Acts 20:32

Act_20:32

And now, brethren, I commend you to God.

St. Pauls last advice to the Ephesian elders; or, a ministers last counsel to his people

I. The apostles commendation.

1. The term commend is not unfrequently employed when we speak of any person in the way of praise or approbation; but this clearly is not the meaning of the word in this place. The apostle employs it to signify committing or entrusting, as when we commit any thing or person to anothers care; and perhaps in the sense of recommending or advising, as when we recommend or advise a person to pursue a certain line of conduct. To what and to whom he commends them--

(1) To God. The apostle commits his friends to the Almighty Governor of the world, the special Protector of the Church militant on earth, who, he knew, was ever ready to take charge of them, and to sustain and support them in all dangers and adversities. He was obliged to leave them; but the unslumbering eye of Providence was still over them.

(2) To the word of Gods grace. The expression, in this part of the text, considered in connection with what follows, is a little singular, and has given occasion to some slight difference of opinion. By the word some have understood the Lord Jesus Christ, who is emphatically styled the Word. Supposing this to be a legitimate interpretation, the apostle here commends the Ephesian elders more particularly to the Saviour, whose servants they were, and in whose holy cause they were engaged. Others, however, understand from this expression the gospel of Christ; that word of Gods grace which brings the knowledge of redemption, and contains tidings of Christ as the Saviour. Put your trust, not only in the power and providence of God, but also in the promises and assurances of His word.

II. The object here proposed by the apostle with reference to his friends. This we gather from the words, Which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. Here, again, it is proper to observe that learned commentators are not agreed as to whether the apostle refers, in this part of the text, to the word God in the former part, or to the word of His grace, which stands in immediate connection with it. Happily, the difference is not very material in a practical point of view. Assuming the antecedent to be God, the truth of the sentiment, that He is able to build up His people, and give them an inheritance among the sanctified, is obvious. The same observation will apply, if the Word, as understood of Christ, be taken for the antecedent. Nor, if we understand it to be the word of Gods grace, or the gospel, is there any obscurity in the passage, or any truth involved at all inconsistent with the former supposition. For, when it is said of the word of the Gospel, that it is able to do for us what the apostle here describes, it is spoken of only as the instrument in the hands of God, whose word it is, and who is Himself the secret and almighty Worker under it. It should ever be borne in mind, that a Divine efficacy is not ascribed to the gospel separate and apart from Divine influence.

1. It is able to build you up. It is plain, then, that one part of his object, in commending his Ephesian fellow labourers to the word of the gospel of grace, was their edification. If they looked to this word, and drew their instructions and supports from its holy revelations, it would build them up. The Church of Christ is figuratively styled Gods building; and each true member is himself a temple of God, the temple of the Holy Ghost. But we require to be built up, and established in the faith.

2. It is able to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. From this it is plain that the apostle aimed also at the future glorification of his friends in a brighter world. But how does it appear that the word of the gospel of Christ is able to confer upon the saints this glorious possession? The knowledge of this possession is imparted to the Church of God solely by the word or gospel of grace, which, we are told, has brought life and immortality to light. Moreover, by that word of grace, as the ordinary channel, the Spirit of Divine illumination is communicated. But, with reference to this glorious possession, one or two points may be briefly noticed.

(1) The kingdom of glory, in the heavenly world, is to be regarded by the faithful as their promised inheritance, to which they are the rightful heirs: it is an inheritance like that of the Israelites in Canaan.

(2) This inheritance is entailed upon none but those who belong to the number of the saints. I would make two or three short inferential remarks.

We may learn from its--

1. How immeasurably superior is the gospel of Jesus Christ to all other systems of religion. Suppose the apostle, when taking leave of the Ephesian elders, had met them for the last time merely as a teacher of pagan superstitions, or as a moral philosopher unacquainted with the discoveries of Divine revelation, what probably would have been the nature of his address to his friends in the prospect of separation? Could he have commended them with the same confidence to the Divine Protector of the universe? Could he have cheered them with the view of a future glorious inheritance?

2. How important is an intimate acquaintance with the gospel to every member of the Church of Christ.

3. How substantial and enduring is the friendship subsisting among those whose union and intercourse are based on genuine religion. (J. S. Jaques.)

Pauls farewell discourse at Ephesus

I. Here is an endearing appellation which he gives them, Brethren. His gifts were, no doubt, far greater than theirs; and so was his office, being an extraordinary minister, an apostle of the Gentiles; and his usefulness abundantly exceeded theirs. Yet he does not treat them with a haughty and assuming air, but puts himself upon a level with them, and calls them brethren. Thus imitating his Lord and master; who, being of the same nature with us, is not ashamed to call us brethren, though He Himself is Lord of all.

II. Here is an instance of his regard unto them and affection for them; which appears in commending them to God, and to the word of His grace. We are not to suppose that, in this condemnation, the apostle intends the elders only, but the Church also. These were addressed, as being officers and representatives of the Church, and as men capable of delivering to it, what the apostle should say to them. There are three things to be considered in this commendation.

1. The persons to whom the brethren are commended: that is, God, and the word of His grace.

(1) They are commended to God; by whom is meant God the Father. The apostle, in commending them to Him, commends them to His grace, wisdom, and power. To His grace; to supply their need; to fit them for every duty He shall call them to, and for every trial He shall exercise them with. They are also commended to His wisdom, to counsel and direct them in all their ways. Likewise, the saints are commended to the power of God, to keep and preserve them. For it is by that alone they are kept; being weak and liable to daily backslidings. They, therefore, should commit themselves to Him, who is able to keep them from falling, and to present them faultless before the throne of His glory with exceeding joy.

(2) The apostle commandeth them to the word of Divine grace. By which I understand, not the gospel, or the written Word, but the Lord Jesus Christ, who is frequently in Scripture called λόγος, or the Word.

(a) Because the saints never commend themselves, or others, either in life or death, to any but a Divine Person. The word signifies the committing a person or thing to the care, charge, and protection of another. Now, none but a Divine Person is capable of taking the care and charge of the saints, neither will the saints trust any other.

(b) Because to put the written Word upon a level of the Divine Being does not appear agreeable. A commendation of the saints, equally to the written Word, as to God Himself seems to be a lessening of His glory, and ascribing too much to the written Word; but suits well with Christ, the essential Word, who, being in the form of God, thought it no robbery to be equal with God.

(c) Because, never in the whole book of Scripture, as far as I have observed, are the saints commended to the gospel; but rather that to them (see 2Co_5:19; 1Ti_1:11-18; 1Ti_6:20; 2Ti_1:14; 2Ti_2:2).

(d) Because what is here ascribed unto it suits better with Christ than with the gospel, viz., which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance, etc. Taking this to be the sense of the words, it will be proper to inquire these two things. Why Christ is called the Word: and why the Word of Gods grace.

1. Why He is called the Word.

(1) Because He spake for His people in the council of peace; and covenanted with His Father on their account.

(2) He is called the Word because He spake all things out of nothing, in the first creation.

(3) Because He is to us the interpreter of the Fathers mind; like as our words, or speech, is the interpreter of our minds.

(4) He is the Word, who now speaks for us in the court of heaven.

2. Why is He called the Word of Gods grace?

(1) Because in Him is highly displayed and revealed His Fathers grace to poor sinners.

(2) Because in Him it hath pleased the Father that all fulness of grace should dwell.

2. The act itself of commending them, which signifies to commit to the care, keeping and protection of another; depending upon his ability and fidelity. Thus the apostle must be supposed to commit the saints to the care and protection of God the Father and of God the Son, being well assured of the ability and fidelity of them both. And his commending them to both not only shows the equal esteem and regard he had for them, but also the greatness of his concern for the brethren here.

III. The motives which induced the apostle to commend the saints into the hands of those Divine persons.

1. Because He is able to build them up. Ministers are instruments in building up of saints. They ministerially lay the foundation, Christ. He is the chief Architect; and, except He, the Lord, build the house, they labour in vain that build it. The work is His. He only having begun the work, is able to finish it: and He will do it. We may be confident of it; for He is both the Author and Finisher of faith.

2. Another reason why the apostle commends the saints, not only to God, but also to the Word of His grace is because He is able to give them an inheritance among them that are sanctified.

(1) The inheritance which Christ gives. This is the heavenly glory.

(2) The persons among whom it lies. These are all them that are sanctified: which at once points out the persons to whom it belongs, and discovers the excellency of it. The persons to whom it belongs are all those that are sanctified--that is, who are set apart by Divine grace, and distinguished from others, by a sovereign act of love, for the enjoyment of this blessing. Or else by sanctified ones are meant such as are sanctified by the Spirit of God; have a principle of grace wrought in them: and are enabled by faith to deal with Christ for sanctification as well as righteousness. For much of a believers holiness lies in faiths acting and living upon, dealing with, and receiving from Christ, grace for grace; and, therefore, in another text this inheritance is said to be among them which are sanctified by faith, that is in Me.

Conclusion:

1. Hence it appears to whom souls should make application in their time of need; that is, to God, and to the word of His grace.

2. This evidently shows that those ministers have the greatest concern for souls who commend them to God, and to the word of His grace; who direct them to Christ and His fulness, and not to their own works or frames, but to the grace that is in Him.

3. It is also manifest that such commendations and directions as these are likely to meet with most success.

4. Let us adore boundless grace, that we have the God of all grace and the word of grace to apply to, and that we have any reason to believe that these Divine persons have taken the care and charge of us: we having been enabled, by an act of faith, to commit ourselves to them; believing that they are able to build us up, and to give us an inheritance among all them that are sanctified. (John Gill, D. D.)

Partying words

The apostle was leaving, as he supposed, for the last time, the representatives of the Church in Ephesus, to whom he had been painting in very sombre colours the dangers of the future and his own forebodings and warnings. They were set in the midst of a focus of heathen superstition, from which themselves had only recently been rescued. Their knowledge was little, they had no apostolic teacher to be present with them; they were left alone there to battle with the evils of that corrupt society in which they dwelt. And yet Paul leaves them--sheep in the midst of wolves, with a very imperfect Christianity, with no Bible, with no teachers--in the sure confidence that no harm will come to them, because God is with them, and the word of His grace is enough.

