Luke describes “the whole counsel of God” in Acts 20:27 as the person and work of Christ proclaimed by Paul during his gentile mission. But the Christ whom Paul preaches tells us that the whole of redemptive history (i.e., the whole of Scripture) speaks of Him. It is proper, then, to understand the whole counsel of God as all that is revealed in the Bible with Jesus Christ at the center of the biblical message. Therefore, the Westminster Confession of Faith is correct to define “the whole counsel of God” as “all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, [which] is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture” (1.6).
According to Luke’s account of Paul’s third missionary journey (Acts 18:23–21:16), Paul arrived in Ephesus in the spring of AD 52. Paul’s three-year ministry in the city bore much fruit. Luke informs us that the word of the Lord was increasing and many people were coming to faith in Jesus Christ (19:20). But the increasing number of Christians in the city also created “no little disturbance” among the city’s merchants (19:23), leading to the riot described in Acts 19:21–41.
Paul soon left Ephesus for Macedonia to meet with the churches that had been founded during his second missionary journey, returning to Asia Minor by way of Miletus, a seaport near Ephesus (20:17). Knowing that he would eventually go on to Jerusalem, Paul summoned the elders from Ephesus to meet with him in Miletus to say goodbye to those men with whom he had labored in ministry for several years and from whom he had to depart.
Compelled by the Holy Spirit with some urgency to leave for Jerusalem, Paul did not yet know what exactly awaited him, only that imprisonment and affliction were likely, with his death a real possibility (20:22–24). Paul knew that he would never see these men again, so there was much to tell them before he departed. As Luke recounts the poignant scene, there was heartfelt prayer and many tears shed as the men accompanied Paul to his ship when he set sail.
A number of things stand out in Paul’s “farewell speech” to these men in Acts 20:17–38. Paul offers a defense of his ministry, telling the brothers that he is innocent of the blood of all men. He held nothing back from them, preaching to both Jew and gentile the need for repentance before God and faith in Jesus Christ (v. 20). Throughout their years of service together, Paul prepared the Ephesian elders to shepherd the flock of Christ and equipped them to deal with savage wolves who would arise in their midst, introducing false doctrines. Paul faithfully fulfilled his mission in Ephesus. He proclaimed to them “the whole counsel of God” (v. 27).
When Paul speaks of “the whole counsel” (the plan or purpose) of God, we may detect a faint echo from Psalm 1:1. In the opening words of the Psalter, the psalmist contrasts the counsel of the wicked with the way of the righteous. Throughout Paul’s time in Ephesus, he witnessed firsthand those who scoff at and oppose the purposes of God—a large, angry gathering of them assembled at one point in opposition to Paul’s preaching, threatening harm, and for hours chanting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” (Acts 19:28).
But the Ephesian Christians are among those blessed by God and who refuse to listen to the counsel of the wicked as they rage against Paul and the gospel. The wicked will perish apart from the congregation of the righteous (Ps. 1:5), while those who have come to faith through Paul’s preaching now walk in the ways of the Lord and are known to him (v. 6). There are two “counsels” behind Paul’s farewell speech—the whole counsel of God stands in sharp contrast to the counsel of the unrighteous.
The whole counsel of God is summarized by Luke in Paul’s farewell and includes his teaching about those things that are profitable for Christians to know (Acts 20:20), testifying about the gospel of grace (v. 24) and proclaiming the kingdom of God (v. 25).
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