Well, please turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter 20, as we continue to move our way through this book, the Acts of the Apostles. We find ourselves in the city of Miletus, the apostle Paul not wanting to spend an extended amount of time in Ephesus. So while in Miletus, according to verse 16 and 17, he calls for the elders of the church of Ephesus and they come to him and he gives them this exhortation. And so I want to read beginning in chapter 20 at verse 17.

From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them, You know from the first day that I came to Asia in what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews. how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And see, now I go bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone, night and day, with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel.

Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities and for those who are with me. I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.

Then they all wept freely and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship. Amen. Well, let us pray.

Our Father, we thank You for Your written Word. We thank You for the blessing that it's God-breathed, given by inspiration of the Spirit, and that it's profitable to us for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. I pray that You would give us ears to hear, and hearts to receive the truth, and that by the power of the Spirit who illumines our minds. We ask that You would forgive us and cleanse us from all sin and unrighteousness.

We ask that You would help us, God, to understand these things, help us to be affected in such a way that we pray, we pray for ministers, we pray for the gospel to go forth, we pray for the reality that God is in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, and that the means of preaching is blessed of God for the salvation of sinners by the power of the Holy Spirit, and based on that finished work of our Lord Jesus, when He lived, and when He died, and when He was raised again the third day, that blessed truth we call the gospel. We ask that that word would go forth even now, running swiftly and being glorified, and that many, many people throughout this earth would come to know Christ as Lord and Savior. And God, do that for Your glory in our meeting here this morning. We pray for those who are still in their sin.

We ask that You would do that work which is impossible with men, that You would convict them, that You would show them their need for Christ. And may they hear Christ, that one who is altogether lovely, and that one who is chief among 10,000. Bless this time, we pray, and be glorified, we pray, and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Introduction

Well, as I said, this is the first pastors' conference in a new covenant setting, and the Apostle Paul is rehearsing various things that will be most fitting for this group of elders in Ephesus. And basically what we have from verses 17 to the end of the chapter We have the identification of the audience. We looked at that last week. The elders are also identified as overseers and they pastor.

So those three terms are used synonymously to refer to the one office covered in 1 Timothy 3, 1-7, which has as its primary focus teaching and ruling within the context of the church. And then in the second place, we saw last week as well, the review of Paul's ministry in verses 18 to 27. Remember, he's not boasting, he's not full of pride and vainglory, but rather he is simply pointing to his example so that these men would see that, and these men would resonate with that, and these men would follow that as well. Now, this morning we're going to take up the third section, the exhortation to the elders specifically, verses 28 to 31, and then the Lord willing, next week we'll finish the section with that final admonition to the elders in verses 32 to 38.

So, this morning I want to look at the exhortation to the Ephesian elders, verses 28 to 31, under three considerations. First, the responsibility of the elders in verse 28. Second, the reasons given to the elders in verses 29 and 30, and then finally the reminder provided to the elders in verse 31. We'll spend the bulk of our time in verse 28.

There's a great deal of not only practical exhortation in terms of the way pastors should conduct themselves, but there's also a good bit of Christology or the doctrine of Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Responsibility of the Elders

So let's look first at the command stated. Notice what Paul says in verse 28, therefore. So he's given this review of his own personal life and ministry, and now he becomes real practical with these particular elders. He says, therefore.

He connects with what he has said to what he is now going to say in terms of what he wants with reference to these pastors who function in this church in Ephesus. And not just to them, but because this is the inscripturated word, it appeals to every elder who's ever served. And this is the marching orders, as it were, for gospel ministers. This is a passage they should meditate upon, a passage they should be very familiar with, and a passage, by God's grace, they should seek to exemplify in their own ministry.

So he gives this command. take heed to yourselves and to all the flock." Essentially what he means with reference to this word is to be in a state of alert, to be concerned about, to care for, and to take care. That's the definition of this idea of take heed. I think the connection is obvious. It goes with what has preceded.

Notice that Paul says in verse 26 that he is clean from the blood of all men. In other words, he is not responsible. Why? Because according to verse 27, he has not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God.

And so the connection is fitting and appropriate. If you want to conduct yourself in a ministry that at the end of your life, you don't have blood guiltiness for the souls that were under your charge, you need to take heed. You need to watch. You need to be alert.

You need to be on guard. You need to be functioning in the manner that Jesus Christ has called you to function in.

Take Heed to Yourself and the Flock

Notice the specific object in view. He says, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock. Notice that emphasis. It's not just to all the flock.

If the man doesn't take heed to himself, then he will be no good to take heed with reference to the flock. And this is a pattern or an example that we see in other places in the scripture. In Genesis 4, remember when Cain and Abel bring their sacrifices to the Lord, it says in verse 4 that God respected Abel and his sacrifice. It wasn't just the sacrifice, but it was Abel and the sacrifice.

It was the man and it was what he was presenting. And in 1 Timothy 4.16, the apostle Paul there tells Timothy, take heed to yourself and to all the doctrine. Again, the idea is clear. If a man is not taking heed to himself, he is not going to be fit to take heed to anybody else.

If he can't control his own passions, if he can't control his own life, if he can't engage in the virtue that God has called him to, then he's certainly no guide, no help, no example, or no exhorter to those under his care. And with reference to this, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock. With reference to the elder taking heed to himself, it is his character. It is those things listed in 1 Timothy 3, 1 to 7.

It is that emphasis on virtue. It is that emphasis on Christian virtue. It is that emphasis, not on perfection, because then no man could ever serve as an elder or as a pastor. but by God's grace and according to the power of the Spirit, and with a willing and obedient mind to the Holy Scriptures, he is seeking to conduct himself in a manner that is consistent with his calling, not only as a minister, but as a Christian. In other words, Christian ministers are Christians in the first place, and they need to function as such.

They need to be men of integrity, men of fidelity, and men who obey, as far as they're able, the commands of God Almighty. Certainly, as I said, they will sin. They are still under Romans 7 and Galatians 5. There is still remaining corruption.

If you are looking for perfect ministers, you will never find one. It has been said that if you're looking for the perfect church, you will never find one. As soon as you go, you will make it less than perfect. But there is no such thing as a perfect minister.

We might have assumed that God would use angels, those holy, wonderful beings, to go and preach the everlasting gospel, but he doesn't. I think we saw that last week, 2 Corinthians chapter 4. God puts gospel treasure in cracked pots so that when good things actually happen, the power and the glory is given to God and not the cracked pots. In other words, you can't say, wow, it's owing to that minister that I'm going to heaven.

No, it's owing to the God of heaven and earth. It's owing to the grace of God in and through our Lord Jesus Christ. And to blow our minds even further, he uses weird, defective men to bring that truth so that we can receive that message, believe it, and be saved. So the minister takes heed to himself, his character, in accordance with 1 Timothy 3, 1-7.

But

The Elder's Character and Doctrine

he also takes heed to his doctrine, 1 Timothy 3, 2. The list specifically highlights the various virtues, the various aspects of Christian conduct that a minister must imbibe. But there is one gift or one necessity that this man must hold to. He must be able to teach.

And so the minister not only looks after himself, but he looks after the doctrine. He looks after the Word of God. He knows the truth. He's not a charlatan.

He's not somebody that relaxes when it comes to the truth of Holy Scripture, but he himself knows it, and he himself is able to preach it and teach it to others as well. So take heed to yourselves, the Apostle Paul says, and to all the flock. Why all the flock? Because that's the job, that's the function, that's the role.

And the way that the minister does that, again, is through the proclamation of the truth. It is through teaching, it is through preaching, it is through praying as well. Remember that incident in Acts chapter 6, when they had that sort of dispute amongst the Hellenists and the Hebrew widows over the daily distribution of the food. The apostles said, we need to appoint men to look over this because it's distracting to us.

Not because it's not a noble calling to feed widows. That's certainly a wonderful and a noble calling. But the apostles were supposed to be given to prayer and the ministry of the word. And that is the reason why those first deacons were selected, so that the apostles could give themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.

Again, brethren, I think that's the sum and substance of gospel ministry. A lot of what ministers do have nothing to do with the calling. And a lot of the things that they neglect are specifically what they're called to do. In other words, pray and preach.

Certainly visit. We go not only public ministry, but also from house to house. But the primary emphasis in gospel ministry is to proclaim the truth. There's a wonderful little book called, Why Johnny Can't Preach.

And in that particular book, this fellow gives an illustration of a man who went to be interviewed by a church with reference to becoming their pastor. And the interviewers, the persons that were giving this man the questions and sort of the outline of what was involved in their church, they basically gave this man a list of responsibilities and duties. And the guy, the ministerial candidate, sort of did the math in his head. And he said, that'll take about 80 hours per week.

And they say, yeah, that's right. And he said, but none of it had to do with preaching. None of it had to do with praying. Ministers are not supposed to be the guy that neglects the primary calling to do all the other stuff that persons in churches think should be done.

The job is simple, pray and preach. And this is what Paul's point is, therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock." The elder must take care of the entirety of the flock, specifically for their spiritual health and for their growth and grace. Now, we make it a pattern and a practice and a habit to try and pray for people's physical problems, the various afflictions that face people, the various afflictions that face people in their earthly lives. But brethren, when push comes to shove, the gospel ministry is charged with overseeing relative to the spiritual state of the people of God.

And that's what Paul says. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. The primary means of doing so is to preach Paul's doctrine. Notice how he summarizes that in verse 21 in his review of life and ministry, testifying to Jews and also to Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

That's the primary means, the way in which ministers take heed to all the flock. It is to preach to them that which is helpful, that which is essential, that which is crucial and necessary, And then to follow Paul's example where he was able to say in verses 26 and 27, Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. That's what ministers should be doing. That's what they should be pursuing.

Remember last week I had mentioned, what about the man that doesn't do that, or the traitorous or treacherous man that does the opposite and preaches woke values to the professing people of God? He is guilty of their blood. He will be requited on that day of judgment. Remember those watchman passages from Ezekiel 3 and Ezekiel 33, where God Almighty says to Ezekiel, that if you don't warn them, then I will require their blood at your hands.

But if you warn them, and you tell them the truth, and then they die in their sins, I will not require their blood at your hands. That is a sobering charge, a very terrifying charge. I would imagine when you went to get whatever job you currently have, they didn't lay that on you. They didn't say, if you plumb in such a way that somebody's toilet overflows, then I will require blood at the hands of that person.

That is a very serious thing, and I think that's why James, in James 3.1, says, let not many of us become teachers. Why? We will incur a stricter judgment. There is a reality appended to gospel ministry that doesn't obtain in other places in life.

And so Paul the Apostle, being the example, if a man is going to take heed to the flock, then he is going to preach Paul's doctrine, and he is going to follow Paul's pattern. And then notice, the particular reason for this command comes at the end of that first section. Again, those three terms are synonymous for the one office in the Church that has as its primary function teaching and government. They are elders who are overseers who pastor the people of God.

This word overseer means one who has the responsibility of safeguarding or seeing to it that something is done in the correct way. A guardian. And then the term was taken over in Christian communities in reference to one who served as overseer or supervisor with special interest in guarding the apostolic tradition. guarding the apostolic tradition. That's the function of the eldership.