I. The one source of security and enlightenment for the Church and for the individual. What is in the apostles mind here is the objective revelation, the actual spoken word (not yet written) which had its origin in Gods condescending love, and had for its contents, mainly, the setting forth of that love. Or, to put it in other words, the revelation of the grace of God in Jesus Christ, with all the great truths that cluster round and are evolved from it, is the all-sufficient source of enlightenment and security for individuals and for churches. And whosoever will rightly use and faithfully keep that great Word, no evil shall befall him, nor shall he ever make shipwreck of the faith. It is able to build you up, says Paul. In Gods gospel, in the truth concerning Jesus Christ the Divine Redeemer, in the principles that flow from that Cross and passion, and that risen life and that ascended Saviour, there is all that men need, all that they want for life, all that they want for godliness. I commend you to God and the word of His grace, which is a storehouse full of all that we need for life and for godliness. Whoever has that is like a man that has got a quarry on his estate, out of which at will he can dig stones to build his house. If you truly possess and faithfully adhere to this gospel, you have enough. Remember, these people to whom Paul thus spoke had no New Testament, and half of them, I dare say, could not read the Old. There were no written Gospels in existence. It was to the spoken word that he commended them. How much more securely may we trust one another to that permanent record of the Divine revelation which we have here on the pages of Scripture! As for the individual, so for the Church, that written Word is the guarantee for its purity and immortality. Christianity is the only religion that has ever passed through periods of decadence and purified itself again. They used to say that Thames water was the best to put on shipboard, because, after it went putrid, it cleared itself and became sweet again. I do not know anything about whether that is true or not, but I know that it is true about Christianity. Over and over again it has rotted, and over and over again it has cleared itself; and it has always been by the one process. Men have gone back to the Word and laid hold again of it in its simple omnipotence. And so a decadent Christianity has sprung up again into purity and power.

II. The possible benefit or the silencing of the human voice. Paul puts together his absence and the power of the Word. Now I know that you will see my face no more--I commend you to God. That is to say, it is often a good thing that the voice of man may be hushed in order that the sweeter and deeper music of the Word of God, sounding from no human lips, may reach our hearts. The human ministration of the Divine Word, like every other help to know God, may become a hindrance instead of a help; and in all such helps there is a tendency, unless there be continual jealous watchfulness on the part of those who use them, to assert themselves instead of leading to God, and to become not mirrors in which we may behold God, but obscuring media which come between us and Him. This danger belongs to the great ordinance and office of the Christian ministry, large as its blessings are, just as it belongs to all other offices, which are appointed for the purpose of bringing men to God. We may make them ladders or we may make them barriers, we may climb by them or we may remain in them. We may look at the colours on the painted glass until we do not see or think of the light which strikes through the colours. So it is often a good thing that the human voice, that speaks the Divine Word, should be silenced; just as it is often a good thing that other helps and props should be taken away. No man ever leans all his weight upon Gods arm until every other crutch on which he used to lean has been knocked from him.

III. The best expression of Christian solicitude and affection. I commend you, says Paul, to God, and to the word of His grace. If we may venture upon a very literal translation of the word it is, I lay you down beside God. That is beautiful, is it not? Here had Paul been carrying the Ephesian Church on his back for a long time now. He had many cares about them, many forebodings as to their future, knowing very well that after his departure, grievous wolves were going to enter in. He says, I cannot carry the load any longer; here I lay it down at the Throne, beneath those pure eyes, and that gentle and strong hand. For to commend them to God is in fact a prayer casting the care which Paul could no longer exercise upon Him. And that is the highest expression of, as it is the only soothing for, manly Christian solicitude and affection.

IV. The parting counsels involved in the commendation.

1. Cleave to the Lord with full purpose of heart, as the limpet does to the rock. Cling to Jesus Christ, the revelation of Gods grace. And how do we cling to Him? What is the cement of souls? Love and trust; and whoever exercises these in reference to Jesus Christ is built into Him, and belongs to Him, and has a vital unity knitting him with that Lord.

2. Cleave to the word of His grace. Try to understand its principles better; study your Bibles with more earnestness; believe more fully than you have ever done that in that great gospel there lies every truth that we need, and guidance in all circumstances. Bring the principles of Christianity into your daily life; walk by the light of them; and live in the radiance of a present God. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

The pastors farewell

It is to be observed from these words--

I. That sanctity is no enemy to civility. The apostle being about to leave them, doth not abruptly turn his back upon them. And now, brethren. Some think that good works and good manners are inconsistent; but though Christianity pare off the luxuriant branches of courtesy, yet it doth not root it up. Civil language and a courteous carriage are, though no part of, yet an ornament to, Christianity. The holy apostle spendeth the greatest part of a chapter in courteous salutations, which he would not have done had it been either unlawful or unnecessary.

II. That grace will turn civil courtesy into serious Christianity. The apostle does not take a bare civil farewell of them, according to the custom of most men, but solemnly takes his leave of them by commending them to the blessed God. Wicked men debase actions that are sacred, and godly men advance actions that are civil. As the iron mine gives a tincture and relish of its own nature to all the waters which run through it, making them thereby more salubrious to our bodies; so grace gives a savour and taste of its own nature and property to all actions, and thereby makes them more healthful to our souls. It sanctifieth our very salutes (Rom_16:16).

III. That all Christians are brethren. Saints are all linked together in the bond of brotherhood. They are brethren if we consider--

1. Their relations; they have all the same Father, God (2Co_6:18). They are not only adopted, but regenerated, by the same God (Joh_1:12; Jam_1:21). They are all children of the same mother (Gal_4:26). They suck the same breasts (Isa_66:11; 1Pe_2:2); wear the same garments, and as they grow up, feed at the same table, and shall dwell together in the same house forever.

2. Their affection. The curtains of the tabernacle were joined together with loops, and so are true Christians with love; they love as brethren, seeking the good and welfare of each other. A saints talents are not an enclosure for his private profit, but a common for the advantage of others (Psa_122:8). Every saint is a great merchant, who hath his factors in all parts of the world, trading for him at the throne of grace. (G. Swinnock, M. A.)

A faithful ministers commendation of the people of God

I. The ground of their hope.

1. He commends them to God.

(1) To His providential agency.

(2) To His attributes as engaged for their welfare--to the wisdom of God, for direction; to the power of God, for defence; to the goodness and mercy of God, for comfort; to the all-sufficiency of God, for all exigencies; to the truth of God as the ground of confidence.

2. He commends them to the word of His grace, so called because--

(1) It originates in His grace.

(2) It records His grace.

(3) It is the instrument of His grace.

II. The extent of their privileges. Which is able to build you up. The word of Gods grace is given to instruct the ignorant--reclaim the wanderer--comfort the mourner--arouse the careless--confirm the wavering--and edify the Christian. The words here:--

1. Imply the commencement of a work. When we speak of building up, it naturally supposes a foundation is laid and a work begun. This is the case with every true Christian. In the work of conviction, the rubbish is taken away, all views of obtaining salvation by human merit are renounced. Christ is cordially embraced as all our salvation.

2. Insure its continuance. Christians are built up in--

(1) Knowledge.

(2) Faith (Jud_1:20).

(3) Love.

(4) Holiness.

III. The sublimity of their destinies. Notice here:--

1. The state of happiness expressed. An inheritance.

(1) It is a rich inheritance.

(2) It is a purchased inheritance--bought by the precious blood of Christ.

(3) It is reserved. Ready prepared for every believer.

(4) It is eternal.

2. The individuals who shall possess it. Them which are sanctified.

3. The mode of its conveyance. To give you. It is the free gift of Gods grace. (Ebenezer Temple.)

Commendation to God

I. How a minister can commend his brethren to God.

1. By prayer. As by preaching the minister commends God to his peoples acceptance, so by prayer he commends his people to Gods benediction. The apostle made prayer the Alpha and Omega, the preface and ending, of his epistles.

2. By faith. We commend our business to a friend when we cast on him the care of it, and trust him with it. Ministers commend their friends and affairs to God, by beseeching His favour towards them, and believing that He will be tender of them. Prayer is the key that openeth Gods treasury, but faith is the hand which takes His bounty. Prayer must have a promise, or else it is a vessel without a bottom; and that promise must have faith, or else the vessel lieth still, and cannot stir at all. When a full gale of faith fills the sails, then the vessel of prayer launcheth forth most hopefully, and returneth with its riches freight. He that prayeth for himself, and not for others, is fitly compared to a hedgehog, who laps himself within his own soft down, and turns his bristles to all the world beside. And he that prayeth for others without reliance on God through Christ for audience, works at the labour in vain, and, like Penelope, undoeth by night all that he wrought in the day. The truth is, we lie to God in prayer, if we do not rely on Him after prayer.

II. Why the pastor must commend his brethren to God. Because of--

1. Gods propriety in them. None so fit to take care of the child as its father. They are Gods by election; by redemption; by regeneration; by promise. Now, because they are His, therefore they go to Him for protection (Psa_119:94), and therefore He affords them His special and gracious presence (Jer_2:3).

2. The worlds enmity against them. They who have many and mighty enemies, surely want some faithful, able friend (Joh_17:14).

3. Their own impotency. Children which cannot go alone, need their mothers helping hand. The strongest Christian is but a child, and except God hold him by his right hand, will every day get many falls and knocks. All our power for sacred performances is wholly from God (2Co_3:4). He must give us fresh supplies of His Spirit in every duty, or they cannot be rightly performed. The greatest fulness of a Christian is not the fulness of a fountain, but of a vessel, which, because always letting out, must be always taking in. The Christians disbursements are great and constant; therefore such must his incomes from God be, or he will quickly prove a bankrupt.

To proceed to the application of this point.

