Seeing His Glory

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

SEEING HIS GLORY

Acts 7:54-60 7:54-60

54 When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.

NIV

After being charged with being "Stiff-necked," they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. That is a strange response, to grind their teeth at him. What we imagine is that their anger was so intense that they clenched their teeth, as if they were growling at him, with hatred in their hearts, and it was reflected in their eyes. However, Stephen's faith was so powerful that he looked up and saw heaven and the glory of God. This is not a normal experience most people would have, yet Stephen was just an ordinary man. He was full of the Holy Spirit and the power of God. That may not be ordinary, as it would seem many believers do not exhibit the qualities, power, and vision that Stephen had. To peer into heaven and see the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God requires both faith and the power of the Holy Spirit at work within. This could be our lesson. We could see the glory of God, but we would first need to be full, that is, completely full, not half or somewhat full of the Holy Spirit. Maybe Stephen was a special man, yet he was just a man who did more than believe in God; he believed God, and lived as one who believed God's power could be at work within him. Do we live like that? Do we truly believe God and give the Holy Spirit absolute freedom to exhibit his power and might within us? There is another lesson we could take to heart: the Sanhedrin's response. Of course, no one likes to be called "stiff-necked" stubborn or obstinate as the Greek word implies. However,  being taught, corrected, rebuked, and trained are all part of a believer's life, as we explore the scriptures, because all are God-breathed. Anger, being furious, gnashing our teeth, growling at someone because we think we have been offended, is not being full of the Spirit and the grace of God, but rather we would be full of ourselves. Covering our ears is also not the way of life for a believer, as if we did, it would be closing our ears to the truth of God that corrects us and shows us the right way to live. It was the pride of the men of the Sanhedrin that caused their furiousness, to the point of rushing Stephen and stoning him to death. They were so self-righteous and opposed to the truth of God, seeing that the only one righteous is Jesus, God. When we start to think of ourselves as holy and righteous, believing we are doing everything right, being religious enough, spiritual enough, doing enough good, almost to the point that we do not admit our sinful nature or that we have sin in our lives, we have lost the truth. Everything we know about Stephen tells us that he was sold out for God, that he was totally full of faith, the Spirit, God's grace, and power. Lord, fill us with your Spirit, your grace, and your power so that we can see heaven opened and see your glory.