It's easier to stay alert when you see & recognize the threat.
Acts 20:25-32, 36-38 (NIV)
CONTEXT: Paul is bidding farewell to the elders of the church in Ephesus, a church he loved dearly. He leaves them with this charge:
25 “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, y which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
32 “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
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36 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 30: The Government of the Church
We believe that this true church
ought to be governed according to the spiritual order
that our Lord has taught us in his Word.
There should be ministers or pastors
to preach the Word of God
and administer the sacraments.
There should also be elders and deacons,
along with the pastors,
to make up the council of the church.
By this means
true religion is preserved;
true doctrine is able to take its course;
and evil men are corrected spiritually and held in check,
so that also the poor
and all the afflicted
may be helped and comforted
according to their need.
By this means
everything will be done well
and in good order
in the church,
when such persons are elected
who are faithful
and are chosen according to the rule
that Paul gave to Timothy.
Summary
It's always hard to say goodbye, especially when, as is the case in today's passage, there will never be another reunion. People cling to these moments and replay them in their memory for years to come. The 'famous last words' of influential people fill history books. So the air there in that sea side meeting was thick with emotion and dialed in ears. What good word would this preacher of good news leave with these men who would be left to lead the church Paul had planted?
But Paul's prediction wasn't a happy one. Savage wolves were on the way, he said, and they would endanger the flock. But they'd have to defend from more than just an external wolf attack; even some from within their own would turn on them with deceptive, misleading words that would draw others away. So stay awake, Paul warned them; "Be on your guard."
But the Ephesian flock wasn't left defenseless. They'd been given shepherds in the form of overseers to look out for them, a word we now translate as 'elders.'
We know from Paul's letters to Timothy, who pastored the church in Ephesus, and from the letters that Jesus wrote to the seven churches, including Ephesus, in Revelation 2-3, that Paul's prediction of the attacking wolves came true. But we also know from extra-biblical church history that the Ephesian church would survive these attacks and go on to serve as beacon of hope for many years to come.
The appointment of humble, fallible elders doesn't seem like it would be an adequate defense against the devil's savagery, but God blesses that which He ordains.
Dig Deeper
If you somehow discovered that tonight, at precisely 11:38 PM, a robber would arrive on your yard, you'd be ready for him in one way or the other. But if you were told that sometime over the next decade a robber would show up, he'd probably have a much better chance of catching you off guard.
Likewise, if a church knew that wolves would tear off their sheep's clothing and attack the flock two Sunday's from now, I'm sure they'd be ready for it and thwart the attack. But that's not the way church wolves work. Just like their natural counterparts, these predators patiently bide their time, looking for opportunities to separate the weak from the protection of the flock. And too often, churches forget about the threat and let down their guard.
Paul doesn't really give these Ephesian elders any specific tactics they can use to defend themselves with. He just tells them to keep watch, and then commits them to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance. But then again, that is the tactic for elders: to keep their sheep connected to God and His Word.
The threat Paul warned these Ephesian elders of two millennia ago still exists today. Certainly it's taken all sort of different forms throughout the years, and sometimes it's much easier to see than others. Through it all, the tactic remains the same. If you're an elder, be on guard and keep watch lest your sheep wander from the Word. If you're a sheep, thank God for the overseers He's given to protect you and keep you safe.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose word builds us up and gives us an inheritance;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for your church's elders as they keep watch and guard your church from the ever present wolves;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Peter 2
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