1. It informeth us of the piety of a true pastor. He commends his people to God; this is his character. When others curse their people, and commit them to the devil, he blesseth his parishioners, and commendeth them to God. The mouth of some indeed, like Rabshakehs, are full of railings, and their tongues are even black with blasphemies against God and His people; though their curses are but like false fire, which may flash a little, but will do no execution; but the faithful ministers of the gospel have learned other language--as they are blessed men, so they are blessing men.

2. It discovereth the great privilege of a gracious people. When they are deserted by man, they are commended to God.

III. What the pastor commends his brethren to.

1. To Gods special favour and affection. I commend you to God. The goodwill of God is such a lump of sugar as will sweeten the bitterest cup. His general love is like the ordinary beams of the sun, which convey light and heat for the refreshment of all the world. So the Lord is good to all; His mercy is over all His works; but His special love is like the beams of the sun united in a glass, which, passing by others, fires the object only. If a heathen could say, I care not for those petty gods and demi-gods, so I can have but Jupiters goodwill; surely a saint may say, I care not for mens frowns, or devils fury, so I may obtain but the blessed Gods favour. This special favour is a pearl of such price, that it was bought with the blood of Christ, and none can beg a greater for themselves or others. Now to this God, in whose favour is life (Psa_30:1-12), nay, whose loving kindness is better than life (Psa_63:1-11), I commend you, and my prayer shall be, God be merciful to you, etc. (Psa_67:1).

2. To His special care and protection. Angels are the Churchs guardians: He shall give His angels charge over thee; but God Himself is Captain of the saints lifeguard. He is Lord of hosts. He keepeth them diligently (Isa_27:4), and tenderly (Zec_2:8).

3. His universal benediction; to His blessings in all your undertakings and concernments; as to His grace to affect you in the midst of the worlds hatred, and to His power to protect you in the midst of all hardships, so to His presence to prosper you in all the works of your hands. The fruitfulness of the earth depends wholly upon the influence of heaven. If the sun withhold its heat, and the clouds their moisture, all things decay and wither. The success of all your actions depends on Gods benediction. If He deny His concurrence, nothing prospers (Psa_127:1). It is said of David, that he prospered whithersoever Saul sent him (1Ch_11:9); but what was the spring of the watch which caused all the wheels to move so regularly. For God was with him. It is His gracious presence alone which gives success to every enterprise. His blessing can turn not only water into wine, temporal mercies into spiritual benefits, but even poison into wholesome food, every stone thrown at you by your enemies into a precious stone. The scorching sun of persecution doth but ripen him for a glorious harvest.

4. For your further comfort, know that--

(1) God is the most able friend. To have a friend at court is a great courtesy, because such a one can command much; but what is it then to have God for your Friend, who can command all things? God is able to do more for you than you can ask or think. He is able to defend you from whatsoever is hurtful. A heathen asked a Jew how he and his countrymen could hope for any safety, because, saith he, every one of you is a silly sheep compassed about with fifty wolves. Ay, but, saith the Jew, we are kept by such a Shepherd as can kill all those wolves when He pleaseth.

(a) Are your dangers bodily? He can bear off those blows. No evil can arrest you without leave from this King. If afflictions be near, He will not be far off (Isa_43:2). If the Church be a burning bush, it will not be consumed, because God is in it.

(b) Are your fears spiritual? God is able to be your defence. The world is a slippery place, but He is able to keep you from falling (Jud_1:24). As He is able to defend you from what is hurtful, so to relieve you with what is needful. Gods estate is infinite, and therefore will bear a liberal provision for all His children.

2. He is the most loving Friend. Jonathan ventured far for Davids safety, and the reason was he loved him as his own soul. They who have Gods heart, are sure of His helping hand. God loves His people--

(1) As they are His eternal choice.

(2) As they are His own picture, like Him in grace and holiness. Men have loved others the more for resembling them in sin; God loves His children the more for resembling Him in sanctity.

(3) As they are His Sons purchase. They which were so dearly bought, are not easily loathed.

(4) Above all the world besides. All others are dross; they are His gold. He loves them as His own Son (Joh_17:26-27). Hence it is that they are so happy who are committed to Gods keeping, because He is so loving a Guardian. All the while that His people suffer, He doth sympathise, and He will support them. As a tender Father He proportions the burden to the strength of His childrens back. He doth like a lutanist, who will not let the strings of his instrument be too slack, lest they mar the music, nor suffer them to be hard screwed up, lest they break. His love will set all His other attributes at work for His peoples good. His wisdom will contrive, His power will act, and His faithfulness will perform whatsoever He promiseth for the comfort of His Church, and all because He loveth them.

3. He is the most faithful Friend. He is constant in His love. Some are able, and loving also for a time; but their love, like a candle, though it burn a little in a close room and calm weather, is easily blown out by a stormy wind; but God is an everlasting Friend. His love, like the sun, can never be abated, much less extinguished, by the greatest tempest, but is always going forth in its full strength (Pro_17:17). When men are mutable, and appear all in changeable colours, use their friends as we do sundials, look no longer on them, nor regard them, than the sun shineth on them, God is a faithful Creator (1Pe_4:19); will be sure to mind the house that He hath built, and that most of all when it is out of repair and ready to fall. He is faithful to His promise (Jos_23:14). God is usually better, but never in the least worse, than His word. His promise is equivalent to possession. (G. Swinnock, M. A.)

Commendation to Gods grace

It would be well for us in similar circumstances to follow Pauls example. When we are in sorrow ourselves, let us lift our hearts to God; and when we know that others are in distress, then is the time to bespeak Gods favour for them. Especially is this true of those manifold partings from friends over which hangs the shadowy uncertainty that we may see their faces on earth no more. When, e.g., a lad leaves home, what can be more appropriate than this commendation? When again we tread the deck of the vessel, and are about to embrace for the last time the loved ones who are going to a foreign land, what can be more consoling to both than to whisper I commend you to God, etc.? When some dear friend is in deep waters, and we feel our impotence, what a relief to us, and what a benison to him, it is to be able to say, I commend you, etc. When Thomas MCrie, the biographer of John Knox, was setting out as lad from his country home for Edinburgh University, his mother went with him for a portion of the way, and when at length they came to the place where they had to part, she took him into a field by the wayside, knelt down with him behind a stock of corn sheaves and fervently besought for him the blessing of the Lord. His son tells us that he never forgot that prayer; and that its influence for inspiration and strength was with him through life. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)

Commendation to the Word of Gods grace

I. To purify your affections. It is the usual pipe through which grace may be conveyed into the vessels of your hearts. The laws of men may reform your actions, but it is the gospel of God which can renew your affections. Some poets speak of musicians that by the force of their music can make stones leap into walls, and tame beasts, be they never so savage. The word of Gods grace will do much more--it will change the heart of stone into a heart of flesh; it will tame lions, and turn them into lambs (Isa_11:4-6).

II. To be the rule of your conduct.

1. It containeth not only promises for your consolation, but also precepts for your conversations; therefore it is called a royal law (Jam_2:8). A law, because it is to be the canon of our lives. A royal law, because given us by God, sovereign and dominion over all, and therefore power to command what He pleaseth. The gospel is a law of liberty, but not a law of licentiousness (Jam_1:25). It freeth us from the curse, but not from the commands, of the law. Look therefore to this royal law; expound it in your lives.

2. Let it be your rule for faith. The gospel is the only creed; he that believeth this is a true believer. As the Word--Christ--is the personal foundation, so the word of Christ is the doctrinal foundation for every Christian to build on (Eph_2:19-20).

3. Make it your rule for worship. To serve God according to your own inventions, or mens prescriptions, is rebellion. As the moth eats out the garment, and the rust the iron, so doth an apocryphal worship in time eat out an evangelical worship (Mat_15:7). All worship of God, without warrant, is like private coining money, high treason against the King of heaven (1Ki_12:33). Till man can be his own maker, he may not be his own lawgiver (Isa_8:20).

4. In all things live by the gospel, and look to the gospel; let that be a light to your feet, and a lantern to your paths; keep the Word, and it will keep you, in an hour of temptation, from Binning, and in an hour of dissolution from sinking. The lawyer, in his doubts, consults with his Lyttleton or Coke; the physician prescribes by Galen or Hippocrates; the philosopher takes advice of his Aristotle; but the godly man must always take counsel of the gospel (Pro_4:26-27).

III. To be your buckler against opposition. The gospel is a magazine, out of which Christians may be furnished with spiritual weapons in their holy war against the kingdom of darkness.

1. It is a shield against evil principles (Mat_22:29).

2. It is a shield against evil practices (Psa_119:9).

3. Doth Satan assault you? (Eph_6:17) Use the gospel for your defence.

4. Is the world to you a place of thorns and briars? (2Co_10:4.) Get your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, and ye may walk comfortably through it.

IV. To be your cordial in all afflictions. Seneca, going about to comfort his friend Polybius, persuades him to bear his affliction patiently, because he was Caesars favourite. The word of grace affords you infinitely richer cordials, exceeding rich and precious promises, wherein ye are admitted to be the friends of God, the members of Christ, the temples of the Spirit, and the heirs of heaven. (G. Swinnock, M. A.)

The gospel the word of Gods grace

The word grace is taken in Scripture--

1. For favour or goodwill (Col_1:2).

2. For the effects and fruits thereof (Jud_1:4). The gospel in both respects is fitly termed the word of His grace--

I. Because it containeth the infinite grace and favour of the most high God to sinners. The law speaks in effect mans bottomless misery, but the gospel speaks Gods boundless mercy; the law is a court of justice, but the gospel a throne of grace. Grace sits as commander-in-chief in the gospel, and, as Ahasuerus to Esther, holdeth out the golden sceptre of mercy, for poor condemned persons to touch with the hand of faith, and live. The substance of Gods love to man was never laid open to the view of mortals till the gospel was preached. Before it ran as a river underground; but in the gospel it bursts forth and showeth itself, to refresh us with its pleasant streams. The law is, as it were, a warrant under Heavens hand and seal for mans execution; but the gospel, like the dove, comes flying swiftly to prevent it, with the olive branch of peace and pardon in its mouth. Choosing grace (Eph_1:5), calling grace (2Ti_1:9), justifying grace (Rom_3:24), and glorifying grace (1Pe_3:7), are all discovered in the gospel; and therefore it may well be called the word of His grace.

