Wherefore I witness to you this day, that I am clean from the blood of all,
Paul is saying goodbye to the elders of the church at Ephesus. Before he goes, he calls them as witnesses: no one's blood is on his hands.
The wording is formal, like a man swearing to his record in front of witnesses. One writer points out what Paul twice refuses to do:
"Therefore 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" (verses 26, 27). The apostle could in this way solemnly attest his faithfulness to the trust the Lord had given him. (Compare Ezekiel 3:18-20). At least twice (verses 20, 27) he plainly disowns such holding back. Some who bear the Christian name have not been ashamed to claim it as a virtue. They say they learned it from Him whose death tore the veil. And He puts all His true followers in the light of life, the light that makes everything visible.
Behind the phrase stands an image from Ezekiel: a watchman whose one job is to warn. If the warning is ignored, the guilt is not his.
So he could say he was "innocent of the blood of all." He was like the faithful watchman of Ezekiel 33:4. That watchman's duty was to warn when the enemy or the sword was coming, but he himself was clear if no one heeded his warning. A solemn thought! The watchman would expose himself to harsh criticism, ridicule, contempt, and danger. But, the apostle adds, "I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God."
Another writer ties the two roles together: Paul had been faithful both as a servant and as a lookout.
Along with this, having told them they would see his face no more, he called them in as his witnesses that he was innocent of the blood of all, for he had not shrunk from declaring to them the whole counsel of God. As a watchman, as well as a servant, he had been faithful to God and to their souls.
His claim rests on what he said a few verses earlier: he kept back nothing useful. The stress falls on the word all.
First of all, in verse 20, he says, "I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable." The apostle thought of his hearers and of their profit... It was to this very assembly that he later wrote a letter unfolding the highest truth. Its subject was surely part of his spoken teaching too. So the apostle counted it no less profitable to his hearers than any other part of revelation. The fact is, under the Spirit's guidance it is impossible to turn to any part of revealed truth that is not profitable. "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable," the same writer says in another letter (2 Timothy 3:16). There is need to emphasise that word all. No doubt there are chapters in God's word — and doctrines — of special importance, but the point to keep in mind is that all are necessary. A face with any feature missing we would think sadly deformed.
"Counsel" here is not advice. It is what God planned and has now let us in on.
He says in effect, "You have all this blessing. The gospel has brought you into this favoured place of nearness and relationship. God's authority is settled in your hearts. You are under His rule. You obey His word. But remember that everything God has done, He has done with certain great counsels or purposes in mind." He has made those purposes known to us. They have not yet come to fruition. They are not yet carried out as they will be in the ages to come. But He has shown them to us now, so that we may live our whole lives on earth in the light of what God purposed before the foundation of the world.
The word "shrink" implies there was a reason to. Telling the whole of God's purpose is what made Paul's life difficult.
This theme of his ministry — the whole counsel of God — was the one that stirred up such furious opposition from many of his Jewish hearers. In the end it led to his imprisonment. So he says, "I did not shrink from declaring." If only he had avoided this part of his ministry, he might have had a far more peaceful time in his service and escaped many troubles. For God's counsel involved bringing in the Gentiles, according to the truth of the church. He knew this, yet he did not flinch.
Declaring everything meant declaring the hard things as well as the welcome ones.
He could say, in front of people who knew his ministry well: "I am innocent of the blood of all; for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:26-27). He was no one-sided preacher. He delighted to tell people of the love of God, but with all due seriousness he also warned them of the wrath of God.
- Posted. Like Ezekiel's watchman, Paul had to sound the warning. If people ignored it, the guilt was theirs, not his.
- Warned. He held back nothing profitable. Note the word all: a face missing a feature looks deformed, and so does a partial ministry.
- Whole. "The counsel of God" is His purpose from before the foundation of the world. He has made it known so we can live in its light.
- Costly. Leaving that part out would have bought him a quieter life. The whole counsel brought opposition, and he did not flinch.
