In all things shew thyself an example of good works, in doctrine, in integrity, in gravity,
περι παντα σεαυτον παρεχομενος τυπον καλων εργων εν τη διδασκαλια αδιαφθοριαν σεμνοτητα αφθαρσιαν
13 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Let the older women, he says, instruct the younger. But you yourself instruct the young men in temperance. For all, let your radiant life be a common school and pattern of virtue, open to all. Let it be like an original image containing every excellence, easily giving examples of good to those who wish to conform themselves to it in anything.
"In all things show yourself a pattern of good works." Let the older women instruct the younger, but you yourself instruct the young men. Yet let your radiant life be the common school and pattern of virtue. Let it be like an original image set before all who wish to learn anything good from it.
"In teaching, purity." This expression depends on the general phrase, "show yourself." He means that what you teach should not be corrupt and false, but sound and rightly understood.
"Dignity." This means that the teaching should contain nothing youthful or disturbing to the foolish. Everything must be pious and worthy of God.
Paul says: If the matter concerns us, our conscience is enough for us. As for you, our good name among you must not be blackened, but must have influence. Take in what I have said, and also note the distinction. Conscience and a good name are two different things. Conscience is for yourself, but a good name is for your neighbor. He who trusts his conscience and neglects his good name is cruel, especially when considered from the standpoint of the Apostle’s words to his disciple: “In all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works.”
Present yourself as a pattern, not of one particular kind of good, but of all good works. In teaching, do this through your good hospitality, just as I, for example, never desired anything.
Let your life be the model of the doctrines you present, because speech confirmed by deeds becomes worthy of trust. The Apostle also states what must be done. Integrity, dignity, and incorruption are the marks of praiseworthy works. The Apostle also sets forth the rules of right teaching.
"In all things showing yourself a pattern of good works." In all deeds present yourself as an example and prototype of virtue. Or "in all things" means in relation to every person. Let your life, he says, be set out to view like an image containing every beauty. Those who look upon it may make copies from it and imprint in themselves the various forms of virtue.
"In teaching, incorruptibility." That is, show blamelessness and modesty in teaching. By "modesty" he means accessibility and freedom from arrogance. The teacher must conduct his discourse not as a ruler usually speaks with subjects, but gently, as a father with children.
"Dignity." That is, decorum. The word "showing" applies equally both to this word and to those that follow. In Zigabenus the Greek text of the Epistle has ἀδιαφθορίαν, meaning incorruption or blamelessness, while the explanation interprets ἀδιαφορία, meaning modesty. The first concerns the essence of the teaching, and the second the preacher's relation to those taught.
This teacher of the Gentiles, chosen as instructor of the Church because Christ lived and spoke in him, knew the future rise of the sickness of corrupt eloquence. He knew the coming frenzy of seductive and destructive teaching against the sound words of truth. He also foresaw that the corruption of impious inventions contained in this teaching would creep even to the very foundations of the soul and lead to great evil. Therefore he said, "Their word will spread like a cancer" (2 Tim 2:17), always stealing upon sound minds and infecting them with a perverse way of thinking. For this reason the Apostle wanted the bishop to possess conscious faith, skill in instructing in true teaching, and knowledge of arguments by which to defend it from impious, false, and reckless opinions.
Therefore, O man, continually exhort and teach what is holy to all, down to the last soul entrusted to you. And show yourself an example of good works. Beware of loving one person and hating another. Rather, treat everyone equally. Otherwise God may hate the one whom you preferred, while you may hate the one whom God loved.
“In doctrine, integrity.” While preaching to others, Titus himself must serve as a model in works and in teaching. Integrity or purity is required of his teaching. There must be no deviations, ambiguities, indulgence toward the passions, contradictions, flattery, or courting of the powerful and disobedient. Everything must be accompanied by his own example.
In the second section, Saint Paul sketches the form of the pastor’s proper teaching activity in the Church. First, he shows him what to teach the faithful according to their age and state: what to teach older men and older women (Tit 2:1, 3), young women and young men (Tit 2:4–6), and slaves (Tit 2:9–10). Second, he shows how to teach: by presenting himself as a pattern of good works, and likewise of pure teaching and sound, irreproachable speech (Tit 2:7–8).
Teaching through example is the most fruitful teaching. This is what the holy Apostle Paul advises Titus to maintain. Besides common good works, he commands him to possess special teaching qualities: full readiness, dignity, and a good disposition. In the content of teaching he commands formative edification and wholeness uncorrupted in anything, so that no one can reproach him from any side. According to St. John Chrysostom's explanation, the Apostle speaks to Titus as if saying: "Let the older women teach the younger, but you yourself instruct the young men in chastity. Let your radiant life, open to all, be a common teacher and pattern of virtue for everyone.
