ACTS — LESSON 6

Scriptures for this lesson are taken from Acts 6, Philippians 1, and I Timothy 3.

At the close of lesson 5, the apostles were preaching and teaching daily in the temple. People came from all around to see Peter so they could be healed. Many were accepting Christ and the numbers of disciples was growing every day.

[Acts 6:1-7] (1) 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. (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 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 (4) and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” (5) 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. (6) They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. (7) So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

The young church suffered from persecution from the Jewish Religious leaders and now they are experiencing problems from within their membership. Sounds like our churches today! The Hellenists were Greek speaking Jews who worshiped Jehovah, yet their culture was like that of the Grecian world. They were Greek speaking, Greek Culture, Jewish in religion. So, there was a great deal of difference in the Grecian or Hellenist church members and the Hebrew members. The donations made by the members who sold their property were used to feed the poor and needy of the fellowship. Many of these were widows who had no men to support them. The Hellenist widows claimed that they were not being supported as well as the Jewish women.

The apostles did not want to take any time away from preaching and teaching the gospel so they decided to choose seven good men from their group to take on the responsibility of distributing food to the needy and to minister to the members of the church. They chose men who were full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. These seven men who were chosen would be the first deacons of the church. In this instance all seven of the men were Greeks. It stands to reason if all the men making distributions were Grecians, the complaining Grecian needy would be satisfied. The apostles laid their hands on the seven men and prayed for them.

Stephen was a man who was full of faith and the Holy Spirit, he was a preacher who performed miracles and was full of wisdom. Phillip was also a preacher who performed miracles. He was the one who explained the gospel to the Ethiopian Eunuch on the road to Gaza as told in Acts chapter 8. There is no other mention in the Bible of the other five men. Tradition holds that Prochorus was consecrated Bishop of Nicomedia by Peter. Parmedas suffered martyrdom at Phillippi. There are other scriptures in the New Testament that deal with the choosing of deacons.

[Philippians 1:1] Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons.

[I Timothy 3:1] Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.

[I Timothy 3:8] In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain.

[I Timothy 3:10] They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.

Let’s apply these scriptures to our churches today:
1. Pastors cannot do everything; they need help.
2. Others can preach and teach.
3. The Lord has a place for every member to serve.
4. Whatever problem arises within the church can be solved if the members will be led by the Holy Spirit.
5. The original purpose for the office of deacon was to serve the needs of the members.

[Acts 6:8-15] (8) Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. (9) 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. (10) But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. (11) Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” (12) So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized 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 have 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 sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

The meaning of Freedmen or Libertines as they are called in some translations, is not certain, but it is believed that they were Jews who had been made captive by the Romans under Pompey and afterward freed. They had built their own Synagogue in Jerusalem. Some interpreters believe that the freedmen from Rome, the Cyrenians, Alexandrians and Asians had their own synagogues in Jerusalem. Others believe that all of these people worshiped in the same synagogue. Stephen, being a Hellenist was probably preaching and teaching Jesus in one of these synagogues. Some of their members refused to believe his teaching about Jesus and the New Covenant but were unable to refute his words. In order to stop Stephen from preaching about Jesus, they got false witnesses to testify against him before the Sanhedrin. Verse 15 tells us that Stephen’s face shined like that of an angel, like Moses’s face when he had been in the presence of God.

LESSONS FROM ACTS 6:

1. The purpose for Deacons in a church is to minister to the needs of the members.
2. Deacons should love the Lord, be respected, honest, not heavy drinkers. They should be tested before being ordained as a Deacon.
3. There is a place for every member to serve in the church.
4. Problems between members in a church can be solved if the membership will be led by the Holy Spirit.
5. Christ’s church should be open to people of all nationalities.

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