Daily Bread Acts 6
Daily Bread Acts 6
The Choosing of the Seven
1In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."
5This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Observation:
As the Church grew so did the needs of people in the church. In chapter 6, see the creation of the first church committee. This resulted from the need of the Greek widows, who were getting neglected in the meal department. This assumes that they were taking care of these widows. We see right away the church realized it had to take care of the least and the lost.
Importantly the apostle’s realized that they needed to stick to their role of spreading the Word and prayer. It wasn’t that they didn’t care about the widows, but they didn’t want to neglect their calling to preach the Word and pray. Notice those two go hand and hand!
Notice too, when they chose these 7 men to this task, that they were chosen and called and possessed strong qualities, including being filled with the Holy Spirit. Even though their ministry wasn’t the same as preaching the Word, it didn’t make it any less “spiritual”.
And the result was the Word of God spread, the numbers of disciples increased and even the priests became obedient to the faith.
Application:
There are many important ministries in the church that we are called to be faithful to, but of central importance is the ministry of the Word of God. The church can and should be involved in many social causes, but it shouldn’t do so at the expense of preaching and teaching the Good News.
Pastors are called to a ministry of preaching and teaching the Word of God and administering the Sacraments. This is summed up in the Great Commission to, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey all that Jesus has commanded.” Matthew 28:18-20
Church pastors and leaders need to make sure this central focus on the Word of God and prayer is their first priority.
But this passage also shows that the first Church did not neglect the social needs of the people in their community. So with equal diligence they set apart, chose and prayed over people to be faithful to demonstrate the gospel through works of mercy on behalf of those in need. Although the Word of God is central, it doesn’t negate the need for the church to be the hands and feet of Christ to those in physical and/or emotional need.
Prayer: God help us to be faithful not only to preach Your Word and pray for lost people, but also care for those in our midst with the basic necessities of life. Call faithful people in your body and set them apart for the many tasks of ministry and preaching of the gospel. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Choosing of the Seven
1In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."
5This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Observation:
As the Church grew so did the needs of people in the church. In chapter 6, see the creation of the first church committee. This resulted from the need of the Greek widows, who were getting neglected in the meal department. This assumes that they were taking care of these widows. We see right away the church realized it had to take care of the least and the lost.
Importantly the apostle’s realized that they needed to stick to their role of spreading the Word and prayer. It wasn’t that they didn’t care about the widows, but they didn’t want to neglect their calling to preach the Word and pray. Notice those two go hand and hand!
Notice too, when they chose these 7 men to this task, that they were chosen and called and possessed strong qualities, including being filled with the Holy Spirit. Even though their ministry wasn’t the same as preaching the Word, it didn’t make it any less “spiritual”.
And the result was the Word of God spread, the numbers of disciples increased and even the priests became obedient to the faith.
Application:
There are many important ministries in the church that we are called to be faithful to, but of central importance is the ministry of the Word of God. The church can and should be involved in many social causes, but it shouldn’t do so at the expense of preaching and teaching the Good News.
Pastors are called to a ministry of preaching and teaching the Word of God and administering the Sacraments. This is summed up in the Great Commission to, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey all that Jesus has commanded.” Matthew 28:18-20
Church pastors and leaders need to make sure this central focus on the Word of God and prayer is their first priority.
But this passage also shows that the first Church did not neglect the social needs of the people in their community. So with equal diligence they set apart, chose and prayed over people to be faithful to demonstrate the gospel through works of mercy on behalf of those in need. Although the Word of God is central, it doesn’t negate the need for the church to be the hands and feet of Christ to those in physical and/or emotional need.
Prayer: God help us to be faithful not only to preach Your Word and pray for lost people, but also care for those in our midst with the basic necessities of life. Call faithful people in your body and set them apart for the many tasks of ministry and preaching of the gospel. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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