The Apostle Paul’s ministry has been estimated to have lasted about 25-30 years. Paul’s dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-10) set the course for his remarkable career of preaching the gospel to thousands of people across Asia Minor, Greece, Macedonia, and Rome. When Paul was in Thessalonica, he was accused of having turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6). Paul’s presence in Ephesus created a riot (Acts 19:28-34) and he had to escape to Greece where he raised a youth from the dead after the young man fell from an upstairs window (Acts 20:10).
During his last recorded trip to Jerusalem, Paul stopped in Miletus to meet with the Ephesian elders so he could say goodbye to them. Paul told the Ephesian elders, “And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, now knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and affliction await me” (Acts 20:22-23). Paul knew what he was getting himself into when he headed back to Jerusalem and yet, he didn’t hesitate to carry out God’s plan for him.
Paul told the Ephesian elders:
But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24).
Paul’s goal was to finish his course, no matter what that might entail.
The Greek word that is translated finish my course, teleioo (tel-i-oˊ-o) is derived from the word teleios (telˊ-i-os) which means “to complete, make perfect by reaching the intended goal” (G5048). Teleios comes from the word telos (telˊ-os) which is usually translated as “the end,” particularly with respect to time (G5056). When Jesus’ disciples asked him when he would return, he told them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet” (Matthew 24:4-6).
When Paul said he wanted to finish his course, he wasn’t talking specifically about completing his ministry because he said, “if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:24). Paul seemed to be talking about reaching a state of perfection, what the word teleios describes as being made perfect by reaching the intended goal (G5048). Hebrews 10:14 tells us that Jesus, by a single offering, “perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” It also says in Hebrews 5:9 that Jesus was being made perfect when, “he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.”
James discussion of the testing of a believer’s faith may come the closest to describing what Paul was talking about when he said he wanted to finish his course. James said, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4). James said faith produces steadfastness and when steadfastness reaches its full effect, the believer is perfect and complete. The word translated perfect in this verse is teleios.
James association of steadfastness with being perfect and complete makes sense from the standpoint that Paul endured a great deal of persecution after he became a Christian. Paul continued preaching the gospel in spite of the many trials he went through (2 Corinthians 11:22-28) and never gave up, even after he was imprisoned unjustly (Acts 21:33) and held captive for more than two years (Acts 24:27). Peter said perseverance requires an effort on our part and also identified love as the ultimate outcome of growing in our knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (James 1:5-8).
Paul concluded his conversation with the Ephesian elders by telling them that he knew he would never see them again (Acts 20:25) and then, he said, “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 who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32). The phrase all who are sanctified is a reference to Christians in general. The Christian life primarily consists of continually being built up by God’s word. Like Paul, every Christian must do their part to be built up in this way and to finish the course. “By exerting effort to turn from self-dependence to Spirit-dependence, our sinful behaviors diminish and the fruit of the Spirit increases (Gal 5:16-25; Eph 4:22-24). God uses his Word (2 Tim 3:16), his Spirit (Rom 8:5-11), his people (Eph 4:11-12), and circumstances (Jas 1:2-4) along with our effort (Phil 2:12-13) to transform us” (Making Spiritual Progress, The Spiritual Growth Bible, p. 499).
