Joyful Moments in Christ

If we belong to a church, we will need to choose leaders and navigate conflict. The early church was no exception! Let’s see what type of wisdom we can gain through a study of the entire chapter of Acts 6. In this chapter, we will see a particular church deal with problems of a practical nature, choose their first deacons, witness significant growth, and struggle with jealousy and misguided motives from those outside the church.

Choosing Deacons: Acts 6:1-6

In Acts 6:1-6, we see that the Hellenistic Jews and the Hebraic Jews were arguing about food distribution to their widows. This is a very valid concern and needed to be addressed!

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

Acts 6:1-6 (ESV)

So, what was the difference between the Hellenistic Jews and the Hebraic Jews? Basically, the Hebraic Jews spoke Hebrew and followed traditional Jewish customs. On the other hand, the Hellenistic Jews spoke Greek, lived in Greek towns, and tried to integrate into Greek culture. It is easy to see why the Hebraic Jews may have treated them like second class citizens. By genetics, the Hellenistic Jews should have been a full part of the Jewish community, but they had chosen the culture of the surrounding nations.

Discussion Question #1: What specific practical concerns does your church community actively address in its discussions?

The beauty of the gospel is that Jesus wants all people groups to be united in Christ. Galatians 3:25-29 says this beautifully:

But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Galatians 3:25-29 (ESV)

Discussion Question #2: Reflecting on your church community, can you identify instances where individuals or groups might be treated as second-class citizens? How can proactive measures be taken to rectify such situations?

When we look at this story, we see that the church was primarily set up to deal with teaching, but now that they were getting more followers, real-life practical needs started coming up and they were not well equipped to deal with them. A group of people seemed to be caring for the Hebraic widows, but the Hellenistic widows were being overlooked.

While the teachers could have dealt with this problem, it would have taken them away from their primary focus of spreading the gospel message. The solution was to divide the leaders into teachers and helpers. In today’s churches, this division is typically labeled elders and deacons.

Read: Acts 6:3-4 – A Memory Verse about Division of Labor

Discussion Question #3: In your church community, what responsibilities do the elders have? What responsibilities do the deacons have?

In these verses, we see that the teaching leaders tell the people to “pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.” This seems like great wisdom! Who wants a selfish thief to be in charge of distributing food to the widows? People who have a track record of good deeds and wisdom is a great start. When we add “full of the Spirit,” the person seems like exactly the type of leader that was needed to deal with the practical needs of the church.

Discussion Question #4: When your church selects deacons, what specific characteristics are prioritized? In practical terms, how do you envision deacons employing these attributes to offer meaningful assistance to fellow church members?

One thing that is interesting to note is that all of the names in Acts 6:5 are Greek names. It is very probable that the past behavior of the Hebraic Jews disqualified them from this particular round of “deacon” voting and that only Hellenistic Jews, and one Gentile, were chosen.

Hopefully, the Hebraic Jews realized their mistakes, repented, and were eligible for the next round of voting. I don’t love the idea of representation of only one group of people on an elder or deacon board, but there are situations where it becomes necessary. The hope is that the church can then step in and provide training before the next election cycle.

Discussion Question #5: Have there been instances in your church where fulfilling biblical qualifications for elder or deacon roles resulted in a less balanced leadership structure? If so, how was this addressed in subsequent election cycles? If not, what preventative measures does your church undertake?

The Impact of Great Leaders: Acts 6:7

The impact from choosing great leaders is incredible. In Acts, the results of choosing these seven leaders was that the word of God continued to be spread and great numbers of people were added to the church.

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Acts 6:7(ESV)

Discussion Question #6: Reflect on the impact of great leaders in your church community. Identify specific positive outcomes resulting from their ministries. Alternatively, if challenges persist, can you pinpoint underlying issues contributing to a lack of positive change?

The Problem of Jealousy: Acts 6:8-15

Of course, good results can make others jealous. In this case, Stephen was getting criticism from Jewish people who weren’t so sure about the claims of Jesus and they started a campaign to silence him.

And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Acts 6:8-15 (ESV)

While many of Stephen’s naysayers could have had pure, but misguided, motives (e.g. Paul), many of them may have also had twinges of jealousy that fueled their anger. The key to this is in verse 10: “But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.” If wisdom was showing that Stephen was right, why did they continue to fight against it?

Read: Empowered by the Holy Spirit: Lessons from Stephen’s Wisdom in Acts 6:10

Of course, blasphemy is a serious charge that we want to keep out of our churches. There are serious problems that occur when we allow contrary-to-God ideas to take root. If we do think that someone is saying something blasphemous in our churches, we need to ensure that God’s words reign supreme! In this case, the people did not see Jesus as God, and despite all of their efforts, they could not find wisdom to fight the words that were coming from Stephen’s mouth. The only word that made sense to them was “blasphemy,” so instead of making an honest defense, they set up false witnesses. What a tragedy! God can speak for himself!

When we experience something similar in our own lives and churches, we need to seriously think about whether the speaker’s words are incorrect, or whether our own ideas are incorrect. In this case, the people were so set against the idea that Jesus could be God, that they wouldn’t listen to the Spirit’s wisdom that was pouring from Stephen’s mouth, but instead set up false witnesses. Why did they stick to charges of blasphemy when they couldn’t find a good argument to support their opinion? Shouldn’t have they been able to come up with something convincing?

Discussion Question #7: In verse 10, what do the words “they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking” mean? Why do you think that some people then instigate trouble against Stephen?

Discussion Question #8: Share personal experiences of times when your convictions were challenged, and you struggled to articulate supporting arguments. Did you maintain your original stance, or did you undergo a change of perspective? What influenced your decision?

Discussion Question #9: When contentious or potentially blasphemous topics arise within your church, how can your community discern whether they genuinely contradict God’s teachings? How should individuals respond when unable to present convincing arguments, and how can disagreements be respectfully navigated?

Discussion Question #10: Consider the role of the Holy Spirit in these verses. How can we ensure that our words and actions align with those of the Holy Spirit?

Read: Musings about Discernment: Right vs. Almost Right

As we go out this week, let’s really consider the power of choosing good leaders who are filled with the Holy Spirit. When we hear Spirit filled wisdom, let’s reflect on the words and figure out how to integrate that wisdom into our lives, rather than fight against it. Fighting against God is a losing battle!

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English Standard Version (ESV): Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.