II. Because the gospel is the effect and fruit of Gods grace or goodwill to men. Philosophers observe that dew never falleth in stormy, tempestuous weather: the dropping of the dew of the gospel on parched, scorched hearts, is a sign and fruit of serene, calm heavens: That our parts of the world, like Gideons fleece, should be wet with this dew when other parts are dry, this is merely from grace (Amo_4:7). This rain of the gospel, which cooleth heat, melloweth the hearts, and cleanseth the unholy, goeth by coasts (Psa_147:19-20).

III. Because the gospel is the usual means of begetting grace. As manna fell about the Israelites tents with the dew, so grace is distilled and dropped down with the gospel.

1. Many of the Jews heard the threatenings of the law, and were not moved, but the Baptist wins their children with the songs of Zion, the promises of the gospel. The ice which is hardened by the cold, is melted with the sun. When the murderers of our Saviour heard the gospel, they were pricked to the heart (Act_2:37). The hard flint is broken upon the soft pillow.

2. The gospel is effectual, not only for conversion, but also for edification. Which is able to build you up. The gospel doth not only bring forth souls to Christ, but likewise builds up souls in Christ (1Pe_2:2).

3. It can carry men to glory. And to give you an inheritance. It doth, like Moses, lead the saint out of Egypt, deliver him from bondage to his lusts, conduct him through the wilderness of the world, and also, like Joshua, bring him into Canaan, the land of promise. It is called the grace of God which bringeth salvation (Tit_2:11). It bringeth salvation to man, and it bringeth man to salvation. (G. Swinnock, M. A.)

The well-being of man

I. The conditions on which mans well-being depends.

1. Moral edification. The apostle desired his hearers now to be built up. The word is architectural. A house is built by plan, and by slow degrees. Paul often speaks of the moral culture of the soul under this figure (1Co_3:10; 1Co_12:14; Eph_2:20; Col_2:7). The soul in depravity is a temple in ruins. It requires to be built up upon the true foundation, and according to the true plan.

2. Holy fellowship. Give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. The language implies--

(1) That there are sanctified ones. Who are they? All who have truly believed in Christ and experienced a moral renewal of the Holy Ghost are partially sanctified. There are millions who are perfectly sanctified in heaven. John saw them--a multitude which no man could number.

(2) That an inheritance with those sanctified ones is the grand desideratum. The sanctified ones dwell in social harmony, in unclouded intelligence, in spiritual purity, in Divine fellowship. What higher good is there than to have an inheritance with them, not as a matter of sufferance, but as a matter of right; not temporarily, but forever; to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and with the great and good of all ages?

II. The agency by which these conditions are attained.

1. It works by the gospel: The word of His grace. The gospel originates in, reveals and produces grace. It is able to build up because of the power of God.

2. It is secured by prayer. (D. Thomas, D. D,)

Act_20:32-36

I have coveted no mans silver.

Honest labour

Two men, says Carlyle, I honour, and no third. First, the toil-worn craftsman, that with earth-made implement laboriously conquers the Earth and makes her mans. Venerable to me is the hard hand, crooked, coarse, wherein notwithstanding lies a cunning virtue indefeasibly royal, as of the sceptre of this planet. The second man I honour, and still more highly, is he who is toiling for the spiritually indispensable--not to say daily bread--but the bread of life. These two in all their degrees I honour; all else is chaff and dust, which let the wind blow whither it listeth. Sublimer in this world know I nothing than a peasant saint. Could such now anywhere be met with, such a one will take thee back to Nazareth itself. Thou wilt see the splendour of heaven spring from the humblest depths of earth like a light shining in great darkness. In Paul you have these two labourers which the sage of Chelsea so greatly honours. The text leads us to consider labour in four aspects--

I. As a guard against dishonesty. I have coveted no mans silver, or gold, or apparel. Covetousness is the soul of theft. The apostle did not covet because he worked for his livelihood. Such labour acts as a security against dishonesty in two ways.

1. It raises a man above the need of anothers property. The great Creator has given to every man, as a rule, that natural skill and strength which, when industriously used, will secure all the temporal good he needs.

2. It trains a man to respect anothers property. The man who toils for what he has alone knows the value of property. Laziness breeds covetousness. The industrious habits of a people are the safeguards of a nations property.

II. As a condition of independency. There is a sublime spirit of independency in these words: Ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities and to them that were with me. This feeling must have been heightened by the fact that he knew that he had a Divine claim to their temporal things (1Co_9:13-14), and also by the fact that on account of his influence over them, he might have extracted from them large portions of their property. Two thoughts are suggested here--

1. That it is a desirable thing for a minister to be secularly independent of his people. Why else does the apostle rejoice at it? The people who feel that their minister is dependent upon them are likely to take advantage of his poverty, and to misinterpret his acts of purest generosity; and the minister who feels his dependency may come under a strong temptation to humour their prejudices, and under a painful sense of his own humiliation.

2. That a secular independence, therefore, every minister should endeavour to obtain. Any man with two healthy hands can do it and ought to do it. Agriculture, mechanics, trade, literature, medicine, law--the minister who wishes to be secularly independent of his people may get his livelihood from some of these.

III. As a source of beneficence. His hands not only ministered to his necessities, but to them that were with him, so that they enabled him to support the weak. Industrious labour is socially beneficent. The industrious man--

1. Necessarily enriches society. He produces what would not have been without him, and thus adds to the common stock of wealth on which society lives. The lazy man, on the contrary, consumes without producing, and thus impoverishes society.

2. Generally becomes both able and willing to help society. Industry has the power, not only of supplying the means to alleviate the distress, but often generates the disposition to do so. Where Christianity is, as in the case of Paul, the disposition is.

IV. As a practice to be followed. I have showed you all things. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

An unmercenary servant of God

When Pope Paul IV heard of the death of Calvin he exclaimed with a sigh: Ah! the strength of that proud heretic lay in this--that riches and honours were nothing to him. Holy Virgin I with two such servants, our Church would soon be mistress of both shores of the ocean. (J. F. B. Tinling.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 20:32. And now, brethren — Since the providence of God is calling me away, and appointing me other scenes of labour or suffering; I commend you to God — To his watchful providence and grace, for guidance, protection, support, preservation, and the supply of all your wants, ghostly and bodily; and to the word of his grace — That word which is the grand channel of his grace to believers as well as unbelievers. He recommends them to attend to this in their public ministrations and private conversation, and that, not only as the foundation of their hope here and hereafter, and the source of their joy, but as the rule of their doctrine and practice; I commend you to God as the master you are to serve, and to the word of his grace, as the means by which you are to know your work, and to govern your conduct; which is able to build you up — To confirm and increase your faith, love, and holiness. God can thus build us up without the ministry of his word, or the instrumentality of any teachers. But he does in fact build us up by them, and we must beware of supposing that we have less need of human teachers after we know Christ, and are made partakers of his salvation, than before. As the apostle was speaking here to ministers, he must be considered as signifying that, in preaching the word of God’s grace, and in all their ministerial duties, they were to have a regard to their own edification, as well as to that of those to and for whom they ministered. And to give you an inheritance — Of eternal glory; among them that are sanctified — And so made meet for it. A large number of these Paul, doubtless, knew and remembered before God. It seems that the words τω δυναμενω, who is able, refer to God, the last person named, and not the word by which God works, but which, without him, can affect none of the things here mentioned.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Acts

THE FIGHT WITH WILD BEASTS AT EPHESUS

PARTING COUNSELS

PARTING WORDS 1

Act 20:32.

I may be pardoned if my remarks now should assume somewhat of a more personal character than is my wont. I desire to speak mainly to my own friends, the members of my own congregation; and other friends who have come to give me a parting ‘Godspeed’ will forgive me if my observations have a more special bearing on those with whom I am more immediately connected.

The Apostle whose words I have taken for my text was leaving, as he supposed, for the last time, the representatives of the Church in Ephesus, to whom he had been painting in very sombre colours the dangers of the future and his own forebodings and warnings. Exhortations, prophecies of evil, expressions of anxious solicitude, motions of Christian affection, all culminate in this parting utterance. High above them all rises the thought of the present God, and of the mighty word which in itself, in the absence of all human teachers, had power to ‘build them up, and to give them an inheritance amongst them that are sanctified.’

If we think of that Church in Ephesus, this brave confidence of the Apostle’s becomes yet more remarkable. They were set in the midst of a focus of heathen superstition, from which they themselves had only recently been rescued. Their knowledge was little, they had no Apostolic teacher to be present with them; they were left alone there to battle with the evils of that corrupt society in which they dwelt. And yet Paul leaves them-’sheep in the midst of wolves,’ with a very imperfect Christianity, with no Bible, with no teachers-in the sure confidence that no harm will come to them, because God is with them, and the ‘word of His grace’ is enough.

And that is the feeling, dear brethren, with which I now look you in the face for the last time for a little while. I desire that you and I should together share the conviction that each of us is safe because God and the ‘word of His grace’ will go and remain with us.

I. So then, first of all, let me point you to the one source of security and enlightenment for the Church and for the individual.

