Reinvigorating the Elders

Reinvigorating the Elders

, Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.

The Greek word translated “bishop” is episkopos (the source of our English word episcopal). The bishop is the superintendent, the overseer, or the officer in general charge of the congregation. In the Bible bishops are also called “pastors” (). The qualifications of the bishop/pastor/elder are found in

: “Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.”

Paul also instructs Timothy on the things that exemplify the teaching of a good minister.

Holding a leadership position in a Christian organization does not make one a spiritual leader. Spiritual leadership is not an occupation: it is a calling. Only when we understand leadership in light of God’s calling on our lives will we be equipped to lead effectively. According to the Bible, God is not necessarily looking for leaders, at least not in the sense we generally think of leaders. He is looking for servants. , “Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The Lord saw it, and it displeased him. He saw that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede, them his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him.”

God is looking for men who are offended by sin as He is and lead people to His will and His way. God is looking for kingdom men with a kingdom vision. But first, He must reinvigorate the elders.

Let us pray…

Now Miletus was an ancient, prosperous, coastal town, about 30 miles (48 km.) from Ephesus. Paul ‘called, summoned, and sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. Such forcefully language used here highlights the gravity of the occasion.

Paul calls the elders to so that he might reinvigorate them, refocuses them, and recommit them to their calling. Calling someone an elder who has not truly been called by God is futile. Paul understood that you could only form a good leader from the substance of a good follower. You can only form a good Christian leader from a good follower of Christ. So Paul was intentional in the choosing of those God had place on his heart.

, And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. Paul set an example for them for his own past.

Paul reminds them of his righteous past (20:18–21)

Paul recalls the extent and manner of his ministry at Ephesus for his righteous past. When the elders arrived at Miletus, Paul first reminded of them of how he lived the whole time he was with them, ‘from the first day that I set foot in Asia.’ Paul states three times in this speech as he appeals to their knowledge and remembrance of the past, using different verbs in Greek to make his point as clear as possible. Look at his opening words here in verse 18b, which include an emphatic pronoun (hymeis, ‘you yourselves’), Paul says you yourselves know how I lived… suggesting that the elders especially knew what he was talking about and could cite examples. Being an elder requires a closeness of relationship it requires shared experience of God’s power and leadership. Pastors and elders must work hard to duplicate this closeness as they are on the battlefield for the Lord. This phrase the ‘whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia’ is later specified as being three years. Paul was with them for three years, his longest ministry in one place. Paul now highlights the manner of his ministry, how he served rather than the content of his teaching: 19, “Serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews.” Although this speech specifically focuses on Paul’s Ephesian ministry, it recalls also certain features of his ministry in other locations, it also serves as a summary-conclusion to . So, for example, speaking severe testing by the plots of the Jews, look at , Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, and there they continued to preach the gospel.

, But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.”

In was in such contexts, that Paul doubtless served the Lord as he describes here with great humility and with tears. This pattern of humble service reflected something of the very ministry of Jesus himself.

, A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves. Paul’s ‘service’ involved the ministry of the gospel serving the flock, working to supply his own practical needs, and serving those of his companions. Paul was a humble servant and every good elder with have the same reputation. But being a servant also means staying true the mantle and the ministry that you have been called. This means never backing down or holding back the truth of gospel in your teaching.

Here Paul says in v. 20, ‘how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house.’

Paul insisted to only teach them ‘things that would be helpful’ and were profitable’. The verb translated shrink back has the sense of ‘hesitating out of fear.

, “Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”

But the context here rather suggests that Paul refuses to withhold the truth of God’s word. The use of this same verb “shrink” twice in this speech suggests that some of the elders may have faced the temptation to water down the message. Paul’s refusal to dilute the truth is highlighted in ,Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

His first priority was ‘to proclaim and teach’ anything that would benefit the Ephesians. This was all done ‘publicly’—in the synagogue and then in the lecture hall of Tyrannus and then from house to house.’ , ‘testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Paul’s message is summarized in terms of its final appeal rather than in terms of its historical or theological content. It was all about repentance. What does a call to repentance mean? A call for ‘repentance towards God’— is a turning away from every form of rebellion in order to serve the living and true God on his own terms— and it was made to Jews and Gentiles alike.

