Grace and Power

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

 GRACE AND POWER

Acts 6:8-15

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. 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 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.

NIV

We are no sooner introduced to Stephen than men oppose him. We wonder whether the opposition stemmed from Stephen being full of God's grace and power, as well as faith and the Holy Spirit. He also did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. How was it possible that Stephen did such things? He wasn't one of the twelve who walked with Jesus. He was known by the people in the early church as a man full of the Spirit and wisdom, but weren't the other six chosen by the people also supposed to be full of the Spirit and wisdom? Why was Stephen different? Why was he singled out and his story told? He was a special man, yet it was God's grace and power that brought about his fame and opposition. The difference between all those members of the Synagogue and Stephen was that they were hemmed in by their adherence to the law, regulations, rules, and traditions, while Stephen was full of wisdom and truth from God. The men of the Synagogue were most likely schooled by some rabbi or teacher of the law. We do not know what schooling Stephen had, but he was full of faith and the Holy Spirit, so we believe he was taught by the Spirit, who leads people into all truth. Ordinary men, without the power of God or the presence of the Holy Spirit, could not stand up against Stephen's wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. That is the clue we should focus on. It was the Spirit who was speaking through Stephen, or Stephen's words were prompted by the Spirit of whom he was full. That truth is what we need to apply to our lives. First, we ought to be full of the Spirit. Is it possible to have been baptized in the Spirit and not be full of the Spirit? Is it possible that we just say we have been baptized in the Spirit, but we are not? We know that if we have the presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling within, we should be exhibiting gifts and fruit. Can we forge either the gifts or the fruit of the Spirit? It might be possible to pretend, but the truth is that if we are full of the Spirit, the true evidence would show in our lives, such as being full of God's grace and power, even to the point of performing miracles, signs, and wonders among the people. There has to be a major difference between having knowledge of the scriptures and speaking as if we know the truth, and being so full of the Spirit that he speaks through us, or our words are prompted by the Spirit, as Stephen's were. Flow Spirit flow, flow through us with all your grace and power.