June 23, 2022 – Thursday
Acts 20:32 NIV
32 Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Acts 20:32 NASB
And now I entrust 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.
Acts 20:32 CJB
And now I entrust you to the care of the Lord and to the message of his love and kindness, for it can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who have been set apart for God.
Acts 20:32 TLV
Now I commit you to God and the word of His grace, which is strong to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who have been made holy.
Comments
In the verse above Paul is saying his goodbyes to the elders from Ephesus who have come to Miletus to see Paul off for Jerusalem where he will be arrested. He had spent three years with them and upon departing he never expects to see them again, so there is great sadness as the final verses of this chapter tell us, 36 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
With that in mind, why four different versions of the Verse of the Day? Several reasons as we look at the verse. Notice how two of them use the word commitand the other two use entrust. Paul is not entrusting them with something or committing them to do something. No, instead, he is committing them or entrusting them to God and the word of His grace or to the care of the Lord and to the message of his love and kindness (CJB). He is placing them under the care and protection of God and the word of His grace! Look at Strong’s 3908 paratithémi, and HELPS Word-Studies tells us it is from 3844 /pará, “right close beside” and 5087 /títhēmi, “to place, put” – properly, to set close beside (right next to); (figuratively) entrust; commit to in a very up-close-and-personal way. This tells me, our faith, our walk with Christ also puts us in the care of God and the word of His grace. What we need to do is to trust in the same.
Three versions tell us we are entrusted or committed to God and the word of His grace. The Complete Jewish Bible instead says, the care of the Lord and to the message of his love and kindness. Thus, the CJB defines or translates the word of His grace as the message of His love and kindness. Of course, this still fits the definition of grace that we looked at yesterday as God’s favor.
In MacLaren’s Expositions he wrote of preaching on this verse where he said, Cleave to ‘the word of His grace.’ Try to understand its teachings better; study your Bibles with more earnestness; believe more fully than you have ever done that in that great Gospel there lie every truth that we need and guidance in all circumstances. Bring the principles of Christianity into your daily life; walk by the light of them; and live in the radiance of a present God.
Now let’s look at the end of the verse where we see sanctified twice, holy once, and set apart for God once. Sanctified is a word that many seem to have some trouble with even though Strong’s 37 hagiazó means to make holy, consecrate, sanctify; to dedicate, separate. As Christians we are set apart for God because our faith and God’s grace has sanctified us, made us separate from non-believers. And as we walk away from our prior lives of sin, we are made holy, consecrated to God through the grace of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
Bottom Line: We should be constantly moving towards Jesus in His grace towards a life of less and less sin.
Prayer: Almighty God, Give us the strength to always remember we are Yours. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek