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

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facilitates a mental break from a chilling presentation of the negative consequences for rejecting sound doctrine (11). It also introduces a positive picture of legitimate ministry and ministers. It is here where the link with the opening verses is strongest and credit must go to Quinn for his observations in this regard. The dominant rhetorical emphasis of this section is upon the notion of legitimate ministry. No overt contrasts are presented and no new propositions are introduced. In fact, this part of the letter points back to concepts introduced in the opening of the letter. In verse 12, Paul introduces measures to ensure the perpetuation of legitimate ministry in Crete. He had just advised them to reject the false teacher (3:10). Now he is about to introduce legitimate ministry. The duration of Titus’ ministry is limited and a replacement will be sent in the future. Collins (2002:370) considers the introduction of the four characters, Artemis, Tychicus, Zenas and Apollos an outstanding characteristic of this conclusion. The fact that Paul plans to send a replacement rather than transfer responsibility for ministry to the elder-overseers, is suggestive of the relative young age of the church in Crete. Hendriksen (1957:398) observes in this regard that “churches cannot be made ‘indigenous’ overnight. As long as leadership from the outside is necessary, it must be provided”. The kind of legitimate ministry envisaged is similar to that introduced in opening portions of the letter. Whereas the ministry of Paul has divine sanction, subsequent ministry must enjoy apostolic sanction in order to prove legitimate. Such ministry must be in harmony with that taught by the apostle. The provision of ministerial successors furthermore functions to present a positive picture of Paul. He is portrayed as one deeply concerned about the church and expresses such care through the careful appointment of sound leaders. This is what led him to leave Titus there in the first place (1:5) and now he remains unwavering in his commitment to them. Furthermore, Paul wants to ensure that the church continues to receive sound doctrine which, in PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 161
turn, requires the presence of sound teachers, hence Artemis or Tychicus. The use of the first person singular verb, pevmyw, confirms that it is Paul who will be sending one of them. Additionally, by expressing the desire for Titus’ presence, the apostle says much about the latter’s reputation with the apostle. The ministry of Titus has constantly been affirmed throughout this letter. Presently, this request that Titus join the apostle (spouvdason ejlqei`n prov" me eij" Nikovpolin) functions in a similar manner. It affirms the present ministry of Titus while still in Crete. In the eyes of the congregation, Titus is presented as one whose company the apostle seeks. Thus, if the apostle Paul appreciates Titus, how much more should the Cretans; how privileged they are to have him minister among them. If the Cretans harboured any secret wish for a visit from the apostle, such desire is disappointed by the present arrangements as well as by the information that he will be spending the winter in Nicopolis (ejkei` ga;r kevkrika paraceimavsai.) What is very clear is that the perpetuation of legitimate ministry does not require the physical presence of an apostle, only the presence of those committed to the teaching, which would eventually include elder-overseers from their own ranks (1:9). The list of names in this section also introduces at least four other men who uphold legitimate teaching and who are committed to that which the apostle is committed to, namely the integrity and perpetuation of sound doctrine among the believers. These are men who care about them, unlike the false teachers who teach from selfish and exploitative motives (1:11). The list of names functions rhetorically to highlight again the notion of legitimate ministry. Proper names are only mentioned here and in the introductory parts of the letter. In this manner, the closing section functions beautifully to round off the letter. Interestingly, though, the false teachers remain nameless. PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 162
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A TEXT-CENTRED RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
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DECLARATION I declare that the diss
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SECTION 2 RHETORICAL ANALYSIS 2.1 R
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SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 OVERVIEW
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The content of the authorship debat
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consistently identified as pioneer
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J. Quinn. Their list of scholars ad
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Uncharacteristic Pauline theology:
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etc. are not referring to actual pe
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History never lies” (Titus 1:2)?
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meaning as determined by historical
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other to explain what these critics
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1.1.2.4 Conclusion The various theo
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Excursus: Cumulative-complimentary
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Lumping or clustering apparent oppo
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these letters on a more individual
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Furthermore, the name Jesus Christ
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C. 1. qeou` and swthvr depend on do
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accentuate the unmistakable role of
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order to prove issues of authorship
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Miller (1997:124) is particularly u
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Next, Van Neste goes on to show how
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There have been some recent excepti
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The first part of the analysis is e
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offer any translations in this rega
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novel. To the best of my knowledge,
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ather than as a supplement to the T
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Accordingly, the research hypothesi
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•Step 3: Where deemed necessary,
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The rhetorical situation correspond
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Titus' primary assignment is to app
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Throughout the letter, Paul shares
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equally negative conduct (1:16). In
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2.2.1.1 Emphasising the legitimacy
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strategically throughout this secti
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This section is suffused with the r
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and trustworthiness. This choice of
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“By whose authority are you imple
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“shared knowledge”. The qualiti
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espectively within the same sentenc
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dichotomy at the front end of this
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church. Implicit contrasting is als
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aijscrokerdhv", and these false tea
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The second part of verse 13 contain
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different groups. He relentlessly p
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implicit contrasting. The negative
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marker is the use of the plural of
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instruction in this regard. “Heal
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almost desirable. Thus, legitimate
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The subject is the older women. Thi
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negatively upon the oJ lovgo" tou`
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2.2.5.6 The behaviour of slaves In
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or originating from God (tou' … q
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to God and this paves the way for t
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This explains the use of inclusive
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Furthermore, through the direct rep
Page 113 and 114: what grace is instructing the belie
Page 115 and 116: Paul demonstrates that he is himsel
Page 117 and 118: The section closes with the apostle
Page 119 and 120: Another technique is personificatio
Page 121 and 122: the apostle adopts to persuade his
Page 123 and 124: Most commentators treat ejxousivai
Page 125 and 126: person. Interestingly, both instanc
Page 127 and 128: 2.2.8 Titus 3:3: Evoking disgust wi
Page 129 and 130: purpose while Mounce (2000:446) bel
Page 131 and 132: negative. Paranomasia and the metap
Page 133 and 134: conformity to the divine example. I
Page 135 and 136: as traditional, with verse 3 as an
Page 137 and 138: aptism effected by the Holy Spirit
Page 139 and 140: exclusively or that this constitute
Page 141 and 142: through self-vilification in the op
Page 143 and 144: crhstovth" and filanqrwpiva of God
Page 145 and 146: ejpoihvsamen hJmei`" (works) ajlla;
Page 147 and 148: these titles. The future appearance
Page 149 and 150: The certainty and completeness of t
Page 151 and 152: The next two words in v. 7 are exam
Page 153 and 154: their salvation by God. The divine
Page 155 and 156: discourse. In this regard, consider
Page 157 and 158: two groups is accentuated and the d
Page 159 and 160: Verse 9 opens with the adversative
Page 161 and 162: awareness of the insidiousness of f
Page 163: This is a very tight unit, carefull
Page 167 and 168: closing greeting to the Cretans inv
Page 169 and 170: SECTION 3 CONCLUSION In Section 1,
Page 171 and 172: 7: Titus 3:1-2: Persuading the Cret
Page 173 and 174: apostles and lay leaders appointed
Page 175 and 176: In unit 7 (3:1-2), the relationship
Page 177 and 178: The second objective is to highligh
Page 179 and 180: These four objectives may be summar
Page 181 and 182: expected manner can look forward to
Page 183 and 184: f. Arguments based on the use of vi
Page 185 and 186: m. Example. For example, in 3:4-7 G
Page 187 and 188: ehaviour expected of older men. In
Page 189 and 190: BIBLIOGRAPHY Aageson, J. W. (1997).
Page 191 and 192: Everts, J. M. (1993). Hope Dictiona
Page 193 and 194: Lea, D. and H. P. Griffin (1992). 1
Page 195 and 196: Sumney, J. L. (1996). “A Reading
Page 197 and 198: ABSTRACT This study has been conduc
Page 199 and 200: In Section 3 the results of the stu
Page 201 and 202: amanuensishipotese en die allonieme
Page 203 and 204: KEY TERMS 1. Pastoral Letters 2. Rh
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A Text centred rhetorical analysis of Paul's Letter to Titus

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