A Study of Acts: Fulfulling the Great Commision

Chapter Six: Talk About What You Know - Acts 6:1-7:60

Many times we find ourselves lost for words when trying to tell others about Christ. We think that surely everyone has heard about the Gospel, so what more can we tell them. We don’t want to appear preachy or like a know-it-all. After all, this is a "Christian nation" we live in isn’t it? So, assuming that our friends, family and associates already know about Christ, we choose to speak of something more topical, like maybe the weather. In the sixth and seventh chapters of Acts, however, we are given the example of Stephen. At a time when he could certainly have found other things to talk about, like "I’m innocent of these false charges!", he instead spoke about what he knew. He spoke God’s word.

Now before we get too far into this study, we need to recognize something about Stephen. He was not an apostle. He was not an elder of the church. In fact up to the sixth chapter of Acts, we hadn’t even heard of him. Quite simply, Stephen was a member of the Jerusalem congregation who was chosen by his peers and appointed by the apostles to wait on tables. Because of a controversy that arose between the Jerusalem Hebrews and those from outside Palestine over the distribution of food to widows, Stephen and six other men were chosen and appointed to see to the details of the daily distributions.

Note that in verses two through four of the sixth chapter, the apostles said "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, 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." In keeping with the apostles' instructions, the congregation "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 (Acts 6:5-6 NIV)."

It is very important to see that all seven of these men, and Stephen in particular, were full of the Spirit prior to the apostles laying their hands on them. The dispensation of the Spirit being spoken of here is what is promised to all believers. In John 14:12-17 Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." So how did these men come by this faith that caused them to be filled with the Spirit? We have only to realize that these men were among those whom the Spirit has been telling us about in the past five chapters of Acts. They were among those who had "continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers (Acts 2:42 KJV)." In other words, these were ordinary everyday Christians who were filled with the Spirit and were called to do an ordinary everyday job. They were no different from ordinary everyday Christians of today who have been filled with the Spirit and have been called to do ordinary everyday jobs. Are you getting the picture?

Now for a certainty in verse eight the Spirit tells us that Stephen "did great wonders and signs among the people." A statement that must be interpreted to mean that Stephen performed miracles, a gift of the Spirit used to confirm and validate the gospel message. This was a miraculous gift of the Spirit that was not possessed by all Christians in the early church and is absent from the gifts of the Spirit given to Christians today.

This writer realizes that the above statement is a point of controversy among Christians today, but it really has no bearing on what happens next in the sixth chapter of Acts. It wasn’t the miracles that caused the controversy in Stephen’s day and time. Rather it was the words which he spoke, for verses nine and ten tell us, "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. These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke." The controversy then was over the gospel that Stephen preached through the Spirit. The same gospel that we are to preach through the Spirit today. This is where our battles are to be fought. In the hearts and minds of men and women with the word of the Spirit as our weapon of choice. And that is where we joined this discussion, with Stephen standing before the people of his day and speaking about what he knew.

In chapter seven of Acts Stephen is on trial for his life, and like the Lord and the apostles before him, he chose not to plead his own case but rather to speak the word of God. He used the opportunity to talk about God’s grace towards His chosen people. Stephen used their own history to prove that Jesus was whom he claimed to be – the son of God. He used their own history to prove that they, like their forefathers, had rejected God and killed His prophets. They in fact were worse than their forefathers, for these were the people who had betrayed and murdered "the Just One", the chosen of God.

For his courage and strength in speaking the gospel, Stephen was stoned to death by a mob. The same mob that betrayed Jesus. And for his courage and strength in speaking the gospel, Stephen was rewarded by God. We may never be martyrs like Stephen, but our reward for speaking the word of God will certainly be no less. God does not expect each of us to be polished speakers proclaiming his word from the pulpit. God does expect each of us to use the spiritual gifts He has given us to speak about what we know. He expects us to tell people the good news of Jesus Christ.

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A Study of Acts:

Fulfilling the Great Commission