, The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Faith in our Lord Jesus was the positive aspect of such repentance, since Jesus had to be confessed as the only Savior from God’s impending judgment. Paul’s preaching sometimes focused on the specific need to turn away from idolatry, and at other times on the need for faith in our Lord Jesus. But really these are two sides of the same coin. Paul makes it clear in his letters that repentance involves turning to Christ and turning away from all the things of the world that seek to distract us, disappoints us, and detach us from the center of God’s will for our lives. We are to continually turn away from everything that displeases God.

, “As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”

In an age when many are searching for different ways to attract people to church and make an impact on their society for Christ, we should recall Paul’s formula, both for evangelism and the nurture of believers

His preaching and teaching consistently issued a call for repentance and faith, in response to God’s gracious, saving initiative in Jesus Christ. Genuine faith demands repentance, and sincere repentance will continue to flow from saving faith.

2. Paul responds to an unknown future (20:22–25)

In verse 19:21 we were told of Paul’s decision ‘in the Spirit’ to go to Jerusalem and then to Rome. Using a dramatic turn in his address to the Ephesian elders. Paul expresses the same divine constraint here in a more emphatic way, v.22, ‘And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there.’

Paul language suggests that the Holy Spirit was the source of the compulsion, that he was taken captive by the Spirit.’

He acknowledges some uncertainty about the outcome of going to Jerusalem (‘not knowing what will happen to me there’), he nevertheless goes as the Spirit leads. That’s what obedience requires, when God the Holy Spirit, compels you to move or to go do something. You do it whether you understand it fully of not, whether it might cause discomfort, or danger, you just trust the Holy Spirit. Paul reveals for the first time a conviction about imprisonment and hardship awaiting him in Jerusalem (‘I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me’). Such warnings by the Holy Spirit are mentioned again in 21:4 (Tyre) and 21:10–14 (Caesarea). The Holy Spirit was both the driving force to undertake this journey and the source of revelation about its dangerous outcome. , appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.”

Paul’s willingness to lose his life for the sake of his ministry suggests a close link with the teaching and example of Jesus

, Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.”

Jesus’ challenge in this regard is echoed by Paul’s claim, 24a ‘I consider my life worth nothing to me’. A parallel with Jesus’ own determination to fulfill his God-given role is then indicated by the words, 24b, ‘ If only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.’ Two images are joined here: there is a race to be run and a service or ministry to be accomplished.

Paul did not in fact die in Jerusalem, since it was God’s plan for him to reach Rome, but he had to endure much on the way. ‘His sufferings extend over a long period of imprisonment and stretch from the Jewish to the Gentile capital. Paul follows his master Jesus Christ in his suffering, but there is a new twist that corresponds to the new dimensions of Paul’s universal mission.’ The task or ministry given to Paul is specifically defined as ‘testifying to the gospel of God’s grace’.

Surprisingly, the word gospel (euangelion) is used only here and on one other occasion in Acts (15:7). Peter speaks about the gospel in a context which also shows that it is a message about ‘the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ’, a grace that provides salvation for Jews and Gentiles on exactly the same basis (15:11).

Luke makes the point that both Peter and Paul shared the same gospel of God’s grace. The grace of God is regularly the subject of the gospel in Paul’s letters Elsewhere in Acts the gospel is mostly called ‘the word’.

3. Paul refusing to shrink from teaching the whole counsel of God. (20:25–27)

Now with a second used of the phrase ‘and now behold’, Paul clarifies the significance of what he has just said. This would be a final farewell, but not because he believed that his death was imminent. Whatever the danger awaiting him in Jerusalem, Paul planned to use Rome as a base for evangelizing the western Mediterranean region. In view of his travel plans, he declares,

v. 25b‘I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again’. In the flow of the argument, proclaiming the kingdom appears to be synonymous with testifying to the gospel of God’s grace (v. 24). As he leaves the province of Asia, he claims to have fulfilled his God-given responsibility among them, echoing again the perspective of , The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.”

