Pastor's Sermon Notes: Paul’s Farewell Sermon to the Ephesian Elders, Part 2 (Acts 20:32-38)

Paul’s Farewell Sermon to the Ephesian Elders, Part 2

Acts 20:32-38

³² And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. ³³ I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. ³⁴ Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. ³⁵ I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. ³⁶ And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. ³⁷ And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him, ³⁸ Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship.

Introduction:

We have reminded often concerning the transitional nature of the historical narrative encountered in the book of Acts. This is the foundational period in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ. Some aspects of the contents of this book must be discerned as not having direct application to the subsequent periods of the Church. This episode is not one of them. Just as in the book of Revelation when observation was made that the Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in chapters two and three are the most directly applicable portions of the New Testament to us today, even so does Paul’s final sermon at Miletus to the Ephesian Elders in Acts 20 stand as one of the portions of this book that we should consider as having direct application to us today without qualification.

Outline:

II. The Sermon, Part 2 (20:32-35)

III. The Parting - From their Knees to the Ship with Sorrow (20:36-38)

Transition:  Now begins Paul’s conclusion of what has been referred to as his third missionary journey, which will terminate in Jerusalem and usher in the end of the book with Paul in Rome.

5. The Conclusion - The Example of Paul’s Ministry (20:32-35)

 ³² And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. ³³ I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. ³⁴ Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. ³⁵ I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

There is an unmistakable contrast in these concluding sentences of Paul’s sermon between the eternal inheritance and worldly riches.

1) The True Inheritance (20:32)

2) An Example Pure of Covetousness (20:33)

3) A Self-Supporting Example (20:34)

4) The Blessed Generosity (20:35)

1) The True Inheritance (20:32)

And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

Since we focused on verses 33-34 out of sequence in the sermon on verse 35 last Lord’s Day we now must back up and give attention to verse 32.

And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

Sometimes we need to get out our spiritual table ware, or knives and forks if you will, in order to cut the Word up into smaller portions to aid our digestion. In the words before us is a picture of just such a meal with rewards for focusing our attention on the smaller portions as we progress.

(1) The Commendation of the Apostle of Jesus Christ

And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace [1]

Here three very large subjects in the Scriptures are brought together, two of them in one descriptive phrase.

a. Paul commends the Elders to God

And now, brethren, I commend you to God

The picture here is that of presenting them, or placing them in the presence of God as a host, with the Word of God’s grace as a banquet provided by the host.

b. Paul commends the Elders to the Word of God’s Grace

and to the word [2] of his grace

When we considered verse 21 mention was made of the following:

Woven throughout this sermon are the following characterizations of the content of Paul’s ministry:

repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (20:21)

the gospel of the grace of God (20:24)

the kingdom of God (20:25)

all the counsel of God (20:27)

the word of his grace (20:32)

These characterizations all refer to the same thing viewed from different aspects in various contexts which contain bases for why that description is used at that point.

Now at this last reference it would behoove us to consider what is meant by the Gospel, and what should be the content of faithful preaching of the Word of God, lest we follow others in their guilty reductionism of the Gospel to simplistic paradigms.

(2) The Power of the Word of God’s Grace

which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. [3]

In these phrases may be seen a focus on the ability and ultimate success of the Word of God for the people of God both corporately and individually.

a. The Word of God’s Grace is Sufficient for Full Edification

which is able [4] to build you up [5]

The verb in this case has been described as having both “messianic significance” and an “ecclesiastical ring.” Otto Michel, TDNT 5:139.

Here is a focus on the ability of the Word of God on behalf of the people of God corporately.

b. The Word of God’s Grace is Sufficient for Final Sanctification

and to give [6] you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. [7]

Here is a focus on the ultimate success of the Word of God on behalf of the people of God individually.

For “eternal inheritance” see Dt. 9:26; 12:9; 19:14; 32:9; 33:3; Eph. 1:18; 5:5-7; Col. 1:12; 3:24; Heb. 9:15; 1 Pet. 1:4.

2) An Example Pure of Covetousness (20:33)

 I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.

3) A Self-Supporting Example (20:34)

Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.