We are not to separate between God and the ‘word of His grace,’ but rather to suppose that the way by which the Apostle conceived of God as working for the blessing and the guardianship of that little community in Ephesus was mainly, though not exclusively, through that which he here designates ‘the word of His grace.’ We are not to forget the ever-abiding presence of the indwelling Spirit who guards and keeps the life of the individual and of the community. But what is in the Apostle’s mind here is the objective revelation, the actual spoken word {not yet written} which had its origin in God’s condescending love, and had for its contents, mainly, the setting forth of that love. Or to put it into other words, the revelation of the grace of God in Jesus Christ, with all the great truths that cluster round and are evolved from it, is the all-sufficient source of enlightenment and security for individuals and for Churches. And whosoever will rightly use and faithfully keep that great word, no evil shall befall him, nor shall he ever make shipwreck of the faith. It is ‘able to build you up,’ says Paul. In God’s Gospel, in the truth concerning Jesus Christ the divine Redeemer, in the principles that flow from that Cross and Passion, and that risen life and that ascension to God, there is all that men need, all that they want for life, all that they want for godliness. The basis of their creed, the sufficient guide for their conduct, the formative powers that will shape into beauty and nobleness their characters, all lie in the germ in this message, ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.’ Whoever keeps that in mind and memory, ruminates upon it till it becomes the nourishment of his soul, meditates on it till the precepts and the promises and the principles that are enwrapped in it unfold themselves before Him, needs none other guide for life, none other solace in sorrow, none other anchor of hope, none other stay in trial and in death. ‘I commend you to God and the word of His grace,’ which is a storehouse full of all that we need for life and for godliness. Whoever has it is like a landowner who has a quarry on his estate, from which at will he can dig stones to build his house. If you truly possess and faithfully adhere to this Gospel, you have enough.

Remember that these believers to whom Paul thus spoke had no New Testament, and most of them, I dare say, could not read the Old. There were no written Gospels in existence. The greater part of the New Testament was not written; what was written was in the shape of two or three letters that belonged to Churches in another part of the world altogether. It was to the spoken word that he commended them. How much more securely may we trust one another to that permanent record of the divine revelation which we have here in the pages of Scripture!

As for the individual, so for the Church, that written word is the guarantee for its purity and immortality. Christianity is the only religion that has ever passed through periods of decadence and purified itself again. They used to say that Thames water was the best to put on shipboard because, after it became putrid, it cleared itself and became sweet again. I do not know anything about whether that is true or not, but I know that it is true about Christianity. Over and over again it has rotted, and over and over again it has cleared itself, and it has always been by the one process. Men have gone back to the word and laid hold again of it in its simple omnipotence, and so a decadent Christianity has sprung up again into purity and power. The word of God, the principles of the revelation contained in Christ and recorded for ever in this New Testament, are the guarantee of the Church’s immortality and of the Church’s purity. This man and that man may fall away, provinces may be lost from the empire for a while, standards of rebellion and heresy may be lifted, but ‘the foundation of God standeth sure,’ and whoever will hark back again and dig down through the rubbish of human buildings to the living Rock will build secure and dwell at peace. If all our churches were pulverised to-morrow, and every formal creed of Christendom were torn in pieces, and all the institutions of the Church were annihilated-if there was a New Testament left they would all be built up again. ‘I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace.’

II. Secondly, notice the possible benefit of the silencing of the human voice.

Paul puts together his absence and the power of the word. ‘Now I know that you will see my face no more’-’I commend you to God.’ That is to say, it is often a good thing that the voice of man may be hushed in order that the sweeter and deeper music of the word of God, sounding from no human lips, may reach our hearts. Of course I am not going to depreciate preachers and books and religious literature and the thought and the acts of good and wise men who have been interpreters of God’s meaning and will to their brethren, but the human ministration of the divine word, like every other help to knowing God, may become a hindrance instead of a help; and in all such helps there is a tendency, unless there be continual jealous watchfulness on the part of those who minister them, and on the part of those who use them, to assert themselves instead of leading to God, and to become not mirrors in which we may behold God, but obscuring media which come between us and Him. This danger belongs to the great ordinance and office of the Christian ministry, large as its blessings are, just as it belongs to all other offices which are appointed for the purpose of bringing men to God. We may make them ladders or we may make them barriers; we may climb by them or we may remain in them. We may look at the colours on the painted glass until we do not see or think of the light which strikes through the colours.

So it is often a good thing that a human voice which speaks the divine word, should be silenced; just as it is often a good thing that other helps and props should be taken away. No man ever leans all his weight upon God’s arm until every other crutch on which he used to lean has been knocked from him.

And therefore, dear brethren, applying these plain things to ourselves, may I not say that it may and should be the result of my temporary absence from you that some of you should be driven to a more first-hand acquaintance with God and with His word? I, like all Christian ministers, have of course my favourite ways of looking at truth, limitations of temperament, and idiosyncrasies of various sorts, which colour the representations that I make of God’s great word. All the river cannot run through any pipe; and what does run is sure to taste somewhat of the soil through which it runs. And for some of you, after thirty years of hearing my way of putting things- and I have long since told you all that I have got to say-it will be a good thing to have some one else to speak to you, who will come with other aspects of that great Truth, and look at it from other angles and reflect other hues of its perfect whiteness. So partly because of these limitations of mine, partly because you have grown so accustomed to my voice that the things that I say do not produce half as much effect on many of you as if I were saying them to somebody else, or somebody else were saying them to you, and partly because the affection, born of so many years of united worship, for which in many respects I am your debtor, may lead you to look at the vessel rather than the treasure, do you not think it may be a means of blessing and help to this congregation that I should step aside for a little while and some one else should stand here, and you should be driven to make acquaintance with ‘God and the word of His grace’ a little more for yourselves? What does it matter though you do not have nay sermons? You have your Bibles and you have God’s Spirit. And if my silence shall lead any of you to prize and to use these more than you have done, then my silence will have done a great deal more than my speech. Ministers are like doctors, the test of their success is that they are not needed any more. And when we can say, ‘They can stand without us, and they do not need us,’ that is the crown of our ministry.

III. Thirdly, notice the best expression of Christian solicitude and affection.

‘I commend you,’ says Paul, ‘to God, and to the word of His grace.’ If we may venture upon a very literal translation of the word, it is, ‘I lay you down beside God.’ That is beautiful, is it not? Here had Paul been carrying the Ephesian Church on his back for a long time now. He had many cares about them, many forebodings as to their future, knowing very well that after his departure grievous wolves were going to enter in. He says, ‘I cannot carry the load any longer; here I lay it down at the Throne, beneath those pure Eyes, and that gentle and strong Hand.’ For to commend them to God is in fact a prayer casting the care which Paul could no longer exercise, upon Him.

And that is the highest expression of, as it is the only soothing for, manly Christian solicitude and affection. Of course you and I, looking forward to these six months of absence, have all of us our anxieties about what may be the issue. I may feel afraid lest there should be flagging here, lest good work should be done a little more languidly, lest there should be a beggarly account of empty pews many a time, lest the bonds of Christian union here should be loosened, and when I come back I may find it hard work to reknit them. All these thoughts must be in the mind of a true man who has put most of his life, and as much of himself as during that period he could command, into his work. What then? ‘I commend you to God.’ You may have your thoughts and anxieties as well as I have mine. Dear brethren, let us make an end of solicitude and turn it into petition and bring one another to God, and leave one another there.

This ‘commending,’ as it is the highest expression of Christian solicitude, so it is the highest and most natural expression of Christian affection. I am not going to do what is so easy to do- bring tears at such a moment. I do not purpose to speak of the depth, the sacredness of the bond that unites a great many of us together. I think we can take that for granted without saying any more about it. But, dear brethren, I do want to pledge you and myself to this, that our solicitude and our affection should find voice in prayer, and that when we are parted we may be united, because the eyes of both are turned to the one Throne. There is a reality in prayer. Do you pray for me, as I will for you, when we are far apart. And as the vapour that rises from the southern seas where I go may fall in moisture, refreshing these northern lands, so what rises on one side of the world from believing hearts in loving prayers may fall upon the other in the rain of a divine blessing. ‘I commend you to God, and the word of His grace.’

IV. Lastly, notice the parting counsels involved in the commendation.

If it be true that God and His Word are the source of all security and enlightenment, and are so, apart altogether from human agencies, then to commend these brethren to God was exhortation as well as prayer, and implied pointing them to the one source of security that they might cling to that source. I am going to give no advices about little matters of church order and congregational prosperity. These will all come right, if the two main exhortations that are involved in this text are laid to heart; and if they are not laid to heart, then I do not care one rush about the smaller things, of full pews and prosperous subscription lists and Christian work. These are secondary, and they will be consequent if you take these two advices that are couched in my text:-

{a} ‘Cleave to the Lord with full purpose of heart,’ as the limpet does to the rock. Cling to Jesus Christ, the revelation of God’s grace. And how do we cling to Him? What is the cement of souls? Love and trust; and whoever exercises these in reference to Jesus Christ is built into Him, and belongs to Him, and has a vital unity knitting him with that Lord. Cleave to Christ, brother, by faith and love, by communion and prayer, and by practical conformity of life. For remember that the union which is effected by faith can be broken by sin, and that there will be no reality in our union to Jesus unless it is manifested and perpetuated by righteousness of conduct and character. Two smoothly-ground pieces of glass pressed together will adhere. If there be a speck of sand, microscopic in dimensions, between the two, they will fall apart; and if you let tiny grains of sin come between you and your Master, it is delusion to speak of being knit to Him by faith and love. Keep near Jesus Christ and you will be safe.

{b} Cleave to ‘the word of His grace.’ Try to understand its teachings better; study your Bibles with more earnestness; believe more fully than you have ever done that in that great Gospel there lie every truth that we need and guidance in all circumstances. Bring the principles of Christianity into your daily life; walk by the light of them; and live in the radiance of a present God. And then all these other matters which I have spoken of, which are important, highly important but secondary, will come right.

Many of you, dear brethren, have listened to my voice for long years, and have not done the one thing for which I preach-viz. set your faith, as sinful men, on the great atoning Sacrifice and Incarnate Lord. I beseech you let my last word go deeper than its predecessors, and yield yourselves to God in Christ, bringing all your weakness and all your sin to Him, and trusting yourselves wholly and utterly to His sacrifice and life.

‘I commend you to God and to the word of His grace,’ and beseech you ‘that, whether I come to see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the Gospel.’

