Grace Bible Church Gillette, Wyoming

1. Having warned the Ephesian elders of false teachers who will move in after he leaves, Paul commended the elders and their spiritual responsibilities to God.

2. The word “commend” is the Greek word paratithīmi and literally means to “place beside or before.” So, in hope that the elders would rise to the occasion of leading the church spiritually, Paul placed them before God in prayer. God will undergird and strengthen the elders for the oncoming battles.

3. Paul also commends the elders to the “word of His grace.” God’s word bestows grace in regard to salvation (Ac 20:24; Gal. 1:6; 1Pe 1:23). But God’s word also bestows grace in sanctifying the church (Jn 17:17; 2Pe 3:18).

4. God through His word is able to “build up” believers. The word “build up” is the Greek word oikodomeō and literally means to build a house. Figuratively it used for edification, which is the building up of the spiritual lives believers (1Th 5:11; Ep 4:29) or the church (1Co 14:12). Edification was exactly what the elders were to do in the church and they were to do it through the teaching of the Word (Ep 4:12; 1Co 14:5).

5. God through His Word is also able to give assurance to the believer of his inheritance. All who are saved and are being sanctified will receive the inheritance (Col 1:12; 1Pe 1:3-4). The inheritance is all that awaits the believer in heaven including Christ, His glory (Ro 8:17), and rewards (1Co 3:14).

VI. PROVISIONAL CONCERNS (33-35)

A. Coveted Nothing (33)

1. Having commended the elders to God and His Word, Paul gave one final exhortation. The exhortation was for the elders to care for the needs of the church. Paul’s exhortation comes from Paul’s own example of provisional concerns.

2. Paul stated that he did not covet the silver, gold, or garments from anyone in Ephesus while he ministered to them. The word “covet” (epithumeō) conveys strong impulses toward something (Lk 16:21). Often it is applied in a bad sense to having a strong desire for possessions of another (Ro 7:7-8; 13:9). One reason Paul was concerned was the false accusations from false teachers (cf. 1Co 9:11-12, 18; 2Co 12:13).

B. Concern for His Own Needs (34)

1. Paul also stated that the Ephesians themselves witnessed that he provided for his own needs and for those who were with him.

2. Paul’s trade of tent making became very useful. There were times when Paul did rely on the gifts of others (Ac 18:5 cf. Php 4:15; 2Co 11:8-9 cf. 1Ti 5:17-18). But there were many times when Paul would rely on his own labors. In either case, Paul ultimately relied on the Lord.

3. His purposes were not to be a burden to the Ephesians (cf. 1Th 2:9; 2Th 3:8) as well as be an example to them (cf. 2Th 3:8-9).

C. Care for the Weak (35)

1. In following Paul’s example, the elders were to emulate Paul’s work ethic in ministry to be a model for the church (2Th 3:10-11).

2. Their emulation would also fulfill another purpose, which was to meet the needs of the weak. “Weak” is the Greek word astheneō and can mean bodily weakness, i.e. sick (Lk 4:40), moral weakness (Ro 4:19), or economic weakness, i.e. poor (Jn 11:3).

3. Who are the weak? The Gentile world of Paul’s day lacked the virtues of love and mercy. No one cared for the poor, the destitute, the sick and physically weak persons. The Christians reached out to those in need because of the love and mercy they themselves had received from Christ. They cared for the poor, they visited the sick, and they helped the weak. They did so without remembering when, where, and whom they aided (see Matt. 25:3740). (Kistemaker)

4. Such benevolence would fulfill the words of the Lord Jesus, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

5. Though there is no record of this quote by Jesus in the gospels, nevertheless, it was known among the church. There were many words and deeds that did not get added into the Scriptures (Jn 21:25).

6. When a believer fulfills Christ’s law of love, he receives a divine blessing. The divine blessing is not receiving back threefold on your donation. Rather it is the divine blessing of receiving spiritual joy for being Christlike and meeting needs of others.

VII. PERSONAL AFFECTIONS (36-38)

A. Concluded in Prayer (36)

1. It was only appropriate to conclude such an exhortation with prayer. Kneeling was most likely Paul’s custom in prayer, especially in farewells (Ac 21:5 cf. Ac 9:40) even as it was the custom of the Lord Jesus (Lk 22:41 cf. Mt 6:5).

2. This also shows the great spiritual affection that Paul had for the Ephesian elders, for whom he had given three years of his life.

B. Contagious Affection (37)

1. Paul’s spiritual affection was reciprocated by the Ephesian elders. Their emotions are emphatic in the Greek.

2. They not only “wept” (klauthmos - expression of a strong inner emotion) but they could not keep their emotions inside and wept “aloud” (hikano - either long or loud, or both).

3. They embraced Paul. Literally, it reads, “having fallen on his neck, they kept on kissing him.” The idea of “falling on one’s neck” is the same as an intense affectionate embrace (cf. Gen. 33:4; 45:14; 46:29; Lk 15:20).

C. Change of Plans (38)

1. What broke their hearts the most was that they believed they would never see Paul again. Paul had informed them earlier in his exhortation (Ac 20:25). Paul indeed did not know what awaited him at Jerusalem (Ac 20:22) and he did not envision a return to Ephesus.

2. However, this would not be the last time they saw him, for Paul visited Ephesus again after his release from imprisonment in Rome (1Ti 1:3 cf. 1Ti 3:14).

3. This is not a contradiction in Scripture because it is in fact Scripture that revealed Paul’s change of plans. Furthermore, this would not have been the first time that Paul’s plans were changed (Ac 16:6-7).

4. Their emotions prolonged their time with Paul as long as possible, even as they were accompanying him to the ship.

VIII. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

A. Work Hard to Give

1. Be an example of hard work, hard work on your job, hard work on your spiritual life, and hard work in your church. There is no much virtue in idleness, nor is there much reward.

2. But your motivation to work hard in all areas, should be to give to the weak, whether it is in physical needs, discipleship, or edification.

B. Embrace Spiritual Fellowship

1. We should not wait until there is a separation in our fellowship in order to appreciate close spiritual relationships.

2. Rather, we ought to embrace the sweet spiritual fellowship that we have at the moment and seek to make it even more spiritual.

C. Commendation to God and His Word

1. In the many religious speeches we have recently heard, none of them begin to scratch the surface of the truth, purpose, and spirituality of the final commendation of Paul.

2. “And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified”.

Grace Bible Church · 4000 E. Collins Rd · PO Box #3762 · Gillette, WY · (307) 686-1516