Happy Sunday,
Read Acts 6.1-15
Today we find out about an issue in the church and are introduced to Stephen who will be a key figure in the next chapter.
The church continued growing and as it grew tensions grew too. The big issue in this chapter is the difference in how the Greek Jews and the Hebrew Jews were being treated. As more Jews turned to Christ as their Lord and the fulfillment of Israel’s story, the less they were taken care of by their Jewish families and friends. The more who joined the church, the more needs arose. The issue at stake is that the Jews who were culturally Greek were not being taken care of as well as the Hebraic Jews. Ethnic lines have been drawn in the community.
And when the issue arises the whole church gathers in order to figure out a solution. The 12 apostles don’t wish to be taken off preaching duty, and so they ask for seven who are willing to distribute food and take care of the Greek Jewish Christians.
Notice two things about this: 1. The ones who are chosen are also full of the Spirit and wisdom. Serving the poor among them is not secondary to preaching the word of God and requires a spiritual gift. There is a delineation of gifts that God gives, and each are needed in the church.
And 2. Notice that of the 7 chosen to serve in this capacity, all of them are Greek Jews. The aggrieved party is given agency and priority in remedying the problem. They become leaders in the church. Where the Greek Jews were neglected before, now they are given leadership responsibilities in the community of God’s people.
How well do you respond when conflict arises? Do you shrink back, face it head on, seek to compromise, see it as an opportunity or a crisis? Do you think that when issues arise in church or in your family it’s an opportunity for the Spirit to move people into closer and deeper relationship with each other and God? What gifts has the Spirit given you? How are you called to serve the church and the community?
Grace and Peace,
Matt
Inductive Questions: (These will be included each day and your work on them will be the foundation we build upon at our Wednesday evening in-person and Zoom Bible Study as we explore the church, mission, and Holy Spirit in Acts.)
Pick at least one of these to be a focus for all of Acts, but answer as many of them as you want.
- What does the church look like in Acts? Who is a part of it? What do they do? How is it formed? How does it relate to mission and the Spirit? In other words (fancy, technical terms) What is the ecclesiology of Acts?
- What does mission look like in Acts? Who does it? What do they do? How does it happen? How does it relate to the church and the Spirit? In other words (fancy, technical terms) What is the missiology of Acts?
- What does the Holy Spirit look like in Acts? What does the Spirit do? How is the Spirit active? How does it relate to church and mission? In other words (fancy, technical terms) What is the pneumatology of Acts?
Answer the question with the language of Acts as much as possible and cite the chapter and verse reference in your notes.