Full Of Faith

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

FULL OF FAITH

Acts 6:1-7

6:1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian 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, 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.

NIV

Here, we are first introduced to Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. We will spend more time with Stephen later, yet we cannot help but think about what he must have been like. What was his personality? Why was he so full of faith and so full of the Holy Spirit? He must have been a powerful believer, having no doubts about his salvation and the resurrection of Jesus. When did Stephen become a believer? Was he part of the first disciples of one hundred and twenty that were in the room when Jesus appeared to them? Was he one of the many who heard Peter's speech on the Day of Pentecost and was added to their number? Because he was full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit, we believe he had to be among those in the room when the Spirit came as a mighty rushing wind, and what appeared as flames of fire settled on each of them. We will ponder Stephen further, but for now, we should focus on why the apostles decided to have the brothers choose seven men to become deacons, who would administer to the physical needs of the widows. Their reasoning was that they should not be distracted from attention to prayer and the ministry of the word. This gives us a clue into how the church should function. At first, when the church was small, perhaps the apostles took care of the needs of widows, but as the numbers increased, it would have taken too much time from the ministry of the word, so the introduction of deacons was made. This teaches us that clergy should not be involved in the daily administration of the church, but should spend their time in prayer and the ministry of the word. That is not to say that pastors should divorce themselves from what goes on in the church; rather, they are the spiritual leaders. This does not mean they should not serve the church in various ways, for they should be servant leaders, as Jesus demonstrated throughout his time with his disciples. However, today it seems pastors do need to be part of the church, serving and doing things to build it up. However, pastors should never neglect focusing on prayer and the ministry of the word. However, it seems that in some denominations, within the organization, clergy are hired as administrators. However, the pattern given in this text is for the local church system rather than for the organization of districts, regions, parishes, schools, and denominational headquarters. Within the local church, there should be deacons to administer to the people's needs, while the pastor can serve in an overseer capacity. The first responsibility of the pastor is prayer and the ministry of the word; let the deacons attend to being deacons, full of faith and the Holy Spirit.