If you knew that your life on earth was drawing to a close, what would you want to say to the people you love? What about the church leaders you’ve invested your life in—what final words of instruction and guidance would you want to emphasize to them? The Apostle Paul found himself in this situation, and he put together one of the greatest discourses of final words we find in the Bible.
Paul had spent three years in Ephesus leading the church and teaching the elders how to shepherd a congregation. As he arrived at the day he would continue on toward Jerusalem, he anticipated a confrontation that would lead him to see the emperor in Rome and would likely result in his death. In Acts 20, we get to listen in as Paul spoke his final words to the elders whom he had grown to love.
Protect the flock.
Paul told the Ephesian elders, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock. . . . I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock . . . speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:28–30 NASB).
Those who co–opt the message of the gospel for their own ends and to amass their own power are pictured here as predators seeking prey. Paul’s warning includes a reminder that church leaders are shepherds of the flock. Elders and other church leaders must hold fast to the good news of Jesus’s upside-down Kingdom and not be swayed from the truth. When elders take on their responsibility to teach the whole counsel of God, they are protecting the flock.
Those who co–opt the message of the gospel for their own ends and to amass their own power are pictured here as predators seeking prey. Paul’s warning includes a reminder that church leaders are shepherds of the flock. Elders and other church leaders must hold fast to the good news of Jesus’s upside-down Kingdom and not be swayed from the truth. When elders take on their responsibility to teach the whole counsel of God, they are protecting the flock.
Help the weak.
Paul went on to say, “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak” (Acts 20:35 NASB).
Jesus’s brother James said that “pure and undefiled religion . . . is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:27 NASB).
In Acts 6:1, the Greek Christians raised a complaint against the Jewish Christians that the Greek widows were “being overlooked in the daily serving of food” (NASB). The twelve (at that time the de facto elders) could have jumped in to fix this practical issue, but they said,
“It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables” (Acts 6:2 NASB).
To address the problem, they appointed deacons who had good reputations, and who were full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, to be in charge of this task. In this way, the elders remained focused on their primary assignment: teaching the Word of God. But Paul reminded his Ephesian elder friends that it was ultimately their responsibility that the weak were provided for.
Model generosity.
Finally, Paul charges the elders to “remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 20:35 NASB).
We often hear this verse during offering meditations, but this was really an admonition from Paul to the Ephesian elders. How are we, as the church, modeling compassion? What are we, as elders, doing to reach out to the disenfranchised? As shepherds of God’s people, what can we do to lead our churches in making a difference in our communities? How can we demonstrate to the world that we’re not trapped by the four walls of a building but that the good news of Jesus spurs us on to action?
When Paul finished speaking to the Ephesian elders, “he knelt down and prayed with them all. And they began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again” (Acts 20:36–38 NASB).
Paul spoke these final words to his dear friends in the Ephesian church, and the elders took them to heart, knowing that this was the final teaching they would receive from him. While we are not the original recipients, Paul’s words are just as valuable for elders today: Protect the flock. Help the weak. Model generosity.
Let’s journey together.
You don’t need to do ministry alone. You can find opportunities to connect, plus more content and conversations about church administration, at XP Summit: xpsummit.org.
