Titus 1:5 On this behalf

On this behalf I left you in Crete, that you should amend what is lacking and constitute elders city by city, as I prescribe to you.

Now that Paul’s preaching had started ecclesias in various cities in Crete, he did not want to leave them unattended. When he left, Paul had already instructed Titus to appoint elders in every city (where there was an ecclesia). The “on this behalf” refers back to “His word…by heralding with which I was entrusted” (1:3).

If Paul was entrusted with a word from God, then it is also his duty to maintain this word and “sound doctrine” (1:9). And now that he himself is not in a position to appoint people, he transfers that task to someone who does this on his behalf. An extremely precise matter for which Paul very specifically appoints a qualified person. It never occurred to him to write to ecclesias in Crete to appoint their own overseers. The idea of ​​democracy is unknown in the Bible. Authority comes from above, never from below. Paul leaves Titus in Crete to act as his delegate. Nothing is more important than to see to “the sound teaching”.

Delen: