NT Text: Titus 2:14
OT Source(s):
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Promise-Fulfillment + Longitudinal Theme
Anchor Text: Ezek 36-37 — A New Heart and Dry Bones
Significance: Paul's description of Christ's purpose — to "purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works" (katharisē heautō laon periousion) — draws on Ezekiel 37:23, where God promises to "cleanse" (katharō in LXX) his reunited people so that "they will be my people, and I will be their God." The TSK connects Titus 2:14 to Ezekiel 36:25, which is part of the same prophetic complex. The new covenant purification promised through Ezekiel — cleansing from idols and uncleanness — finds fulfillment in Christ's self-sacrifice. Paul's "purify for himself a people" mirrors Ezekiel's vision of God cleansing Israel as his covenant people. The allusion places the church within the trajectory of restored-Israel prophecy, identifying believers as the purified people of the new covenant.