Acts 20:28

Greetings again,

This entry is the second in the course of three studies on verses given to me by my pastor to meditate on.

Acts 20:28
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

This is Paul's address to the elders in the church at Ephesus as he was about to leave them. I would recommend reading vv 17-38 to get the full context of the speech even though v28 is the focus of this study.

Similar to the charge to Timothy in 1 Tim 4:16, Paul tells the elders to care for there own spiritual growth first and then to also care for the church. In 1 Timothy his charge is for the teaching, or sound doctrine; here Paul charges the elders with the care of the flock, being the church of God.

Paul warns that if the elders fail in their personal walks with Christ, the church would suffer because of it. This is not permission for them to be selfish and self-serving in their position, but to constantly be growing and learning as Holy Spirit sharpens them. Their fellowship with the Lord would directly affect their leadership of His church.

The next phrase rattled around in my head last night as I tended the yard; 'in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers'. The first thing that strikes me in this (ESV) and most versions is that it's 'in which' and not 'over which' or 'over whom'. Even though these believers were given the responsibility of eldership, they were still 'in' the flock, His flock. The HCSB translates this 'among whom'. A good reminder to not abuse or misuse the call of church leadership.
I also dwelt for some time on the fact that he says 'the Holy Spirit made you overseers'. Some take this to mean that elders or church leaders should not be elected, but identified as having been chosen by Holy Spirit. And yet in Acts 14, we see clearly that elders were appointed in the churches by Paul and Barnabas. So my conclusion of this thought is still a question; how does the church Biblically find leaders?

The calling of these leaders is to care for God's church, the body of Christ. The value of the church to God? So much that it cost Him His own Son. While this verse has caused debate amongst the biggest of brains, the GK can read 'by the blood of His own', that is His own Son. God is Spirit (John 4:24), but Christ came in the 'likeness of sinful flesh' (Rom 8:3) to condemn sin in the flesh by shedding His own blood.

The ESV uses 'obtained', while that word is also translated bought, purchased or acquired. I do not envy translators who try to find the 'right' word. To me, all of them work together to remind me of the price God paid. I can never repay Him, I can only obey Him.

How does this affect my worship?
I must pay careful attention to my worship. How am I worshiping? How am I praising? Does it resonate with what the Lord is doing in my heart? Is it real?
This directly affects the flock. We are to regularly meet together, and an element of that meeting is corporate worship. The lead-worshiper, worship team, and all church leaders need to mind their own worship as part of the healthy functioning of the church. This, to me, is part of caring for the church of God; by leading them in a worship encounter that is genuine, costly, and acceptable to God.

How does this affect my discipleship?
Just because a person is in a leadership position in a church does not absolve them from the mission of personal discipleship. While there may be specific ways that they 'care for the church', they are still called to develop fully committed followers of Christ by obeying His command to make disciples. And as always, remembering the price He paid for me reminds me that no cost or suffering compares 'with the glory that is to be revealed to us' (Rom 8:18); spending eternity with He who 'loved me and gave His life for me' (Gal 2:20).

Paying close attention to myself and the flock,

Ethan