Jesus working through His church...

“Obedient to the Faith”

(Acts 6:1-7, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, July 3, 2011)

6:1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

6:1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.

In the early days of New Testament Christian experience, virtually everyone who believed that Jesus was the Messiah was Jewish. We know enough about first century life to understand that there were important divisions among Jews based on their theological beliefs like the division between the Sadducees and the Pharisees. There were other factions that had more to do with cultural differences. Would these cultural factions be present in Christian Judaism? For instance, would Christians be suspicious of one another based on the language they spoke? The two major groups of Christians, in terms of language, were Greek-speaking Christians, also known as Hellenists, and Hebrew-speaking Christians. Both groups had poor widows who needed daily assistance for living. Jesus cared about them. The church in Jerusalem was addressing the needs of these women through a daily distribution of bread. The problem came from the fact that Greek-speaking widows were being neglected. The Hellenists were bringing this complaint against the Hebrew-speaking group. The apostles had encountered the opposition of ruling Jewish authorities and had counted it a privilege to suffer for the Name of Jesus Christ. Would they be able to handle these internal prejudices by the power of Christ and the cross?

2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

The “twelve,” that is the apostles, heard about this issue, and they considered it important enough to call together “the full number of the disciples,” that is the church, which by this time numbered many thousands. They were determined to see this solved in the right way. The current situation was not right, but one potential solution to the problem was also “not right.” They said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.”

They understood their calling, and they knew the One who chose them for this work. If they were to do everything in the church, like addressing concerns about the distribution of bread to poor widows, they would not possibly be able to visit the various worship gatherings of Christians in homes throughout the city. They knew that they had to do the work that God had called them to do. The congregation of believers needed to step up to do what the body of Christ needed to do in caring for the poor among them and removing this offense. The church needed to pick seven additional leaders from their number who would see to this issue. This was an amazing solution, reflecting the belief of the apostles that God would be working through the people to see that His will would be accomplished. The original 12 leaders of the church were chosen by Jesus. The Judas replacement was chosen by casting lots in order to get the Lord's will. Now the congregation of believers was entrusted with this important task. This was a new step in the history of the church of Jesus Christ.

The apostles gave the people important direction. They told them the number of men who should be chosen and the kind of men they should choose:

1. They should be men with good reputations, probably both inside and outside the church.

2. They should be full of the Holy Spirit, men who were recognized as being directed by God in ways that were obviously like their Master Jesus.

3. They needed to be men who were full of wisdom, able to consider the way the Lord might work in their culture, gifted at humbly applying the Lord's commands of mercy and justice.

Once the church had made their choice, the apostles would approve of these men by appointing them to this position of responsibility. This would allow the apostles to continue to devote themselves to prayer and the service of the Word.

5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

This plan “pleased the whole gathering.” We should expect that the will of God will be recognized by the believers. We need to be able to trust God that He can work through His children, helping them to discern those whom the Lord has gifted for special works, and then supporting those leaders as the body of Christ moves forward to care for the poor, and to perform many other great works that bring glory to the Lord.

They chose seven men, all with Greek names. One of these was Stephen, particularly noteworthy as a man “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.” All Christians have some measure of faith and the Holy Spirit, but not all have the same fullness of these precious gifts. Faith hears the Word, believes, and acts with trust. The man who is full of the Holy Spirit obeys in accord with the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His heart, mind, and will are moving in step with the Spirit at work within Him. At least Stephen and Philip were also preachers. The final man listed was Nicolaus, “a proselyte from Antioch,” a Gentile who converted to Judaism. Antioch would be a major missionary center for the early church where many Gentiles would come to faith in Jesus. The apostles showed their visible approval for the choice of the church by laying their hands on these men and setting them apart for this work with prayer to God for His blessing.

7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

This is the way that the ascended Jesus, who died for us, continues to save His church. He works by His Holy Spirit. He works through the body of believers who are granted discernment as those who are fellow heirs of salvation. He works through leaders who are full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit. He works through humble elders who are able to affirm that the Lord has chosen others to take part in important works of sacrificial love. This is how the church should grow, by God working through His humble and expectant people gathering together in dependence upon Him and in submission to His Word. The Lord can bless a church that will follow Jesus this way. They know Him as Savior, but they also experience Him as Lord. So the number of disciples “multiplied greatly in Jerusalem,” and “a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.” They were able to see God keeping Hellenists and Hebrews together in love for the Christ of the cross. Maybe they thought that such a thing was impossible. But Jesus was working through His church, and all things were possible with God.

1. Why was the complaint of the Greek-speaking Jews significant?

2. What do we learn about the office of apostle in this passage?

3. How were the requirements for new servant-leaders appropriate?

4. What is the significance of the developments that followed this crisis?

OT Passage: Micah 6:1-8