4) The Blessed Generosity (20:35)

I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

We considered this verse in the Incarnation season sermon last Lord’s Day. See “Pastor’s Sermon Notes: You Can Take His Word For It, Subtitle: A Reminder From the Lord Jesus (Acts 20:35)” on Wayside Gospel Chapel at http://waysidegospelchapel.blogspot.com/2014/12/pastors-sermon-notes-you-can-take-his.html [accessed 24 DEC 2014].

III. The Parting - From their Knees to the Ship with Sorrow (20:36-38)

 ³⁶ And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. ³⁷ And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him, ³⁸ Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship.

“Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow.”

- Juliet to Romeo, in William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene 2

1. The Final Prayer with the Ephesian Elders (20:36)

2. The Physical Expressions of Emotion from the Ephesian Elders (20:37)

3. The Basis for the Sorrow of the Ephesian Elders (20:38a)

4. The Last View of Paul by the Ephesian Elders (20:38b)

1. The Final Prayer with the Ephesian Elders (20:36)

And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all.

2. The Physical Expressions of Emotion from the Ephesian Elders (20:37)

And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him

3. The Basis for the Sorrow of the Ephesian Elders (20:38a)

Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more.

4. The Last View of Paul by the Ephesian Elders (20:38b)

And they accompanied him unto the ship.

Complete outline:

II. The Sermon, Part 2 (20:18-35)

5. The Conclusion - The Example of Paul’s Ministry (20:32-35)

1) The True Inheritance (20:32)

2) An Example Pure of Covetousness (20:33)

3) A Self-Supporting Example (20:34)

4) The Blessed Generosity (20:35)

III. The Parting - From their Knees to the Ship with Sorrow (20:36-38)

1. The Final Prayer with the Ephesian Elders (20:36)

2. The Physical Expressions of Emotion from the Ephesian Elders (20:37)

3. The Basis for the Sorrow of the Ephesian Elders (20:38a)

4. The Last View of Paul by the Ephesian Elders (20:38b)

[Sermon preached 28 DEC 2014 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]

Appendix 1 - Selected Sermons:

S. Lewis Johnson, “The Integrity of Paul’s Ministry: Part III” (Acts 20:32-38), on SLJ Institute at https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/sljinstitute/new_testament/Acts/46_SLJ_Acts.pdf [accessed 19 DEC 2014].

John MacArthur, “A Charge to New Testament Church Leaders, Part 2” (Acts 20:29-38; preached 26 MAY 1974), sermon 1780 on Grace to You at  http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/1780/a-charge-to-new-testament-church-leaders-part-2 [accessed 19 DEC 2014].

John Piper, “I Entrust You to God and to the Word of His Grace” (Acts 20:32-35; preached 30 APR 1989), on desiring God at http://www.desiringgod.org/sermons/i-entrust-you-to-god-and-to-the-word-of-his-grace [19 DEC 2014].

Appendix 2 - Resources on the Sermons in Acts:

F. F. Bruce, The Speeches in the Acts of the Apostles (London: The Tyndale Press, 1942); on Biblical Studies at http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/speeches_bruce.pdf [accessed 8 FEB 2013]. [8]

F. F. Bruce, “The Speeches In Acts―Thirty Years After,” Robert Banks, ed., Reconciliation and

Hope. New Testament Essays on Atonement and Eschatology Presented to L.L. Morris on his 60th

Birthday (Carlisle: The Paternoster Press, 1974), pp. 53-68; on Biblical Studies at http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/rh/acts_bruce.pdf [accessed 8 FEB 2013].

Colin J. Hemer, “The Speeches of Acts,” Tyndale Bulletin 40:1 (NA 1989), pp. 77-85.

Simon J. Kistemaker, “The Speeches In Acts,” Criswell Theological Review 5:1 (1990), pp. 31-41; on Theodore Hildebrandt’s “Biblical eSources,” on Gordon Faculty Online at  https://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/ted_hildebrandt/ntesources/ntarticles/ctr-nt/kistemaker-speechesacts-ctr.pdf [accessed 27 AUG 2014].

William L. Lane, "The Speeches of the Book of Acts", in Jerusalem and Athens: Critical Discussions on the Philosophy and Apologetics of Cornelius Van Til, ed. E. R. Geehan (Phillipsburg, NJ:  Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1971), pp. 260-272, Ch. XIII, notes on pp. 473-477.

