Acts 20.17–35
A sermon preached at the consecration of Inocencio Duarte Varine 7th July 2024
We are about to consecrate Inocencio Varine as a bishop in the Church of God. We say “a bishop in the Church of God” to remind ourselves that there is one Church of God, the community of believers gathered around the Lord Jesus Christ, who Jesus says will one day inherit the earth. We say in our Creed: “We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.” It is “holy” because it is God’s creation and belongs to him. It is “catholic” because, unlike the Old Testament church, it does not belong to any one nation, or race, but is made up of men, women, and children from every people, and language group. It is “apostolic” because it follows the faith laid down once and for all in the Holy Scriptures. And it is “one,” because there it has only one Lord, and Saviour, and King, the man Jesus Christ. Inocencio is about to be made a bishop to serve his own people, but as part of a world-wide church that ultimately consists of all those who love the Lord Jesus, and have loved him, and will ever love him: “world without end. Amen.”
But what is a bishop? And are there bishops in the Bible? Yes, there are! Paul speaks to the leaders of the church in Ephesus and says these words:
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you bishops, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
Your Bible may say it differently: “overseers,” rather than bishops. The Greek word is episcopos, which means an overseer, manager, or superintendent. The English (and Portuguese) word bishop, or bispo, comes from this Greek word, episcopos which became piscopos, which became biscopos, which became bishop or bispo. This is the way languages develop. The bishops in Ephesus were overseers— managers, if you like, in the churches.
If we look carefully at Paul’s speech to the leaders of the church in Ephesus we observe several things. First, they are called “elders” (presbyteroi) and there are a group of them. Churches in the first Christian century were led by a group of men called elders; they were senior men in the congregation. One hundred years later, after problems with false teachings and breakaway movements, churches gradually changed to have one senior elder for each congregation, who was called the bishop. But earlier, in the middle of the century, Paul calls all the elders “overseers” (bishops). It was many years later that the leader of the mother-church of the churches in a district came to be called the bishop, the general overseer many churches and many presbyters. Today we are following in this tradition when we consecrate Inocencio.
And now Paul tells us what is the task of a bishop; it is to be a shepherd of God’s people. This is where we learn that elders and bishops are pastors, shepherds. But how do you shepherd God’s church? That is the next question.
The Book of Acts tells the story of how Christianity began in Jerusalem and spread as far as Rome. But it is more than a story, it is also a book of sermons. When Luke wrote Acts he added speeches to the story to tell us who Jesus is, the King of God’s new world, and to tell us how we may join his people. It is important to note here that Paul’s speech to the leaders at Ephesus is the only speech in Acts that is addressed to Christians, and it is addressed to their leaders. All the other speeches are evangelistic—they tell us what we need to believe and do to be saved—or speeches to magistrates to defend the truth of Christianity.
We were in a class at George Whitefield College—Inocencio was there. We were discussing what Luke’s purpose was when he wrote Acts. I said there were so many evangelistic speeches his main purpose must have been to preach the gospel. But there was a problem: if the main purpose was to convince unbelievers and to tell new Christians about discipleship, why did he include this speech to church leaders? Someone—and I think it was Inocencio—suggested we consider whether Luke could be writing to pastors. When we looked again at Luke and Acts, we decided this was correct. Luke was giving church leaders materials to help them with evangelism, discipling, and defending the truth—and also telling them about their own job. So, in this speech to the leaders in Ephesus Paul tells them what it means to be an elder or a bishop, and how to shepherd the church of God.
He begins by reminding them of his own ministry when he was with them.
Acts 20.20 I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 20.24 I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
Acts 20.26 I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
Three times he says it: teaching in public and from house to house, testifying to the gospel of the grace of God, declaring the whole revelation of God. There can be no doubt that the essential task of the Christian leader is to preach the gospel and teach the word of God.
This is remarkable. Paul’s ministry in Ephesus was spectacular. He cast out demons, healed the sick, and did many miracles. Many thousands came to believe in Jesus. Even the practitioners of magic burned their magic books. His ministry affected the local economy. But Paul mentions none of this. He could have spoken of the ministry of healing, or of exorcism, or miracles, or opposing idolatry, or helping the poor; but no, three times he stresses the importance of teaching the word of God.
The reason is that people’s lives depend on it. “I am innocent of the blood of all of you,” he says. Jesus came into the world to save sinners, but unless people hear of the Saviour and believe, they will not be saved; they will die in their sins and be lost forever.
Imagine we are living on a small island. A tsunami is coming. There is a ship in the harbour that can take us away, out into the deep water. The captain sends messengers throughout the island to call the people to come and be saved. There are some who do not believe the warning, and others who will not leave their homes; they will die. There are others who never heard the warning, because a messenger could not be bothered to go to their village. They too will drown, though the messenger will be held responsible for their deaths. Paul does not want blood on his hands: “I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole word of God.”
