Introducing Paul

Titus 1:1a (NIV)

This was a letter from the apostle Paul to a pastor named Titus.

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1:1 Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ

Paul called himself "a bondservant of God."

In the Hebrew culture, a slave had the option to go free after 6 years of service.

But if he chose to stay for life, he became a bondservant.

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Paul said that he was a bondservant of God.

Paul had given up his life and placed his freedom under God's control.

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Paul also identified himself as "an apostle of Jesus Christ".

An apostle is one who is sent out, a delegate, or a messenger of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Paul became an apostle when the Lord Jesus Christ sent him out as His messenger.

Paul would become a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ to all men of what he had seen and heard.

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But even with Paul's Jewish education and connections, he was not being sent to the Jews.

The Lord Jesus Christ sent the apostle Paul to preach to the Gentiles.

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Our plans are rarely God's plans.

Here was Paul, whose whole life changed direction.

He became something he never dreamed he would be.

He became an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.