32 And now I entrust 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. 33 I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. 34 You yourselves know that these hands served my own needs and the men who were with me. 35 In everything I showed you that by working hard in this way you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

36 When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And [x]they all began to weep aloud and [y]embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, 38 [z]grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were accompanying him to the ship.
Acts 20:32-38 (NASB) 中文

3rd Missionary trip

Paul is wrapping up his 3rd missionary journey to visit his church plants and “strengthen all the disciples”. He and the team are now returning via land through Macedonia and now Asia. From Miletus he calls for the leaders of the church at Ephesus and gives his farewell message – which finishes here.

Paul has reminded these men about His call and unwavering commitment to share the gospel – no matter what. He hopes they will pattern their ministry after his. And he’s warned these shepherds about evil men, even from among them, who will come and teach lies to the “flock”. 

Entrusted to God

Now Paul, in the presence of the Lord and with the power of the Spirit (I presume), commends / entrusts these leaders to God and, to the word of His grace. “Since he was no longer going to be able to build up these men, he entrusted them ‘to God,’ who would do it, and to the Scriptures (‘the word of His grace’), God’s tool in this process.” (planobiblechapel.org) Regarding the inheritance, Dr. Constable continues, “God’s grace is the source of all spiritual growth and of the ultimate “inheritance” that these elders would one day enjoy because they were believing saints (“those who are sanctified”; cf. 1 Pet. 5:1-4; Phil. 1:6; Col. 3:24).”

More blessed to give

Another example Paul gave them was to work to support yourself. He worked making tents. Not only does it allow you to not be a burden to others, it also gives an ability to bless the weak. The added bonus is Jesus taught, like in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over.”

Final Farewell

Now for the time of sadness as they part ways. Paul tells them that they will not see him again. Was this because of the prompting he had been receiving from the Spirit of future trials? Maybe. It’s possible he also wanted to make clear that they needed to stand on their own, to take seriously his final charge to them.

RЯeflection

• Let us remember that God’s grace is the power behind any spiritual growth and ultimately, our inheritance. And we know from Ephesians 2:8-9 that salvation is by grace, through faith. Join with me to thank God for His grace.
• Do we believe that it is more blessed to give than to receive? How does our use of time, money, and talents line up with this? If we ask others for a list of our traits, would “giving” be one of them?