Keep watch over yourselvesThis phrase emphasizes the importance of self-examination and vigilance in spiritual leadership. Leaders must first ensure their own spiritual health and integrity before they can effectively guide others. This echoes the teachings of Jesus in
Matthew 7:5, where He instructs to remove the plank from one's own eye before addressing the speck in another's. The call to self-watchfulness is a recurring theme in Scripture, highlighting the need for personal holiness and accountability.
and the entire flock
The "flock" refers to the community of believers, often depicted as sheep in biblical literature. This imagery is rooted in the pastoral culture of ancient Israel, where shepherds were responsible for the care and protection of their sheep. The metaphor underscores the vulnerability of believers and the responsibility of leaders to provide guidance and protection. This concept is also seen inJohn 10:11, where Jesus describes Himself as the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep.
of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers
The role of overseers, or elders, is divinely appointed by the Holy Spirit, indicating that church leadership is not merely a human institution but a spiritual calling. This aligns with the broader New Testament teaching on spiritual gifts and roles within the church, as seen in1 Corinthians 12:28 andEphesians 4:11. The Holy Spirit's involvement underscores the sacredness and seriousness of the leadership role.
Be shepherds of the church of God
The call to "be shepherds" reinforces the pastoral responsibility of leaders to nurture, guide, and protect the congregation. This directive is consistent with the charge given to Peter inJohn 21:15-17, where Jesus instructs him to feed and tend His sheep. The church is described as belonging to God, emphasizing its divine ownership and the leaders' role as stewards rather than proprietors.
which He purchased with His own blood
This phrase highlights the sacrificial nature of Christ's atonement, underscoring the immense value and cost of the church. The reference to blood signifies the new covenant established through Jesus' death, as seen inHebrews 9:12-14. This echoes the Passover lamb in Exodus, a type of Christ, whose blood was a means of deliverance. The purchase language also reflects the concept of redemption, where believers are bought back from sin and death, as articulated in1 Peter 1:18-19.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
Paul the ApostleThe speaker of this verse, Paul is addressing the Ephesian elders in Miletus, providing them with final instructions and warnings as he prepares to leave them.
2.
Ephesian EldersLeaders of the church in Ephesus, responsible for the spiritual oversight and care of the congregation.
3.
Holy SpiritThe divine person who appoints and empowers the elders as overseers of the church.
4.
Church of GodThe community of believers, described as a flock, emphasizing their need for guidance and protection.
5.
MiletusThe location where Paul delivers his farewell speech to the Ephesian elders.
Teaching Points
The Role of OverseersElders and leaders in the church are appointed by the Holy Spirit and are responsible for the spiritual well-being of the congregation.
Leadership in the church is a divine calling that requires vigilance and dedication.
The Value of the ChurchThe church is precious, having been purchased with the blood of Christ. This underscores the immense value God places on His people.
Leaders should recognize the sacredness of their responsibility in caring for the church.
Spiritual VigilanceLeaders must first keep watch over their own spiritual lives to effectively shepherd others.
Personal holiness and integrity are essential for those in positions of spiritual authority.
Sacrificial LeadershipJust as Christ sacrificed for the church, leaders are called to serve selflessly, prioritizing the needs of the flock over their own.
Dependence on the Holy SpiritThe empowerment and guidance of the Holy Spirit are crucial for fulfilling the role of an overseer.
Leaders should seek the Spirit’s wisdom and strength in their ministry.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Acts 20:28?
2.How can we "keep watch" over ourselves and our church community today?
3.What does it mean to be a "shepherd" in your local church context?
4.How does Acts 20:28 connect with Jesus' teachings on shepherding in John 10?
5.Why is it important to remember the church was "purchased with His own blood"?
6.How can church leaders ensure they are fulfilling their God-given responsibilities?
7.How does Acts 20:28 define the role of church leaders in spiritual oversight?
8.What does Acts 20:28 imply about the nature of the church as "purchased with His own blood"?
9.How does Acts 20:28 support the doctrine of the divinity of Jesus?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Acts 20?
11.What are the biblical qualifications for a pastor?
12.What defines church leadership?
13.Who qualifies as a spiritual leader?
14.Who is the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople?What Does Acts 20:28 Mean
Keep watch over yourselvesOur first instructions call for elders to guard their own hearts before they guard anyone else. The command is active and continuous—stay alert.