Paul speaks emphatically, to emphasize the truth of his claim. Like the faithful watchman in Ezekiel’s prophecy, he declares himself to be ‘innocent of the blood of everyone’. This was so because he ‘For I did not shrink from declaring to the whole counsel of God. Paul gave them a comprehensive view of the will of God, which included the promise of salvation for people of every race, together with an appeal for individuals to repent and believe the gospel promises. The breadth and depth of Paul’s teaching about the whole will of God can be discerned from an examination of his letter to the Romans, which he had just written and sent ahead of him at this time.

4. Paul request that they remain firm in the faith (20:28–31)

Paul’s primary intention is to urge the Ephesian elders to do their duty effectively. Because here only in Acts is there an attempt to state the significance of the death of Christ and at the same time to bring out the ground of the church’s ministry in the work of the Holy Spirit’. This Trinitarian reference makes it clear that the church belongs to God and is fundamentally in his care. Nevertheless, in terms of human responsibility, Paul was concerned about what might happen to the congregation(s) at Ephesus. In view of his imminent departure, anticipating no return, he charged the elders with a solemn responsibility: 28a,‘Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made our overseers’. Christian leaders cannot care adequately for others if they neglect the care and nurture of themselves. There are echoes here of OT passages that express the need for the leaders of Israel to pastor God’s flock in a way that reflects His own shepherding care.

As those made or appointed overseers by the Holy Spirit, they are like the elders chosen by Moses, but empowered by God’s Spirit as prophetic leaders of Israel. , “So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.” Doubtlessly, Paul appointed the Ephesian elders because of their Christian character and gifting, but the focus here is on the Spirit’s work in ‘choosing and preparing them by his gifts those who are to be ministers’. As well as describing the leaders in these terms, Paul also used two important scriptural words to describe the congregation at Ephesus: they are ‘the flock’ and ‘the church’ or ‘assembly’ of God. In view of the preceding reference to ‘the whole will of God’ (v. 27), it may be significant that the charge here is to care for all the flock, meaning ‘the inclusive church of Jews and Gentiles that results from announcing God’s saving purpose for all’. Neglect of one group or another will result in the whole congregation being hurt or hindered in its growth and witness (cf. 6:1–7).

Paul now tells them to ‘... to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.’ Their watchfulness and care was to be for the express purpose of effective pastoral care.

The community entrusted to their care is further defined as ‘the church of God, which he bought with his own blood’. Such exalted language suggests that the Ephesian church belonged to God as his personal possession, having been bought or acquired at a great price. , Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine. Such language can be applied to the church as the whole body of Christ, , “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Each congregation is brought into existence because of the saving work of Jesus is precious to God and should be so treated by those appointed to be its leaders! Paul himself writes about the blood of Christ as the means of divine redemption in

, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” The shedding of the Messiah’s blood is the means by which the New Covenant is inaugurated and Messiah’s people are sanctified for their share with him in his eternal inheritance. This is the heart of ‘the message of his grace’, which is able to sustain the church in the face of persecution and false teaching. In other words, Jesus’ atoning work in and is not simply the basis for the proclamation of forgiveness but also for the forming and maintaining of the eschatological people of God.

29-31, the reasons why the elders needed to keep watch over themselves and the flock committed to their care were then made plain. After Paul’s departure, there would be threats to the life and growth of the church from both outside and inside.

Paul predicted that ‘fierce wolves’ would come into their fellowship come ‘among you’ and would not ‘spare the flock’. Look at the contrast, Paul tells the Elders to care for the flock, and warns them that false elders would come in and would not spare the flock. False teachers would pursue their own ends and not care about what happened to Christ’s people.

, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”

So here Paul says, destruction would come from within the church itself, ‘even from your own number’. This last expression suggests that one or many of the elders themselves, who would ‘distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them’, and cause heresy and schism. The church at Ephesus certainly had to deal with heretical forces after Paul’s departure. However, the warning has a wider application. History shows that in every generation it has been all too easy for Christian leaders to attract others to their own way of thinking, to satisfy a deep-seated need for approval or popularity. Again don’t choose popularity over acting properly. Pastors need to be realistic about the way sin can manifest itself in distortions of the truth and create destructive divisions among Christians. Paul’s solution was for the elders to watch out for themselves (‘So be on your guard!’) 30, ‘For among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. A similar ministry of warning with sincerity and compassion would be crucial to the care and support they might provide for one another and for the congregation as a whole. Listen to these words, 31, ‘ Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night and day to admonish every one with tears.

5. Paul reveals to them the cost of leadership

32 The preceding warning implies that the elders could not even rely on themselves to be faithful and to keep the church undivided in the truth. So Paul committed or entrusted them ‘to God and to the word of his grace.’ The two parts of this last phrase probably represent one concept: they were entrusted ‘to God, who is active in the word of grace’. God and the gospel cannot be divided, since he uses the gospel to save those who believe, both Jews and Gentiles. Once more the gospel is identified as a message of grace from God, which not only brings people to Christ in the first place but also is also powerful enough to ‘build you up’ and ‘to give you an inheritance’ -- ‘among all those who are sanctified’ (cf. 26:18). Here we see three important Pauline terms. Through the teaching of the gospel, God is ‘building’ his church. How? By means of the gospel, God promises an eternal inheritance to those who trust in Christ and enables them to obtain that inheritance. In the gospel, God declares those who are in Christ to be already ‘sanctified’ indicating that this is a present reality that has been granted to them. Though believers are called to express their holy status and calling in practical everyday obedience to God. So here we have an important contribution to Luke’s theology of the gospel.

This is the God-given ‘word’ by which the church grows in size and maturity and is protected from error and division. It is the message, which God uses to convert and to sustain believers until they reach the inheritance, which the gospel itself promises. When the gospel is faithfully preached and applied to believers, they are assured of their standing with God in Christ and are encouraged to press on in love, unity, and obedience.

33–35 In addition to the danger of false teaching and persecution, Paul recognized the possibility that some elders might misuse their position for personal gain. So he reminded them of his own example as an encouragement to them. 33,‘I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.’ Paul’s attitude towards money and possessions reflected the influence of Jesus’ teaching, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” This saying does not mean that those who benefit from the generosity of others are less blessed than those who give. The principle is, ‘It is better for a person who can do so to give to help others rather than to amass further wealth for himself’. Paul’s own behavior is then presented as a practical example of how to put this into practice. Paul did not follow Jesus’ teaching by selling his possessions and distributing the proceeds, but he gave to others by working in the ministry and sometimes with his own hands to supply his own needs and the needs of his companions. In addition, His letters encourage believers to finance gospel ministry, and he himself accepted gifts from some churches, but not others. However, his aim here is to warn leaders of the dangers inherent in their position and to commend his own solution to the problem of greed. Covetousness spoils relationships and hinders the work of the gospel, since those who are seeking to advance themselves materially will be tempted to evaluate their contacts and ministry opportunities in economic terms. Paul’s way of handling this matter is a further ground of confidence for leaders facing the temptations of their position in the church (God and the gospel being the primary basis for confidence in v. 32). Paul’s example shows that there is a way of resisting sin and being a trustworthy model for others and revealing the cost of leadership.

36–38 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. In response, they all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. Paul’s relationship with the Ephesian elders was one of genuine affection and friendship. Parting from him was distressing enough, but what grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. His critics sometimes misrepresent Paul as a hard and austere man, lacking compassion and kindness. However, this passage is one of several challenging that distorted view , We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

Then they accompanied him to the ship for the journey that would take him to imprisonment and many trials before he finally reached Rome.

“Counting the cost” means recognizing and agreeing to some terms first. In following Christ, we cannot simply follow our own inclinations. We cannot follow Him and the world's way at the same time. , “ Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

Following Him may mean we lose relationships, dreams, material things, or even our lives.