1 Preached prior to a long absence in Australia.

Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 20:32. Τῷ λόγῳ τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ, to the word of His grace) A description of the Gospel occurs in Act 20:24.—τῷ δυναμένῳ, who is able) [not as Engl. Vers. which is able]. Refer the words to God, τῷ Θεῷ. Often the power of GOD is appealed to; for concerning the Father’s willingness believers are sure: They shall have experience of His power. Men who are saints desire it; GOD is able. Rom 16:25; Eph 3:10; Jude Act 20:24; 2Ti 1:12.—ἐποικοδομῆσαι, to build you up) GOD, by Paul, had built them in the faith: God also, (even) without Paul, could build them up additionally [the ἐπὶ implying additional edification, or building up].—δοῦναι, give) The end of faith.—ἐν, among or in) Implying the communion of the saints: 2Th 2:1.—ἡγιασμένοις, those who are sanctified) So believers from among the Gentiles are called, not excluding Jewish believers, ch Act 26:18. On this account the expression used is ἐν in or among, not σὐν, with, so that the Ephesians may be included. In the same sense they are termed κλητοὶ ἅγιοι, called saints, Rom 1:7; 1Co 1:2. Moreover, believing Jews, not to the exclusion of the Gentiles, are termed ἅγιοι, saints (holy or dedicated to the Lord) peculiarly: Rom 15:25-26; Rom 15:31; 1Co 16:1; 1Co 16:15; Eph 2:19; Eph 3:8; 2Th 1:10; Psa 148:14. See Rom 11:16.—πᾶσιν, all) Paul had a very great knowledge and remembrance of these. He therefore embraces (comprises) all.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act_20:32. And now I commend you to God (Act_14:23) and to the word of His grace (Act_20:24),entrust you to Him to protect and bless you, and to the gospel to be the rule of your whole conduct,to Him who is able to build up (to promote the Christian life), and to give you inheritance (a share in the Messianic blessedness) among all who are sanctified (consecrated to God by faith).

τῷ δυναμένῳ] is, with the Vulgate, Luther, Beza, Calvin, Grotius, Wolf, Bengel, de Wette, and others, to be referred to God; so that a very natural hyperbaton occurs, according to which καὶ τῷ λόγῳ τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ appears as an inserted annexation to the general and main element τῷ Θεῷ of an accessory idea, which was not to be separated from τῷ Θεῷ, but which also does not prevent the continuance of the address by a more precise description of τῷ Θεῷ bearing on its object. Comp. Bernhardy, p. 459. We should, in reading, lay the emphasis on τῷ Θεῷ, and pass on more quickly over καὶ τῷ λόγῳ … αὐτοῦ. Others refer τῷ δυναμ. to τῷ λόγῳ, and understand the λόγος either correctly of the doctrine (Erasmus, Heinrichs, Kuinoel, Lange, and others), or erroneously (opposed to Lukes and Pauls mode of conception) of the personal (Johannean) Logos (Gomarus, Witsius, Amelot). But such a personification of the saving doctrine (Jam_1:21), according to which even the δοῦναι κληρονομίαν (evidently an act of God!) is assigned to it, is without scriptural analogy. Comp. Col_1:12 f.; Gal_4:7; Luk_12:32.

As to κληρονομία, transferred from the allotted share in the possession of Palestine (נַחֲלָה) to the share of possession in the Messianic kingdom, see on Mat_5:5; Gal_3:18; Eph_1:11. On ἐν τ. ἡγιασμ., comp. Act_26:18; Eph_1:18.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 20:32 . καὶ τὰ νῦν , see above on Act 4:29 . παρατίθ ., cf. Act 14:23 . τῷ λόγῳ τῆς χ . αὐτοῦ : as in the fourth Gospel, Joh 1:14-17 , so here and in the Epistle to the Ephesians, we find great stress laid on χάρις , but we cannot conclude with Stier and others that in the word λόγος we have any reference here to the Word of St. John’s Gospel, although the similarity between St. John’s doctrine of the Word and St. Paul’s conception of our Lord’s Person is very close elsewhere; the thought here is however closely akin to that of St.Jas 1:21 (Heb 4:12 ). In his earliest Epistle the Apostle had spoken of the Word, 1Th 2:13 , ὅς καὶ ἐνεργεῖται ἐν ὑμῖν . The Word here is able to build up and to give, etc., which certainly seems to ascribe to it a quasi-personal character, even more so than in 2Ti 3:15 , where the Apostle uses a somewhat similar phrase of the O.T. Scriptures, τὰ δυνάμενά (the same verb as here) σε σοφίσαι εἰς σωτηρίαν κ . τ . λ . The same phrase as here occurs in Act 14:3 , which points to its derivation from one imbued with Paul’s words and habits of thought, if not from the Apostle himself (Alford). Weiss and others refer τῷ δυν . to τῷ Θεῷ ( Κυρίῳ , see critical note), cf. Rom 16:25 , Eph 3:20 , Gal 3:21 , on the ground that although ἐποικοδομῆσαι ( οἰκοδ .) may refer to λόγος , yet the λόγος cannot be said δοῦναι κληρ . To the latter phrase Bethge, p. 158, strives to find some Scriptural analogies in the work attributed to ὁ λόγος , cf. 1Co 1:18 , Joh 12:48 . But it is best and simplest on the whole to regard the entire phrase τῷ Θ . καὶ τῷ λ . as one, “quasi una notio sunt; agit enim Deus per verbum suum,” Blass; so Page. ἐποικοδ ., Eph 2:20 , in the passive, see critical note. Whether we read the compound or the simple verb, the metaphor of building is prominent in Eph 2:21 ; Eph 4:12 ; Eph 4:16 ; Eph 4:29 , as also in 1 Cor., cf. 1Co 3:10 (2), 1Co 3:2 ; 1Co 3:14 ; 1Co 3:9 ; 1Co 14:3 ; 1Co 14:5 ; 1Co 14:12 ; 1Co 14:26 , and cf. 2Co 5:1 ; 2Co 10:8 ; 2Co 12:19 ; 2Co 13:10 . See note above on Act 9:31 . τὴν κληρ ., Act 7:5 , see note; nowhere else in Acts, cf. for the thought Eph 3:18 ; Eph 1:11 ; and words elsewhere spoken by St. Paul, Act 26:18 ; the word itself occurs three times in Eph 1:14 ; Eph 1:18 ; Eph 5:5 . In Eph 3:18 we have closely conjoined with κληρ . the ἡ βασιλ . τοῦ χ ., cf. St. Paul’s words Act 20:25 above. The word is frequent in Psalms of Solomon , cf. Act 14:6-7 , where the inheritance of the saints is contrasted with the inheritance of sinners in the Messianic consummation, and also Act 15:11-12 , Act 17:26 ; see further on the word, Kennedy, p. 100.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The power of God, and his free promises revealed in his word, are the props and upholders of the ministry of the Gospel.

As children, and therefore of free love and good will.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

I commend you to God--the almighty Conservator of His people.

and to the word of his grace--that message of His pure grace (Act 20:24) by the faith of which He keeps us (Pe1 1:5).

which--that is, God.

is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance, &c.--Observe how salvation--not only in its initial stages of pardon and regeneration, but in all its subsequent stages of "up-building," even to its consummation in the final inheritance--is here ascribed to the "ability" of God to bestow it, as in Rom 16:25; Eph 3:20; particularly Jde 1:24; and compare Ti2 1:12, where the same thing is ascribed to Christ.

among all them which are sanctified--Sanctification is here viewed as the final character and condition of the heirs of glory, regarded as one saved company.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 32. I commend you to God] Instead of τῳ Θεῳ, to GOD, several MSS. have τῳ Κυριῳ, to the LORD; neither reading makes any difference in the sense.

And to the word of his grace] The doctrine of salvation by Christ Jesus.

Which is able to build you up] The foundation is Jesus Christ; God is the great master-builder; the doctrine of his grace, or mercy, points out the order and manner, as well as the extent, c., of this building. Let us observe the order of these things:

1. The soul of man, which was formerly the habitation of God, is now in a state of ruin.

2. The ruins of this soul must be repaired, that it may again become a habitation of God through the Spirit.

3. Jesus Christ is the only foundation on which this house can be rebuilded.

4. The doctrine of God's grace is the model, or plan, according to which the building can be raised.

5. When re-edified, each is to be a lively temple of the Lord, made inwardly pure and outwardly righteous, and thus prepared for a state of bliss.

6. Being made children of God, by faith in Christ Jesus, and sanctified by his Spirit, they have a right to the heavenly inheritance for only the children of the family can possess the celestial estate.

Thus we find they must be saved by grace, and be made thereby children of God; be sanctified by his Spirit; and, then, being prepared for, they are removed, in due time, into the heavenly inheritance.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

32. I commend you to God. He useth a prayer which, in an oration serving to move the hearers greatly, ought not to be counted absurd. For he did not pass for dividing his sermon into parts as the Rhetoricians use to do, seeing no words were sufficient to express the vehemency of the affections wherewith he was inflamed. He had intreated already of great matters and weighty, which did far exceed man’s ability.

Therefore, he turneth himself unto prayer, and by little and little draweth toward an end of his speech, though it be rather an expressing of a desire than a direct prayer; as if he should have said, that they be unable to bear so great a burthen; but he doth wish to them new help from heaven, whereto they may trust and overcome all temptations. And it is not to be doubted, though he speak unto the pastors alone, but that he doth also comprehend the whole Church. First, he commendeth them to God; secondly, to the word of his grace. Notwithstanding, it is all one commendation; but Paul meant to express the means whereby the Lord doth defend the salvation of his, which (as Peter saith) is kept by faith, (1 Peter 1:5) and the means of this keeping dependeth upon the word, lest it come in hazard amidst so many dangers. And it is very expedient for us to know how God will keep us. For because his majesty is hid from us, until we come unto him by his word, we look to and fro, being in doubt.

Therefore, so soon as he receiveth us to be kept, he maketh his word the instrument to keep our salvation, in which sense, he addeth the adjunct “grace,” (for the genitive case, after the manner of the Hebrews, doth signify an effect) to the end the faithful might the more safely rest in the word, where God doth show forth his favor. This exposition is plain and apt; for whereas some understand it of Christ, it is too much racked.