-1 Timothy 4:16 “Pay close attention to your life and your teaching.” Personal holiness protects leader and flock.
-1 Corinthians 9:27 shows Paul disciplining his own body so he is not disqualified.
-Galatians 6:1 warns the spiritual to restore others “in a spirit of gentleness,” while keeping watch on themselves.
A shepherd who neglects his own walk cannot safely lead anyone else.
and the entire flockThe shepherd’s concern must extend to every believer under his care.
-John 10:14 portrays Jesus knowing each of His sheep.
-Hebrews 13:17 describes leaders who “keep watch over your souls as those who must give an account.”
-1 Peter 5:2 calls elders to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you.”
Practical outworking:
- Feed all the flock with sound doctrine.
- Seek the wandering (Luke 15:4-7).
- Protect from wolves—false teaching or immoral influence.
of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseersAuthority in the church is a placement of the Spirit.
-Acts 13:2—the Spirit sets apart workers.
-Ephesians 4:11-12 lists pastors-teachers as Christ’s gifts.
-Titus 1:5-9 shows human appointment confirming the Spirit’s choice.
Because the Spirit appoints, leaders answer to God first, giving courage to lead and a sober reminder that negligence is rebellion against the Spirit.
Be shepherds of the church of GodShepherding blends feeding, guiding, guarding, and caring. The church belongs to God; leaders are stewards, not owners.
-1 Peter 5:2-3 warns against compulsion and domination; shepherds must be examples.
-Jeremiah 3:15 promises shepherds after God’s heart who feed with knowledge.
-Ezekiel 34:2-4 condemns shepherds who feed themselves and neglect the sheep.
Daily shepherding practices:
- Feed: teach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27).
- Lead: model Christlike discipleship (Philippians 3:17).
- Protect: refute false doctrine (Titus 1:9).
- Heal: bind the injured and strengthen the weak (Ezekiel 34:16).
which He purchased with His own bloodThe price tag on the church establishes her value and the gravity of shepherding.
-1 Peter 1:18-19: redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.
-Revelation 5:9: the Lamb purchased people for God with His blood.
-Ephesians 5:25-27: Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.
-Hebrews 9:12: He obtained eternal redemption by His blood.
This phrase also affirms Christ’s deity: God shed His own blood—possible only because the Son is fully God. Leaders dare not treat the church lightly; every decision must be weighed against Calvary.
summaryActs 20:28 calls spiritual leaders to vigilant self-care, comprehensive care for every believer, humble recognition of Spirit-given authority, faithful shepherding, and constant remembrance of the price Christ paid—His own blood. These literal, enduring commands summon every overseer, and every believer, to Spirit-empowered, sacrificial care for the people God bought at so great a cost.
(28)
Over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers.--Better,
in which the Holy Ghost set you as watchers. The word used is the same as that commonly translated
bishops,but, as used here in connection with the idea of the flock, it requires a word less technically ecclesiastical. It will be noticed that the word is commonly used in the New Testament as associated with this imagery. So in
1Peter 2:25, we have "the Shepherd and
Bishop of your souls," and the corresponding verb in
1Peter 5:2, "feed the flock of God . . .
taking the oversight thereof." The appointment, as referred to the Holy Ghost, implies, probably, (1) the inward call, the impulse which drew the man to the office; (2) the attestation of that call by the voices of the prophets, as in
Acts 13:2,
1Timothy 4:1; (3) the bestowal of gifts fitting them for the work.
To feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.--It is clear that the words as they stand in the text are of immense importance, as bearing their witness to the belief of the Apostolic Church at once in the absolute divinity of Christ and in the nature of His redemptive work. The MSS., however, vary in their readings. Some of the best uncials and versions give "God;" others, of almost equal authority, give "Lord;" others, again, combine the two "Lord and God." The fact that elsewhere St. Paul invariably speaks of "the Church of God" (e.g.,1Corinthians 1:2;2Corinthians 1:1;Galatians 1:13;1Thessalonians 2:14,etal.), and never "the Church of the Lord," may be allowed, from one point of view, some weight as internal evidence in favour of the Received reading; while from another it may be urged that it might have tempted a transcriber to substitute a familiar for an unfamiliar phrase. Accepting that reading, the words not only confirm the great truths of the Church's creed, but give an implicit sanction to the language of theology or devotion, when it applies to the divine nature of our Lord predicates that belong strictly to the human nature which was associated with it. So Ignatius (Romans 6) spoke of "the passion of my God," and Tertullian (Ad Uxor,ii. 3) and Clement of Alexandria (Quis dives,c. 34) use the very phrase "the blood of God" which this passage suggests, and the Eastern Church at the council of Ephesus gave to the Blessed Virgin the title ofTheot?kos Deipara,the mother of the very God. So in the liturgy which bears the name of St. James the brother of the Lord, he is described asAdelphotheos,the brother of God, and that name is still current among the Greek Christians of Jerusalem. The general drift of the language of the New Testament writers was, however, in the other direction, and predicated human acts and attributes of the man Christ Jesus, Divine acts and attributes of the eternal Son; and it is obvious that this tends at once to greater accuracy of thought, and is really more reverential than the other. . . .
Verse 28.- Take heed for
take heed therefore, A.V. and T.R.;
in for
over, A.V.;
bishops for
overseers, A.V.;
purchased for
hath purchased, A.V.
Take heed, etc.;
προσέχετε ἑαυτοῖς, peculiar to Luke (Acts 5:53;
Luke 12:1;
Luke 17:3;
Luke 21:34). Now follows the weighty charge of this great bishop to the clergy assembled at his visitation. With the true feeling of a chief pastor, he thinks of the whole flock, but deals with them chiefly through the under-shepherds. If he can awaken in these individually a deep concern for the souls committed to their charge, he will have done the best that can be done for the fleck at large. The first step to such concern for the flock is that each be thoroughly alive to the worth and the wants of his own soul. "Take heed unto yourselves." He that is careless about his own salvation will never lie careful about the souls of others (comp.
1 Timothy 4:16).
In the which the Holy Ghost, etc.
Ἐν ῷ, no doubt, does not strictly contain the idea of "over which;" but the idea of authoritative oversight is contained in the word
ἐπίσκοπος, and therefore the rendering of the A.V., and of Alford's A.V. revised, is substantially correct. Perhaps the exact force of the
ἐν ῷ is "among which," like
ἐν ἡμῖν (
Acts 2:29, and elsewhere). The call and appointment to the ministry is the special function of the Holy Ghost (
John 20:22, 23;
Acts 12:2; Ordination Service).
To feed;
ποιμαίνειν, the proper word for "tending" in relation to
τὸ ποίμνιον, the flock, as
ποιμήν, the pastor, or shepherd, is for him who so feeds the flock of Christ (see
John 10:11, 16;
John 21:17;
Hebrews 13:20;
1 Peter 5:2, 3). St. Peter applies the titles of "Shepherd and Bishop of souls" to the Lord Jesus (
1 Peter 2:25). St. Paul does not use the metaphor elsewhere, except indirectly, and in a different aspect (
1 Corinthians 9:7).
The Church of God; margin,
Church of the Lord. There is, perhaps, no single passage in Scripture which has caused more controversy and evoked more difference of opinion than this. The T.R. has
τοῦ Θεοῦ, but most uncials have
τοῦ Κυρίου. Kuinoel asserts that the reading
τοῦ Κυρίου rests on the authority, besides that of the oldest manuscripts, of the old versions, and of many el' the most ancient Fathers, and says that it is undoubtedly the true reading. Meyer, too, thinks that the external evidence for
τοῦΚυρίου is decisive, and that the internal evidence from the fact that
ἐκκλησία τοῦΚυρίου Occurs nowhere else in St. Paul's writings, is decisive also. But on the other hand, both the Codex Vaticanus (B) and the Codex Sinaitieus (
א), the two oldest manuscripts, have
Θεοῦ (
Θυ). The Vulgate, too, and the Syriac have it; and such early Fathers as Ignatius (in his Epistle to the Ephesians) and Tertullian use the phrase, "the blood of God," which seems to have been derived from this passage. And Alford reasons powerfully in favor of
Θεοῦ, dwelling upon the fact that the phrase
ἐκκλησία τοῦ Θεοῦ occurs
ten times in St. Paul's writings, that of
