Acts 20:27 - Printer Friendly

ESV: for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

NIV: For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.

NASB: For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.

CSB: because I did not avoid declaring to you the whole plan of God.

NLT: for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know.

KJV: For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.

NKJV: For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.

Elders of the church of Ephesus are being reminded how faithfully Paul ministered to them. He dedicated three years of his life to teaching how people could receive forgiveness from their sins by trusting in Jesus (Acts 20:31). Yet, he went beyond the simple message of salvation and taught them everything they needed to follow God.

He began years before. On his way back from his second missionary journey, Paul briefly stopped in Ephesus. He attended the synagogue and "reasoned" with the people there, most likely showing how Jesus fulfills the prophecies of the Messiah as recorded in the Old Testament. The congregation asked him to return, and he promised he would if he could (Acts 18:19–21).

During his third journey, Paul stayed for three years (Acts 20:31). Very soon after he arrived, he found twelve men who followed the message of John the Baptist. They dedicated their lives to the belief that God would honor their sincere repentance from their sins and that the Messiah was coming soon. Paul completed John's message by explaining that Jesus of Nazareth is that Messiah (Acts 19:1–7).

Paul then spent three months teaching about the kingdom of God at the local synagogue. Many believed, but some rejected his message and pushed him out. Paul moved to a local hall and continued teaching. In that time, the news about Jesus reached all over the province of Asia in southwest modern-day Turkey (Acts 19:8–10).

The New International Version uses "the whole will of God" while the New American Standard Bible uses "the whole purpose of God." Primarily, Paul taught everything they needed to know to be saved from their sins, including that forgiveness is through Jesus, alone, and not through works (Ephesians 2:1–10). He also taught them how to fight against the rampant witchcraft in the city by remembering who their enemy is and putting on the armor of God (Acts 19:18–19; Ephesians 6:10–20)—a lesson they will cling to for decades (Revelation 2:2–3).

In Acts 20:17–27, Paul begins his farewell to the elders of Ephesus. He and his team leave Troas and sail to Miletus, south of Ephesus, where Paul requests the Ephesian elders meet him. He reminds them how he served with dedication and self-sacrifice, and he also relays disturbing news. When he gets to Jerusalem, he will be imprisoned, and they will never see him again. Next, he will challenge them to protect their church from false teachers and to emulate his humble leadership (Acts 20:28–35).

Acts 20 finishes Paul's third missionary journey. He leaves Ephesus after three years and travels to Macedonia and Corinth. Threats from the Corinthian Jews send him and his team back to Macedonia and Troas. In Troas, Paul gives a very long sermon and raises Eutychus from the dead after he falls—both asleep and out a window. In Miletus, Paul meets with the Ephesian elders. He reminds them to beware of false teachers and tells them he is going to be imprisoned and will not see them again. After a tearful farewell, he boards a ship for Judea.

Acts 20 records the last stages of Paul's third missionary journey. He started by visiting the churches he and Barnabas had planted in central modern-day Turkey (Acts 18:23). From there, he traveled southwest to the province of Asia, where he established a church in Ephesus (Acts 19). In Acts 20, he visits the churches in Macedonia and Greece before returning to Judea. When he lands, he meets briefly with Philip the Evangelist in Caesarea Maritima before going to Jerusalem and getting arrested. He will stay in house arrest for the next two years before embarking on a dangerous sea voyage to Rome (Acts 21—28).

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.