PAUL AND THE RHETORIC OF REVERSAL: KERYGMATIC ...

Blameless, the husband of one wife, having children of faith…
It would seem that the central conception of salvation and its effects is expressed in Titus in a
way that is reminiscent of Romans, involving a movement from “worldly passions” (κοσμικὰς
ἐπιθυμίας) to the purified (καθαρίσῃ) pursuit of good deeds (2:11-14).
The list of requirements for overseers in 1 Timothy likewise begins with the necessity of
marital integrity, before moving onto interpersonal issues:
1 Timothy 3:2-3: beginning with marriage
It is necessary for an overseer to be above reproach, the husband of one wife,
temperate…
George W. Knight III comments:
The items focus on two areas: (1) personal self-discipline and maturity, and (2) ability
to relate well to others and to teach and care for them. These two are intertwined,
although there seems to be a tendency to move from the personal to the
interpersonal. 33
Along with this movement from personal to interpersonal, it is noteworthy that in virtue lists of
the Pastorals, faith-driven love remains primary:
The pistis-agapē combination forms the core of nine virtue lists, serving to ground
acceptable behaviour in faith in Christ. 34
33 George W. Knight III, The Pastoral Epistles: A Commentary on the Greek Text (NIGTC;
Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1992), 156.
34 Philip H. Towner, The Goal of Our Instruction: The Structure of Theology and Ethics in the
Pastoral Epistles (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1989), 167.
210