A Text centred rhetorical analysis of Paul's Letter to Titus

The prepositional phrase, meta; pavsh" ejpitagh`", is a further validation of
Titus’ mandate at Crete. The word ejpitaghv recalls what was said earlier (1:3)
with reference to God. It seems to suggest that just like Paul was commanded
by God, that is, by divine authorisation, so now by apostolic authorisation,
Titus must exercise all command or authority.
The final command, mhdeiv" sou perifroneivtw, is an instance of tautology.
Paul is restating the same thing in different words, that is, negatively, for the
purpose of emphasis. Wendland (1999:338) argues that the expression is
intended to reinforce the authority with which Titus is expected to execute his
ministry in Crete. It is clear that the rhetorical objective in verse 15 is the
apostolic reaffirmation of Titus’ ministry in the Cretan context.
Conclusion
In this section, Paul's dominant rhetorical objective is to emphasise the divine
basis of obedience to sound doctrine. His argument is based upon the divine
origin of the right teaching. The appearance of the grace of God was the
watershed moment in the lives of the Cretans. The historical intervention of
the divine is emphasised through the use of time references. The past–
present–future perspectives contribute to the sense of temporal momentum
that permeates the letter. It also provides a context for the conduct that is
enjoined upon the believers. They must demonstrate in the present the
required behaviour because something happened in the past. They continue
in this behaviour because of something else that will happen in the future,
namely the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. The basic arguments rallied
involve irreconcilable conduct and the divine prerogative or the right of the
divine. In terms of the former argument, the Cretans are compelled to act in
accordance to their new natures. In the case of the latter argument, God has a
right over the Cretans and can therefore dictate His required conduct to them.
The origin of this teaching lies in the divine, since grace itself is teaching the
believers. The usual rhetorical techniques in this section include inclusive
language, implicit contrasting, emphatic clustering and religious language.
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