8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and were arguing with Stephen. 10 But they were unable to oppose the wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and they came up to him, dragged him away, and brought him to the Sanhedrin. 13 And they put forward false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases speaking words against this holy place and the Law; 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us.” 15 And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the Sanhedrin saw his face like the face of an angel. Acts 6: 8-15 LSB
Acts 6: 8-15
…12A deacon must be the husband of but one wife, a good manager of his children and of his own household. 13For those who have served well as deacons acquire for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 3: 12-13
V. 8 And Stephen - We just discussed the prior selection of Stephen and others to minister to the widows. They were the first deacons of the church, and the deciding factor was their godliness, that they were men of spiritual integrity, humble, not greedy for gain, role models for the church. They, in their sanctification, are the type of Christians we should all be aiming to be, more and more conformed to the image of Christ. This was such a man.
V. 8b Full of grace and power - This is being filled with the Spirit of God, and very distinguishing. We can do many things in our own power, have a system of works, go to church, tell people about a Jesus we don't really know, quote the Bible even, but our efforts are in vain if we are not empowered by the Spirit. It is even more gross to attribute works, error, euphoria etc. to the Holy Spirit, when He is the Spirit of truth and grace. Stephen is an excellent communicator of the grace of God, God's unmerited favor towards those who are being saved, and hell's minions hate him.
Horton on full of grace - The phrase "full of grace" is found in only one other passage in the New Testament (John 1:14+), and there it describes Jesus. The Holy Spirit could use Stephen because he reflected the character of Jesus. (Acts: A Logion Press Commentary)
Grace (favor) (5485)(charis from from chairo = to rejoice) is a word which defies a simple definition but at its core conveys the sense of favor while the specific nuances of charis depend on the context in which it is used. Someone has written that the word grace is probably the greatest word in the Scriptures, even greater even than “love,” because grace is love in action, and therefore includes it. Stephen was a man who manifested "love in action!" - PA
V. 8c Was doing great signs and wonders among the people - This is a sign that shows he is one of Jesus' disciples, that his message should be taken seriously, and it has to be more than a little uncomfortable for his listeners. Peter has already made it clear that both the Pharisees and the Sadducees have killed their long awaited Messiah, and this is part of the message, yet with a "but", but there is grace available to those who believe. The great stand off is that the Pharisees were satisfied with their own system of works, and the liberal Sadducees were satisfied with their own reasoning, materialism, and both parties were legalist. For the Sadducees there is a double blunder, an added insult, for they have taught men that there is no supernatural, no such thing as the miraculous, yet you believe there is a Creator, as if life, the universe, the whole of Creation is not in itself a miracle. You say that, you teach that, but then there was this Jesus who raised people from the dead while you were teaching them that there is no such thing as the resurrection. Now there is this Stephen, full of the same Spirit, and probably holding his own debating even the greater Pharisees, like Paul, who at this time is still Saul. It is not stated that Saul is here for this debate, but he will be placed right after this as the one consenting to his murder.
12 The signs of a true apostle were worked out among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles. 2 Corinthians 12: 12
…17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.” 19After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.…
20And they went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked through them, confirming His word by the signs that accompanied it. Mark 16: 17-20
V. 9 Synagogue of the Freedmen - These were Hellenistic Jews, and this should not be confused with them all being outright Hellenists, as in Greek in their philosophy or behavior, but practicing Jews who were born outside of Israel. They had Roman citizenship, but they followed Jewish law. Paul would be the greatest example of these, and he was a respected Jewish mind, taught by Gamaliel. There is a but which brings this in conjunction with verse 8, and also signifies a shift. Stephen is "full of grace and power" but these men, "rose up and were arguing with Stephen." This is the harder side of discipleship, one and the same call. We enjoy fellowship with other believers, being surrounded by those who love us, and we enjoy when everyone else agrees with us or likes what we are saying, but then there is this reality, that not everyone will like us or agree with us, and so how important is it to stand by the truth when it's not going over so well? Stephen's story will show us, and it's why we need to be filled with the Spirit. If you think you are a Christian, and I hope you are, then remember this, look at all these things against the backdrop of eternity, because we are told not to be anxious. Paul will later have to comfort Timothy about these very things, argumentative people, stress, anxiety. Imagine what its like to be a pastor sometimes. Everyone thinks you should have every answer, even your own congregants, many have their own pet peeves and want to hammer the pastor every Sunday. Sometimes its important, sometimes its just chest beating, but Stephen is facing people outside of the church who are not going to agree to disagree and leave it at that.