Let it be like an original image containing all virtues and readily presenting examples for all who wish to learn anything good." "Be for all an instructive source, uncovered and entirely worthy, observing strict gravity according to the subject of the teaching. Worthy of God, with a good disposition of spirit, incorrupt and undamaged by any passion, such as vainglory or greed." "The blamelessness of speech may be regarded as a feature that contains in itself all the perfections required of it. Care for adorning speech with these must extend so far that even the opposing enemy, sharply watching and maliciously looking for some evil in it, is put to shame in this attempt, having nothing reproachful to say of us" (Right Reverend Theophan). "The pastor's word must be sound and irreproachable," says one modern interpreter. "Pastors very often forget the Lord's counsel: beware of men (Mt 10:17). Besides enemies, there are people with such a mind that they have the highest idea of the priesthood and are scandalized by everything in a pastor that does not correspond to this idea. Thus, in the pastor of the Church more than in anyone else, the evangelical rule is fulfilled: 'By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned' (Mt 12:37)."
In contrast to these false teachers, who teach the Cretans only what is evil, Titus must set forth sound doctrine. He must teach the faithful the dogmas of the faith and the rules of morality. The Apostle even indicates which virtues are to be taught to the faithful according to their age, sex, and state. Titus himself must serve as an example for the faithful.
This is a reminder that the one who teaches must himself be exemplary in all things (2:7-8). Teach, he says, but certainly not so that they merely know. Above all, teach so that they may live in accordance with the teaching.
Since the best impulse and indication in this respect is the example of the teacher, the Apostle adds: “In all things showing yourself a pattern of good works. In doctrine show integrity, dignity, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that the opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say of us.”
The Apostle commands Saint Titus to present two kinds of exemplariness in himself: exemplariness in life and exemplariness in teaching. Thus everything said may be expressed briefly: above all, be yourself a pattern in everything, both in life and in teaching.
Exemplariness in life is shown by an abundance of good works: present yourself as a pattern of good works.
“Let the older women,” he says, “teach the younger, and you yourself instruct the young men in chastity. But for all let your bright life, open to all, be a common school and pattern of virtue. Let it be like a first image containing all virtues, easily presenting examples for all who wish to learn something good,” says Chrysostom.
“Let life be the pattern of the teachings you offer, because a word witnessed by deeds becomes worthy of belief,” says blessed Theodoret. “Let the example of life show how one must do what the word teaches,” says Ambrosiaster.
“For the teacher there is no benefit in acquiring skill in instruction and polishing the tongue in speech, if he does not teach more by example than by word. If an unchaste man begins to persuade his hearers to chastity, his word will be weak and ineffective, however eloquent he may be.
“By contrast, if he himself is pure and chaste, then even if he is unskilled in speech and slow of tongue, by his example he will move them to progress in this virtue through imitation of him,” says blessed Jerome.
The Apostle teaches that exemplariness in teaching must be shown both in the dispositions with which teaching is given and in its content. Exemplary dispositions in the work of teaching are defined by the words “integrity, dignity, incorruptibility.”
“Integrity,” adiaphthorian. In some copies it is aphthorian, and in others aphthonian. The last reading gave occasion for the Slavonic rendering “without envy.”
A source without envy, for example, means a source sufficient for all, closed to no one. Anyone may take as much as he wishes. Lack of envy in teaching means teaching everyone everything, not teaching one thing and withholding another, or teaching everything to some and only part to others.
It means teaching everything to all, in imitation of Saint Paul, who told the Ephesians that he had not hesitated to teach them the whole will of God. In this sense, lack of envy will be the same as wholeness, as also appears in the Slavonic note beneath the line.
That is, teach the whole body of doctrine to the whole community. For diaphtherein, applied for example to a garment, means to tear it into pieces.
In every case, the word adiaphthorian must be given a special meaning distinct from aphtharsian, which stands one word later. It is best to suppose that the Apostle is exhorting this: in teaching, teach everyone everything.
Show yourself as a full source of teaching, overflowing, thirsting to share with all that with which the heart is filled, from the abundance of which the mouth speaks. As the Savior also said of teachers: “Every scribe instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old” (Mt 13:52).
And should we not chiefly see here an indication of this thirst for teaching, or an irresistible desire to pour oneself out in word from the fullness of the knowledge of God, held and loved with a full heart?
“Dignity,” semnoteta, is shown in teaching when the teacher presents doctrine reverently, as though speaking before God in Christ, and respectfully toward the hearers. He addresses them not as a superior to subordinates, but as a benevolent father to children (see Oecumenius), with meekness and love.
This requires that in its very form of expression, teaching speech preserve strict seriousness in keeping with the subject. At the same time, it must retain the simplicity required by the need to adapt to the understanding of the hearers.
There should be no bombast, no baseness or vulgarity, no joking turns, and no subtlety characteristic of vain speculations. As blessed Theophylact writes, “there should be nothing youthful that could distract the foolish and move them to laughter. Everything should be pious, serious, and worthy of God.”
“Incorruptibility” in teaching directly gives the thought that not only falsehood but also vainly wise assumptions, which corrupt the word of truth, must not be admitted in it.
But since this thought is contained in the following words, “sound speech that cannot be condemned,” here it is better to understand by incorruptibility an uncorrupted disposition of spirit, undamaged by passions, with which teaching must be presented. There must be neither vainglory, nor shameful pursuit of gain, nor any other earthly motives.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 12 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS