Acts 20:13-38

Paul’s speech to the elders (part 1)

Introduction

Paul continued on his travels after Ephesus. He went into Macedonia and Greece for three months, encouraging and strengthening the Christians. Then he began to head for home, i.e. Syria. He was accompanied by a group of men from various churches. Paul enjoyed the companionship of others and believed in teamwork. He called in at Troas, the city where, some years before, he had heard the Macedonian call. Here is where the incident occurred when Eutychus fell asleep during Paul’s sermon and fell from the window.

Paul called at four different ports on the coast or islands. When he got to the important harbour of Miletus, he sent for the elders of the Ephesian church. Ephesus was just 30 miles away, and he wanted to address them, remind them of the work already done and prepare them for the future. He knew he would not see them again, so it was a solemn meeting. It is the only address recorded in Acts where Paul is addressing Christians.

Paul addresses the elders, also known as overseers. They had a pastoral role, tending, feeding and protecting the flock. Note there was more than one elder. It was teamwork. Some led the house churches, some had specialist ministries, and some did the pastoral care.

Our first look at these verses is to consider the man Paul, and his message. It is a very revealing passage about the Apostle (who, apart from the Lord Himself, dominates the New testament). The second look next week will consider the responsibilities of those who are leaders in the church.

The man himself

When we look at this passage, at once a number of phrases come into mind from Paul’s own epistles, which perfectly sum up the man revealed here. Here is a man of God (1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 3:17), for whom to live was Christ (Philippians 1:21), and who said One thing I do (Philippians 3:13). He was wholly the Lord’s.

Total dedication. The whole time he was with them, from the very first day, I served the Lord with great humility and with tears (Acts 20:19). douleuwn means the Lord’s bond slave. He was unsure of what the future held once he got down to Jerusalem, though he expected prison and persecution, yet he was not concerned. I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace (Acts 20:24). This was his one aim, even if it cost him his life. He was utterly dedicated to, mastered by, dominated by and controlled by his Lord and His work.

When we analyse many of the problems in the Christian church today, time and time again it comes back to one thing – lack of unreserved consecration to the Lord. After all the excuses and reasons and extenuating circumstances, there is a lack in many Christian lives of self denial, and the attitude “Yes, Lord, whatever the cost.” If that matter were settled, so many other things would fall into place. Self-denial is not practiced, or even taught.

Many think the Christian ministry is a wonderful example of sacrifice. It may be in financial terms, but it has many compensations that satisfy self-centred human nature. There can even be power with great self-satisfaction and pleasure. It is not until self is sent to the cross that the minister is wholly submitted to the Lord. Self must die with Christ, die to all he is and has. He must learn to preach to others over the top of his own corpse. The corn of wheat has to die before there is fruit. Paul was fully aware of this.

Thoroughness in the work of the Lord. I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you (Acts 20:20). He took every opportunity, publicly and privately, to speak his message, so that I am innocent of the blood of all men (Acts 20:26). He declared the whole will and counsel of God, telling everybody everything everywhere. No one could say he hadn’t told him or her, or he hadn’t made himself clear, or he hadn’t warned him or her. Paul was like Ezekiel’s watchman, speaking and warning faithfully (Ezekiel 3:17-19). He so feared the face of God that he was not afraid of the face of man.

Neither did he go out of his way to irritate and anger people unnecessarily. But we are not to play to the gallery, trim or tone down so that we do not offend, and keep popularity. W.E.Sangster said shoddy Christian work was not just unworthy, but it was blasphemy. Sermons should be prepared during the best hours of the week in prayerful study of Scriptures, not a few thoughts that come in idle moments.

Earnestness of spirit. For three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears (Acts 20:31). This did not mean Paul was effeminate or unmanly, but a man who was in dead earnest. His message was real. Men’s danger was real. God’s salvation was real. His message was true and living in his own experience. It had changed him, and he meant every word. He would die for it. It was the most important thing in his life. He spoke with first-hand knowledge and experience.

Heaven is real. Hell is real. Christ is real. God’s Gospel is the truest thing in the world. Earnestness in Christian work will make us appear in a passion. We cannot deal with holy and eternal truths, with eternal consequences, in a cold dispassionate way.

Dr Dale of Birmingham disliked D.L.Moody until he heard him preach. Then he changed his mind. Thereafter he had the profoundest respect. He said “D.L.Moody has a right to preach the Gospel because he could never speak of a lost soul without tears in his eyes.” The Unitarian James Martineau sometimes went to hear Spurgeon speak. When challenged, “But you don’t believe what he believes”, Martineau’s answer was “No, but he does.” He recognised conviction and sincerity.

Dr James Stuart of Edinburgh pleaded for preachers to be on fire. “There is no place for cool detachment in the pulpit speaking with frigid logical precision. Never a congregation gathers, but some expectant souls are present, hoping for a vision of the Lord, some are on the verge of decision, and this very service might be the hour of life’s supreme encounter with God. Everyone into whose face you look is so infinitely precious that Christ was willing for their sakes to endure the Cross and despise the shame. Reflect on this and the spirit must catch fire, and listlessness and formality will be burned up in a glow of evangel. Christ’s requires men on fire.”

Consistency of life. Paul was able to point to his own life. He had not coveted men’s money or possessions, and his own hands had worked to supply his own needs and his companions’ needs. He was remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' (Acts 20:35). His life was an open book. What he said and what he was, were the same thing. His words were not divorced from his conduct. What most preachers would give to be able to say that! Consistent Christians are God’s most powerful visual aid. “It is not great talents which God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus” (R.M.McCheyne).

So Paul the man was totally dedicated, thorough, in dead earnest, and lead a consistent life. His was not a super life or an abnormal life by New Testament standards, but it was a normal Christian life by God’s standards.

Paul’s message

Though it is a short passage, here we have a remarkable summary of the Christian truths which constituted Paul’s message. The most comprehensive description of his message is the whole will of God (Acts 20:27). He had made known all that God had revealed about Himself and His purposes and plans. Another description is I have gone about preaching the Kingdom (Acts 20:25), i.e. God’s saving rule in Jesus Christ, a reign which brings salvation.

The church is the body of Christ, the people of God, the redeemed through Christ’s blood. The Gospel is about God’s grace (Acts 20:24,32). It demands a human response – repentance towards God, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). It is a costly decision which involves suffering in a world which opposes God – in Paul’s case, hardships and prison (Acts 20:23). It involves living in the will of God, completing the task given by the Lord Jesus at any cost (Acts 20:24).

This message is God’s truth. So we need to be vigilant because of false teachers who undermine and compromise the message (Acts 20:29,30). The one bastion is God’s Word – know it, believe it, obey it, and let it build you up (Acts 20:32). And then there is the final inheritance of those who are sanctified, i.e. who are the Lord’s and who belong to Him.

In these few phrases, Paul causes us to look below the surface at so many vital truths: The Word of God is God’s Truth; The Gospel is salvation by grace; It centres on Christ’s death, i.e. blood; He is God; Salvation is ours as we turn from sin and exercise faith – total reliance and dependence on Christ; So He must be alive; Henceforth we are under His Lordship, to live in His will; We are made holy, sanctified, by the Holy Spirit; We are called to fight for the truth, and suffer for the Lord; There needs to be spiritual growth, and in the end we will have our inheritance.

The overview Paul gives us in this short passage is very helpful. Never be content with going over the same thing. See the breadth of the Gospel as a whole. Hence the value of a confession of faith, doctrinal basis, creed, exposition of Scripture Sunday by Sunday. The letter to the Romans is a good book to try to master. It was described by William Tyndale as “the most excellent part of the New Testament, pure Gospel, a light and way into the whole Scripture.” Paul comprehends in this letter the whole learning of Christ’s Gospel and an introduction to the Old Testament.

Conclusion

The glorious Gospel of the blessed God (1 Timothy 1:11) is a great description of the message we preach. No wonder Paul was not ashamed of it. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). Do you know this Gospel yourself? Are you saved? Have you been taken from the miry clay and had your feet set firmly on a rock (Psalm 40:2)? If you have believed the message, and been purchased by Christ’s blood, being sanctified by the Spirit, then you are sure of an inheritance at the end. This is the one message of truth you can live and die on.

And what sort of ambassadors of this Gospel are we? If this message means anything, it must mean everything. It is the power of God unto salvation. Are you a “man of God” or “woman of God”? Are you “the Lord’s bond slave”? Are you mastered by the Lord, dominated and controlled by Him? Are you dead to the world, sin and self, and alive to God?

How do you work for the Lord? Is it a hobby with which you amuse yourself when nothing else to do? Or do you work for Him with an earnestness of spirit, giving the impression that you believe in the message, that life and death matter, and that you are wholly committed to God? It is not a matter of words and talk. We must speak with conviction because our lives are transformed and our testimony is a reality. The days in which we live are too dark to play at these things. God demands from all earnestness and dedication to Him to whom we owe all.