Paul’s Christ-Centered Ministry

Paul’s ministry in Acts was centered on proclaiming Christ crucified and risen, not on defending a perfect text or exclusive translation. 

Exegesis and Application: Acts 20:29–32 in Light of Paul’s Christ-Centered Ministry

1. Paul’s Focus: Preaching Christ, Not Debating Texts

Throughout Acts, Paul’s singular mission was to preach Jesus Christ — to both Jews and Greeks — urging them to repent and believe in Him (cf. Acts 20:21; 17:2–3; 18:5). His ministry was gospel-centered, not text-centered.
He proclaimed the Scriptures as the means by which people encountered Christ, but never made the text itself an object of worship or division.

Paul’s message was clear:

“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” — 1 Corinthians 2:2

In contrast, the early church did not argue over which manuscript tradition or translation was “perfect.” They rejoiced in the living Word—the person of Jesus—and proclaimed Him through the written Word, faithfully transmitted though copied by human hands.

Application to the Bible-Presbyterian Church

1. The Reformed Faith Is About Christ, Not a Version

The Reformed tradition, from Calvin and Knox to the Westminster Divines, has always upheld the sufficiency of Scripture — not the perfection of one human version or manuscript line.
The Westminster Confession of Faith (1.8) teaches that God has “by His singular care and providence kept [the Scriptures] pure in all ages.” This refers to preservation in substance, not an identical letter-for-letter perfection of one text or translation.

To insist that God’s Word exists only in a particular edition of the Textus Receptus or in the King James Version is to go beyond the Confession and beyond Scripture itself. It risks turning a good doctrine (preservation) into an idol of precision, where the means (a translation) replaces the message (Christ).

2. Beware of Losing the Gospel in the Debate

When Paul warned the Ephesian elders about “men speaking twisted things” (Acts 20:30), he described those who divert attention away from Christ and draw disciples after themselves.
This danger is real today: when discussions about Verbal Plenary Preservation, Perfect TR, or KJV-Onlyism become tests of faith or fellowship, they pull hearts away from the central mission — the gospel of grace.

Instead of drawing people to Christ, these debates can:

• Divide sincere believers,

• Distract from evangelism and discipleship,

• Create pride in “superior knowledge,”

• And cause younger believers to stumble, seeing Christians quarrel over issues the apostles never fought about.

3. The True Unity of the Church: The Word of His Grace

Paul commended the elders not to a text tradition, but to “God and the word of His grace” (Acts 20:32).
This word of grace is the gospel — the message of Christ’s saving work — which alone builds up the church and gives an inheritance among the sanctified.

A Reformed church must therefore:

• Hold high the authority of Scripture,

• Rejoice in the gospel it proclaims, and

• Avoid dividing over matters the Bible itself does not absolutize.

Let the love of Christ and the centrality of the gospel bind believers together more tightly than any preference for a translation or textual theory can separate them.

4. A Pastoral Exhortation to the Bible-Presbyterian Church

Dear brethren of the Bible-Presbyterian Church in Singapore,

Paul’s warning still calls out across the centuries:

“Be alert.” Not to fight over which translation is holiest,
but to guard the flock from anything that shifts the focus away from Christ.

Be faithful to our Reformed heritage — one that exalts sola Scriptura and solus Christus together.
Preach the Word, yes — but let the Word point always to the Savior, not to the page.

The power of God lies not in a perfect edition of the Bible, but in the perfect gospel it contains. The Spirit who inspired Scripture is also the Spirit who unites believers in Christ.

Let your unity, therefore, be found not in the Textus Receptus, not in the KJV, not in VPP, but in the Living Word, Jesus Christ our Lord.
And as Paul commended the elders, so we too say:

“Now we commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up.” (Acts 20:32)