Albert Barnes Commentary Acts 20:28

"Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood." — Acts 20:28 (ASV)

Take heed therefore. Attend to; be on your guard against the dangers which beset you, and seek to discharge your duty with fidelity.

To yourselves. To your own piety, opinions, and mode of life. This is the first duty of a minister, for without this, all his preaching will be vain (1 Timothy 4:14).

Ministers are beset with peculiar dangers and temptations, and against them they should be on their guard. In addition to the temptations which they have in common with other men, they are exposed to those peculiar to their office—arising from flattery, ambition, despondency, and worldly-mindedness. And just in proportion to the importance of their office is the importance of the injunction of Paul, to take heed to themselves.

And to all the flock. The church; the charge entrusted to them. The church of Christ is often compared to a flock (John 10:1 and John 10:2-20; also John 21:16 and John 21:17).

The word flock here refers particularly to the church, and not to the congregation in general, for it is represented to be that which was purchased with the blood of the atonement. The command here is:

1. To take heed to the church; that is, to instruct, teach, and guide it; to guard it from enemies (Acts 20:29) and to make it their special object to promote its welfare.
2. To take heed to ALL the flock—the rich and the poor, the bond and the free, the old and the young. It is the duty of ministers to seek to promote the welfare of each individual of their charge—not to pass by the poor because they are poor, and not to be afraid of the rich because they are rich. A shepherd regards the interest of the tenderest of the fold as much as the strongest; and a faithful minister will seek to advance the interest of all. To do this, he should know all his people; should be acquainted, as far as possible, with their peculiar wants, character, and dangers, and should devote himself to their welfare as his first and main employment.

Over the which the Holy Ghost. Though they had been appointed, doubtless, by the church, or by the apostles, yet it is here represented as having been done by the Holy Spirit. It is by him:

1. Because he had called and qualified them for their work; and
2. Because they had been set apart in accordance with his direction and will.

Overseers. episkopous. Bishops. The word properly denotes those who are appointed to oversee, or inspect anything.

This passage proves that the name was applicable to elders, and that in the time of the apostles, the name bishop and presbyter, or elder, was given to the same class of officers, and, of course, that there was no distinction between them.

One term was originally used to denote office, the other age, and both were applied to the same persons in the church. The same thing occurs in Titus 1:5-7, where those who in Acts 20:5 are called elders, are in Acts 20:7 called bishops (See also 1 Timothy 3:1–10; Philippians 1:1).

To feed. poimainein. This word is properly applied to the care which a shepherd exercises over his flock (John 21:15–16).

It applies not only to the act of feeding a flock, but also to that of protecting, guiding, and guarding it. It here denotes not merely the duty of properly instructing the church, but also of governing it, of securing it from enemies (Acts 20:29), and of directing its affairs so as to promote its edification and peace.

The Church of God. This is one of the three passages in the New Testament about which there has been a long controversy among critics, a controversy not yet resolved. The issue is whether this is the correct and genuine reading. The other two passages are 1 Timothy 3:16 and 1 John 5:7.

The manuscripts and versions exhibit three readings: the church of GOD (tou Theou); the church OF THE LORD (tou Kyriou); and the church of THE LORD and GOD (Kyriou kai Theou). The Latin Vulgate reads it God; the Syriac, the Lord; the Arabic, the Lord God; the Ethiopic, the Christian family of God.

The reading that now occurs in our text is found in no ancient manuscripts except the Vatican codex and occurs nowhere among the writings of the fathers except in Athanasius, concerning whom there is also a various reading. It is retained, however, by Beza, Mill, and Whitby as the genuine reading.

The most ancient and best manuscripts read the church of the Lord, and this was probably the genuine text. It has been adopted by Griesbach and Wetstein; and many important reasons may be given why it should be retained (See those reasons stated at length in Kuinoel, on this passage; see also Griesbach and Wetstein).

It may be remarked that a change from Lord to God could easily be made in transcribing, because in ancient manuscripts the words are not written at length but are abbreviated. Thus, the name Christ (Christos) is written coe; the name God (Theos) is written yoe; the name Lord (Kyrios) is written koe. A mistake, therefore, of a single letter would lead to the variations observable in the manuscripts.

Compare in this place the Note of Mill in his Greek Testament, who thinks that the name God should be retained. The authority, however, is so doubtful that it should not be used as a proof-text on the divinity of Christ, and it is not necessary, as there are so many undisputed passages on that subject.

Which he hath purchased. The word used here, periepoiesato, occurs in only one other place in the New Testament: 1 Timothy 3:13, For they that have used the office of deacon well, purchase to themselves a good degree and great boldness in the faith. The word properly means to acquire or gain anything, or to make it ours. This may be done by a price, or by labor, etc.

The noun peripoiesis, derived from this verb, is used several times in the New Testament and denotes acquisition: 1 Thessalonians 5:9, God hath appointed us to obtain [unto the obtaining or acquisition of] salvation. 2 Thessalonians 2:14, Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (See also 1 Peter 2:9; Titus 2:14; Ephesians 1:14).

In this place it means that Christ had acquired, gained, or procured the church for himself by paying his own life as the price. The church is often represented as having thus been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20; 1 Corinthians 7:23; 2 Peter 2:1).

With his own blood. With the sacrifice of his own life, for blood often represents life, and to shed blood is equivalent to taking life (Romans 3:25).

The doctrines taught here are:

1. That the death of Christ was an atoning sacrifice; that he offered himself to purchase a people for his own service.
2. That the church is, therefore, of peculiar value—a value to be estimated by the worth of the price paid for it (Compare to 1 Peter 1:18–19).
3. That this fact should make the purity and salvation of the church an object of special solicitude for the ministers of the gospel. They should be deeply affected by the view of that blood which has been shed for the church, and they should guard and defend it as having been bought with the highest price in the universe. The chief consideration that will make ministers faithful and self-denying is that the church has been bought with a price. If the Lord Jesus so loved it—if he gave himself for it—they should be willing to deny themselves, to watch, and toil, and pray, that the great object of his death—the purity and the salvation of that church—may be obtained.

On "purchased," see also: Ephesians 1:14; Colossians 1:14; Hebrews 9:12, 14; 1 Peter 1:18–19; Revelation 5:9.