Now certainly elders have many functions within the context of the church, but this one is crucial. This is absolutely necessary. This is absolutely required. And if elders renege on this, they're not doing their job.

They will ultimately be guilty of the blood of those who didn't hear or heard wrongly and end up in hell. Again, a very sober and a weighty concern. And then notice, the Holy Spirit makes them overseers. Go back to Acts 14 and verse 23.

Acts 14 and verse 23. It's at the end of that first missionary journey, we're considering the third, but at the end of that first missionary journey, notice what happens when they revisit the churches. 1423, so when they had appointed elders in every church and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. Well, so what was it? Did the apostles appoint them or did the Holy Spirit appoint them?

The Holy Spirit through the ministry of the apostles. The Holy Spirit through the written word of the living God. The Holy Spirit through the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's not a distant spectator.

The Spirit is present among us. And in the midst of God's blood-bought people, what we have is the Spirit putting men into gospel ministry that should be there. So this is the task, oversight of the flock, and then notice it's the Spirit who puts them in that position, but also something before we move on from this point. Notice, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.

Not over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Now, functionally, in terms of office, in terms of responsibility, ministers could be said to be over, in that they govern by the Word of God Almighty. But they're not some separate class of polished specimens of human beings. The right reverend, doctor, sir.

That's not what's in view here. God saves sinners. God brings those sinners together. And within the context of those saved sinners, God qualifies certain men to function.

So it's from among them. In other words, we don't always look outside of us to bring in ministers. We seek, by the grace of God, to raise them up in our midst, to identify men who are faithful, men who understand Scripture, men who know theology, men who are qualified according to 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and then the church lays hands on them, thanks the Lord God Most High, specifically the Spirit of God, who gave us those ministers, and then we listen to them and we trust them insofar as they are teaching God's Word. That's absolutely crucial, insofar as they are teaching God's Word.

It's never ceased to amaze me. There have been times in the history of the ministry where persons ask for advice. And if it's outside of Scripture, I think any minister worth his weight will say, this is my advice. I'm going to tell you, you ask me the simple question, I'm going to give you the simple answer.

You're not beholden to that. You're not duty-bound. The minister has spoken. No, when the minister correctly exegetes the Word of God and interprets it properly and shows you that from context and through, you know, exegetical rules that obtain, that you need to pay attention to.

But if you ask a minister, should I get the white car or the black car? Well, my personal preference is the white one. And then you get the white one and then you curse the day the minister was born because the white really shows up dirt a lot. Brethren, it's advice.

You don't have to take advice. Advice is something that you listen to and you evaluate, and if it's valuable and it's data that you assume, go ahead. But it's the Word of God that is absolutely crucial. It is the truth of Scripture that is crucial.

That's why when we examine men for gospel ministry, we do so with the Bible and with theology, our document, our Second London Confession. Pastor Cam and I, that time, with reference to Mike Kirkpatrick, we invite people. And what did we do? What's your advice concerning white cars or black cars?

No, give us a timeline of the history of Israel. Tell us about redemption by Jesus Christ. Explain the Ordo Salutis. Why does our confession describe God as being without passions?

It's that kind of stuff in which ministers, guided by the Holy Spirit, speak authoritatively in the church. It's not the irrelevant sorts of things, or could be even relevant sorts of things, but we may have differing opinions. That's okay, but we can't have differing opinions on the Trinity. We can't have differing opinions on the doctrine of justification by faith.

We have to all toe the line when it comes to Bible and good theology. And then notice, specifically the duty involved. Think about this for a moment. Prior to conversion, people are compared to sheep.

Isaiah 53, verse 6, all we like sheep have gone astray. Sheep isn't there or aren't there as some noble creature. I mean, that's kind of a pejorative use. We get converted and we are referred to as sheep still.

And we are the flock of God Almighty. Jesus says in John 10, 11, the good shepherd gave his life for the sheep that they may have life in that abundantly. And so this imagery is used and utilized, and it's most fitting, and it's most appropriate. So the people of God are the flock of God, and this was the prophesied end relative to gospel ministry.

Our brother Steve at the outset of worship read, Jeremiah 23, 4, I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking. That's the hub, the essence, the kernel of what it means to shepherd. It means to feed. That's what's in view.

Feed what? Feed the Bible, feed good theology, feed the Word of God. This is why it's not just incumbent upon ministers to feed, it's incumbent upon flocks to eat. If you cannot be physically present, then tune in!

If you can't be physically present or tune in, then catch up! Brethren, it is absolutely crucial that the people of God be fed the Word of God for their growth in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus, and for their conformity unto that beloved Son. It is absolutely, positively crucial. I have never met a Christian that was solid and mature and thriving and growing that wasn't feeding on the Word of God.

Just like you don't typically meet people that are physically healthy and vibrant and full of life and energy that have a terrible diet. I'm not trying to sound crass, but there is an obvious connection or metaphor or analogy. What we take in physically affects the way that we live physically. You are what you eat.

You've heard that old adage. Well, the same is true with reference to Christianity. You eat garbage. You eat surface-level theology.

You eat the kind of stuff that is being promulgated in many pulpits right now. You're gonna be weak and anemic you need the truth of God's Holy Word that that is as clear as can Possibly be so to shepherd the Church of God Shepherd by feeding them again the prophesied intention of God for pastoral ministry earlier in the prophet Jeremiah at chapter 3 verse 15 and I will give you shepherds according to my heart who will feed you with knowledge and Understanding and then this emphasis in the New Testament look at Acts 21. I'm sorry John 21 John chapter 21, specifically at verse 15. You've probably heard the...

The treatment of this passage where Jesus is using the word love in one sense, and Peter's using it in another sense, and the different Greek words that are being used, that's not a good interpretation. The word love here means love. Whether it's agape or phileo, it doesn't matter. It means love.

That's not the point of this passage, and that's not why I'm turning us here. But look at 2115. So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these? There's some question of interpretation there.

More than these? More than what? The fish that they just caught? Simon Peter, you love me more than this good breakfast?

Do you love me more than these, these fellow disciples? I think that's probably closer to the point. Do you love me preeminently, Simon Peter? Am I your altogether lovely and chief among 10,000?

So he says, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, feed my lambs. See, that's the point, Peter.

This is what you've been saved to do. This is why I have called you out of darkness into marvelous light. That's why I have called you to function as an apostle. It is to feed my lambs.

He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, tend my sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?

Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, feed my sheep. Peter's love for the Lord is to be made manifest in his care for the Lord's flock.

In other words, it's not just the rah-rah guru that peps the people of God up from Sunday to Sunday. It is the man who labors in the Word and Doctrine to take the food of God to present it to the sheep of God so that they can digest it and be nourished and be stronger for it. That's the function with reference to elder slash overseers who function as pastors within the context of the church. Again, there's a whole chapter in 1 Timothy 3, and much of a chapter in Titus 1, and then in 1 Peter 5, owing to this particular ministry in the context of the church of the Lord Jesus.

And I want to say something to you this morning. If you're not a believer in Christ and you live in this town or you've been exposed to theology in this town, you might have this zany idea that God's not really about saving sinners. Can I just tell you God really is about saving sinners? God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Paul the Apostle tells us the glory of the gospel, it's not that men accept Jesus into their heart. The glory of the gospel is that God is in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. Well, take this as further evidence or further proof. God has selected, out of his church, a class of men that are tasked with preaching the gospel.

Why? Because God doesn't want to save sinners? Absolutely not. They preach the gospel because God does want to save sinners.

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe." That's 1 Corinthians 1.21. Romans 10.17, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Strange process for a God who's not in the business of saving sinners. You'd actually call out a class of men, qualify those men, give them the gift of the Spirit in such a way that they can accurately exegete the Word and preach that Word, only to not save sinners?

That's absolute folly! So if you've been affected by that theology, know and listen that God is about saving sinners. Even, can I say it? Sinners like you.

Because I know that because He saved a sinner like me. And I know some of you that have been saved, and I can say, He saved sinners like you too! God's gracious! He's benevolent!

He's full of love and mercy! He's about this! Look to me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other. What's Jesus say?

Come to me, none of you! No, come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Or at that last great day of the feast in John chapter 7, what's Jesus saying? If any man thirsts, let him come and drink.

What's the Apostle Paul say in 1 Timothy 1.15? This is a trustworthy saying. It's worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into this world, sinners to save, and then he says, of whom I am chief. So if you've been exposed to what's called hyper-Calvinism or some defective theology wherein they teach that God really doesn't want to save sinners, look at the father of the prodigal.

Look at the father of the prodigal who sees that son. That son's stinking of pig, by the way. That son who had squandered his share of the inheritance. That son who had engaged in profligate living.

That son, when he's a long way off, what's the father do? Just stay out there. I don't want anything to do with you. You betrayed me.

You gypped me. You have twisted things in my family relations." That's not what he does. He runs to that boy. He falls on that boy.

He kisses that boy. He puts a ring on that boy's finger, and he orders the slaying of the fatted calf. God rejoices in saving sinners. That's the point in Luke 15.

So if you have that concept, get it out of your head. Christ is a real Savior for real sinners, and Christ has instituted a class of men in the context of the church that will preach the Word of the living God such that God saves, to the uttermost, all who draw nigh unto Him through Jesus Christ His Son. So we've got the command, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock. We have the specific duty, shepherd the church of God.

The Dignity of the Blood-Bought Church

Look at the end portion in verse 28. This is the dignity highlighted. In other words, you have this responsibility because of the dignity of the people you're ministering unto. Look at what Paul says at the end of verse 28, to shepherd the church of God, which is the preferred reading here.

Some translations or even the margin might contain, to shepherd the church of the Lord. There's reasons why persons would prefer that reading. There's actually manuscript evidence to suggest it, but I would argue that it's shepherd the church of God, and then notice, which he purchased with his own blood. If I asked you to guard something and it was something cheap, you probably wouldn't put a whole lot of effort into it.

Hey, can you make sure my garden hose doesn't go missing while I'm away? Sure, OK. I mean, if the garden hose goes missing, no one's really going to be put out. I mean, it is kind of a betrayal, but don't let my garden hose get caught.

But if I said, you know, I'm going to be away and I'm going to entrust you this great diamond, I'm going to entrust you this very valuable and precious stone, you would have a lot more impetus to treat it with respect and to treat it with care. Well, when it comes to the minister of the gospel, he is to shepherd the church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood. In other words, the blood-bought children of God are the flock. And as a result of that dignity, as a result of that high purchase price, the ministers of Christ cannot approach this task with the frivolity and with the shallowness and the surface levelness that so often is manifested in gospel ministry.

In other words, you're dealing with the care of souls whom Jesus bled and died for. As a result of that, you better take these things very seriously. So the emphasis, the church is not man's creation, but it's Christ's possession. The church's worth and dignity is seen in the purchase price for her.

And this is a great bit of theology in terms of the redeeming work of Jesus. How do we go to heaven? How are we conveyed or brought in to be the flock of God? It's not our works.

It's not our righteousness. It's not our merit. It's not the good that we do. We didn't all wake up sometime back in the past and say, hey, we ought to start a church together and we ought to be together and worship God.

