Act 20:22-27 | KingComments | STEP | Then Paul shares with the elders the purpose of his journey and the urge he feels to do so. For a long time, he was strongly pressed inwardly to go to Jerusalem. The fact that he says “bound by the spirit” – that is his own human spirit and not the Holy Spirit – could indicate that it was an obligation of love for his people that did not have its direct origin in a commission from God, although not necessarily against God’s will. It is like the wish he expressed to be separated from Christ with a curse for the sake of his brethren, his kinsmen according to the flesh ( ). These desires of Paul have nothing to do with the sinful flesh, but could, at most, be a zeal of the noblest motives. If it turns out to be a weakness, then any selfishness in this desire is absent with him. The only motive is his burning love for his own people. This love drives him, as it were, into the lion’s den. Paul is in fact a slave – which is included in the word ‘bound’ – of his own mind. He is forced in such a way that no other way is open to him. Although it is possible that Paul does not act under the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit, but from the weakness of his own mind because of his love for his kinsmen according to the flesh, the Lord will still use that for the honor of His Name. There is no self-deception with Paul. We also see this in what the Holy Spirit expresses to him. Following the testimony of the Spirit, Paul could have sought a way out, but he does not. He knew what the Holy Spirit said to him and that could mean that he did not have to go. The Spirit did not directly tell him not to go, but only told him what was in store for him. Paul consciously chose what was in store for him, out of love for the Lord Jesus and His earthly people, to save some of His people. He knew that God’s hand was in this. And we know that God would use his captivity to write letters with the highest Christian truths. All suffering could not prevent Paul from conforming to the will of God. He had learned from his Master how suffering in a world full of sin and misery can have an effect of glorifying God. Paul carried the marks of that suffering in his body ( ). Paul could count. On the one hand he calculated the value of his life for himself and on the other hand he calculated the value of his life in the service of his Lord. From that calculation it appeared that all profit lay with the Lord Jesus and the commission He had given him (cf. ). He saw his life as God’s gift to him, with which God had a plan: a service to fulfill it to the fullest. He would indeed accomplish his course ( ). To Paul this means, that to accomplish his course, he must also testify the gospel of God’s grace to his own people. The gospel of the grace of God is the full gospel. The grace of God is more than repentance and faith. In repentance and faith, the emphasis is more on the need of the sinner. In the gospel of the grace of God, the emphasis is on the side of God, everything He has done by revealing His grace. We find this gospel in the letter to the Romans. Among other things we learn there that the believer stands in the grace of God and that he is justified by faith alone, on the basis of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus ( ).

‏ Acts 20:22-27

The Gospel of the Grace of God

Then Paul shares with the elders the purpose of his journey and the urge he feels to do so. For a long time, he was strongly pressed inwardly to go to Jerusalem. The fact that he says “bound by the spirit” – that is his own human spirit and not the Holy Spirit – could indicate that it was an obligation of love for his people that did not have its direct origin in a commission from God, although not necessarily against God’s will. It is like the wish he expressed to be separated from Christ with a curse for the sake of his brethren, his kinsmen according to the flesh (Rom 9:3).

These desires of Paul have nothing to do with the sinful flesh, but could, at most, be a zeal of the noblest motives. If it turns out to be a weakness, then any selfishness in this desire is absent with him. The only motive is his burning love for his own people. This love drives him, as it were, into the lion’s den.

Paul is in fact a slave – which is included in the word ‘bound’ – of his own mind. He is forced in such a way that no other way is open to him. Although it is possible that Paul does not act under the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit, but from the weakness of his own mind because of his love for his kinsmen according to the flesh, the Lord will still use that for the honor of His Name. There is no self-deception with Paul.

We also see this in what the Holy Spirit expresses to him. Following the testimony of the Spirit, Paul could have sought a way out, but he does not. He knew what the Holy Spirit said to him and that could mean that he did not have to go. The Spirit did not directly tell him not to go, but only told him what was in store for him.

Paul consciously chose what was in store for him, out of love for the Lord Jesus and His earthly people, to save some of His people. He knew that God’s hand was in this. And we know that God would use his captivity to write letters with the highest Christian truths.

All suffering could not prevent Paul from conforming to the will of God. He had learned from his Master how suffering in a world full of sin and misery can have an effect of glorifying God. Paul carried the marks of that suffering in his body (Gal 6:17).

Paul could count. On the one hand he calculated the value of his life for himself and on the other hand he calculated the value of his life in the service of his Lord. From that calculation it appeared that all profit lay with the Lord Jesus and the commission He had given him (cf. Phil 3:7-9). He saw his life as God’s gift to him, with which God had a plan: a service to fulfill it to the fullest. He would indeed accomplish his course (2Tim 4:6-7). To Paul this means, that to accomplish his course, he must also testify the gospel of God’s grace to his own people.

The gospel of the grace of God is the full gospel. The grace of God is more than repentance and faith. In repentance and faith, the emphasis is more on the need of the sinner. In the gospel of the grace of God, the emphasis is on the side of God, everything He has done by revealing His grace. We find this gospel in the letter to the Romans. Among other things we learn there that the believer stands in the grace of God and that he is justified by faith alone, on the basis of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus (Rom 5:1-2).

The Kingdom and Purpose of God

Paul announces his farewell. It will be a definitive farewell. He knows that they will not see each other again. Against the background of this announcement, he reminds the elders that he went around among all of them to preach the kingdom. The kingdom is mentioned here for the fifth time out of a total of seven times mentioned in Acts (Acts 1:3 ; Acts 8:12 ; Acts 14:22 ; Acts 19:8 ; Acts 20:25 ; Acts 28:23 ; 31).

Paul did not only speak about the kingdom in its future glorious form, as it will be when the Lord Jesus reigns on earth. He also proclaimed the meaning of the kingdom that it has in this day and age, in which it is not yet visible, but is present (Col 1:13; Rom 14:17). The believers are subjects of the Lord Jesus in that kingdom. Linked to the kingdom is the idea of dominion and service. Believers acknowledge the Lord Jesus as their Lord and serve Him. The kingdom has to do with our acknowledgment of the reign of the Lord Jesus in daily life and in every area of it.

Because they will no longer see his face, “therefore”, he declares on this day that he is innocent of the blood of all men. Earlier he said to unbelievers that he was clean of their blood (Acts 18:6), here he says that to believers. He knows that he is not in debt to them. After all, he told them everything he had to tell them. The word “for” indicates the reason for his being innocent of the blood of all men, not just the elders: he has not withheld anything from the whole purpose of God.

The proclamation of the purpose or counsel of God is the fourth part of his ministry. Later on he will record this counsel, especially in the letter to the Colossians and the letter to the Ephesians. It is the counsel of God that extends from eternity to eternity. His ministry concerning the counsel of God has come to an end, because he has communicated everything he had to communicate. No new things will be revealed after what has been entrusted to him (Col 1:25).