Stanley E. Porter, Paul in Acts, in Library of Pauline Studies, gen. ed. Stanley E. Porter (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1999; 2001 reprint of The Paul of Acts: Essays in Literary Criticism, Rhetoric and Theology, in Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 115, by Mohr Siebeck, Tubingen), pp. 58-60, 86-89, 109-165.

Appendix 3 - Resources on Acts:

G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, eds., Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), pp. 513-606.

Paul Barnett, The Birth of Christianity: The First Twenty Years, After Jesus, Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005).

Darrell L. Bock, Acts, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, eds. Robert W. Yarbrough and Robert H. Stein (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007).

                                                  

F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1951, 1952).

Dennis E. Johnson, The Message of Acts in the History of Redemption (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1997).

I. Howard Marshall, Acts: An Introduction And Commentary, Vol. 5 in Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. Leon Morris (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1980; 2008 reprint).

David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, in The Pillar New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009).

John B. Polhill, Acts, Vol. 26 in The New American Commentary, gen. ed. David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, Publishers, 1992).

Eckhard J. Schnabel, Acts, Vol. 5 in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, gen. ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012).

W. C. van Unnik, “The ‘Book of Acts’ the Confirmation of the Gospel,” in Novum Testamentum 4:1 (OCT 1960), pp. 26-59; reprinted in The Composition of Luke’s Gospel: Selected Studies from Novum Testamentum, compiled by David E. Orton, Vol. 1 of Brill’s Readers in Biblical Studies (Leiden: Brill, 1999), pp. 184-218.

William H. Willimon, Acts, in Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, series ed. James Luther Mays, New Testament ed. Paul J. Achtemeier (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010).

Appendix 4 - Resources on Paul:

Kenneth E. Bailey, Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians  (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2011).

F. F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977).

D. A. Carson, The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), pp. 496-501.

W. J. Conybeare and J. S. Howson, The Life, Times and Travels of St. Paul, 2 vols. in 1, unabridged American ed. (New York: E. B. Treat U Co., 1869); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=Bn1CAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 12 FEB 2013].

Adolf Deissmann, Paul: A Study in Social and Religious History, 2nd ed., trans. William E. Wilson (New York: Harper Torchbooks, n.d.).

F. W. Farrar, The Life and Work of St. Paul (New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., 1889); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=RB2KeCSM6KsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 12 FEB 2013].

Bruce N. Fisk, “Paul: Life and Letters”, in The Face of New Testament Studies: A Survey of Recent Research, ed. Scot McKnight and Grant R. Osborne (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004), pp. 283-325.

Richard B.Gaffin, Jr., "Acts and Paul", 46 lectures (MP3 format), WTS Resources Media Center on Westminster Theological Seminary at http://wts.edu/resources/media.html?paramType=audio&filterTopic=5&filterSpeaker=10&filterYear=2005 [accessed 20 MAR 2013].

Frank J. Goodwin, A Harmony of the Life of the St. Paul According to the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline Epistles (New York: American Tract Society, 1895); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=YgpEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 12 FEB 2013].

Richard N. Longenecker, The Ministry And Message Of Paul (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1971).

Richard N. Longenecker, Paul, Apostle Of Liberty (New York: Harper & Row, 1964).

Richard N. Longenecker, ed., The Road From Damascus : The Impact Of Paul's Conversion On His Life, Thought, And Ministry (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).

Richard N. Longenecker, Studies In Paul, Exegetical And Theological (Sheffield : Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2004).

J. Gresham Machen, The Origin of Paul's Religion: The James Sprunt Lectures Delivered at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1925).

Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1955).

John Pollock, The Apostle: A Life of Paul, 3rd ed. (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1969, 2012); also published as The Man Who Shook the World (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1972; originally The Apostle: A Life of Paul, New York: Doubleday, 1969).

Stanley E. Porter, Paul in Acts, in Library of Pauline Studies, gen. ed. Stanley E. Porter (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1999; 2001 reprint of The Paul of Acts: Essays in Literary Criticism, Rhetoric and Theology, in Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 115, by Mohr Siebeck, Tubingen).

W. M. Ramsay, The Cities of St. Paul: Their Influence on his Life and Thought (New York: A. C. Armstrong and Son; London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1908); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=JryEbmKool0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 13 FEB 2013].

W. M. Ramsay, Pauline and Other Studies in Early Christian History (New York: A. C. Armstrong and Son, 1906); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=-1ZJAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 13 FEB 2013].