- Clear. He told people of God's love and God's wrath alike. So he could call witnesses and say no one's blood stained his hands.
for I have not shrunk from announcing to you all the counsel of God.
Paul is saying goodbye to the elders of the church at Ephesus, knowing he will not see them again. His words raise two questions: what does "the whole counsel of God" cover, and why would anyone hold back from declaring it?
The phrase is often read as a synonym for the gospel message. One commentator keeps apart three things Paul names in this speech: grace, the kingdom, and the counsel of God. They are not one and the same.
It is a mistake to think that "all the counsel of God" means no more than God's plan for saving men, unfolded in the gospel. "The gospel" is indeed the preaching of salvation in a dead and risen Saviour. "The kingdom," whether in its moral form or in its full display, has its own distinct force in God's reign, as we have seen. "All the counsel of God" rises still higher. It takes in His purpose to its utmost extent.
The difference is not just theory. Grace deals with our state as sinners. God's counsel goes higher.
It is of the greatest importance to see this. There is the counsel of God's will for believers, as well as the grace of God that brings salvation for all men. We usually know His saving grace better than the counsels of His heart. The saving grace of God meets our condition as sinners, and we must of course begin with what meets our need. But the counsels of God reveal what God has purposed to bring about for the satisfaction of His own heart.
Paul lists his themes in an order. One writer reads that order as a lesson for anyone who teaches.
First, in dealing with souls, conscience work has to go forward. So he begins with repentance and faith. Either one without the other might drive a soul to despair. God does not want that, so an object — the Lord Jesus Christ — is set before them. With that, the gospel of the grace of God comes in season… Then, alongside the gospel, he preached the kingdom… After these great subjects comes, last in order, the whole counsel of God. This teaching suits only Christians.
Paul's words admit there was a pull to hold back. The reason was not the difficulty of the subject. It was the cost.
Why should he have shrunk from it? We might have thought Paul would have felt nothing but delight in explaining such wonderful truths. But it was exactly this that brought on him the anger of the orthodox Jew. Why did trouble follow him everywhere? Because he did not shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God. This lifts the Christian into heavenly blessings far beyond anything made known to the Jewish people.
The verse opens with "for." It gives the reason for what Paul had just said: he is clear of everyone's blood. One commentator sets this beside Ezekiel.
So the apostle could declare, in all seriousness, that he had been faithful to the trust the Lord gave him (compare Ezekiel 3:18-20). Twice at least (verses 20 and 27) he plainly disowns such holding back. Some who bear the Christian name are not ashamed to call that reserve a virtue learned from Christ. But His death tore the veil, and He puts all His true followers in the light of life — the light that makes everything visible.
Because Paul declared all of it, no later generation waits for more. One writer uses this verse to explain why the letters to the seven churches in Revelation hold no new doctrine.
Suppose these letters had brought fresh doctrinal revelations. They were written after the deaths of Paul, Peter, James and others of the apostles and prophets. That would have proved that God had not given, in their day, all the truth needed for building up the body. In that case Paul could not have declared all the counsel of God (Acts 20:27)… These letters in fact confirm what both Peter and Paul said. They call those they address to be faithful to the truth already received, and to expect nothing more.
God tells us His purposes now, long before He carries them out.
He has made those purposes known to us. They are not yet carried out as they will be in the ages to come. But He has made them known to us, so that we may live our whole life on earth in the light of what God purposed before the foundation of the world.
- Whole — "All the counsel of God" is not the gospel under another name. It rises higher, to the full extent of God's purpose.
- Ordered — Paul moved from repentance and faith, to grace, to the kingdom, to the counsel of God. That last part is teaching for Christians.
- Costly — Declaring it is what drew hostility on him. That is why he calls it not shrinking.
- Clear — He held nothing back. So he could say he was clear of their blood.
- Complete — He declared all of it, so nothing more is owed us. God made His counsel known so we can live now in the light of what He purposed before the world began.