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Acts 20:32

in Acts 20

And 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 who are sanctified.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And now I commend 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 them that are sanctified.

KJV

And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

This verse in Acts 20

Commentary

9 notes on this verse

A commentator

Ammonius of Alexandria

CATENA ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 20.32 · Written before 300.

He demonstrates obscurely and secretly that the Father, who is God, and his Son Jesus, the God-Word, are one. He does not speak in the plural "to those capable," but with a unifying name he indicates the singular being of both by saying "to the …

This site's exposition

I commit you to God

Having warned the elders of wolves from outside and within, Paul commits them to God and to the word of His grace. That word can build them up and give them an inheritance among all who are sanctified. It does the work Paul can no longer do in person.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily on Acts 45 · Written before 407.

proposed

What he does when writing in an Epistle, this he does also when speaking in council: from exhorting, he ends with prayer: for since he had much alarmed them by saying, "Grievous wolves shall enter in among you," therefore, not to overpower them, and make them lose all self-possession, observe the consolation he gives. "And now," he says, as always, "I commend you, brethren, to God, and to the word of His grace:" that is, to His grace: it is grace that saveth. He constantly puts them in mind of grace, to make them more earnest as being debtors, and to persuade them to have confidence. "Which is able to build you up." He does not say, to build, but, "to build up," showing that they had already been built. Then he puts them in mind of the hope to come; "to give you an inheritance," he says, "among all them which are sanctified." Then exhortation again.

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on Acts · Written before 1107.

proposed

The exhortation ends with a prayer. Since he had greatly frightened them, so as not to strike them down completely, here is the consolation. "And now," he says, "I commend you… to God and to the word of His grace," that is, to His very …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

proposed

The word of his grace - It is the grand channel of it, to believers as well as unbelievers. Who is able to build you up - To confirm and increase your faith, love, holiness.
And now brethren,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

I commend you to God - Instead of τῳ Θεῳ, to God, several MSS. have τῳ Κυριῳ, to the Lord; neither reading makes any difference in the sense. And to the word of his grace - The doctrine of salvation by Christ Jesus. Which is able to build you up - The foundation is Jesus Christ; God is the great master-builder; the doctrine of his grace, or mercy, points out the order and manner, as well as the extent, etc., of this building. Let us observe the order of these things: -
2 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Eph 3:20; particularly Jude 24; and compare 2Ti 1:12, where the same thing is ascribed to Christ. among all them which are sanctified--Sanctification is here viewed as the final character and condition of the heirs of glory, regarded as one saved company.
And now, brethren - About to leave them, probably to see them no more, he committed them to the faithful care and keeping of God Amidst all the dangers of the church, when human strength fails or is withdrawn, we may commit that church to the safe keeping and tender care of God. I commend you - I commit you; I place you παρατίθεμαι paratithemai in his hands and under his protection. See the notes on Act 14:23. And to the word of his grace - That is, to his gracious word; to his merciful promise. Paul refers, doubtless, to the gospel, including its promises of support, its consoling truths, and its directions to seek all needful help and comfort in God. Which is able - Which has power. Τῷ δυναμένῳ Tō dunamenō. Which word, or gospel, has power to build you up, Heb 4:12, “For the Word of God is quick (living, life-giving, ζῶν zōn), and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, etc.” Compare Isa 49:2; Jer 23:29, “Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” It is implied here that the gospel is not a dead letter; that it has power to accomplish a great work; that it is adapted to the end in view, the conversion and sanctification of the soul. There is no danger in representing the gospel as mighty, and as suited by infinite wisdom to secure the renovation and salvation of man. Compare Rom 1:16; 1Co 1:18; 2Co 10:4. To build you up - The word used here is properly applied to a house which is raised and completed by slow degrees, and by toil. It here means to establish, make firm, or permanent, and hence, to instruct, to establish in doctrine and in hope. […]

The words behind it

24 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Ephesians 1:18

    I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,

    it leads to

    • Acts 26:18

      to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 2 Corinthians 4:6

      For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Luke 24:45

      Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

    • Ephesians 1:7

      In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

  • Through

    Acts 26:18

    to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified…

    it leads to

    • Ephesians 1:18

      I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Peter 2:9

      But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

  • Through

    Ephesians 1:14

    who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.

    it leads to

    • 2 Corinthians 1:22

      placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.

    • 2 Corinthians 5:5

      And God has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.

Where this verse is studied

About Acts

The Pentecost, El Greco, about 1600, Museo del Prado. Public domain.
The Pentecost, El Greco, about 1600, Museo del Prado. Public domain.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ammonius of Alexandria, CATENA ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 20.32; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary upon the Acts of the Apostles; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 45; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.