Last time we looked at the election of seven men to serve as deacons of the first church. One of those seven was Stephen. We finish chapter 6 tonight with a detailed description of Stephen and the model he was for us to follow. For the next three studies, including tonight, we are going to look closely at Stephen and see how he was the first martyr of the church as well. Each study will take us into the next scene, as if we were watching a play. Tonight is scene one.
Stephen was a layman, he was an extraordinary man, and he was a great servant of God. His name means a crown. We are going to see in the next three studies that Stephen was:
• Full of the Holy Spirit.
• Full of grace.
• Full of power.
• Full of wisdom.
• A man of great reputation or testimony.
• A man of great works.
• A great defender.
• The first deacon of the church.
• The first martyr of the church.
Let’s get into the Scripture.
READ v. 8. Here Stephen is described as a man full of grace and power, doing great works for God. When it says he was full of grace, it means that Stephen was a man full of God’s love, God’s favor, His gifts and His blessings. He had a godly gracious character. His behavior exemplified God’s character.
He was also full of God’s power. He did great wonders and miraculous signs. God’s grace and power were on him. And it’s here that we need to be reminded that both grace and power from the Holy Spirit are necessary before a person can serve God effectively.
So many times someone comes up with a project or a plan on how they can enhance God’s ministry. Unfortunately, so many times, that person is trying to handle the ministry on their own, seeking to gain recognition, seeking fame, and they forget Whose ministry it is. If a person doesn’t have the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, they cannot effectively serve God—mostly because of the wrong motives.
Am I clear enough on that? If you are trying to “climb the corporate ladder”, (if there is such a thing in church), then that is the wrong motive. If your motive is to get your name in the church bulletin, or in the church minutes, or whatever, is that the right motive? No. If a ministry is going to work, it must be from God. If it’s from God, He will give His grace and the power of the Holy Spirit to carry out that ministry, to HIS glory.
When we say “power”, we mean that the believer’s power is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit within him. The believer has no spiritual power of himself. The power is of the Holy Spirit alone.
READ v. 9-10. Stephen was a man who defended the faith. He preached in several synagogues throughout Jerusalem. The synagogues mentioned in v. 9 are Grecian names. Sometime around A.D. 19 the Roman emperor, Tiberius, had expelled all Jews from Rome. Many of them had returned to their homeland, some settling in Jerusalem. When they returned, because of their common language and culture, they clung together, starting their worship centers or synagogues.
The point being made here is that this dynamic layman, Stephen, grasped every opportunity he could to preach. At every opportunity Stephen was traveling all over the city, preaching Christ to the Grecian Jews.
Note the word “arose” in v. 9. It literally means stood up. Five synagogues in particular stood up against Stephen. They opposed what he was preaching. Some people throughout the years that I’ve been pastor here at SEBC have opposed what I preach. I won’t mention names because many of you know them or knew them. But the fact of the matter is, in every case where I was opposed on something I preached, every case, those opponents were focused on what pleased them and not focused on the Word being preached. They focused maybe on one or two words that I used, maybe one illustration that I used that THEY didn’t like. They ignored, in every case, what God was saying through it all.
In Stephen’s case, there was a strong reason for the opposition of the Grecian Jews. They and their forefathers had been forcibly deported out of their homeland and scattered across the world by the Romans. While living in the foreign lands of the world, they had remained faithful to their Jewish religion. The message of Jesus Christ was a threat to them and their religion.
For example, Stephen was preaching that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God, sacrificed for the sins of the world. Animal sacrifices were no longer needed. He preached that Jesus is the Mediator between God and man; man was now to worship God in spirit and truth through Christ and Him alone. Earthly priests were no longer mediators who stood between God and man. They were the ministers and servants of God, but not mediators.
