ACTS  6

1 In those days when the number of disciples was increaseing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebaric Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

2 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.

 3  Brothers choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn the responsibility over to them

4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.

5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They choose Stephen a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Phillip, Procorus, Nicenor, Timon, Parmenas,and Nicolas from Antioch a convert to Judaism.

6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

7 So the word of God spread. The nunber of disciples in Jerusalem grew rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

8 Now Stephen a man full of Gods grace and power did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.

 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of theSynagogue 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,

10 but they could not stand up against his wisdomor mthe Spirit by whom he spoke.

 11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.

 12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They siezed Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.

13 They produced false witnesses who testified, This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.

14 For we heard him say that this Jesus  of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.

15 All who were siting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of a angel.

This proposal pleased the whole group. They choose Stephen, a man full of faith, and the Holy Spirit, also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch a convert to Judaism. Acts 6:5  

 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 2:10

THE FIRST DEACONS

Thomas J. Grace

1 Although we have read of all being in one accord and great miracles have been done by Peter and the apostles, many new people have arrived during the great revival and have now taken up residence in Jerusalem. The first problem in the new church occurs because of food and money as some of the Grecian widows were not being properly cared for.Exodus 22:22 -24 Do not take advantage of the widow or the orphan. If you do and they cry out to Me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows, and your children fatherless. The care of widows is a powerful command of God since the the time He first formed the nation of Israel and will be a part of the first Christian Church. The apostle Paul writes to Timothy 1 Timothy 5: 3 Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. Paul also specifies the habits and work that the widow has performed and will be obligated to certain behaviors and duties.

     2 The apostles after hearing of the problem state they can not be responsible for this daily care. Their duty is to bring the word of God to the non believers, pray for the sick, and train and teach new disciples. Waiting on tables is the function of collecting funds and supplies and distributing them properly for the service of ministry and the care of widows and others that might be in need. This is a job that Ananias would have wanted and a danger to the new church that could not be allowed.  We do not read of any regular tithes or offerings, it might have been that when property was sold and the money was donated when the church was in need  of funds at that time. Although we read of shareing and providing for others this is not always a system that will reach the most needy as a general fund managed by the church will.

     3 They are told to choose seven, they do think this will be the proper amount of people for this work. This is the first form of delegation of duties we see in the church as Moses had learned from his father in law. Exodus 18:21 But select capable men from all the people men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. This freed Moses for the important cases and made him able to seek God and pray for the people. Like Moses the apostles could not care for all the needs of all the people all the time. Although the apostles did have a much smaller group than Moses their work would take them outside the church more often and their teaching duties in the church had to be a important duty while with the disciples. Other delegation was done by the Holy Spirit as He gave gifts and ministries to men and women for the service of the church. The qualifications are stated clearly Men who are full of the Spirit, and wisdom. The new apostle could not have been full of the Spitit at the time he was choosen because no one was at that time when Matthias was named as a apostle. The selection would not be made by the apostles and no other selection process such as casting lots was advised. 4 We shall dedicate ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.  These men were not going to become admistrators not even in the church, they knew that prayer would solve more problems and win more souls than the supply of some needs.      

      Seven men are selected Stephen and Philip become well known and lead in other ministries.  Nicolas may have left the church and became the founder of the Nicolations that Jesus spoke about. Revelations 2:6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolations, which I also hate. Could it be that Satan has replaced Ananias as his agent in the church. 1 John 2:18 tells us Dear children this is the last hour, and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrist have come. John the apostle tells us he has already seen many antichrist and we in our last days will see many and they will be of greater power in the world in our time. 

     6 The seven men who all seem to be Greek are brought to the apostles. The apostles pray and lay their hands on them. This was to ordain these men for the service as we know they were already full of the Spirit and none of them were sick.  Moses also laid on hands for service Numbers 27:18 So the Lord said to Moses, Take Joshua Son Of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. 7 As it will happen when you obey and serve God the church will grow. They solved there problem in a orderly manner and asked God to bless and approve of these seven men. Now for the first time we hear of priest becomeing believers.  Notice how it says they were obedient to the faith, which means they followed the teaching of the apostles. As priest they did not claim superior positions because of their training as priest.

      8 Stephen full of Gods grace and power did wonders and miracles. We do not know if Stephen before this time had already gifts of healing. He is the first person other than the apostles that have performed miracles. Was this due to the apostles laying on of hands or direct power of the Holy Spirit acting through His own gifts. Why did Stephen have these gifts and not the others, we do not read of each apostle being named to have such power.                                                            

      9 Once again there is persecution from the Synagogue of the Freedmen these were Greek Jews who had been Roman slaves that when released returned to Jerusalem. They began to attack Stephen a fellow Greek who now believes in Christ. As past slaves and prisoners these people did not want to cause any division or problems that might cause the attention of the Roman soldiers and rulers in Jerusalem.  10 Stephens wisdom and the Spirit was overpowering to the men who would try to debate with him. Luke 21:15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. This seemed to be true but the reaction was not good for Stephen as he won the battle but lost the war.

     Just as in the last days these people valued their freedom more than their eternal life. They would not believe the testimony they cound not resist and knew to be true as they could not contradict it. In our last days people will deny Christ as they know and believe He is the Savior, in order to protect their safety from the one world religion and the false prophet led by the antichrist. Let us all pray that when the time comes for us to acknowledge or deny Christ as our Savior we will be able to state our belief in Jesus Christ.  While these people did see signs wonders and miracles done by Stephen they did not see Gods power as strong enough to protect them from their enemies. God had sent a special man to bring the gospel to people who had suffered as slaves to be saved and they refused to believe.

     11 Now we see the plan of false witnesses to testify against Stephen Exodus 23:7 Have nothing to do with a false witness and do not put a innocent or honest man to death, for I will not aquit the guilty. Proverbs 19:5 A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will not go free. They accused Stephen of blasphemy  while they broke the command  of God  who said He will punish them, they feared man more than God. What of the other false witnesses who testified against Jesus, ant the high priest and the others in the Sanhedrin who  knew that these men were going to give false testimony. 12 They caused others to believe that Stephen was serious problem for their security and  a threat to their temple and religion. The elders and teachers joined the cause they did think the Sanhedrin should have done more to punish the apostles and stop them from teaching in the name of Jesus. Stephen is siezed by the mob not by the temple guards or by order of the Sanhedrin.

      13 The false witnesses testify against Stephen saying he spoke against the law and the holy place, the temple. They speak of their high regard of the law while they break it for their own purpose to protect their own interest and power. 14 He said that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this temple as Jesus once said John 2:19 Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days. He was talking about His death which the Sanhedrin brought about and how He was raised from the dead. This is the same testimony a false witness said in Jesus trial Matthew 26:61. This temple security seems to be the greatest concern and fear for the Sanhedrin. 15 Stephens face  was like a angel  they recognized the look of a angel while they lied like the devil. Like Moses Exodus 34:29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with God. During the transfiguration Jesus face shined Matthew 17:2 There He was transfigured before them His face shone like the sun and His clothes became as white as the light. The apostles face did not shine when they met Jesus after the resurrection, and Jesus own face did not shine then.                                                     

       The trial will go on the man Stephen who we first hear of because he has choosen to join a minintry to help those who were being mistreated will now become the most mistreated of all.

CHRIST LOVES YOU. AMEN. COME LORD JESUS