“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”
King James Version (KJV)
20:28 Take heed therefore - I now devolve my care upon you; first to yourselves; then to the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers - For no man, or number of men upon earth, can constitute an overseer, bishop, or any other Christian minister. To do this is the peculiar work of the Holy Ghost: to feed the Church of God - That is, the believing, loving, holy children of God; which he hath purchased - How precious is it then in his sight! with his own blood - For it is the blood of the only begotten Son of God, #1John 1:7|.
Ac 20:28 Take heed. Here begin the special admonitions to the elders. Unto yourselves. Their own lives must be the first subject of watchfulness. No man can be so exalted that he does not need to watch and pray. To all the flock. The church, the fold of the Good Shepherd, of whom they were under-shepherds, or pastors. To feed the church. "On the sincere milk of the word, that it may grow thereby" (1Pe 2:2).