3rd Missionary Trip - Lorin

The next item Paul touches on comes naturally out of the previous emphases above: to dedicate these
leaders to God and to the preaching of the Gospel message in Ephesus. The verb παρατίθημι literally means to
place something or someone along side of, or before someone. Thus with graphic expression Paul in the language
of prayer indicates he is placing these Ephesian leaders before God, and before the message of grace.
The first object is easy to understand. These leaders are handed over to God for Him to possess and to bless.
The second object is profoundly insightful, and often missed. Paul sets these leaders in front of not just the grace
of God, but the responsibility for preaching (τῷ λόγῳ) the grace of God. 255 What he then goes on to declare
is also not well understood. He speaks of an enabling presence (τῷ δυναμένῳ) that can build up believers as
a community (οἰκοδομῆσαι) spiritually, and also that can grant an eternal inheritance among the saints of God
(τὴν κληρονομίαν ἐν τοῖς ἡγιασμένοις πᾶσιν). 256 What must be clearly understood from Paul’s statement is that
the focus on what enables the positive accomplishments is not the grace of God (τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ), but the
preaching of that grace: note: τῷ δυναμένῳ modifies τῷ λόγῳ rather than τῆς χάριτος. 257 That divine grace has
God’s enabling presence in it is clear, but it must be clearly and correctly articulated to the people of God for its
power to be felt. In his prayer expression the apostle stands these Ephesian leaders before the responsibility of
preaching the grace of God and says in effect, “Now go do it! You are dedicated to this task!”
This dual thrust of the grace of God when faithfully preached covers both this life and eternity. The latter
part is what often receives the most attention, but the edification ability of the message of grace is just as important.
The preaching of this message is critical to fortifying the Ephesian Christian community from the corrupting
influence of false teachers. Paul reminds these leaders in vv. 33-35 that this was his focus during the time he
was with them. Central to the preaching of such a message is the integrity of the preacher! And integrity centers
on motivations for ministry. Paul absolutely refused to charge them a ‘salary’ for his ministry: ἀργυρίου ἢ χρυσίου
ἢ ἱματισμοῦ οὐδενὸς ἐπεθύμησα, I coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothing. 258 Against the backdrop of religious
teachers manipulating people for the sake of lifting money from them, Paul reminds these leaders that none of
this was true of his ministry in their midst. To the contrary, αὐτοὶ γινώσκετε ὅτι ταῖς χρείαις μου καὶ τοῖς οὖσιν
μετʼ ἐμοῦ ὑπηρέτησαν αἱ χεῖρες αὗται, You know for yourselves that I worked with my own hands to support myself and
my companions. Luke mentioned Paul’s working at a job to earn support in connection to the earlier ministry in
Corinth (Acts 18:2-3), but chooses here to insert that this same pattern was true of the lengthy Ephesian ministry
as well.
His final word to these leaders in v. 35 applies his example of ‘paying his own way’ to the theological
255 74 mss ms “παρατ. τῷ θεῷ is the text of P א A C D E Ψ M vg sy sa ; B 326 pc gig sa bo have π. τῷ κυρίῳ. This recalls the words
of Stephen at 7:59, and is probably due to assimilation. It is doubtful whether Luke would have felt strongly about either reading as
against the other.” [C. K. Barrett, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles, International Critical Commentary
(Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2004), 980.]
256 “The language is again strongly reminiscent of Paul’s epistles. The reference to ‘those who are sanctified’ (hēgiasmenois)
reflects Paul’s favorite designation of Christians as ‘the saints’ (hoi hagioi), those who have been ‘sanctified,’ i.e., ‘set apart’ as God’s
people in Christ. He likewise often spoke of the future life of the Christian in terms of sharing in an inheritance (klēronomian).
Page 469
92 In v. 32
Paul passed on the banner to the Ephesian elders to continue to lead the church after his departure, urging them above all to be faithful
to his gospel in the light of the coming threats.” [John B. Polhill, vol. 26, Acts, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman
& Holman Publishers, 1995), 429.]
257Only remotely when clear justification is present (& it isn’t here) is it possible to leap over an obvious antecedent to one further
away from the dependent participle phrase here; in this case τῷ θεῷ. Of course, it is God’s presence in the preaching of that message
of grace that is the spiritual dynamic. But one must not overlook the important role of the proclamation of that message for the realization
of the divine power in transforming human life.
258 “There was, however, one matter of personal conduct of prime importance he had not yet treated; and he ended on this
note (vv. 33–35). In a real sense he ended as he had begun (vv. 18–21), pointing to his own deportment in ministry as an example for
them to emulate. The matter in question was the leaders’ relationship to material goods. Paul’s detachment from material gain is welldocumented
in his epistles. He never used his ministry as a ‘mask to cover up greed’ (1 Thess 2:5).93 At Corinth he supported himself
with his own hands (Acts 18:2f.; cf. 1 Cor 4:12; 9:12, 15; 2 Cor 11:7; 12:13). The same was true at Thessalonica (1 Thess 2:9; 2 Thess
3:7–8). Verse 34 would indicate that he followed the same pattern of self-support at Ephesus. In his epistles Paul exhorted his Christian
readers to follow his example and work with their own hands, not being dependent on others (1 Thess 4:11; 2 Thess 3:9). In the Miletus
speech Paul gave the additional incentive that such hard work put one in the position to help the weak. In his epistles he showed a similar
concern that Christians help the weak and needy, that they share in one another’s burdens (cf. Rom 15:1; 1 Thess 5:14; Eph 4:28; Gal
6:2). Greed is a universal human problem, and church leaders are not exempt (cf. the exhortation in v. 28 for church leaders to ‘watch
yourselves’). That avarice among church leaders was a real problem in Asia Minor seems to be attested by the Pastoral Epistles, in which
Paul insisted that a major qualification for church leaders should be their detachment from the love of money (1 Tim 3:3, 8; Titus 1:7,
11). It may well be that the false teachers were particularly marked by their greed (cf. 1 Tim 6:3–10).” [John B. Polhill, vol. 26, Acts, The
New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995), 429.]