W. M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveler and the Roman Citizen, 10th ed. (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1907); on Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/ramsay/paul_roman.html [accessed 13 FEB 2013].

W. M. Ramsay, The Teaching of Paul in terms of The Present Day: The Deems Lectures in New York University (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1914); on Internet Archive at http://ia600404.us.archive.org/2/items/teachingofpaulin00rams/teachingofpaulin00rams.pdf [accessed 13 FEB 2013].

A. T. Robertson, Epochs in the Life of Paul: A Study of Development in Paul's Character (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1974).

Eckhard J. Schnabel, Paul The Missionary: Realities, Strategies And Methods (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008).

Udo Schnelle, Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology, trans. M. Eugene Boring (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003; trans. from Paulus: Leben und Denken, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co., n.d.).

Thomas R. Schreiner, Paul, Apostle of God's Glory in Christ: A Pauline Theology (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2001).

James Stalker, The Life of St. Paul, (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1885; rev. ed. 2010 by Kessinger Publishing from 1912 ed.); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=vT0HAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 7 FEB 2013].

James Ironside Still, St. Paul on Trial (London: Student Christian Movement, 1923).

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End Notes:

[1] On the contrast between this “commendation” and deliverance to Satan in 1 Tim. 1:20 and 1 Cor. 5:3-5 see Adolf Deissmann, Paul: A Study in Social and Religious History, 2nd ed., trans. William E. Wilson (New York: Harper Torchbooks, n.d.), pg. 70. This is significant in this context given the previous warnings concerning sheep destroying wolves from without, and sheep stealing false teachers from within in verses 29-30.

[2] See Bertold Klappert’s contribution on the significance of λόγος in the Scriptures in The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, gen. ed. Colin Brown, English ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1971, 1978 ; trans. from Germ. original, Theologisches Begriffslexikon Zum Neuen Testament by Theologischer Verlag Rolf Brockhaus, Wuppertal), 3:1087-1117, s.v. “Word, Tongue Utterance.”

[3] The “…universal scope is pointed to further by the conclusion in v. 32 that if the elders are faithful to Paul’s admonition, then they will receive “the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” G. K. Beale, A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011), pg. 823, note 59.

[4] “An attributive Adjective Participle may be used to describe a person or thing alreadyknown or identified. It is then equivalent to an explanatory relative clause.” Ernest De Witt Burton, Syntax of the Moods and Tenses in New Testament Greek, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1978 reprint of 1900 edition, University of Chicago Press, Chicago), pg. 166, s.v. §426. The Explanatory Attributive Participle.

[5] On this verb see Jurgen Goetzmann’s  article in The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, gen. ed. Colin Brown, English ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1976 ; trans. from Germ. original, Theologisches Begriffslexikon Zum Neuen Testament by Theologischer Verlag Rolf Brockhaus, Wuppertal), 2:251-253, s.v. “House, Build, Manage, Steward.” See also Goetzmann’s previous article on the noun related to this verb, op. cit., pp. 247-251.

[6] ”…not simply a general statement that God’s grace gives an inheritance to those who are sanctified, but that he will give to these particular saints at Ephesus, whose pastors Paul is addressing, an inheritance among all the sanctified, emphasizing the corporate nature of the Church within which these believers have their place.” Nigel Turner, Syntax, Vol. III in James Hope Moulton, A Grammar of New Testament Greek, 4 vols. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1963), pg. 350. “Luke does not in fact use δίδωμι with ἐν for give to. Out of 81 occasions when he uses this verb with a possible direct object, 74 have simple dat., and of the seven others it is very doubtful whether the preposition means to in any instance; it more naturally introduces an adverbial expression and is not an indirect object.” Op. cit., note 1.

[7] “God’s word in the Bible creates his people as faith comes by hearing the word of Christ (Rom. 10:17), and in turn, God’s people gathered in a local church is to become a community of the Book (Acts 20:32). A community where what is “normal” is what the Bible says.” Jim Hamilton, God’s Glory in Salvation Through Judgment: A Biblical Theology (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010), pg. 568.

[8] “This was delivered as The Tyndale New Testament Lecture 19 DEC 1942 at a Conference of graduate and theological student members of the Inter-Varsity Fellowship in Wadham College, Oxford.”