A Farewell Address (Part 2 of 2)
Truth For Life Daily Program
Alistair Begg
4.8 • 4.5K Ratings
🗓️ 1 May 2025
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Paul wanted to ensure that the church would stay strong in faith and continue to grow in his absence. Hear his warning to the elders, and learn why the greatest threat to the church—then and now—comes from within. That’s on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | When the Apostle Paul prepared to leave Ephesus, he was eager to ensure that the church would remain strong in the faith and continue to grow. |
| 0:33.5 | Today on Truth for Life, we'll consider Paul's warning to the elders and find out why the greatest threat to the church, both then and now, often comes from within. |
| 0:44.5 | Alastairbeg is teaching from Acts chapter 20. |
| 0:53.2 | Well, he declares first his innocence and then his diligence, and then he brings an exhortation. |
| 0:58.9 | His exhortation is equally clear in verse 28, keep watch over yourselves, and all the flunk of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. |
| 1:09.5 | Now, this word of exhortation is directed to the elders of the |
| 1:12.4 | church in Ephesus, the leaders, these men, a group of men, appointed by God, recognized by the church, |
| 1:20.2 | and having responsibility for spiritual oversight. The words that are used interchangeably in the English |
| 1:26.0 | translations that we may have, words like bishop, leader, shepherd, and so on, fall under three words in Greek. |
| 1:34.1 | One is presbyteroy, from which we clearly get presbyter. |
| 1:37.0 | One is Episcopoi, from which we get Episcopal. |
| 1:39.7 | And the other is a verb poimeno, which means to shepherd. |
| 1:44.1 | And these words are used interchangeably of the leadership of the church. |
| 1:49.3 | And it is this leadership of the church at Ephesus that is before him now. |
| 1:53.7 | A plurality of these men had been appointed, often by Paul himself, Barnabas, Titus had |
| 2:00.1 | responsibility for it, and so on, and these men had |
| 2:03.3 | been entrusted with the responsibility of tending or shepherding the flock of God. So he exhorts |
| 2:10.8 | them, first of all, to watch themselves. Watch yourselves. Keep watch over yourselves. In other words, pay attention to your own spiritual condition. |
| 2:23.6 | If the leader in the church is neglectful of his spiritual welfare, then it follows almost inevitably |
| 2:29.2 | that he will show a little concern for the spiritual welfare of others. Last time, we reminded one another that the churches |
| 2:37.8 | in various locations in respect to local churches, they cannot progress beyond the spiritual |
| 2:48.0 | progress of their leaders. And that is Paul's first concern, and it is a right |
... |
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