(Acts 6:6-15) Treasures of Wisdom!

(Acts 6:6-15)  Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.  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.  But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.  Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.  ”So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law.  They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.  They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.  For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.  ”All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

In the above focus we are introduced to a man called Stephen.  As a deacon in the church, he carried out a daily routine of feeding widows, but Stephen was also a man full of the Holy Spirit and power.  We can also assume he displayed the gifts of the Spirit readily: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  (Galatians 5:22)  He personified Christianity: born again, a new creature, a new life.  He was once a slave to carnal flesh, captivated behind the bars of the self-willed nature of his old self, but as Paul tells the Galatians, Jesus came to set us free from our self-willed nature and its concomitant sins.  As Christians we are no longer slaves to the sins of the flesh, for our spirits are forever free to be citizens of the heavenly realm, forever known as children of God.  It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.  (Galatians 5:1)  But now in this focus we see men who are enslaved in their fleshly nature; once physically slaves of the Romans but now freemen, belonging to the Synagogue of the Freedmen.  They are very zealous for the tenets of the Jewish religion; consequently, Stephen and all other Christians who teach the freedom of Christ are considered apostates, enemies of God.  These fervent supporters of Judaism began to argue with Stephen.  But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.  Stephen was full of Jesus Christ and God’s Spirit.  He possessed the wisdom and knowledge of God, for all true wisdom and all perfect knowledge comes directly through knowing Jesus Christ.  As Paul wrote:  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)  Stephen’s foes, befuddled by the wisdom an knowledge of Stephen, turned to lies and deception.  Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.  Their treacherous scheme of using lies to persuade others to believe what they wanted people to believe was also used to condemn Jesus to death.   The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death.  (Matthew 26:59)  Paul received the same teatment of people lying about him.  We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world.  He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him.  (Acts 24:5-6)  Lying is an age old trick to distort the truth or to convince people to believe something that is blatantly false.  It is interesting to note that at the end of Revelations, we see that all liars will receive eternal damnation.  The seriousness of lying is explicit in the Old Testament, for it is one of the Ten Commandments.  Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbor.  (Deuteronomy 5:20)  We now see with Stephen these men who are supposedly strong advocates of Moses’ laws and regulations openly violating one of the Ten Commandments.  They, as was done with Jesus and Paul, are willing to lie to get their way.  They also are willing  to murder innocent people, another violation of the Commandments, to satisfy their hatred of the Good News.  Their own design of Judaism led them to violate the scriptures, and the basic tenets of Judaism.

As a Christian, Stephen was not tied down to believing that Jerusalem or the Temple were the only places to worship God.  He understood Jesus' words that were spoken to the Samaritan women at the well.  Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.  (John 4:23-24)  Yes, the time has come to worship God in the Spirit and in truth.  No place was more holy than the place he was standing on, for Stephen was now the temple of the living God.  His lips would relate the truth of God.  He would expose the knowledge of God, for he possessed Jesus IN HIM, revealing God to the dark and sinful world.  Jesus said for Christians to be lights, and Stephen was a brilliant light, even to his last breath.  Knowing Jesus, he knew the wisdom of God and the knowledge of God.  He knew the mysterious plan of God that was hidden in the heart of the Father from the beginning of time.  That mysterious plan was Jesus, the Son, the gate to becoming right with God.  Salvation is Jesus, freedom is Jesus, eternal life is Jesus.  Every bit of life is wrapped up in Jesus.  He is the direct metaphor of THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.  In the above focus, we see men with knowledge of the world and of the scriptures, yet living in darkness.  They were openly against the light of God.  The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.  (John 1:9-13)  These Judaic followers existed in darkness but did not know it.  Therefore, they could not confront successfully Stephen’s understanding of God.  They were living by regulations and religious tenets, but not by the Spirit of God.  They were living by the strength of their will and not by the power of the Holy Spirit.  The law was imposed on them, not in them, not in their hearts.  So they could not argue with Stephen successfully.  HIs light revealed clearly their darkness, even of the Old Testament, the prophets and their words.  They could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.

As with David, Stephen was committed to God wholeheartedly.  God was Stephen's home, not just an idea for him of an eternal dwelling place somewhere.  God was his home, his inheritance: as with David and the Levite priests.  ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’  (Acts 13:22)  Stephen would follow God even to his death by stoning.  He would die with God on his face.  For him it was as Moses prayed, Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!  Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God.  (Psalm 90:1-2 NLT)  Stephen would go back to God after his death; he would go home.  Moses went back to God; his home was not Canaan, but God.  We who are Christians have a dwelling place forever, for through Christ’s work, we have been made right with God.  God is Spirit and we will dwell with him.  As we are IN CHRIST we will dwell as children of God.  Sometimes we forget that reality, and we pray without acknowledging who we are IN CHRIST and who God is as the Creator.  The prayer that Peter and the believers lifted up to God after he and John were released from the Sanhedrin’s imprisonment is a fantastic prayer of acknowledging God and also our place in his creation.  This prayer also recognizes the adversaries to God's plan of saving men from eternal damnation.  “Sovereign Lord, you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.  You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?  The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one."  (Acts 4:25-26). Sometimes in our prayers, we forget the greatness of God because Jesus is so personal and intimate in our lives.  This prayer emphasizes the truth of God.  He is the only God, the only life, and He has created all that exists.  The prayer goes on and describes the futility of mankind rebelling against their God.  The people do rage against their Creator, and they do plot against the work of God’s salvation by coming against Christ.  In Peter and the believers' prayer they honor God, and expose the truth of man’s rebellion against the Almighty.  The prayer exposes the truth of man’s existence; his degradation and sinful state.  It does not exclude anyone from the responsibilities of killing Jesus.  All of mankind is guilty, even in holy Jerusalem.  “In fact, this has happened here in this very city!  For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed.  (27)  Kings, governors, rulers, Gentiles and Jews were aggressively against God’s plan of salvation, his Anointed One.  God knew beforehand men and women would reject his salvation plan through his Son, Jesus Christ.  Now, this prayer beseeches God to reveal himself to a dark world through his servants.  Give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word.  Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”  (29-30).  This was exactly what God did, even Peter’s shadow healed people.  After such a powerful and explicit prayer, honoring God and stating the truth of life, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.  (Acts 4:31 NLT)  God exalted his servants by filling them once more to the brim with the Holy Spirit.  They went away from that meeting place with renewed boldness to speak of Christ everywhere.  Later, we see Stephen full of boldness and the likeness of the Spirit, willing to give his life for the cause of the Good News, for The Way to be right with a perfect and eternal God, the creator of all life.  May we all follow The Way with the courage of Stephen.  Amen!  

   

    

     

        

 

 

Acts 6:1-6 Full of Wisdom

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.