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Titus 1 · a question people ask

"that you would set in order the things that were lacking" (1:5). What was lacking?

In the text

The verse doesn't say. It says only, "I left you in Crete for this reason, that you would set in order the things that were lacking and appoint elders in every city, as I directed you" (1:5). These notes add nothing to the verse, and apply it to no church today.

The verses

“I left you in Crete for this reason, that you would set in order the things that were lacking and appoint elders in every city, as I directed you—”
Titus 1:5 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Titus 1

Titus 1: In hope of eternal life

Who can’t lie in "which God, who can’t lie, promised before time began" (1:2) is one Greek word, and the New Testament has it only there. And behind lacking in "set in order the things that were lacking" (1:5) is the same Greek verb as in "that nothing may be lacking for them" (3:13), near the letter's end.

In Favor, questions like this come up right where they arise as you read, with the Hebrew and Greek behind the words and how the chapter leads to Jesus.

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Last reviewed October 8, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions