Committed to God and His Grace

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

COMMITTED TO GOD AND HIS GRACE

Acts 20:32-38

 32 "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" 36 When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.

NIV

We must remember that Paul is still speaking to the elders from Ephesus, giving them his final instructions before he makes his way back to Jerusalem. As he commits them to God and the word of his grace, we must know that we too have been committed to God and his grace. For these elders from Ephesus their being committed to God was due to the words of Paul, who spoke with the authority of God. We would think that one can commit themselves to God and to His grace, however, in this post-modern church, it takes a group of men who have been chosen to interview someone and then having either the authority of the denomination and perhaps of God, to declare or commit a shepherd to God and his grace. Whichever way it happens it is still up to the individual to live committed to God and his grace. If the shepherd, the pastor, does commit himself to God then he will be built up and will have an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. But what does “be committed to God” look like? We might take one of the clues from Paul in that he did not covet anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. We might take another clue from Paul, in that by his own hands he supplied his own needs as well as the needs of his companions. We know that Paul was a tent maker, as for a while he partnered with Aquila and Priscilla. He also demonstrated that by his hard work; he helped the weak. One more clue that we see is that Paul remembered and reminded the elders, the shepherds of the flock in Ephesus that Jesus taught that it was more blessed to give and receive. How does this all fit into the qualifications in the post-modern church for being one of the shepherds, or pastors in a local church? There is no question about being committed to God and his grace. But again, what does that look like? It must at least include putting God first in our lives, above all the gold, silver, and clothing in this world. It must also appear we are to work by our own hands, but that is not the case in most local churches where pastors are paid for their commitment to God. As far as helping the weak, that could be seen in a spiritual sense, that the pastor should teach the grace of God, building up those whose faith is weak. This may be the only way to see this in the post-modern church, for it would be a rare case that a pastor would labor outside the church and use his resources to give physical or monetary help to those who are in need. So then how does the local pastor or pastors function in the church today? Has the rule of shepherd evolved over time and no longer looks like the example and instructions of Paul. In fact, in his letter to Timothy, Paul lays out the express requirements for shepherds of the church.

1 Tim 3:1-7

3:1 Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.

NIV

There is much we could comment on, yet we will let Paul’s letter speak for itself. All we know is that first, and foremost, we must commit ourselves to God. If we do that, we believe all else will fall neatly into place. Without the committed to God and his grace, none of the rest would really matter, for it would be useless and unfruitful.