THAT WHICH CAN BUILD YOU UP - PART 2

THURSDAY 30 OCTOBER 2025

Apostle Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so as not to spend time in the province of Asia, for he was hurrying to arrive in Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost. On that note, through Miletus, Paul sent a message to Ephesus, telling the elders of the church to come to him.

When they arrived, in his farewell speech to the leading saints in Ephesus, he said to them, "You yourselves know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set my foot in the province of Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, and with the trials that happened to me because of the plots of the Jews. You know that I did not hold back from proclaiming to you anything that would be helpful, and from teaching you publicly and from house to house, testifying to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus."

What does this brief valedictory intimation imply? Apostle Paul was building them up with the ministry he received from the Lord Jesus, which was to testify to the good news of God's grace. Meanwhile, this particular town, Ephesus, is a well-preserved ancient city in modern-day Turkey, located near Selçuk in the Aegean region. It was once a major Roman commercial center, and a major center for early Christianity. To that effect, it is mentioned in the New Testament as one of the locational points of the seven churches of Asia. More below!

Reference: Acts 20:32 New Living Translation (NLT)

"And now I entrust you to God and the message of His grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those He has set apart for Himself."

To delve further into the introductory aspect of this wonderful topic, when Apostle Paul was about to depart and visit Jerusalem, he warned the Ephesian leaders in this very manner:

"Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. Now I'm turning you over to God, our marvelous God whose gracious Word can make you into what He wants you to be and give you everything you could possibly need in this community of holy friends, set apart for God."

Remember that Paul was addressing the Ephesian Christian community or congregation (in the person of its elders), describing the role of the elders which was to guard and shepherd the congregation from the ravages and depredations of false teachers who would, or might arise, after his departure. After a little more of his exhortatory notification and 'parting' wordings, filled with considerable explanatory significance of his lifestyle while he was with the Ephesians, the inference resulted, to a great extent, in a strong positive emotion amongst the Ephesian leaders and elders, because the farewell address was wholly designed to advance their best interests.

Having concluded his notable 'exit' statement, in which he intended a sustainable godly practice for the Ephesian elders, Acts 20:36-38 noted that "When he had said these things, he knelt down with them all and prayed. They all began to weep loudly, and hugged Paul and kissed him, especially saddened by what he had said, that they were not going to see him again. Then they accompanied him to the ship with 'bon voyage' expressions" (NCV).

Beloved, the 'referent' insight stated in the above versified passage is expressive of their tearful responses to Pauline farewell. The Ephesian elders hugging and kissing Paul was a sign of thickened affection, coupled with the fact that weeping a great deal was invented in the contextual analysis, and some even falling on Paul's neck.

In a nutshell, the entire scene revealed the weight of interrelationship Paul had in his ministry and how much he freely intermingled with the Ephesian saints on account of spiritual and general interests. Indeed, they were so closely associated that so much of strong ligature of mutual affection found its way into the resultant manner of Paul's departure. Stay tuned for another introductory aspect of this topic. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Psalm 119:105; John 8:47; John 16:13; Hebrews 4:12.

Exuberant Declaration:

I've been enormously entrusted to God's Word in the most favourable way, which is the way of the Spirit, and I readily comply...Hallelujah!