Who is able to build farther. The participle, δυναμενος, is to be referred unto God, not unto his word. And this consolation is added for this cause, lest they faint through the feeling of their infirmities. For so long as we be environed with the infirmities of the flesh, we be like to an house whose foundation is laid. All the godly must be grounded indeed in Christ, but their faith is far from being perfect. Yea, though the foundation continue stable and sure, yet some parts of the building be like to fall and quail. Wherefore, there is great need both of continual building, and also now and then new props and stays be necessary. Nevertheless, Paul saith that “we must not faint,” because the Lord will not leave his work unfinished; as he doth likewise teach in the first chapter to the Philippians,

“He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of the Lord,” (Philippians 1:6).

Whereto that of the Psalm (Psalm 138:8) answereth,

“Thou wilt not forsake the work of our [thy] hands.”

That which is added immediately concerning the inheritance of life appertaineth unto the very enjoying of life. So soon as Christ hath appeared to us, we pass indeed from death to life; and faith is an entrance into the kingdom of heaven; neither is the Spirit of adoption given to us in vain; but Paul promiseth in this place to the faithful a continual increase of grace until they see the possession of the inheritance whereunto they have been called, which is now laid up for them in heaven. He calleth it “the power of God”, not as we use to imagine it, without effect, but which is commonly called actual. For the faithful must so lay hold upon it, that they may have it ready, like to a shield, or buckler, to hold up against all assaults of Satan. As the Scripture doth teach that we have aid enough in the power of God, so let us remember that none are strong in the Lord save those who, abandoning all hope and confidence of their own free will, trust and lean to him, who, as Paul saith very well, is able to build farther.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(32) And now, brethren, I commend you . . .—The Greek verb and its derivatives are characteristic of St. Paul’s phraseology. Teachers are to “commit” the truth they have received to others (2Ti_2:2), and the truth so committed is the depositum fidei which they thus hold, as it were, in trust (2Ti_1:14).

The word of his grace, which is able to build you up . . .—It can hardly be said that the “word” here is used, as it is by St. John, for the person of Christ as the Logos. (See Notes on Joh_1:14; Joh_1:16; 1Jn_1:1.) There is, however, a quasi-personal character ascribed to it, “able to . . . give an inheritance,” which suggests the thought of something more than the written or spoken word. The true explanation is probably to be found in the thought of the “engrafted (or better, the implanted) word” of Jas_1:21, the “word of God, quick and powerful” of Heb_4:12; and in so far as this is identical with the “Light that lighteth every man” of Joh_1:9, we may find in these passages a preparation for the more fully developed teaching of St. John as to the Logos. We cannot pass over the word “build” without noting the recurrence of the same thought and word in Eph_2:20-21; Eph_4:12; Eph_4:16; Eph_4:29; Col_2:7. The figure was a natural one anywhere (comp. 1Co_3:10), but it would gain additional vividness from the stately architecture of Ephesus, perhaps also from the presence of one among St. Paul’s companions who may have been himself an architect. (See Note on Act_20:4.)

An inheritance among all them which are sanctified.—Here also we find a thought specially characteristic of the teaching of the Epistle to the Ephesians. So we find the “earnest of our inheritance” (Eph_1:14), the “inheritance in, or among, the saints” (Eph_1:18), the “inheritance in the kingdom” (Eph_5:5). The participle is in the perfect tense: those that have been sanctified, or consecrated. That term was, of course, equivalent to and co-extensive with “the saints,” as applied to the whole body of believers. (See Notes on Act_9:2; Rom_1:7; 1Co_1:2; 2Co_1:1.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32. And now, brethren, I commend … his grace] The oldest authorities omit “brethren.” I am to leave you, but I commend you to One who will help you as He has helped me, and who will not leave you. “The word of His grace” means the gracious promises of the Gospel, such as those which Christ gave to His disciples when He foretold the mission of the Comforter (Joh_17:7-12), and which the Christian preachers might repeat as His words to the converts who believed on His name.

which, &c.] This must refer to God, and not to the intervening explanatory clause concerning the “word of God’s grace.” It is God who can build up His people, and give them their heavenly inheritance.

and to give you an inheritance] The oldest texts give “the inheritance.” The figure is taken from the apportionment of the promised land among the Israelites. The part of each of God’s servants in the heavenly Canaan is to be regarded as definitely as were the possessions of the chosen people in the earthly Canaan.

among … sanctified] The tense is literally “that have been sanctified.” But just as the Apostle uses “saints” frequently in his Epistles to mean those who have been called to be such, so here his words do not indicate that those of whom he speaks have attained the perfection of holiness. When they reach their inheritance, then they will have been perfected in Christ.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when he had thus spoken,.... And finished his speech to the elders: he kneeled down: upon the floor, which was a prayer gesture, used by Christ, and others; for, it seems, the disuse of kneeling in prayer, between the passover and pentecost, which Tertullian (k), and other writers, speak of, had not yet obtained, which was in memory of Christ's resurrection from the dead, for this was now the time: see Act 20:6 and

prayed with them all: and no doubt for them all; the Syriac version renders it, "and he prayed, and all the men with him"; the apostle, and the elders, joined together in prayer.

(k) De Corona Militis, c. 3.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

32 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.

Ver. 32. Able to build] As being God’s arm, and mighty instruments of his power, 1Co 1:18; Rom 1:16.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And now, brethren - About to leave them, probably to see them no more, he committed them to the faithful care and keeping of God Amidst all the dangers of the church, when human strength fails or is withdrawn, we may commit that church to the safe keeping and tender care of God.

I commend you - I commit you; I place you παρατίθεμαι paratithemai in his hands and under his protection. See the notes on Act 14:23.

And to the word of his grace - That is, to his gracious word; to his merciful promise. Paul refers, doubtless, to the gospel, including its promises of support, its consoling truths, and its directions to seek all needful help and comfort in God.

Which is able - Which has power. Τῷ δυναμένῳ Tō dunamenō. Which word, or gospel, has power to build you up, Heb 4:12, “For the Word of God is quick (living, life-giving, ζῶν zōn), and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, etc.” Compare Isa 49:2; Jer 23:29, “Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” It is implied here that the gospel is not a dead letter; that it has power to accomplish a great work; that it is adapted to the end in view, the conversion and sanctification of the soul. There is no danger in representing the gospel as mighty, and as suited by infinite wisdom to secure the renovation and salvation of man. Compare Rom 1:16; 1Co 1:18; 2Co 10:4.

To build you up - The word used here is properly applied to a house which is raised and completed by slow degrees, and by toil. It here means to establish, make firm, or permanent, and hence, to instruct, to establish in doctrine and in hope. The idea is, that the Word of God was able to confirm and establish them, amidst the dangers to which they would be exposed.

And to give you an inheritance - To make you heirs, or to make you joint partakers with the saints of the blessings in reserve for the children of God. Those blessings are often represented as an inheritance, or heirship, which God will confer on his adopted children, Mat 19:29; Mat 25:34; Mar 10:17; Heb 6:12; Rev 21:7; Eph 1:11; Eph 5:5; Col 1:12; Col 3:24; Rom 8:17; Gal 3:29.

Among all them which are sanctified - With all who are holy; with an the saints. See the notes on Joh 10:36. Those who shall be saved are made holy. They who receive a part in the inheritance beyond the grave will have it only among the sanctified and the pure. They must, therefore, be pure themselves, or they can have no part in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

To the word of his grace, to the protection of God’s grace, given to those that preach the gospel, and administer the sacraments instituted by Christ. --- Who is able to build up, to finish that building, of which the foundation is laid by my preaching. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

I commend you to God; it being so hard a matter to escape so many snares and dangers, the apostle prays to God for them, who is able to keep them by his power, through faith, unto salvation, 1Pe 1:5; and it is in vain to look after any meaner defence.

The word of his grace; the gospel, which leads us to the rock upon which we must build, if we would not be moved when the storm comes.

Build you up; increasing the number of believers, and augmenting their graces. God is said to build, and so is his word, both concurring: the gospel builds, as a means appointed by God; and God builds, who blesses that means. Hence he is called the God of all grace, 1Pe 5:10.

An inheritance; heaven is called an inheritance, because we have it only by adoption, and it is given only unto children, Rom 8:17; as also, because it is a firm and lasting possession, not for a term of years, or a certain time, but for ever and ever.

Which are sanctified; for without holiness none shall see God, Heb 12:14.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

32. Commend—Commit, entrust.

Word of his grace—The promise of the Gospel.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now for now brethren, A.V. and T.R.; the inheritance for an inheritance, A.V. and T.R.; that for which, A.V. I commend you to God (paratiqemai uJmav). A most beautiful and significant phrase! The apostle is leaving for ever the flock which he had fed with such devoted care and loved with such a fervent love. He was leaving them with a strong impression of the dangers to which they would be exposed. To whom could he entrust them? to what loving hands could he consign them? He gives them to God, to take watchful custody of them. He brings them to him in the prayer of faith. He commits to him the precious deposit (paraqhkh), to be preserved safe unto the day of Christ. So the Savior of the world, when dying on the cross, said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit", (Luk_23:46) and then trustingly gave up the ghost. (see too Act_14:23) No less beautiful are the words which follow: And to the word of his grace. He was thinking of the grievous wolves, and of their pernicious doctrine; of the deceivers that should arise, and their soul-destroying heresies; and so he turns to the one source of safety "the Word of God"s grace in Jesus Christ." If they are kept in that Word of truth, if they nourish their souls with that sincere milk, they will be safe. The gospel which he had preached would be their safety unto the end. It would build them up on the one Foundation which never can be moved; it would preserve them holy to take possession of the inheritance of the saints in light. The inheritance (than); comp. (Eph_1:14, 18 5:5; and Eph_1:11, ejklhrwqhmen in Act_26:18 it is klhron as Col_1:12) and the hJgiasmenoi are further defined by the addition of pistei, th eijv ejme, "by the faith which is in me". (for the use of ajgiazesqai, comp. Heb_10:10, Heb_10:14; 1Co_1:2 1Co_6:11, etc.)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The word of his grace - It is the grand channel of it, to believers as well as unbelievers. Who is able to build you up - To confirm and increase your faith, love, holiness. God can thus build us up, without any instrument. But he does build us up by them. O beware of dreaming that you have less need of human teachers after you know Christ than before! And to give you an inheritance - Of eternal glory, among them that are sanctified - And so made meet for it. A large number of these Paul doubtless knew, and remembered before God.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Paul’s words of farewell:

v. 32. 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.

v. 33. I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.

v. 34. Yea, ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.

v. 35. I have showed you all things, how that so laboring 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.

