Loving the Church
Published by Stanley Pouw in 2023 · 15 October 2023
The love of the Christian for the lost is one of the areas of responsibility for the Church. The other one is the Christian’s love for the Church. And in Acts 20:1 - 17, we have been learning about this from the character of the life of the apostle Paul. What really makes an effective minister of Jesus Christ? The one undergirding fact that makes men great is their love for the Church.
And that’s based on their love for the Lord Jesus Christ. It consumed him. It was his life; it was everything. Paul wrote some beautiful words that expressed the love that he had for the Church. In Philippians 1, Paul talks like that to some saints. “I pray for you with joy because of our fellowship. Verse 6, “He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Verse 7, “Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart.” That means they dominated his emotions. Listen to what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:2, “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.” In 2 Corinthians 7:3 he says, “I have already said that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together.”
In other words, living for him was loving the saints. Jesus says in John 15:13, “No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.” Paul gave his life for the love of the Church. As we’ve looked at our passage, we have been studying just a narrative. But here we see the actions of Paul that show his attitude. Love isn’t something that’s just spoken; it’s demonstrated.
In the first half of Acts 20, Paul loves the Church. In the second half, the Church loves him back. Now, Paul is on his third missionary journey. He stopped at every spot where he’s had an effective ministry, and he’s met with the saints there and said his farewells. And now he’s back to Jerusalem. It’s the end of this third journey. In Ephesus they had a big riot over the reduction of the sale of idols.
And after the riot was over, Paul called to him the disciples and embraced them and departed to go to Macedonia.” We saw how affectionate Paul was; how that he was just one of the people. He was available. And in Acts 20:37, we see how the people fell all over him and kissed him on the neck. They felt at ease in doing that. He was somebody that they could touch and love.
Then we saw, secondly, that his love was visible by his giving. Verse 1, says he went to Macedonia; and went all through it. Verse 2 says he was gathering a collection of money for the poor saints in Jerusalem. His total preoccupation was to minister to the needs of others. Here was a man who came to town, who worked and earned his own pay, and collected money for other people.
God demonstrated His love to us when He gave His Son to die on the cross. And we ought to be willing to lay down our lives for the brothers. The third thing that demonstrates his love is his teaching. Verse 2, “He had given them much exhortation.” He traveled all over Macedonia teaching and encouraging them. And when he got to Greece, he wrote the book of Romans, with more teaching.
The way to lead is by example not threat. And the key to ministry is to feed and protect these people. Because the consuming desire in Paul’s heart was to bring the saints to maturity. We saw his love also in his persistence. Verse 3, “He stayed three months in Greece.” And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail to Syria, he proceeded to return through Macedonia.
And verse 4 tells us some fellows accompanied him along, and they met him there in Troas, verse 5 says. And these were representatives of the churches that had taken the offerings, so that it would actually be presented by representatives of all the Gentile churches. What a beautiful picture of unity for the Jewish Christians, to see Gentiles in person, coming to give them the money.
Now this is where we spend our time this evening, where Paul’s love is visible in his availability. That’s easy for you to illustrate. If three people demand your time, you’ll usually give the time to the one you love. Verse 6 says they sailed after the Unleavened Bread feast and came to Troas and stayed there seven days. And the reason was to await the ship that would take them to Jerusalem.
Verse 7, “On the first day of the week, we assembled to break bread. Paul spoke to them, and since he was about to depart the next day, he kept on talking until midnight.” There were Bible studies in homes; they shared the Lord’s Table. And Christians were together usually during the week. So, it was common for the Church to meet on a daily basis in its early years. But Sunday became the meeting time for the Church.
They met immediately after the resurrection, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week. You can call it Sunday, but I prefer to call it the Lord’s day. In Revelation 1:10 John says, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.” They met in John 20:19 on the first day of the week, and Jesus appeared. Verse 26 says, the next time the first day of the week, they were meeting and the Lord again appeared.
So they were together on the first day; which was Resurrection Day. The Lord appeared both times. So, He had risen on the first day, appeared on the first day, appeared again on the first day, and they just took the first day and ran with it. That became Resurrection Day, the Lord’s Day. And so, the early Church celebrated its fellowship and its worship and its teaching together on Sunday.
Hebrews 10:25 says, “Do not neglect to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encourage each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.” You ought to come together with other believers and not forsake that. Colossians 2:16 says, “Don’t let anyone judge you in regard to food and drink or in the matter of a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day, which are a shadow of things to come.”
Once the real thing comes, you don’t need the shadow anymore. In 1 Corinthians 16:2, Paul just assumes it. He says, “When you come together on the first day of the week, that’s the time to bring your offerings.” Churches meet on the first day. If you want to meet on the Sabbath, then you’re going to have to buy the whole old covenant, and you’re going to be saved by works.
Romans 14:5-6 says, “One person judges one day to be more important than another day. Someone else judges every day to be the same. Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 Whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord. Whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat it, and he gives thanks to God.”
