Christ Jesus Our Hope

1 Timothy 1:1-2 - Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Corinthians 1:1-2 - Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Titus 1:1-4 - Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness—a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior, To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Titus 2:12-14 - It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who 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.

Conclusions:

• An apostle is one specially commissioned by Christ
• Timothy was evidently with Paul when 1 Corinthians was written, but not necessarily a co-author
• Our brother means our fellow believer, our brother in Christ
• The church of God is a community of believers, the local representatives of the universal church
• Saints are another term for God’s people; it means those who have been set apart as holy to the Lord
• Achaia is Greece, as distinct from Macedonia in the north
• Though 1 Corinthians deals particularly with the situation in Corinth, it was also intended for Christians elsewhere in Greece
• Presumably copies would be made of 1 Corinthians in Corinth and circulated to Grecian Christians
• Crucial events in God’s program occur at His designated times in history
• His word is the authoritative message that centers in Christ
• Three times in Titus God the Father is called Savior, and three times Jesus is called Savior
• “The blessed hope—the glorious appearing” is the second coming
• It is possible to translate “our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” as “the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ,” but the NIV rendering better represents the Greek construction
• Our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ is an explicit testimony to the deity of Christ

Application:

• Are you in the community of the church of God?
• Has God brought His Word to light to you?
• Are you waiting for the blessed hope?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible