1 From Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I was sent to help the faith of God's chosen people and to help them know the truth that shows people how to serve God.2 That faith and that knowledge come from the hope for life forever, which God promised to us before time began. And God cannot lie.3 At the right time God let the world know about that life through preaching. He trusted me with that work, and I preached by the command of God our Savior.
4 To Titus, my true child in the faith we share:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
The more direct translation of "a servant of God" would be "bond-slave" or "bond-servant". Right off the bat though, Paul declares his role in life and his relationship to God, calling him self a servant of God...one who is committed to obeying God.
It's easy to miss, but in this greeting, Paul spends quite a bit of time addressing honesty, using words like "truth", "cannot lie", "trusted", "true child". Apparently, lying was a common thing in Crete v.12 (the city where Titus was). Paul makes abundantly clear that it is not in God's character to lie. God cannot lie. The foundation of our faith is trust in this.
A brief background on Titus, taken from a study Bible.
"Titus was a Greek man, and one of Paul's most trusted and dependable co-workers. Paul sent Titus to Corinth on several special missions to help the church in its troubles (2 Corinthians 7-8). Paul and Titus also traveled together to Jerusalem (Galatians 2:3) and Crete (1:5). Paul left Titus in Crete to lead the new churches springing up on the island. Titus is last mentioned by Paul in 2 Timothy 4:10, Paul's last recorded letter. Titus had leadership ability, so Paul gave him leadership responsibility, urging him to use his abilities well."
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