So, there was the sense in which God was very tolerant of when they worshipped. But they did worship on the Lord’s Day, and that became the norm. And there is no instruction, in the New Testament as to any regulations for it. Some Christians put all of the conglomeration of the Sabbath and imposed it on the Lord’s Day. But you can’t find it in the New Testament.
It’s a great day for spiritual restoration, although there is nothing against you taking a bike ride or doing something like that, as people in the past have always said was so evil on the Sabbath. It is not the Sabbath; it’s the Lord’s Day, and every day is His day. Now, where did the early church meet? They met everywhere. First they met in the temple, didn’t they? After that, they met in synagogues.
But eventually, they began to establish their own Christian assemblies. And the natural place to go first was to homes. By the end of the second century, they began to build their own buildings. When Paul wrote Colossians 4:15, he referred to the church in the home. When he wrote Romans 16:5 and 1 Corinthians 16:19, he referred to the church in the home of Aquila and Priscilla.
But here in this passage they met in an upper chamber. But communion also got hit in history. When the Catholic Church dominated the world, before the Reformation, communion stopped being a natural, informal, sharing together in the memory of Christ, and it became a mystical, priestly ceremony that’s now continuing to be known as the mass. But you can have communion any time you want.
The best place is to teach your children communion is in your home. You can share the Lord’s Table any time you want, and you should. Jesus said, “Do this until I come and do it with you in the kingdom.” It’s your responsibility. Remember that this is part of the early Church that was common and natural and flowing thing out of the life that they had and their love for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 8 says, “There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were assembled.” Christians in Troas lit the place up so nobody could say they met in the dark to do evil. Verse 9, “And a young man named Eutychus was sitting on a window sill and sank into a deep sleep as Paul kept on talking. When he was overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead.”
That’s the quote of Luke, who wrote the passage here under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Verse 10, “But Paul went down, bent over him, embraced him, and said, “Don’t be alarmed, because he’s alive.” What happened was a resurrection miracle. All of the broken bones and all of the injuries of his body that had caused the death reversed themselves, and he was alive.
That really had an effect on the people in that little church. God always does miracles to increase faith and to confirm His teachers in the New Testament era. He raised that young man from the dead. Verse 11, “After going upstairs, breaking the bread, and eating, Paul talked a long time until dawn. Then he left.” Verse 12 says, “They brought the boy home alive and were greatly comforted.”
That was a long sermon. He started till midnight. The guy fell out of the window. Raised him from the dead at 12:15. And they picked it up and went till dawn. Paul was available at all times. How available are you? Verse 13, “We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul on board, because these were his instructions, since he himself was going by land.”
Now, that is staggering. Everybody gets on the boat at Troas, and they go 30 miles to Assos, except Paul. You know what he does? He walks. What was customary when a beloved friend left a certain people? It was customary for those people whom he was leaving to accompany him on his journey. Paul walked so he could have more time with them. Selfless man. He was available.
Paul’s love for the Church is visible in his concern. Verse 14, “When he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went on to Mitylene.” And then it says in verse 15, “Sailing from there, the next day we arrived off Chios. The following day we crossed over to Samos, and the day after, we came to Miletus.” Each one of those cities is about 30 miles past the next one, all down the coast of Asia Minor.
And Miletus was the ancient capital of Ionia. It was not too far from Ephesus. It was originally composed of a colony of Cretans; and built one of the world’s magnificent temples dedicated to the god Apollo. Verse 16 tells us, “For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, because he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, for the day of Pentecost.”
The Miletus ship was going to get there sooner than the one that stopped at Ephesus. But notice verse 17, “Now from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and summoned the elders of the church.” He’s got a few days before the boat takes off. And what does he do? He calls for the elders of Ephesus to come over that he might teach them some more, instruct them some more, exhort them some more.
And do you know what happened? One of the most beautiful scenes ever in the life of Paul happened. Because when those elders got there, they gave him back all the love he’d given them. They just poured it all over him. What’s it saying to you? Paul said in Philippians 3:17, “Brethren, be followers together of me.” To the Corinthians he said, “Be followers of me, as I am of Christ.”
All of the features of Paul’s love should be features of my life. In Romans 12, Paul gives the basic principles of the Christian life. And every one of the features of Paul’s love are included in this section. You’re to love the Church. Look at verse 9, “Let love be without hypocrisy.” That means you’re to love the Church with all your heart. How are we to demonstrate it? Number one, by affection.
Romans 12:10 says, “Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another.” Paul loved the Church as illustrated in his giving. Verse 13, “Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality.” And Paul loved the Church in terms of his teaching, in verses 6 through 8. If you have the gift of prophesy, do it. If you have the gift of exhortation, exhort.
If you have the gift of ruling, do it with diligence. If you have the gift of showing mercy, do it with cheerfulness. He’s saying, “Do it, whatever your gift is.” And Paul showed his love by persistence. Romans 12:11, “Be fervent in the Spirit, serving the Lord.” Verse 14, “Bless those who persecute you: bless and do not curse.” In other words, against all things pursue the love of the saints. Let us pray.