Grace and Power

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

GRACE AND POWER

Acts 6:8-10

8 Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous 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. These men began to argue with Stephen, 10 but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

NIV

The first time we were introduced to Stephen we were told he was full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. We are told additional that he is full of God’s grace and power. As we have discovered before, this Greek word translated as grace carries this meaning of the divine influence upon a heart and how that is reflected in the person’s life. It can also be said that grace is the spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine grace. Stephen was totally sold out to believing in the power of God, he was full, which means complete, lacking nothing, perfect, of the divine influence of God. That would mean Stephen listen fully to the voice of the Spirit and did all that he was told to do. It would also mean that Stephen did not act on his own desires or pursue his own course in life and then expect God to bless him. He was also full of God’s power which had to be the result of being full of faith, the Holy Spirit, and God’s divine influence. As a result, Stephen did great, or mega wonders and miraculous signs among the people. It makes us wonder just how we might do if we were as full of faith, the Holy Spirit, God’s influence, and power as Stephen was. We wonder if we were, would we be doing a mega amount of wonders and miraculous signs within the assembly of believers. However, with anyone who is full of the Spirit and of God’s influence and power there is always going to be those who become jealous and speak out against such a person. That is what seems to be the only reason someone would oppose a person that is full of faith, the Holy Spirit, God’s influence, and power, and doing great things. Although they tried to argue with Stephen, their thinking was futile against the wisdom of the Spirit. Why would they argue against someone who was doing great wonders and miraculous signs? Did they argue with Peter and John too? Why did they just pick on Stephen? Was it because he was not an official Apostle, one of the leaders of the church? Was it because Stephen had been picked by the people, that is was popular with the people because of his faith, and that he lived like one who was full of the influence of God? The point is that no matter what they had to say to Stephen, their arguments could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. Stephen’s words were not his own, he was speaking through the influence of the Spirit within him. Would that we have that kind of faith and influence of the Spirit within our lives, that our words would be from God rather than from us. What would happen if we were full of grace and power?