The Titus 2 Woman - Lesson 1 - Character and Community

Posted Thu, 11/03/2011 - 12:00am by Kristie Kerr

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The Titus 2 Woman

Lesson 1

Character and Community

Teach the older women to live in a way that is appropriate for someone serving the Lord.  They must not go around speaking evil of others and must not be heavy drinkers.  Instead, they should teach others what is good.  These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to take care of their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands.  Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.

Titus 2:3-5

Paul is speaking to Titus regarding the church in Crete, where he has left Titus in leadership.  He is showing him what a healthy community of believers should look like. 

I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you.

Titus 1:5

Then he lists Godly characteristics that should be apparent in the lives of various groups of people:

  • Elders
  • Older Men
  • Younger Men
  • Older Women
  • Younger Women
  • Slaves
  • Masters
  • Look again and what Paul says to the women:

Teach the older women to live in a way that is appropriate for someone serving the Lord.  They must not go around speaking evil of others and must not be heavy drinkers.  Instead, they should teach others what is good.  These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to take care of their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands.  Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.

Titus 2:3-5

2 Mandates from Titus 2:

  1. Becoming a woman of Character

A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown…

Proverbs 12:4

  1. What is character?
  • A distinctive quality
  • The attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual
  • The moral and ethical traits of a person
  • Reputation
  • Moral excellence
  • Disposition
  1. In Titus 2:3-5, Paul lists the attributes that should be present in a woman of Godly character:
  • Living a life of reverence
  • Not a gossip/Not speaking evil of other people
  • Not having any addictions
  • A teacher of good things
  • Loving to your husband
  • Loving to your children
  • Having wisdom and discretion
  • Living a life of purity
  • Taking care of your home
  • Doing good things
  • Having a submissive spirit
  1. Paul is giving us a list of the FRUIT that is present in a mature, Godly woman

You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit.  You don’t pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles…  Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit that is produced.

Matthew 7:16 & 20

  1. Our #1 job in becoming a Titus 2 woman, is to have the good fruit listed by Paul present in our lives.
  • Why?
  1. We should be constantly growing in our faith

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.  In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again.  You need milk, not solid food!  Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Hebrews 5:15 (NIV)

  1. These are the traits that we should be passing on:
  • To our daughters (and sons, too!)
  • To those women younger than us
  • To those younger in their faith

We gain the credibility to be heard, when our character is evident.

And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid.  I will do for you all you ask.  All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character.

Ruth 3:11 (NIV)

Group Discussion Questions:

Name someone that has influenced you.  What fruit in their lives caused you to look up to them?  How did their influence affect your behavior?

  1. A Model for Community

Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions.

1 John 3:18

  1. We all need help growing up!

Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and make the lie sound like the truth.  Instead, we will hold on to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.  Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly.  As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Ephesians 4: 14-16

  • God brings people into our lives that have lived through experiences, so they can help us when we face the same things.
  • God intends for us to help each other with our spiritual growth, families, and challenges.

"If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it."
 Margaret Fuller

  1. A lost art-
  • Women in the past were:
  1. In tight community
  2. Learned life lessons from each other
  3. Tended to live in close proximity to family with extensive involvement with each other
  • Women today are often:
  1. Isolated
  2. Learn life lessons through books, TV, or other resources
  3. Not close to family (geographically or emotionally)
  1. Who are the older women?  Who are the younger?
  • Older doesn’t necessarily refer to chronological age as much as it refers to life experiences

Each woman should see herself as both older and younger.  She should be a mentor to those who are younger while remaining willing to learn from those who are older.

Barbara Henry

  • In and Out:
    • We should have someone in our life that we look up to, who is pouring into us, guiding us, and being an example to us.
    • We also need people in our lives that we are pouring into, guiding, and being an example to.

List an area in your life that you feel you are “experienced” in and could help someone going through the same thing.

As a younger woman, name something that you would look for in a spiritual mentor.

My mom mothered me.  But she isn’t the only woman who has.  My sisters certainly did.  Some of my elementary school teachers did.  My neighbors did.  These days, I receive it from the gentle, tender acts of kindness offered me from the friends God has given me.  The gift of friendship among women is a treasure not to be taken lightly.  Women friends become the face of God tone another – the face of grace, of delight, of mercy.

“Captivating” by Staci Eldridge

  1. Imagine the possibilities

Countless women today long to be nurtured. They want to feel the warmth and security of an older woman’s approval.  And countless women of faith throughout the world today are the embodiment of these and other virtues that equip them to nurture younger women.

“Spiritual Mothering” by Susan Hunt

“Let me give you a new command:  Love one another.  In the same way I loved you, you love one another.  This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples-when they see the love you have for each other.”

John 13:34-35

In this study, we will seek to:

  • · Become a woman of character by studying and implementing the traits that Paul lists in Titus 2
  • · Actively participate in community by sharing our wisdom and experience with some, and receiving it from others.

In your mind, picture a real woman you admire.  Most likely, the woman you admire is stimulating, challenging, energetic, and joyful.  She is growing and fresh, excited and exciting, learning and willing to share what she is learning.  She motivates you, and you love to be in her presence.

Elizabeth George