Welcome to afaithtalk’s Tuesday Bible Study. This week: Acts 6. If you’re not caught up yet, go here. The chapters only make sense if you read them sequentially. Today we meet a man full of faith in Christ Jesus and led by the Holy Spirit. What a blessing it will be.
Before we start, let’s pray:
Lord Jesus, lead us as we read these words, and show us how to live more aligned with You. How to be considered ‘in you’ and how to know we are being led by the Holy Spirit. I know it’s a lot to ask, and it’s a lot to count on You for, but I believe and I know You can provide all of that and more. Lead us, Lord. For Your glory, honor and praise. Amen.
Please read Acts 6:1-6
Choosing of the Seven
1Now about this time, when the number of disciples was increasing, a complaint was made by the [a]Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews) against the [[b]native] Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. 2 So the [c]Twelve called the disciples together and said, “It is not appropriate for us to neglect [teaching] the word of God in order to serve tables and manage the distribution of food. 3 Therefore, brothers, choose from among you seven men with good reputations [men of godly character and moral integrity], full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. 4 But we will [continue to] devote ourselves [steadfastly] to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 The suggestion pleased the whole congregation; and they selected [d]Stephen, a man full of faith [in Christ Jesus], and [filled with and led by] the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas (Nikolaos), a proselyte (Gentile convert) from Antioch. 6 They brought these men before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them [to dedicate and commission them for this service].
About this time… chapter 5 verse 14 reminder:
14 More and more believers in the Lord, crowds of men and women, were constantly being added to their number,
So it was during this time that the Apostles had to change administration and assign it to seven young men while the apostles continued to pray and preach. Stephen. Remember his name. Look how he’s written of. A man ________________ in Christ Jesus, and filled with and ______________ the Holy Spirit.
Full of Faith in Christ Jesus and filled with and led by the Holy Spirit. May be so as well.
Please read Acts 6:7
7And the message of God kept on growing and spreading, and the number of disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem; and a large number of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith [accepting Jesus as Messiah and acknowledging Him as the Source of eternal salvation].
Growing and spreading and increasing greatly, and a large number of the priests became believers too! What does obedience to the faith mean? [____you fill it in_____]
Please read Acts 6:8
8Now Stephen, full of grace (divine blessing, favor) and power, was doing great wonders and signs (attesting miracles) among the people.
Look again. Stephen is not an apostle per se, but he is full of faith [in Christ Jesus], and [filled with and led by] the Holy Spirit. You can be too and all of this too can be said about you.
Please read Acts 6:9-10
9However, some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (freed Jewish slaves), both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and [the province of] Asia, rose up and questioned and argued with Stephen. 10But they were not able to successfully withstand and cope with the wisdom and the intelligence [and the power and inspiration] of the Spirit by whom he was speaking.
Oh God, why does opposition come to the most faithful, most gifted? Yet look at verse 10. They were not able to …
What a gift it is to see a man like this.
Please read Acts 6:11-15
11Then [to attack him another way] they secretly instructed men to say, “We have heard this man [Stephen] speak blasphemous (slanderous, sacrilegious, abusive) words against Moses and against God.” 12And they provoked and incited the people, as well as the elders and the scribes, and they came up to Stephen and seized him and brought him before the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court). 13They presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and the Law [of Moses]; 14for we have heard him say that this Jesus the Nazarene will tear down this place and will change the traditions and customs which Moses handed down to us.” 15 Then all those who were sitting in the Council, stared [intently] at him, and they saw that Stephen’s face was like the face of an angel.
The light within him was visible to them. What pure faith he had. Oh Lord that we could believe like that.
Footnotes
- [a] Acts 6:1 Jews born outside the Holy Land who spoke the Greek language and had adopted much of the Greek culture.
- [b] Acts 6:1 Native-born Jews who spoke Hebrew and/or Aramaic and lived according to Jewish custom.
- [c] Acts 6:2 See note Matt 10:2.
- [d] Acts 6:5 These seven men had Greek names, so they may have been Greek in ancestry, language, or way of life; however, Stephen, in his defense before the Sanhedrin (ch 7), exhibited an extensive knowledge of Jewish history.