Paul had held up before the elders of Ephesus his own example, and had warned them most urgently against the dangers that would threaten the congregation. He now points them to the only source of courage and strength sufficient for them, by commending them to God and His Word, the Word of Grace, the grace of God being the primary content, the summary of the Gospel. With the counsel and admonition of God, as presented in this Word, before them at all times, they could not lack in strength in the midst of all adversity. For this Word Is ’able at all times to build up, to edify, the Christians, and not only to promise them, but actually to give them the inheritance among all the consecrated. The promises of mercy in the Word of God are so sure, so plain, that there can be no doubt of its glories as the possession of the believers. In concluding, Paul once more, in a striking appeal, with graphic vividness, holds his example before the Ephesian elders. Neither the silver nor the gold nor the clothes of any one had he coveted; he had not been in the ministry among them for money. What is more, on account of a special glory which he desired to have, he had worked, as they knew, with his own hands, whose toil worn palms he showed them, in order to provide the necessities of life for himself and for those that ministered with him. Very likely, Paul also in Ephesus had worked at his trade, either with Aquila and Priscilla or with Philemon. But this favorite boast of his was far secondary in importance to the fact that he had very strenuously labored in his ministry, and had thereby shown the Christians of Ephesus what was required in this work; he had in all things given them an example, combining his manual labors with the service of the needy. Thus it is an obligation to come to the aid of the sick and of all those that are in trouble, remembering always the words of the Lord Jesus, which He Himself had spoken, and which had been preserved by the disciples, although not included in the Gospels: "It is more blessed to give than to receive. " This unselfish devotion to the service of the needy neighbor had been practiced by Jesus; it had been followed by Paul; it should be emulated by all Christians, for only thus will their faith find its proper expression and application.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Here the apostle takes a very solemn farewell of the elders of the church at Ephesus, commending them to the guidance and protection of the grace of God, which was able to build them up in holiness here, and bring to heaven hereafter.

Where observe, 1. His courteous compellation, and therein his great condescension. Although he was an apostle of the highest eminency, yet he disdains not to call these elders, who were both in office, and also in gifts, and graces, much inferior to him, by the name of brethren: And now, brethren, says the apostle to the elders of Ephesus. But probably together with the elders of Ephesus here were some of the church and people of Ephesus, who came to take their last leave of their departing apostle; and then we may remark that there is a near relation, even that of brethren, between ministers and people, as well as between the ministers and themselves, and this founded upon the account of religion and grace.

Observe, 2. The apostle being now to take his last leave and farewell of the ministers and people at Ephesus; he commends them to God. It well becomes the faithful ministers of Christ at all times when they are with their people, but especially when they are about to leave their people, to commit and commend them unto God; that is, to recommend them to God’s care and keeping, and to commit them to his conduct and guidance; and this as a testimony of our faithfulness to God, whose our people are, and for whom we must become accountable to him; and also as a testimony of our love to our people, and of our fervent desires for their salvation.

Observe, 3. As the apostle commends them to God, so likewise to the word of his grace. To God as the efficient cause, and to the word of his grace as the instrumental cause, of their building up: I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up.

Here note, 1. That the gospel is the word of God’s grace; so called, because it is the effect, the fruit, and product of rich mercy and free grace; because it reveals the free grace of God in Christ to poor sinners; because it works inherent grace and holiness in the hearts of sinners; and because it carrieth on and perfecteth the work of grace unto glory.

Note, 2. That believers who are in a state of grace, have need of the word of God for their edification and building up.

Note, 3. That the word of God is able to build up believers; it is able to preserve them and keep them from decaying in grace and holiness, and it is able to further their growth in grace, and to bring it to perfection.

Well and wisely therefore doth the apostle say, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace; he doth not say, I commend you to God, and the impulse of his spirit: or, I commend you to God, and to the light within; or, I commend you to God, and to the traditions of the church; but I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up.

Observe, 4. A superadded commendation, which is here given of the word of God’s grace; it is not only able to build us up, but to give us an inheritance amongst them that are sanctified; that is, the word of God, if we follow the dictates and directions of it, will infallibly bring us to the glorious inheritance which God hath provided for all his saints, or sanctified ones.

Here note, 1. That heaven is an inheritance, not like an inheritance on earth; but it is the most sure, the most satisfying, the most durable, and the most delightful inheritance, an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away.

Note, 2. That heaven is the inheritance of saints, of all sanctified or holy persons, and only of such; it is purchased for them, it is promised to them, it is taken up in their names, and possession of it kept for them by their forerunner; in a word, heaven is prepared for them, and they shall be adjudged to them at the great day.

Note, 3. That this inheritance of heaven is a gift, and a free gift: It is your Father’s pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luk 12:32 This inheritance is all of grace, our right and title to it is of grace, our fitting and preparing for it is of grace; all of grace, nothing of merit; all of God, nothing of ourselves; nothing in a way of meritorious causality, but only in the way of ministerial endeavour.

Note, lastly, That God gives this inheritance by his word: To the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you on inheritance. The word reveals to us the notice and knowledge of this inheritance; the word makes an offer of this inheritance to every one of us, yea, it calls us to the acceptation, and invites us to the participation of it.

Finally, God by his word begets his people to a lively hope of this inheritance, 1Pe 1:3-4. And also prepares and fits them by the word for the participation and possession of it; Giving thanks to the Father, who has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Col 1:12

And how doth our Father make us meet for this inheritance in glory, but by the word of his grace? I commend you therefore, brethren, says the apostle, to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to give you an inheritance among them that are sanctified.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32. “And now I commend you to God and the word of his grace, being able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all the sanctified.” How infinitely potent the precious Word of God! and how little appreciated by His professed followers, while it is despised and hated by the wicked. The Bible assures us that none but the sanctified shall get to heaven (Heb 12:14), and here we are assured that the Word is able to sanctify us. God help us to appreciate it as never before.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See notes on verse 28

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

32–35. I commend you to God. In their weighty responsibility he commends them to God. And to the word of his grace. The word will be a guide in all their difficulties and is able to build them up and give them an inheritance among the sanctified. If it is followed, they cannot stray. Sanctified. All Christians are spoken of as sanctified. See 1 Cor. 1:2; 6:9–11.

I have coveted no man's silver. No motives of self-interest could induce him to labor in the work to which he was called. It offered no earthly emoluments. We have found that at Corinth he worked with his own hands for support. We here learn that he did the same thing at Ephesus. See 18:3; 2 Thess. 3:10–12; 1 Cor. 4:11, 12. He also warns Timothy to flee from the love of money as hurtful, an admonition that should never be forgotten.

It is more blessed to give than to receive. These words, quoted by Paul, as well known are not found in any one of the four Gospels, but are none the less genuine. They only preserve a fragment of the sayings and doings of our Lord (John 21:25). Giving, even here, secures more real happiness than receiving, and besides, is Godlike and blesses forever.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

32. ἀδελφοί omitted with אABD. Not represented in Vulg.

ὑμῖν omitted with אABDE. Not represented in Vulg.

32. καὶ τὰ νῦν παρατίθεμαι ὑμᾶς, and now I commend you. It is as if he said: I am to leave you, but I leave you to the care of One who will help you as He has helped me, and who will not leave you. ὁ λόγος τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ means the gracious promises of the Gospel, such as those which Christ gave to His disciples when He foretold the mission of the Comforter (Joh 16:7-12), and which the Christian preachers might repeat as His words to the converts who believed on His name.

τῷ δυναμένῳ, which is able. This must be referred to θεῷ, and not to the intervening explanatory clause. It is God who can build up His people and give them their heavenly inheritance.

τὴν κληρονομίαν, the inheritance, that to which, by becoming sons of God through Christ, you are made heirs. The figure is taken from the apportionment of the promised land among the Israelites. The share of each of God’s servants in the heavenly Canaan is to be regarded as definitely as were the possessions of the chosen people in the earthly Canaan.

ἐν τοῖς ἡγιασμένοις πᾶσιν, among all them which are sanctified. More literally ‘which have been sanctified.’ But just as the Apostle uses ‘saints’ frequently in his Epistles to mean those who have been called to be such, so here his words do not indicate that those of whom he speaks have attained the perfection of holiness. When they reach their inheritance, then they will have been perfected in Christ.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32. τ. λόγ. τῆς χάρ. αὐτ.] I should be inclined to attribute the occurrence of this expression in ch. 14:3, to the narrative having come from Paul himself, or from one imbued with his words and habits of thought. See ver. 24.

τῷ δυν.] Clearly spoken of God, not of the word of His grace, which cannot be said δοῦναι κληρον., however it might οἰκοδομῆσαι.

The expression κληρον. ἐν τ. ἡγ. πᾶς. is strikingly similar to τῆς κληρονομίας αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις, Eph 1:18, addressed to this same church. See also ch. 26:18.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I commend. See on 1Pe 4:19.

Build you up. A metaphor in constant use by Paul, and preserved in the words edify, edification (Latin, aedes, "a house" and facere, "to make ") by which oijkodomew and its kindred words are frequently rendered. In old English the word edify was used in its original sense of build. Thus Wycliffe renders Gen 2:22," The Lord God edified the rib which he took of Adam, into a woman. "

So, too, Spenser :

"a little wide There was a holy temple edified." Faerie Queene, 1, 1, 34.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.