Acts 6 - What Are You Filled With?
The Choosing of the Seven
6 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews[a] among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So 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. 3 Brothers and sisters, 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 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
One of the first conflicts came up in the early church between the Greek Jews and Hebrew Jews. The Greek Jews' widows were not being taken care of. They took this matter to the disciples, who wisely decided not to focus their attention on these internal matters which would take away time and energy to preach the Word. Although there would have been nothing wrong with them stepping in to mediate the conflict, it was not a good use of their time. Where would their time be better used? The ministry of the Word of God. The ministry of the Gospel. The ministry of making disciples who make disciples.
I can't tell you how many pastors get drawn into the administrative duties and business of the church to the neglect of the ministry of the Word. Many Senior and Lead Pastors think it is their job to RUN the church. As a pastor I am not called to "run" the church. I am called to teach and preach the gospel, administer the Sacraments, care for those in spiritual crisis, and equip the saints for the work of ministry. The primary ministry being disciples who make disciples.
5 This 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. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
So, they formed the first church committee, the committee of deacons. The word "deacon" means servant. Deacons are called to serve in practical ways to meet the church's practical needs. Note part of qualification for this important position was to be a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. This means that someone cold be "less than full of faith and the Holy Spirit". Although faith and the Holy Spirit are both gifts, we can grow in our relationship with both of them. We already saw yesterday how Ananias and Sapphira tested/tempted the Holy Spirit and it turned out very badly for them.
The church laid hands on them and prayed for them. The laying on of hands is the norm in the early church for setting someone to be a minister of the gospel. The laying of hands is a symbol of the filling of the Holy Spirit. When someone is called to ministry what they are going to need most is faith and the power of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is the means of these graces. Prayer is our asking God for these things in Jesus' name.
Stephen Seized
8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.
Once again it says Stephen, the first deacon, was full of God's grace and power. Once again by logic this means that someone can be less than full of God's grace and power. Are you full of grace, power, faith, and the Holy Spirit? If not, ask God for it and then use it as He gives you the opportunity.
Like Jesus, the more powerful things he did, the more opposition came his way. In this case it was from Jews outside of Jerusalem. From Cyrene and Alexandria, which was Northern Africa, and Cilicia and Asia Minor, which is modern day Turkey. As they opposed Stephen, they could not stand up to the wisdom of the Holy Spirit he manifested.
You can see Luke's constant emphasis on the Holy Spirit. We often don't talk about the Holy Spirit enough in our churches. You can see it was the key to the growth in the early church. The church grew so wildly because of its radical dependence on the Holy Spirit. The bible teaches is without the Holy Spirit we can do nothing! 1 Corinthians 12:3, John 15:5
11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” 12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Realizing they could not stand against Stephen's wisdom and power, they employed another strategy. They rallied the people against him. They accused him of blasphemy against Moses who, other than Abraham, was the most revered person in the Old Testament. But they didn't stop there, they brought him before the 70 rulers of Israel, the Sanhedrin. They even brought false witnesses to say that Stephen spoke against temple and against the law.
The Law and temple had become a place of hypocrisy. Jesus called it a "den of robbers". By condemning the Pharisees, he was not abolishing the Law but showing how the Pharisees misused it to tie heavy burdens on the backs of the people. But, they were unwilling to lift a hand to help them. They idolized the physical not realizing that it was not the temple itself, but God's presence in the temple that made it a holy place.
Stephen was only reiterating what Jesus had said when he said the earthly temple would be destroyed (in A.D. 70), but the new temple would be his body sacrificed for the sins of the world. His body would be destroyed on the cross, but raised again in three days. Then, Jesus said we are the body of Christ. His temple dwells in human hearts by His Spirit. Stephen didn't flinch in the midst of these accusations. In fact, he face was shining like an angel. Whenever we witness to Jesus and are persecuted, we will feel God's presence in a powerful that will shine through us.
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