ἐκκλησία τοῦ Κυρίου not once. The chief authorities on each side of the question are:
(1) in favor ofτοῦ Κυρίου, Lachmann, Tischendorf, Bornemann, Lunge, Olshausen, Davidson, Meyer, Hackett, as also Grotius, Griesbaeh (doubtfully), Wetstein, Le Clerc, and others;
(2) in favor ofτοῦ Θεοῦ, Bengel, Mill, Whitby, Wolf, Scholz, Knapp, Alford, Wordsworth, etc., and the R.T. It should be added that the evidence forτοῦ Θεοῦ has been much strengthened by the publication by Tischendorf, in 1563, of rite Codex Sinaiticus, and in 1867 of the Codex Vaticanus, from his own collation. The result is thatτοῦ Θεοῦ seems to be the true reading (see the first of the two collects for the Ember weeks in the Book of Common Prayer. With regard to the difficulty that this reading seems to imply the unscriptural phrase, "the blood of God," and to savor of the Monophysite heresy, it is obvious to reply that there is a wide difference between the phrase as it stands and such a one as the direct "blood ofGod," which Athanasius and others objected to. The mental insertion of "the Lord" or "Christ," as the subject of the verb "purchased," is very easy, the transition from God the Father to God incarnate being one that might be made almost imperceptibly. Others (including the R.T.) take the reading of several good manuscripts,Διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἰδίου, and understandτοῦ ἰδίου to be an ellipse forτοῦἰδίου υἱοῦ, the phrase used inRomans 8:32; and so render it "which he purchased by the blood of his own Son."Οἱ ἰδίοι, his own, is used without a substantive inJohn 1:11. This clause is added to enhance the preciousness of the flock, and the responsibility of those who have the oversight of it.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Greek
Keep watch overΠροσέχετε(Prosechete)Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4337:From pros and echo; to hold the mind towards, i.e. Pay attention to, be cautious about, apply oneself to, adhere to.yourselvesἑαυτοῖς(heautois)Reflexive Pronoun - Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 1438:Himself, herself, itself.andκαὶ(kai)Conjunction
Strong's 2532:And, even, also, namely.theτῷ(tō)Article - Dative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.entireπαντὶ(panti)Adjective - Dative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3956:All, the whole, every kind of. Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole.flockποιμνίῳ(poimniō)Noun - Dative Neuter Singular
Strong's 4168:A little flock. Neuter of a presumed derivative of poimne; a flock, i.e. group.ofἐν(en)Preposition
Strong's 1722:In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.whichᾧ(hō)Personal / Relative Pronoun - Dative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3739:Who, which, what, that.theτὸ(to)Article - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.HolyἍγιον(Hagion)Adjective - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 40:Set apart by (or for) God, holy, sacred. From hagos; sacred.SpiritΠνεῦμα(Pneuma)Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 4151:Wind, breath, spirit.has madeἔθετο(etheto)Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 5087:To put, place, lay, set, fix, establish. A prolonged form of a primary theo to place.youὑμᾶς(hymas)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771:You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.overseers.ἐπισκόπους(episkopous)Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 1985:From epi and skopos; a superintendent, i.e. Christian officer in genitive case charge of a church.Be shepherdsποιμαίνειν(poimainein)Verb - Present Infinitive Active
Strong's 4165:To shepherd, tend, herd; hence: I rule, govern. From poimen; to tend as a shepherd of.of theτὴν(tēn)Article - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.churchἐκκλησίαν(ekklēsian)Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1577:From a compound of ek and a derivative of kaleo; a calling out, i.e. a popular meeting, especially a religious congregation.of God,Θεοῦ(Theou)Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2316:A deity, especially the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very.whichἣν(hēn)Personal / Relative Pronoun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3739:Who, which, what, that.He purchasedπεριεποιήσατο(periepoiēsato)Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 4046:To acquire, earn, purchase, make my own, preserve alive.withδιὰ(dia)Preposition
Strong's 1223:A primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through.[His]τοῦ(tou)Article - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.ownἰδίου(idiou)Adjective - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 2398:Pertaining to self, i.e. One's own; by implication, private or separate.blood.αἵματος(haimatos)Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 129:Blood, literally, figuratively or specially; by implication, bloodshed, also kindred.
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NT Apostles: Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore to yourselves (Acts of the Apostles Ac) 
