Journey Through Acts: Paul's Missionary JourneysSample

Of all the ministries in Acts, only one is reviewed—that at Ephesus. What Paul did at Ephesus is recorded in Acts 19:8–12. His review of what he did is given in today’s reading.

Paul calls together the elders of the church at Ephesus to meet at Miletus, where he can remind them of what they already know. He recounts what he did during the years he spent with them (v. 18; see Acts 19:10) so that they can continue in like manner the work he began.

Paul’s ministry was Word-based. He speaks of preaching and proclaiming (vv. 20, 25, 27), teaching (v. 20), declaring, and testifying (vv. 21, 24).

The content of his ministry is “anything that would be helpful” (v. 20), “the good news of God’s grace” (v. 24), “the kingdom” (v. 25), and “the whole will of God” (v. 27).

The goal of all this work is to encourage all people to “turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus” (v. 21).

In verses 26–28, Paul uses two pictures to describe his ministry. They are:

• The watchman, who sounds a warning and is therefore innocent of the blood of those who fail to heed  it (v. 26; see Ezekiel 33:2–5)
• The shepherd, who must watch himself if he is to effectively guard others (v. 28)

C. H. Spurgeon said in his lectures to his students, “we shall be likely to accomplish most when we are in the best spiritual condition”.9 According Augustine of Hippo, this type of self-watch consisted of “praying, reading the word and weeping”. [10]

Remember, these verses are probably Paul’s last face-to-face words with his elders (vv. 25, 38). The elders are to be diligent overseers, with ultimate confidence in God and His word of grace (v. 32), for ultimately the flock is His, bought by Him, and is under His protection.

In the twenty-first century world, that which is weighty is often trivialised and that which is trivial, exalted. We must never allow the ministry of serving God’s people to be trivialised.

[9] C. H. Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1980), 7.

[10] Augustine, Epistle 21:4.

Think Through:

Think about Paul’s apostolic model of ministry. Think about each element of this ministry—the Word; personal integrity; accountability. How would your church benefit from a careful understanding of this section of Acts?

The church at Ephesus does not exist today. In the New Testament, there are two letters addressed to the church at Ephesus: the first is Ephesians; the second is Revelation 2:1–7. In this second letter, what does Jesus hold against the church at Ephesus and what does He tell them to do?