2 Corinthians 7:6

Nevertheless he that comforteth the lowly, even God, comforted us by the coming of Titus.

No joy, however wonderful, could induce Paul to forget the God who had provided it; and this mention of his comfort was accompanied by his acknowledgment of the Father who "comforteth the lowly." How precious is such an attitude!

By the coming of Titus ... The importance of this man, to whom one of the sacred books of the New Testament is addressed, suggests additional attention to what is revealed of him.

TITUS

Titus was a Greek Christian who had been converted by Paul (Titus 1:4), a true friend of the apostle, an able and diligent helper, and his companion on the missionary field. It is not improbable that he was a brother of Luke who wrote the Gospel. Both F. F. Bruce and Sir William M. Ramsay receive the speculation that Titus was Luke's brother, giving that as the reason why Luke in Acts nowhere mentioned Titus by name, especially in view of the fact that Luke apparently avoided doing so in relating a circumstance (Acts 20:4) where Titus' name would have been very appropriate.[8]

Furthermore, the very first notice of Titus is in Acts 15:2, where Luke referred to him, but not by name; the certainty that Titus was the one mentioned derives from Galatians 2:3. Other New Testament references to Titus are found in 2Timothy and Titus; but his name occurs most frequently (eight times) in 2Corinthians.

Titus' importance in the development of Christianity is seen in the fact that "he was a representative test case"[9] on whether or not Gentiles had to be circumcised to be Christians (Acts 15:13-29).

As will appear later in this epistle, Titus was entrusted with very important missions by Paul. He had apparently acted as Paul's deputy in the business discussed in this chapter; and, at a later time, he was in charge of the work in Crete, where he was living when Paul addressed to him the epistle to Titus.

He was loved and respected by Paul, evidently having a character of the most noble aspects, and continuing with the apostle throughout his ministry. Hughes said: "2 Timothy 4:10 indicates that Titus was with Paul for a while during his last imprisonment in Rome."[10]

[8] Sir William M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveler, pp. 38:390. Also, F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, Publishers, 1954), p. 406.

[9]; ISBE, p. 2,988.

[10] Philip E. Hughes, Paul's Second Epistle to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1962), p. 76.