We're only here because of the blood of Jesus Christ, his son. We're here because we're purchased. We're here because He lived for us, He died for us, and He was raised again for us. This is the foundation with reference to the assembling of the saints of God together.

It is that we are the blood-bought children of Jesus Christ the Lord. Now,

Communication of Idioms and the Hypostatic Union

how does the Bible say what the Bible says here when it says, shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood? How does God have blood? Well, it's an obvious reference to the Lord Jesus Christ according to his humanity. And what the scripture does is it takes things spoken of the natures of Christ and applies it to the person of Christ.

It's a theological bit of, it's a bit of theology called the communication of idioms or the communication of properties. I don't want to bore anybody, and I won't extend this very long, but this is theology that helps us to protect both the doctrine of Christ and the Trinity. And if we're sloppy here, which so many are very sloppy here, we can end up in heresy or in some kind of big problems. There was something in the early church called Patropasianism, which taught that the Father died for sinners.

He didn't. It's the Son of God, according to His humanity, who gave Himself for us. who delivered himself for us. So again, how does the Bible use this language, shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood? God is spirit.

He doesn't have a body like men. God doesn't have hair. He doesn't wear shoes. He doesn't have a watch.

He doesn't have shirts. He doesn't have blood. So how does scripture do this? It is through this technique or this strategy of the communication of idioms.

Our confession describes it this way, Christ in the work of mediation acts according to both natures. By each nature, so he acts according to both natures. So in scripture, Jesus hungers, Jesus thirsts, Jesus sorrows, Jesus bleeds, Jesus dies. That's according to his humanity.

But as well, Jesus has power on earth to forgive sins. That's acting according to his divinity. So this is a strategy deployed to protect that beautiful doctrine of what we call the hypostatic union. One person of Christ, two natures.

So back to the confession. Christ in the work of mediation acts according to both natures, by each nature doing that which is proper to itself. Yet by reason of the unity of the person, that which is proper to one nature is sometimes in Scripture attributed to the person denominated by the other nature. And the two proof texts in our confession is Acts 20, 28 and John 3, 13.

When Jesus says, the Son of Man is in heaven. Well, when Jesus is on earth, he's obviously not in heaven according to his humanity, but according to his divinity, he is. So you have the one person, two natures. Matthew Poole, a Puritan commentator, gets at it this way.

He says, the blood of Christ, called truly the blood of God, there being in Christ two natures in one person and a communion of the properties of each nature. It takes place at the level of the natures. It doesn't take place with reference to the nature of the person, nature of the person. It cannot be said of the natures.

It cannot be said that Jesus, according to his humanity, is everywhere present. That's not consistent theology. That's Roman Catholicism and somewhat Lutheranism, and that's why their supper is wrong. Brethren, this is a most important point.

If you're not getting it, you can call me, text me, email me, send a carrier pigeon with a note, and I will try to explain this in more detail to you. Because if you mess up with Christ, John 8, 24 tells us, you mess up everything. Jesus says, if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. You and I can be wrong in some areas of theology.

We shouldn't. We should really work hard to not be. But in eschatology, we probably have a divergence of opinions and here in terms of what happens in the end times. Well, you can have defective views of eschatology and by God's grace and through the blood of Jesus still end up in heaven.

But you can't mess up on Jesus. That's why we spend some time and why tonight we're going to spend some time in 1 Samuel 15 to deal with theology proper or the doctrine of God. This is the sum and substance of our religion. Isn't this how Jesus defined or described the essence of eternal life?

This is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. The church is drowning. in practical advice and practical points and practical helps without knowing who God is, without knowing the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ or the person and work of the Holy Spirit. That's unconscionable and we cannot do it. And it's at this point that our confession says, again concerning Christ, so that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person without conversion, composition, or confusion, which person is very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man.

So this thing, this doctrine, the communication of idioms or properties, tells us or shows us and defines for us how Scripture can speak of the blood of God. How we can sing in our hymn books about the suffering of God. How we can sing different songs about the immortal dying. Brethren, again, it's this communication of idioms or properties that helps us to understand and not botch up who Jesus is.

The Reasons Given to the Elders

Now that's the exhortation or rather the specific responsibility of the elders. Let's look secondly at the reason given. In other words, why do these elders need to take heed to themselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made them overseers? He outlines this for us in 29 and 30.

The first place, there is an external threat to the flock. There is an external threat to the flock. Notice what he says in verse 29. And even before we get here, it's a sad situation where people want to hurt people because of their faith in Jesus.

It's still something that, you know, without the Bible, you could never make heads or tails out of it. Like, why would Fulani herdsmen want to exterminate Christians in their region? Like, why does the Communist Party in China want to bring such oppression down upon the heads of the people of God in China? Like, what is their violation?

Wow, they sing, they pray, they talk about God. A horror of horrors. I mean, that's terrible. I mean, the way you treat them, it sounds like they're all bank robbers and axe murderers and meth makers and sellers and just a horrific lot.

Why is that? Well, Jesus says it very clearly. If they hate me, they're going to hate you. John 15.

Jesus also says in John 3, the darkness hates the light. Darkness doesn't want to come to the light lest its evil deeds are exposed. And Jonathan Edwards, I think, said it very well as well. Men can't get to God to throw him off his throne and kill him, so they'll kill his representatives here on earth.

So just understand that. And if you fail to reckon with the reality of an external threat, then you ought to come to our prayer meeting sometime, because we read Voice of the Martyrs, and we read about all over the earth, nation after nation after nation after nation, where there's terrible and horrific persecution against the people of God. There's a book written in the 20th century called By Their Blood, and the argument of that book is there was more Christian bloodshed in the 20th century than all the previous centuries before, in terms of the animosity of the enemies of Jesus targeting the people of God himself. And so with reference to the responsibility of pastors to take heed to the flock and to take heed to themselves and all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made them overseers, in the first place, there is this external threat.

Notice in verse 29, For I know this, that after my departure, either his departure from the region or his departure from the world. He's going to die eventually, and this is going to leave a vacancy within the context of some of the churches. For I know this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you. The metaphor of sheep easily suggests the opposite.

Who is the enemy of the sheep? It is savage wolves. And notice that Paul doesn't say, oh, these people that have some differing ideas, oh, these people whose values are a little bit different than yours. No, the enemies of the church of Jesus Christ for the apostle Paul are identified as savage wolves.

That is their makeup, that is their DNA, that is their agenda, and we are fools not to recognize that. We are living with blinders on our eyes, thinking that there's just some differences in terms of tribes over in Nigeria, or in Kenya, or in China, or wherever it is. No, this is the enemies of God, described here as the savage wolves that are coming in to destroy the flock. And that's what he says specifically.

Look at the language. For I know this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. This is their purpose. This is their goal.

They don't want to just, you know, bother us a little bit. They don't want to just guide us a little bit differently. They don't want to spare the flock. Destruction, mayhem, disorder, confusion, eradication, liquidation is what they have in their view.

Listen to Gil. He says, fleecing it instead of feeding it. making merchandise of it, and like the Pharisees, under religious pretenses, devour widows' houses and drain the purses of men, and having as little compassion upon their souls, poisoning them with their errors and heresies, subverting their faith, and bringing them into swift ruin and destruction, as much as it would in them lie. So when we just kind of not pay attention, we're first of all violating scripture. Hebrews 13 tells us we're to remember the prisoners, we're to consider them, we're to ponder them, we're to pray for them, we're to do what we can to alleviate their suffering.

But we need to recognize the reality that savage wolves don't want to spare the flock. I don't understand why it is that we don't get this and why we think there's just some intramural debates or some differences that persons have. Jesus spoke in very clear-cut language, very black and white language, as does the Apostle Paul. Jesus says, if they hate me, they're going to hate you.

The Apostle Paul says, all those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Again, think about what it means to live godly in Christ Jesus. You go to church. You sing.

You pray. You worship God. Typically, you're a hard worker. You pay your taxes.

You cut your grass. You keep your car clean. You're a decent neighbor. You're the kind of person that anybody would see as a valuable asset to a contributing society, a contributor to society.

And yet we're the pariahs. We're the spawn of Satan. We're the wicked ones that want to usurp and disrupt everything in the world. We're having this sort of battle in the United States right now in terms of the replacement with reference to the Supreme Court.

Yeah, forgive us. We don't want a justice on the court that wants to slaughter babies. Call us weird. Call us nuts.

Call us fundamentalists. Call us whatever you want. But this is a ghoulish, murderous practice. And may God Most High put on that court somebody that will say Roe versus Wade needs to stop.

We need to stop the senselessness and the murder of these babies. Brethren, we are not a threat to society. And yet, because we're identified with Jesus Christ, who was no threat to society. Remember, they had to make up the charges in order to get him crucified.

Oh yeah, he calls himself a king. Oh yeah, he certainly called himself a king because he is king of kings and Lord of lords. But they couched it in this way. He's a king after your job, Caesar.

He's a king that wants to overthrow the Roman Empire, Caesar. He's the kind of king that wants to subjugate the Roman people. That's how they couched it. That's how they misrepresented it.

That's how they got the kill order from Pontius Pilate, ultimately, because Jesus was perceived to be a threat, a revolutionary, against the civil order. Brethren, that's not why Jesus came. He shall save his people from their sins. He establishes a kingdom, to be sure, a kingdom of grace, a kingdom of glory, a kingdom of majesty, and a kingdom ultimately of power that will issue forth in a place wherein righteousness dwells, where there is no more abortion or euthanasia or the sorts of horrific activities that so often are on display in this civil order.

So brethren, we need to understand the contrast made by Jesus and Paul with reference to the church and her enemies.

The Internal Threat: Perverse Teachers

But it's not just an external threat. Notice in verse 30. And again, I guess we could probably... at one level, understand why there's an external threat. Oh, they hate God, and they hate his people.

It's the internal threat that's really distressing, isn't it? It's just that within our own ranks, we kill ourselves at times. We hurt ourselves. We divide and we conquer in our own little domain.

Well, Paul doesn't just treat the threat from outside. They will come in. But notice in verse 30, he treats the threat from within. Verse 30, he says, also, from among yourselves.

He's talking to the Ephesian elders. He's talking to gospel ministers. He's talking to men who've been recognized as qualified for service. Now brethren, recognition for qualification of service in the church is not foolproof on our side.

Judas Iscariot was a devil. Judas Iscariot was a betrayer. He was from within and he messed up huge, hugely, to quote the president. This is the reality with reference to this situation.

So we have this threat. He says, verse 30, also from among yourselves, men will rise up speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves. Now, in the first place, the external threat, as I said, is understandable, though still painful. Why would you wanna kill people that just wanna worship God?

But the internal threat, again, this is painful. It's a really tough thing. So Paul was right, not only with reference, if he had in his head Judas Iscariot, but in 1 Timothy. 1 Timothy is written to Timothy, right? Timothy was in Ephesus, right?

