Christians were not working. Yet they did not stop eating! Such people seem to have great appetites. But we are to work hard so that we can support ourselves, our families, our parents, our grandparents, our pastors, and help those in the church who are truly in need.

Paul writes that the Cretan Christians must learn to work hard “in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives” (v. 14). We are to work hard to provide for necessities, but not necessarily luxuries. Paul told Timothy, “If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1 Tim. 6:8).

We are not to live unproductive lives. Lydia was a successful, hardworking businesswoman. She heard the gospel, believed the gospel, and invited Paul and others to stay with her. She said, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded them (Acts 16:15).

Believers are to work hard so that their ministers may lack nothing and that the believers themselves may become very fruitful. Fruitfulness is the result of our union with Jesus Christ. He is the vine and we are the branches. Fruitfulness evidences our salvation. We are to bear fruit, more fruit, and much fruit for God’s glory. So a disobedient, unfruitful, and lazy Christian is a fraud. An unfruitful pastor or missionary, that is, a pastor without sheep or a missionary without converts, is a fraud. Such people live off of other people’s labor. They depend on money forever from the so-called missions board. They do not produce fruit, but they look for money from others.

God wants pastors and all Christians to be hardworking and highly productive. We should follow Paul’s example. He told the Ephesian elders, “You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 20:34–35). Paul also wrote, “Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other” (1 Thess. 5:12–13). He told the Corinthian believers, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58). We must abound in the work of the Lord! Paul told Timothy, “Command [the rich] to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share” (1 Tim. 6:18).

The Apostolic Greeting

Then the apostle sent his greetings and the greetings of all the believers with him to Titus and the Cretan believers: “Everyone with me sends you greetings” (v. 15).

The church universal is one family. We are all children of our heavenly Father by adoption. So we greet one another with meaningful greetings as fellow children of God, no matter where we go. Some people go from church to church and never communicate. Such people are frauds. They do not understand that we are all one family bound forever by God’s love.

We are to greet one another with meaningful greetings. Boaz is an example of this. In Ruth 2:4 we read, “Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, ‘The LORD be with you!’” And his workers replied, “The LORD bless you!” And we receive that blessing by faith.

The angel Gabriel said to Mary, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28). If the Lord is with us, nothing else matters. Jesus himself said, “As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you” (Matt. 10:12–13). We are offering peace in the Lord Jesus Christ to that house. Our greeting has meaning.

Then Paul said, “Greet those who love us in the faith” (v. 15). In essence, he was saying, “Greet those who love us in our common faith.” Our greeting is not for everyone. It is limited to those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and love us as fellow believers.

What can we say about this love Paul is speaking about? Consider the following seven points:

• Love greets, that is, it communicates.
• Love seeks fellowship.
• Love gives.
• Love sacrifices.
• Love never divorces or leaves.
• Love abides forever.
• This love is a divine love given to us by God himself.

Paul is speaking about the love of God which God himself sheds abroad in our hearts. This love is the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). It is called undying love (Eph. 6:24).

The apostle was blessing those who loved Jesus and his church. But elsewhere he pronounced a curse on those who do not love Jesus and his church: “If anyone does not love the Lord, a curse be on him” (1 Cor. 16:22). We must understand that anyone who will not love the Lord Jesus Christ is cursed. He is damned and consigned to hell.

Paul concludes the epistle, “Grace be with you all” (v. 15). He was speaking of all who are true believers everywhere.

As children of God, we live by grace daily. We do not know what will happen in the future. When the evil day comes, we must have grace. We need grace to live and we need grace to die, that is, to die in faith. Anyone can die at any time. Either we die in faith or we die in our sins.

Without grace, we can do nothing. But our God abounds grace to us so that we may abound in every good work. What God demands, he will enable us to perform. And his grace is all-sufficient. God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. He gives grace to those who come to the throne of grace in worship and prayer, as we read, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16). Thank God for the means of grace! We must use these means every day so that we may receive grace and live by grace.

This brief epistle to Titus is suffused with grace. Paul greeted Titus with grace: “To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior” (Titus 1:4). Then he explained how this grace brings salvation: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:11–12). If we are not living holy lives, we are fakes and have no grace. Then we read, “He saved us . . . so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:5–7). Grace justifies us. Finally, Paul says, “Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all” (Titus 3:15).

We begin by grace, we live by grace, and grace will be with us forever. That is why we are not afraid of anything. We are not afraid to live; we are not afraid to die. We are not afraid when we drive or when we fly. We have to do our work. But thank God, our God is with us, and, therefore, grace is with us. What kind of grace? It is grace that is sufficient for all our needs.

How, then, do we receive this grace? We must humble ourselves before God. God gives grace to the humble. The humble are those who read and obey the Bible. They are those who pray, “O God, I need you.” When we do this, God will come and help us and deliver us from all our trouble. The psalmist tells us, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. . . . Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Ps. 23:4, 6, KJV). Jesus said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:18–20, KJV).

Grace never leaves us nor forsakes us, because Jesus is with us forever. Therefore, we will not fear. Indeed, we will say with the psalmist, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging” (Ps. 46:1–3). Shalom!

¹ See Walter Bauer, William Arndt, F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1969), 716.

² For more on this topic, I recommend my booklet, The Joy of Christian Giving(Davis, CA: Grace and Glory, 2009).