His Glorious Appearing- Titus 2:13

In our previous post, we examined the blessed hope which is promised to all believers, that it is possible to live life without being burdened down by the worries and cares of the world, and that we do so by living “self-controlled, upright and Godly lives”. As Paul continues on in this verse, he then gives us further insight into how to make the possibility of the blessed hope a reality in our lives, for he also ties this blessed hope to the “glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ”. He does so here through the use of the Greek word kai, which is not translated in the NIV. This Greek preposition is primarily used as an equivalent to the English and or also, so the “blessed hope” here is also tied to the glorious appearing. What is of interest here is that the Greek word appearing (phainoo) is used here in its noun form, indicating that Paul here is not referencing a future event but a present reality. The Greek word phainoo essentially describes something as being “brought to light”, a light is shone upon something, allowing us to comprehend more and more what it really is. It is used here with the prefix epi attached. This prefix is generally rendered as “on or upon” in English, and Paul’s use of it here serves to inform us that the more that as light is shone upon Jesus, as we see more and clearly who He truly is, we will increasingly make this blessed hope a reality in our lives. This term epiphaineia is referred to by Paul as “glorious”, also here as a noun. The Greek word glorious here is doxa, regularly translated as “glory”. The basic concept behind this Greek word is the concept of reputation, it referred to the opinion others had of you , and a more positive opinion others had of someone resulted in more “glory” for that person. So as all of the preceding is “tied together”, we are able to understand the insight Paul has for us here. The blessed hope we walk in is tied to the degree to which we live “self-controlled, upright and Godly lives”, and the living of a Godly life is tied to His “glorious appearing”. As more light is shone upon Jesus, as we grow to know the Living Word through our encounter with the Written Word, we understand more and more fully who He truly is, our opinion of Him changes, we grow to know more fully who He truly is. As He reveals Himself through His Word, we grow to know Him more and more intimately, and it is through growing to know Him that we live lives which are more and more Godly, and it is through growing to know Him that we partake of the blessed hope offered to us, a hope made possible by the “glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ”.