And we have these several names of defectors or apostates. You have in 1 Timothy 1, 18 to 20, Hymenaeus and Alexander. 1 Timothy 4, 1 to 5, he doesn't give us any names, but men from within who departed and imbibed doctrines of demons and started to teach people that eating meat and having wives was somehow bad. Paul says that's a doctrine of demons. It is destructive and it ought to be stopped. 2 Timothy 1.15, we have two men by the name of Phygelus and Hermogenes. 2 Timothy 2.17 and 18, Hymenaeus is repeated again with a fellow called Phyletus. 2 Timothy 3.1-9, Paul tells us what the last days will look like.

He's not dealing with the threat outside. In verse five, he says, they have a form of godliness, but they deny its power. So he's dealing with the internal threat of those either A, gospel ministers, or B, other influential persons within the context of churches that come in and try to draw the disciples of Christ away from Christ such that they will now follow them. And then the classic apostasy passage in 1 John 2.19, they went out from us, but they were not of us.

Because if they were of us, they would not have gone out from us. But that they went out manifests or evidences that they were never really of us. So that is a reality that the church must be on guard for, is the internal threat. Now, by that, I don't mean that everybody you shake hands with or everybody you see, you raise your eyebrow and, you know, you ask them, are you going to destroy the church today?

No, no, no. I'm not suggesting that. We are not to be, you know, suspicious of one another. you know, the 1984 Big Brothers watching you sort of a concept. That's not what's, you know, advocated here.

But the reality is, is that within the context of the professing church, at times, it's not just the external threat, but it's the internal threat. Now, notice what else he says in verse 30. He says, also from among yourselves men will rise up speaking perverse things. speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves. Now, the external threat, they just shoot you, burn your buildings down, or slander you, or get you sort of disenfranchised from family and friends.

I mean, there's really, you know, no end to the tactics that the external threat can pose with reference to the church. Paul has in his mind, with reference to this internal threat, they'll speak perverse things. See, if the health of the flock is seen in their good feeding upon the Word of God and theology, then when perverse things are introduced, you put a little poison into the water, it doesn't matter that 80% of the water is good, it's that 20% that'll kill you. And that's what these men will do.

They'll rise up from among you, speaking perverse things. And they'll do so in a way to draw away the disciples after themselves. It is quite intriguing.

Ambition as the Mother of Heresy

Listen to John Calvin. He said that ambition is the mother of all heresies. Ambition is the mother of all heresies. Now, as I pondered that, I thought that's not necessarily true.

In this passage, it certainly fits. It could be that a man is untrained. It could be that a man is unqualified. And it could be that a man's just dumb.

It may not necessarily be his ambition or his craven desire to have people follow him. But for the most part, I think Calvin's on the right track. Ambition is the mother of a lot of heresies. And then this is what he says.

He says, those are corruptors of sound doctrine who are addicted to themselves. This is terrifying, brethren. Narcissism is not just something confined to all of us, at least to some degree or other, but it's in ministers also. You're familiar with the story of Narcissus.

He looked in the water, and he was just so intrigued and so enamored with how beautiful he was, he couldn't take his eyes off himself. And there's a bit of remaining corruption in each of us, where we all have a little bit of that, right? But in ministers, this is horrible. And this is what Calvin alludes to here.

He says, those are corruptors of sound doctrine who are addicted to themselves and study to advance their own glory, which doth only darken Christ. And that's the context here. Also from among yourselves men will rise up speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves. What is the preacher supposed to do?

He is supposed to preach Christ and Him crucified. He's not to talk about his experiences. He's not to share his heart. Brethren, the last thing you want is my heart.

I don't want it half the time, three quarters of the time, 99% of the time. You certainly don't want it. You want the Word of God. You want sound hermeneutics applied.

You want sound exegesis provided. You want the food placed at a level where you can munch on it, and where you can grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That's the emphasis in gospel ministry, and that's where Paul ends this specific exhortation in verse 31.

The Reminder to the Elders

This is the reminder provided to the elders, therefore watch. He's already told them that in verse 28, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock. There's an external threat. There's an internal threat.

That internal threat may arise from some of you right here. Therefore, watch. You've seen that command throughout scripture. Watch and pray.

Be on guard. Take heed to yourselves. And when he alludes to, or when he says, and remember that for three years, Three years, I did not cease to warn you with tears." That meant that Paul not only positively preached the truth of God's holy word, but he also warned them about that which was not God's word. He warned them about that which was heretical, and he watched carefully over the flock to make sure they weren't ingesting arsenic or poison or some other thing instead of the true word of the living God almighty.

So that is what he says. I do want to read this one quote from Alexander, then we'll close with a couple of thoughts. Can't ever just close. It's like the federal government.

It just doesn't happen. There's got to be a process, right? Alexander makes this observation, and I think it's helpful because I think at times, I mean, not Paul so much, but a guy like Calvin. We kind of view Calvin as just this theology machine.

All he did was sit in his study and write and yell at people if they disturbed him, and John Gill, same sort of thing, and Martin Luther, same sort of thing. They were real flesh and blood. They were real men affected with the same sorts of things that you and I are affected with. But Alexander makes this comment on the statement with tears.

Notice Paul in 31, therefore watch and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. He says, meaning not that he was literally always weeping, but that his whole ministry was something more than a cold and heartless exhibition of the truth being warmed and animated by the tenderest affection towards them and a heartfelt desire for their salvation. That's what moved him. That's what motivated him.

It wasn't just that he was a theology machine cranking out treatises, but rather he was in their midst, he was warning, and he was doing so with tears. He was affected. He was hurting. He was a man that felt the pains of the people around him.

And that's the kind of fellow that we have, just like the master, the Lord Jesus Christ. He weeps at the tomb of Lazarus. He weeps as he approaches the city of Jerusalem, knowing that they are going to reject him and ultimately crucify him. That lament at the end of Matthew chapter 23, oh Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem, how many times I would have gathered you the way that a hen gathers its chicks, but you are not willing.