The Grecian Jews saw that the preaching of Jesus as the supreme sacrifice and mediator went against everything they had been taught and stood for. They didn’t see Jesus as the fulfillment of the law and of everything they held precious. So they stood up and argued against Stephen. Get this picture—they stood up right in the middle of Stephen’s preaching and began to argue with him. They evidently did this many times.
Stephen was filled with wisdom and with the Spirit of God in defending the faith. They could stand against Stephen but they couldn’t stand against the Holy Spirit who was in him and speaking through him. The Holy Spirit was supplying the answers, the thoughts, and the words to say.
It is likely that Saul of Tarsus, who later became the Apostle Paul, was probably a member of the Libertine or Cilician synagogue. Saul was from Tarsus of Cilicia and was now in Jerusalem. He was certainly attending some synagogue, so he was probably attending the one of his own countrymen.
But Saul had also been born of a freed man, so he could have been a member of the Libertine. Most likely he was one of those who suffered defeat in arguing with Stephen and became so hostile against him. Paul was certainly aware of the message Stephen preached. He was the one who took charge of Stephen’s murder which we will see soon.
But the fact is that men often do stand against believers, but the man who opposes and argues against the believer’s witness is resisting the Holy Spirit, not the believer. The HS gives the genuine believer the thoughts and words to say in bearing witness to the world. But not every witness is of the Spirit. A person must be under the control of the Spirit just as Stephen was.
READ 11-14. This runs a close parallel to what happened to Jesus. The synagogues were so angered at Stephen that they bribed men to lie against him. This stirred the people and the leaders against him. They arrested and dragged him to court before the Sanhedrin, (Supreme Court) putting him on trial for his life.
The word for “stirred up” means to be shaken with a violent shaking as with a volcano. This was the first time the people themselves were aroused against the disciples. The word “seized” means to take with much violence. So they literally seized him and dragged him to court.
The charges were threefold. Blasphemy against the temple or holy place. The Jews were always taught that the Temple was where the presence of God was. Stephen was preaching that God resided in the hearts and lives of people. God’s presence actually fills the whole world. Jesus has made it possible for God to fill the hearts of men with the presence of His Spirit, and His presence is permanent. The believer’s body can now become the temple of the HS. But note that Stephen wasn’t saying that God no longer dwells in the temple. God does dwell in His church, the place sanctified, set apart for Him.
We need to instill that thought in the minds and hearts of our children, our youth, as well as some of our adults. This is God’s house. When we gather, we are in the presence of God. We need to remember that and be as reverent as we can once worship begins. We have several that that thought has never crossed their minds. You can tell by their actions.
Another charge against Stephen was blasphemy or speaking against the law. By law the Jews meant the Scribal Law, all the commentaries and interpretations of the Scripture. Stephen was preaching that Christ fulfills the law. So God’s law is not destroyed but fulfilled in Christ. He is now the ideal, the pattern, the standard we are to follow. The law is not erased; it is embraced in the life of Christ.
The third charge was preaching the destruction of the temple and of Jewish customs. The emphasis is that it was Jesus who was to destroy the temple and customs of the people. The charges were false. Stephen was preaching that Christ fulfills man’s need for God and for salvation.
Man’s need for God’s presence is now abundantly fulfilled in Christ. He is now the standard of God for all men.
READ v. 15. Stephen was a man who was surrounded by God’s presence. Notice that all the council members saw God’s presence upon Stephen’s face. The words “face of an angel” refers to some splendor, or glow, or shining radiance—some glory that was present. Apparently God gave Stephen some special glory or presence of Himself that had been experienced by Moses as well as by Christ.
You might remember from Ex. 34:30 - 30 So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.
This same experience is told of Jesus – Matthew 17:2 - 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.
Lk. 9:29 - 29 And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.
As I was studying for this message, God brought me to 2 Cor. 3:18. This verse reminds us of whose we are and that we are to let God’s light shine from us.
2 Cor. 3:18 - 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
Stephen was persecuted severely. You will be as well as you take a stand for Christ. But in the end, God will prevail.