Dear Inocencio and all who are listening to me today, never forget that our mission is to rescue dying men, women, and children, by telling them that they are in danger, but there is a Saviour—only one—the Lord Jesus Christ, who died that we might be saved, and live for ever.
Many will not want to hear such a message. Australia’s number one footballer was a Christian who said publicly that people who refused to repent of their sins would go to hell. They cancelled him—would not let him play any more. They did not ask, “Is it true?” They stopped their ears and would not hear. Paul says, “I did not shrink from declaring to you every word of God.” Sometimes the work is not easy.
One of the opportunities that is given to the bishop, and possibly to no one else is to speak publicly to your nation. The media will come to you and ask the church’s position on this or that. I remember a visit from one of our assistant bishops. He asked me how I thought the new archbishop was going. I said that what God’s people looked for in their leader was someone who was not afraid to say in public what they believed. Many bishops, I fear, are afraid to speak the truth of the gospel to the media or the government, for fear of unpopularity. If you have these opportunities, Inocencio, be bold; tell them what Christians believe, that Jesus created the world, that he came to show us what God is like, that he died so we could be forgiven, that God raised him from the dead, and that he will return to judge the world and establish God’s eternal kingdom.
Paul has been given a task by the Lord Jesus himself, and the only thing that matters to him is to run the race that is before him and finish his course. He will tell the gospel to kings and governors, as well as to people in the market place.
The bishop’s job today is to be superintendent to a whole group of pastors and their people. However, he is not like the boss of a big company who makes all the decisions, and everyone has to obey him, or get the sack. The church should not work like that. Rather, he leads by encouragement, and by teaching, and by being a shepherd and protector of his people. In his letter to the Ephesians Paul says that the task of the pastor is to prepare God’s people for their own ministries. We teach so that others may learn to minister. Only as every member exercises his or her God-given ministry is the church built up and every Christian grows to be what God wants them to be. For this reason, Inocencio, I must warn you against anything which will distract you from your essential ministry. Beware of too many committees. Many bishops are kept so busy with committees that they have no time for prayer and sermon-preparation and visiting the other pastors. You do not need to do everything. Train others share the ministry.
There are other dangers. Bishop Bell used to warn us of the three nets Satan uses to trap pastors and destroy their ministries: popularity, pennies, and petticoats; sometimes he would speak of fame, finance, and females. Paul mentions two of these. He taught the whole of God’s word. He was not afraid of becoming unpopular. He taught what people needed to hear, not what they wanted to hear. Also, he did not use his leadership position as a way of making himself rich; he was more willing to give than to receive: “I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Let me counsel you not to let yourself become isolated from friendship with your own pastors and people. When Billy Graham began to be famous, he gathered around him a group of men who would meet with him, pray with him, be honest with him and keep him honest, prevent him from being puffed up, and take an interest in his family life. They guarded his ministry for a lifetime.
But now let me bring us back to the main point. The ministry of the word of God. In the Parable of the Sower Jesus taught that the kingdom of God would come not by fighting, but by spreading the word of God. You have proved this to be true as you have turned away from politics, and witnessed and taught the word of God. God has blessed it with the growth of many churches.
Acts 20.28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
There will be many distractions, many things to prevent you attending to the flock over which the Holy Spirit has made you bishop. You will need to watch yourself carefully. We have talked about that. But now let Paul remind us how precious is the flock, the churches. God shed his own blood for his Church—what an incredible statement this is—God bought the church with his own blood. So close and dear is the Son of God to his Father that he calls Jesus’ blood his own, and was willing to die to redeem his people from their sins. If that is how precious the church is to God, will we not give our all for its sake?
The churches will be under attack. Wherever there is a church there will be those who want to push their own ideas onto it. The bishop and every pastor must therefore be on guard against movements which will take people away from Christ. From within and without there will be attempts to make the churches something else than they are. Paul foresaw it, and it began to happen even in that first-century. It is still happening. For this reason, Inocencio, you must stay close to the word of God. Bible reading and prayer must be part of your daily discipline.
You see how Paul concludes his speech, committing the pastors to “the word of his grace.”
Acts 20.32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
It is not just for your people, but for you. It can build you up and give you a share in the new world which is coming. A bishop is a pastor along with all the other pastors. Bishops and pastors are also church members along with all the other church members. To be one of Christ’s sheep— there is no privilege greater than that. Jesus said to his apostles, “Do not rejoice that demons obey you; rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Never forget that you are nothing more than a Christian, who needs to feed on the bread of life, drink from the water of life—that your greatest joy is to know that your name is in the book of life.
May Christ strengthen you with his word.
Amen.