Full of Faith

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

FULL OF FAITH

Acts 6:5-6

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.

NIV

By the whole group we are to believe both the Grecian and Hebraic Jews were pleased that the Apostles would stay focused on prayer and preaching while others chosen by the both groups would make sure the widows of both groups were cared for in the daily distribution of food. We certainly do not know much about six of these men, but we do know something about Stephen. We are told something of great importance about his man. Although we are not told about his educational background, or his work experience as his resume is lacking any details about him other then he was a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. These men were selected by the people because they had some kind of reputation among the people already. They were already doing something different then the rest to be noticed and selected. Stephen, of course, we will see goes beyond his assigned tasks, as he was a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. We are not sure about the other six being men full of faith, perhaps they were just men of faith, and perhaps they were not as full of the Holy Spirit as Stephen, but nevertheless they must have been filled with the Spirit. It is doubtful they were selected because of their great skills in the distribution of food. Our life lesson here is a simply one. We should not simply be people of faith or people with faith, but people full of faith. The Greek word used here translated as full has two meanings. The first is full as opposed to an empty vessel, the other complete, lacking nothing, perfect. It is the second meaning which defines the faith of Stephen. His faith was complete, his faith lacked nothing and his faith was perfect. This implies that Stephen had absolutely no doubts whatsoever in his life and his belief in Jesus Christ. He was totally committed to his faith and in the infilling of the Holy Spirit. He held nothing back, he allowed the Holy Spirit full access to him, and his life. Is it any wonder why he became the first martyr of the early church? We should be that kind of believer, full of faith. Our faith should be complete, lacking nothing, perfect. What does that kind of faith actually look like? Are we willing to be that full of faith, trusting completely in Jesus Christ, not just for salvation, but for our whole life? Are we willing to have the Spirit fill us so completely that our daily life is so responsive to him that everyone else will see him flowing through us as they did with Stephen? It is one thing to tell people we have faith, but it is entirely a different thing to be full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. We do not know what kind of plans Stephen had for his life, but it is certain that God ordered his footsteps. Let us be that full of faith, that full of the Holy Spirit that we will actually allow God to order our footsteps.