'Take Heed'

Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. 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. I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. 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. - Acts 20:26-35

    When Paul called the Ephesian elders together at Miletus, his object was to impart to them some final words of instruction by which they might be enabled to serve God and his people in their generation. Paul's words of instruction on that momentous occasion have been preserved for us in this chapter so that we too might know how to serve our God and Saviour, his church and his interests in our generation. If we would do so, there are certain things to which we must 'take heed', knowing that Satan will constantly attempt to draw us away from Christ by drawing us away from our responsibilities in this world. In particular, the apostle, speaking by inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, tells us that there are three things to which we must 'take heed': the ministry of the gospel, the church of God and the words of the Lord Jesus.

    1. The ministry of the gospel (20:26-31)

    Certainly, Paul's primary object here is the instruction of elders, pastors and teachers, regarding their responsibilities as God's servants. Every preacher called by God must 'take heed to the ministry which [he has] received in the Lord' to fulfil it (Col. 4: 17; 1Tim.4: 12-16). However, it is also the responsibility of God's people to know, follow and obey those who labour among them (1 Thess. 5:12-13; Heb. 13:7,17). Paul tells us three things about every true gospel preacher, every true pastor in the church of God.

    First, God's servants are watchmen over his church and over the souls of men (20:26-27; Heb. 13:17; Ezek. 3:15-21; 33:1-16). The work of a watchman is not mysterious. He has just one thing to do.

    He must watch over the camp. God says, 'Thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me' (Ezek. 33:7). When Paul gave account of himself, he simply said, 'I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.' The word he received from God, he faithfully declared. He kept back nothing. That is the whole work of the ministry. A faithful pastor is a man who seeks a word from God for his people and faithfully delivers that word. He seeks and finds his message in the Bible alone and faithfully declares the message of Holy Scripture. The phrase, 'all the counsel of God', means the gospel of the crucified Redeemer (1 Cor. 2:7). God's watchmen proclaim to men and women bound for eternity the message of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

    Secondly, pastors are the spiritual rulers and overseers of God's house (20:28). It is every pastor's responsibility to take the oversight of the church he serves (1 Peter 5:1-3). The care of the house of God is his responsibility. He is to rule the church of God in exactly the same way a husband is to rule his house (1 Tim. 3:4-5). A pastor must rule by example and in love. He must win the respect of men and women, so that they are willing to be ruled by him. And he must rule by the Word of God. But rule he must! The church is not to be ruled by the voice of the people, but by the voice of God through his messenger. Read Numbers 16:1-35 and see how serious God makes this matter to be!

    As the overseer of God's church, it is the pastor's responsibility to feed the church. Many fleece the church. God's servants feed it with knowledge and understanding (Jer. 3:15). He must feed God's people with the knowledge of pure gospel doctrine and with an understanding of their peculiar needs. Such knowledge and under standing can be gained only by prayer and study. Therefore the pastor must give himself entirely to this work (1 Tim. 4:12-16).

    Thirdly, God's preachers are set as pastors/or the protection of his church (20:29-31; Eph. 4:14; 2 Tim. 3:1-4:5). As shepherds watch over their sheep, so true pastors watch over the flock of Christ's sheep to protect them from the pernicious, subtle, cunning doctrines of wolves. These wolves (false prophets) come from many quarters, wearing many different names, but they always have four things in common: they deny God's total and absolute sovereignty; they deny the effectual accomplishment of redemption by the blood of Christ; they deny the efficacy of God's grace in salvation and they give sinners something to do to make the blood of Christ and the grace of God efficacious for them personally.

    2. The church of God (20:28)

    The church of God is a spiritual society, a family of believers. The only bond holding its members together is their relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. It cannot be denied that the word 'church' is used in at least three ways in the New Testament.

    First, it is used to describe all true believers of all ages, both those of the Old Testament and those of the New, both on earth and in heaven. This is what we call 'the universal church'. It is the mystical, spiritual body of which Christ is the head (Eph. 1:22; 5:25-27; Heb. 12:23-24).

    Secondly, the word 'church' is also used to describe local, visible assemblies of all professed believers in a given place. In a local church, there are both believers and unbelievers, those who truly possess faith and those who merely profess to have faith. Yet every local assembly of professed believers is set forth as a local church in the New Testament, and is called 'the church of God' (Rom.16:1-5).

    Thirdly, the word 'church' is used to describe all local churches at any given time in the world (1 Cor. 10:32; 12:28). That does not mean that all religions, or all denominations together, make up the church of God. However, all true churches, that worship God in the pattern and doctrine of the New Testament, are one.

    In Acts 20:28 Paul is addressing the elders of a particular local assembly at Ephesus, or perhaps, as noted before, these elders were preachers from several local assemblies in the Ephesus area. He calls this body of believers 'the church of God'. Two things are here revealed about the church of God.

    1. It belongs to God. He chose it (2 Thess. 2:13). He bought it with his own blood (Eph. 5:25-27; Titus 2:14). And he calls it out of the world in effectual grace (Col. 1:12-14).

    2. The church of God is a flock of sheep. Before we were converted, God's saints were lost sheep, straying from him. After conversion, believers are compared to sheep because they are meek, inoffensive, patient and entirely dependent upon their Shepherd, Christ Jesus.

    3. The words of our Lord Jesus Christ (20:33-35)

    In verse 35 Paul refers to one of the statements made by Christ that was commonly known to his disciples, though it was nowhere recorded in the four Gospels. But, read together, verses 33-35 teach us three facts that need to be recognized and remembered.

    First, God’s servants are not greedy, covetous men, and they are not beggars (20:33). Paul did not seek luxury, or even comfort. He would not grovel before men. He would either be maintained by the free, voluntary gifts of God's people, or he would work to provide for his necessities. But he refused to beg!

    Secondly, every believing man ought to labour as one working not for himself, but for the glory of God and to help others (20:35). Every man is responsible to work and provide for himself and his family (1 Tim. 5:8; 2 Thess. 3:10). We should each labour with diligence, not to amass great wealth, but, like Paul, to have the means to support those who preach the gospel and those who are less fortunate. Believers should work with their hands so that they may have the means to give to those who are in need (Eph. 4:28). This is love indeed (1 John 3:16-19).

    Thirdly, we must ever remember that 'It is more blessed to give than to receive', because the person who gives generously, with a willing heart, gives evidence by his gifts that he is born of God, whereas the person who receives but does not give proves, by hoarding God's bounty for himself, that he does not know God (1 John 3:16-19).