Just like Magic: Invisible...Visible (Titus 1:2-3)

Many people have seen a magician perform and watch them use magic words, and pull a rabbit out of a seemingly empty hat, or make someone or something appear inside a large box on stage, that just seconds ago, to the human eye, clearly had nothing in it. These, of course, are illusions, giving the appearance of something being void and empty, but having secret compartments, so that the person or object was there all the time, but the audience just couldn't see them, so it was "magic".

Titus 1:2-3 says that God, "...in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began, but has, in due times, manifested His word through preaching, which is committed to me according to the commandment of God, our Savior"

ETERNAL

The first verse [Titus 1:2] states that what is being "manifested" is eternal life, which is the "Zoe" life, or specifically, the life that is (aionios), [166, Strongs], or the English has it as "eons". Basically, (aionios) speaks of something that goes on forever. The scripture says that our hope is the possessing of this "eternal life", which speaks not only of duration, but also the quality of "life", being the "Zoe", or "God-kind" of life, that has the inclusion of both unending existence as well as the fullness of existence.

ABUNDANTLY

Jesus said that He came "that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). He came to give us the "Zoe" or "God-kind" of life that went on forever but had the fullness of life. The word for "abundantly" is (perisson), [4053], which has the visual imagery of a stream of water that increases into a rushing stream; then a river, that overflows its banks, and continues to spread and increase, until it floods over the ground around it, and the river becomes a moving, dominate, flowing force of an ever-expanding, ever-increasing, rush of water in massive movement, that encompasses the land as far as you can see; eventually like an ocean, deep and wide. That is this "Zoe" life!

PROMISED

The scripture says that God promised this life. The word "promised" is (epagello), [1861], which is from (epi), a prepositional intensifier, and (aggelos),[32], "to bring tidings", (like an angel announcing an event). The combination of the two brings the force of an announcement, but not just an announcement, it is a public declaration; a decree; or command, issued from an authority, with the express certainty of purpose, that the edict or command will be carried out. 

CANNOT LIE

This authoritative declaration was issued by God, "who cannot lie" (1:2). This phrase is all one word in the Greek: (apseudes), [893], meaning, basically, "not false". We have the English transliteration, "pseudonym", which is a "false name", when an author uses another name, other than his real name, in writing, or with the intent of deception, someone pretends they are another person, rather than who they actually are. (apseudes) specifically means "incapable of falsehood". It is not just that God does not lie, but rather, His nature makes it an impossibility to lie or be false in any way. He is the "un-lying God" without any element of falsity. It is this one true God that issued the command, to be fulfilled, of giving us eternal, unending, ongoing full quality of life.

BEFORE TIME

There is repetition in this verse since God declared this "before the world began", which is actually before "aionios (166) chronos (5550)", where (chronos) is "time" and the implication is that God declared "eternal life" be imparted; given to us, before "time eternal" or before "eternal time". In other words, before time, that goes on forever, even started, God issued a decree, enforced by His authority, that we would be partakers of His Zoe, the fullness of life, which goes on forever and is complete in every respect. He issued a command about life, that goes on forever, before time, that goes on forever.

TIME

Then there is a deliberate play on words since the scriptures were just talking about the start of "time eternal" and then it speaks of "in due times", or more literally, "in His own (idios), [2398] time (karios), [2540]", or "in it's own time" meaning also, in His, or it's own season.

PREACHING

He manifested what He had said, through preaching. This phrase "through preaching", is actually "in" (en), 1922, preaching, meaning that the activity of "preaching" brought about the manifestation of what He said or the manifestation of "eternal life". 

In classical Greek, "preaching" is the word (kerygma), [2782], which meant that which was announced or proclaimed by a public crier or a herald. A (kerysso), or herald, would announce the will or declaration of the king or ruler so that everyone would know the law or rule that was coming into effect or change that was about to take place, that would be enforced by the Ruler.

COMMITTED

The verse further states that this proclamation was "committed" to Paul. This word "committed" is the Greek word (episteumai), which was a technical expression used of the imperial secretary of Rome, who was given charge, with authority, by the emperor (Wuest). The correspondence of the imperial secretary was considered as sacred writing which was to be written and distributed, to be read aloud, as the words and commands of the emperor (Deissman). In this case, it was and is the commandment of God our Savior, and Lord Jesus Christ, that what He has declared, be further announced and declared by those He has committed His words to.

MANIFESTED

Perhaps the most intriguing word in these verses is "manifested". This is the Greek word (phaneroo), [5319], which has the meaning of "to make visible; clearly to be seen" and stresses what is visible to the sight (DNTT) and comes from the root (phan), signifying "shining". Basically, it is something that could not be seen before, but, like magic, suddenly it is there for all to clearly see and observe. What is really interesting is that (oo), the suffix in the word, "has the causative significance, 'to make visible what is invisible' "(TDNT, Vol 9, p.3). This is an amazing affirmation and the crux of the focus of these amazing scriptures because it speaks not to something historic or past in time, but a very present reality!

God has decreed that the invisible things of the spiritual realm, that He has "promised", or declared as His commands, to be carried out, and are brought from being invisible to being visible, by the announcement or declaration of His word, by his people!

PARAPHRASE

"...the God-kind of life, that goes on forever and has complete fullness, which God, our Father, who is without the possibility of falsehood and cannot lie, by His nature, issued as a command and declaration, [certain to be carried out], before eternal time started, has decreed, that His word, including everything that He has said, comes into existence from the invisible to the visible, by announcing His words out loud, and that it is "in" the announcement of His words that the invisible becomes visible. He has given us the charge of making sure that His words, backed by His authority, are distributed and declared out loud, to make visible what is invisible, and this invisible will come into full manifestation" (Paraphrase Titus 1:2-3).

You declaring God's words, out loud, like magic, bring the reality of those words into full manifestation.

You are God's Best and God's Best is Yours