DISPENSATIONAL TRUTH
ACTS
45
AND
B Both of the wisdom (wisdom)
C And knowledge of God! (knowledge)
D How unsearchable are His judgments, (unsearchable)
D And His ways past finding out! (untraceable)
C For who hath known the mind of the Lord? (knowledge)
B Or who hath been His counsellor? (wisdom)
A Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto
him again? (riches)
For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to Whom
(Him) be glory for ever. Amen'.
The twofold ministry of Paul.- Not only was Paul, from the outset, the apostle of the Gentiles, but, after Israel
had been set aside, as we shall see took place in Acts 28, he, as the `Prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles', enters
into that peculiar ministry of the mystery that belongs exclusively to the present day.
In Acts 20 we discover the apostle giving a survey of the ministry already fulfilled, looking forward to a ministry
associated with bonds, and telling the Ephesians that they would see his face no more.
`Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons,
serving the Lord with all humility of mind' (Acts 20:18,19).
While we might have expected that the apostle would have put foremost the preaching of Christ, or doctrinal
purity, we observe that he speaks first of his personal integrity. To this aspect of the subject he returns in verses
33-35. His reason for reminding his hearers of his unselfishness and lowliness may have been the desire that they
should realize that in leaving them and entering another phase of ministry he was not following a course of
self-seeking. Indeed, so far was such a thing from his mind that he said later, `I count not my life dear unto myself'.
His wish was to inculcate in these believers the self-same spirit, making them willing, though sorrowful, that the
Lord's service should deprive them of his presence. From beginning to end of his ministry the apostle was able,
with a good conscience, to bring together his `doctrine' and his `manner of life'.
After this reminder, the apostle passed on to the outer circumstances in which he had triumphed, by grace:
`And with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews' (Acts 20:19).
He summed up his ministry as that of `testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward
God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ' (Acts 20:21).
At verse 22 we are conscious of a change:
`And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: save
that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me' (Acts 20:22,23).
`I go bound in the spirit'.- The fact that in verse 23 the apostle speaks of `the Holy Ghost' suggests that the
earlier phrase should be interpreted in the sense that, though still, outwardly, a free man, he was, nevertheless,
already `in the spirit' anticipatively entering into the bonds and afflictions that awaited him. Either directly in
relation to the immediate Person of the Holy Ghost, or by the answer of his own spirit to the leading of the Lord, his
missionary journeys were always under the leading or constraint of the Spirit. He had been `separated' by the Holy
Ghost (Acts 13:2), and had been `sent forth by the Holy Ghost' (Acts 13:4). Sometimes, also, he had been
`forbidden of the Holy Ghost' (Acts 16:6,7). Furthermore, we read in Acts 17:16 that Paul's spirit was `stirred
within him', and in Acts 19:21 that he `purposed in the spirit' the journey that was now leading him to Jerusalem
and Rome.
So here, having arrived at Miletus, we find that he was already the prisoner of the Lord `in spirit'. He was
definitely bound for Jerusalem. On occasions in the past he had planned to visit some particular church or country,
but had been `let' (hindered), as he told the Romans. Now, however, Jerusalem is most definitely his goal. As in
the case of his Lord, there came a time when he had to set his face stedfastly towards Jerusalem, even though
well-meaning disciples should urge to the contrary.