You see, it's not just cranking out theology or sermons, but it's doing so in the context and arena of love and concern for the people that are ministered to.

Application: Duties of Pastoral Ministry

Now, in conclusion, in terms of the duties of biblical pastoral ministry, I think this passage is very helpful. First, to take heed to oneself and to all the flock. Second, the necessity to engage in oversight with reference to the flock. Third, the necessity to know the Word and good theology in order to instruct the flock in the Word and good theology.

And then fourth, the necessity to follow the example provided by the Apostle Paul. So you see, when we interview or when we assess men for ministry, we come to this passage or passages like these. We come to passages that get at the ethos or the pathos of a man. We get at the logic, the rationality of the man.

We understand and we want to seek to understand and determine whether or not he is fit and qualified to actually feed the people of God. See, brethren, it can't be that he's a great guy, he's wonderful, but he can't really preach that well. Brethren, can't really preach that well is very subjective. Do you know how I ascertain who can preach well and who can't?

Do they tell me what the Bible says? You go to the book of Acts, there's no format as to what every sermon contains. Can I encourage all of us to be very gracious at this level when we test men, when we try men? They're not all going to be the same.

God made Spurgeon Spurgeon. He made Calvin Calvin. He made Butler Butler. He makes men men the way that they are.

And that's one of the beauties of gospel ministry. There's different approaches with the same truth, but certain persons are affected by one. They may not be affected by another. There's no crime in that.

There's no wickedness in that. But the bottom line, when you hear a sermon, you have to ask the question, did the man preach the text? That's absolutely crucial. If he told me what the text says, if he tells me what the text means, that is a successful sermon.

That's the bottom line. Not, well, he's very friendly. He likes to have coffee with people. He's very gregarious.

He's very open. Those are all good things, brethren. They're good things in doctors, too. But I want a doctor who knows how to fix my broken hip.

I don't care if he wants to have coffee with me after. I'd sure like him to be able to get in there and navigate in such a way that I don't have to limp for the rest of my life. Or if he's going to go open up my cranial cavity and start, you know, messing around in my brain, I'm not actually concerned if he's the nicest fellow on the face of the earth. I'm looking for a steady hand at that particular point.

You see, brethren, we have it all wrong at times in the church. We measure men according to what we'd like them to be. No, we measure them according to what God commands them to be. Again, I know that sounds simple, but boy, we mess up a lot at it.

The motives for biblical pastoral ministry, the recognition that the Holy Spirit puts men in ministry, the relationship that the pastor has with the flock, the function of the minister, the dignity of the flock, the value of the flock, and the threats posed to the flock, all converge to highlight for men, called to gospel ministry, some motivation as to why they ought to conduct themselves in the fear of God Almighty and obediently to His call and His cause. And then the final observation is with reference to that bit, to shepherd the church of God, which He has purchased with His own blood. What a wonderful Christ! One person, two natures, humanity and divinity.

Heidelberg Catechism No. 16 asks, why must he be very man and also perfectly righteous? Because the justice of God requires that the same human nature which hath sinned should likewise make satisfaction for sin, and one who is himself a sinner cannot satisfy for others. He had to be man. He had to take on our humanity with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof, and yet without sin.

As the Fathers say, that which is not assumed is not redeemed. He has to assume our humanity in order to redeem us as men, as women, as boys and girls. But next one says, why must he in person be also very God? That he might, by the power of his Godhead, sustain in his human nature the burden of God's wrath, and might obtain for and restore to us righteousness in life.

So what we need, specifically, God provided in the person and in the work of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. That, in and of itself, is proof that God is in the business of saving sinners. But additionally, the fact that the Spirit of God makes men overseers to shepherd the Church of God is an indicator that the Lord Most High is in the business of saving sinners. So don't tarry.

Don't wait. Don't listen to bad theology. Oh, God doesn't really want to save. Come.

Come to the Savior. Believe on Him. Look and live, Scripture says, and you will have everlasting life.

Closing Prayer

Well, let us pray. Father, thank you for your Word. Thank you for the clarity of Paul's words in Acts 20. And God, I pray again for your blessing upon Mike and Suri, for this Mike that may potentially go to Vernon.

I pray for your blessing upon Ryan and for all men who preach the gospel, all men who have been made overseers, among the church of God Most High. Bless and prosper and give great grace to ministers of the gospel to do what Paul calls us to do here, to take heed to themselves and to take heed to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made them overseers. God, I pray that there'd be shepherding of the church of God, not with authoritarian, wretched men who are craving power and whatever it is that men might like, but just preach, preach, preach, preach, and teach the Word of God. That's the emphasis we find consistently in Scripture, and may that be the case in our own generation.

Bless other churches in our community. God bless and prosper them. Help them to preach that truth, to not shun from declaring the whole counsel of God Almighty. And we ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Scripture References

• Genesis 4; 4:4
• 1 Samuel 15
• Isaiah 53:6
• Jeremiah 3:15; 23:4
• Ezekiel 3; 33
• Matthew 23
• Luke 15
• John 3; 3:13; 7; 8:24; 10:11; 15; 21; 21:15
• Acts 6; 14:23; 20:21; 20:26-27; 20:28
• Romans 7; 10:17
• 1 Corinthians 1:21
• 2 Corinthians 4
• Galatians 5
• Hebrews 13
• James 3:1
• 1 Timothy 1:15; 1:18-20; 3:1-7; 3:2; 4:1-5; 4:16
• 2 Timothy 1:15; 2:17-18; 3:1-9
• Titus 1
• 1 Peter 5
• 1 John 2:19