Act 20:24 | 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 20:24

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).