…19‘Lord,’ I answered, ‘they know very well that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You. 20And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ 21Then He said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”… Acts 22: 19-21
16Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17But beware of men; for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues. 18On My account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.… Matthew 10: 16-18
…4So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.… 2 Timothy 4: 4-6
V. 10 But they were unable to oppose the wisdom - Stephen won the debate, and we think, great, this is like a rap battle on the movie 8 Mile, and now he get's to drop his mic and walk off like a boss. That's not the scene, and Christianity is not a stage to promote us or our worldly wisdom. We are called to contend for the faith, but we are also called to be humble. Those inside our group, claiming to be Christians, who bring in heresy, those we must confront, try to reconcile back to sound doctrine, and if they won't then we must be prepared not to associate, otherwise we share in their sin. We should never call a wolf a sheep.
…7As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-absorbed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money. 8Instead, he must be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it.… Titus 1: 7-9
17Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them. 18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 19Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil.… Romans 16: 17-19
3If anyone teaches another doctrine and disagrees with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching, 4he is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and semantics, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions, 5and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.… 1 Timothy 6: 3-5
2Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. 3Beloved, although I made every effort to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints. 4For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.… Jude 1: 2-4
V. 11 We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God - Reason, going through the Scriptures with Stephen, didn't pan out. He schooled them, but didn't change their minds, and now they're furious. Note though that they bring up Moses, it will be really important later.
…10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.… Matthew 5: 10-12
Vs. 12-14 This Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place - Jesus got in trouble for saying that not one stone of the temple would be left upon another, and this was actually a prediction of what took place in 70 A.D. when Rome came and destroyed the place. He also spoke of His own body and said, "destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again." They accused Jesus of threatening the temple, Rome, and blasphemy, and now they are doing it to His Stephen. You will win in a fair fight, so just know right now that most of the time it won't be fair.
17This is My command to you: Love one another. 18If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. 19If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.… John 15: 17-19
V. 15 And fixing their gaze on him, all who sitting in the Sanhedrin saw his face like the face of an angel - This is scary, beyond scary, and really hard to understand their mindset here, but it's in all of us until God changes us. Remember how they said he spoke against Moses, well that probably has some to do with the law, because Stephen is teaching about grace which is found outside the law, because God is perfect and eternally so, and no one perfectly keeps the law. The Jews felt like they kept it good enough, and if that didn't work then they felt like being related to Abraham was good enough. The Sadducees weren't afraid because they thought that once you die then that was it, no worries. But what is it like to look at the face of an angel, well, in Scripture men don't want to see it, they stumble over their words because angels reflect the holiness of the God they stand before, and we are unholy. John accidentally worshiped an angel, which we are told not to do, but every time that men have such an encounter it is madness, and for those that loved God, it was still too overwhelming. Isaiah immediately realized he was a man of unclean lips, a vision of heaven put Ezekiel prostrate, but there was one man in the Bible who was very difficult for the people to look at, and that was Moses after every time he came before the Lord. He shined with a radiance from the Shekinah, in a way that let everyone know Who he had been before. These men revered Moses, but here is someone that God is putting before them in the same way, and yet so much more, for Moses gave the law, but Stephen preaches Christ, the fulfillment of the law, our Grace.
…34But whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would remove the veil until he came out. And when he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35and the Israelites would see that the face of Moses was radiant. So Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD. Exodus 34: 34-35
…7“Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of prophecy in this book.” 8And I am John, who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown me these things. 9But he said to me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”… Revelation 22: 7-9
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