Paul knew it was goodbye! He would see the Ephesian elders no more this side of heaven. So in an impassioned appeal he left for elders everywhere a trumpet call to arms. In a series of couplets, he laid out a strategy for spiritual warfare which he had proved in the trenches.
1. Two Forms of Communication: showed and taught. Following the example of our Lord (Acts 1:1), Paul lived the truth before he taught it. So every elder should be an example in lifestyle as well as an expositor of the Word, whether publicly or privately.
2. Two Spheres of Ministry: publickly and from house to house. Paul knew the benefits of private conversations about the truth, but he also knew that mass evangelism was necessary. We will never fulfill the Great Commission, one person at a time.
3. Two Audiences: the Jews and the Greeks. No two groups could be more different. Yet Paul fought vigorously for churches composed of both, not Jewish churches and Gentile ones. The assembly at Philippi had a jailor and his family, a former fortune-teller slave, and a Jewish (proselyte?) business woman. The gospel was just what each one needed.
4. Two Emphases in His Message: repentance and faith. Really two sides to the same coin, repentance is turning from sin, and faith is turning to God. In 1 Thessalonians 1:9, they are treated almost as one act: “Ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” Repentance is agreeing with God about the problem–my sin; faith is agreeing with God about the answer–His Son.
5. Two Objectives in Life: finish my course and the ministry. Here is the balance between personal life and church life. Paul wished to complete his ministry, but he also wanted to finish his personal life well which he had started at conversion. He did not think it was impossible to do this, nor that by giving himself to the ministry he would lose out in his personal life, a view not always held today. You need not lose your family in order to be faithful in your ministry, or vice versa.
6. Two Watchwords for Elders: take heed and feed. The first is a couplet in itself. Elders should take heed to their own lives and then to the flock. But they should also feed the sheep, both negative and positive influences to keep the flock healthy.
7. Two Dangers for the Sheep: wolves from without and men from within. Wolves love sheep, too! But of course to feed on them. Shepherds should be able to spot a wolf fairly easily, if on the watch. But those men from within speaking perverse things (lit. truth with a twist) are more dangerous because more insidious.
8. Two Essentials for Shepherds: watch and remember. Looking over the flock (overseers) will be encouraged by looking back, remembering faithful shepherds of the past, like Paul, who were on duty 24 hours–night and day. No part-time job this!
9. Two Ideal Resources: God and the word of His grace. Nothing will fortify elders like the consciousness of the presence of God and the promises of God. He will embrace you; you should embrace them. What will these truths do for you? Another couplet–build you up enough that others can lean on you, and enrich you enough that you can afford to be generous. This is the final twin: “support the weak” and remember the blessedness of giving. Our Lord Himself told us.