Acts 6:1-6 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 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. 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 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 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. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
In the above verses we see a split developing in the church between the Hellenistic Jews who spoke Greek and the Hebraic Jews who spoke mainly Hebrew. The Hellenistic Jews were more attuned to the Greek lifestyle than were the Hebraic Jews. This division was becoming more acute in this environment of unity, where all things were to be shared equally, in this case food—the Hellenistic widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. This dispute became so disturbing to the apostles that they had to make some changes in their daily routine and in how the earthly body of Christ should function. It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. The disciples' commission from the Lord Jesus Christ was to go into all the world and to preach the gospel to all people, not to go into all the world to feed people. Feeding people is important, but insignificant to the ministering of the word, to the of baptizing people into the body of Christ. However, they understood this troubling circumstance of partisanship needed to be resolved. These widows needed to be treated justly and fairly. People should love others as they love themselves, so it was important that everyone in the body was fed well and treated equally. The church was to function as the body of Christ; therefore, as one body, they knew each member in the body of Christ belonged to all the others. (Romans 12:5) All members of the body should function in the right way for the glory of the Lord. Therefore, unity in Christ's visible body on earth is very important for unity clearly reveals God’s love for all people. In the above focus we see the community of believers encouraged by the apostles to select seven men to carry out the ministry of feeding widows, those who are a responsibility of the church. 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 of feeding the widows over to them. The requirements for this new position were that they be full of the Spirit and wisdom. The believers chose seven men that fulfilled the requirements; the apostles installed them by laying their hands on them and praying for God’s blessing to rest on them as they carried out this necessary function within the church. This gifting of serving others, as with all gifts in the church, is directed by the Holy Spirit. These seven were men of wisdom. They were to use their gift of wisdom to serve the church as deacons. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:10) As we see in the life of Stephen that serving meals was not the only thing he did for the cause of Christ. He was actively involved in displaying the works of Christ to believers and unbelievers. Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. (Acts 6:8) His purpose in life was not just to serve meals to widows; he also was to be a constant reflection of God’s power and God’s loving image to all people. All seven were men of passion for God.
No longer would these deacons live just for themselves. Their vision of life included everyone else in the body of Christ, especially the widows. As with all believers, their hearts had been circumcised. Their will of living for themselves had been circumcised when they died and were raised to new life in baptism. No longer would they live by self-rule, eat, drink and be merry. Instead, they would put on the cloak of the Righteous One who died for all people. Their way of living a life for themselves was buried with Christ, now they were raised with Christ after his resurrection. The will of God was paramount in their lives. A major duty for their resurrected lives was serving widows food without discrimination or bias. But being dead in Christ through his burial and being resurrected IN HIM into new life brought to them a responsibility of living for Christ in every part of their lives. Your WHOLE SELF RULED BY THE FLESH was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:11-12) All members in the body of Christ possessing the resurrected power within them should be lights to a very dark world. Believers should reflect the glory and power of God continuously in their lives, always allowing a vibrant glow of God's love to emanate from them. These chosen seven men were to be servants of love, treating all the widows fairly. They were to display God’s love for all people, even to the most vulnerable. These men were men of the Holy Spirit; they possessed the gift of wisdom. They were to use this gift of wisdom to benefit the church. The apostles had laid their hands on them in prayer so that they might fulfill their duty of feeding the widows well. God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. (Romans 12:6-8 NLT) Every gift given to members of the church should be activated with eagerness and soundness for the benefit of the body. The apostles needed these deacons to function effectively to benefit the body of Christ. They did not want to be bothered with the task of feeding the widows; this duty was to be carried out by the deacons without their involvement or concern. The apostles had been given by Christ the responsibility to pray and to minister the words and works of Christ the Lord.
The apostles were given the task of revealing the mystery of God to the world. This mystery held in the heart of God from the beginning was that his Son would come to bring salvation to all who would accept him as the Messiah. The apostles knew because of their time with Jesus that Jesus was the Lord, the Son of God. The prophets predicted that the Messiah would come to the world in the last days. For the disciples, this mystery had to be told everywhere, to all people. Paul, an apostle out of season, states, My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:2-3) In Christ are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. We can understand with that statement that the seven men were filled with Christ's wisdom for He is the origin of wisdom. He is also the origin of all gifts in the church, for the fountain of love is encased in the body of Christ. Feeding widows and caring for the vulnerable is an important task within the church, but the primary responsibility of the church is to bring all people to the knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord. Only the name of Jesus will deliver people out of the eternal darkness that is hidden in their souls. They are the blind, and no religious ideas or secular wisdom and knowledge can lead people out of the lostness they are in without God as their Father. Their eternal souls are at stake; therefore, the apostle’s mission was to bring light to these people, suffering in eternal darkness. The message is simple, opened to even the youngest child. If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13) There is no difference between the Hellenistic widow, the Hebraic widow or any widow of any group, all should be treated the same with justice and equality. There is no difference with any people; all are loved by God; all are coveted by him to be his children in the Kingdom of God. He wishes for none to be judged as unrighteous; all can find acceptance by him through the name of his Son, Jesus Christ. No one will ever have to be in the presence of God in a cloak of unrighteousness. No one will ever have to come to God in shame. Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame. The way of salvation, of being right with God, is simple: by being inundated with faith in God’s word, revealed in Jesus Christ, you have eternal life. If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. THE APOSTLES CARRIED THIS MESSAGE to the world, it was fire in their bones. All but John died a violent death. They no longer fed the widows, but they fed the world with the Word of God, Jesus Christ the Word of deliverance. Today, do the work God has given you with joy whether it is feeding widows or seeking the lost.
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