5 And this saying was pleasing to all of them: and they made selection of Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicolas of Antioch, who had become a Jew:
For he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith: and a great number were joined to the Lord.
And on the day after, we went away and came to Caesarea, where we were guests in the house of Philip, the preacher, who was one of the seven.
Take then from among you seven men of good name, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, to whom we may give control of this business.
Now there were at Antioch, in the church there, prophets and teachers, Barnabas, and Symeon who was named Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, a relation of Herod the king, and Saul.
And Philip went down to Samaria and was teaching them about Christ. And all the people gave attention to the words which Philip said, when they saw the signs which he did. For unclean spirits came out from those who had them, crying with a loud voice; and a number of those who were ill and broken in body were made well. And there was much joy in that town. But there was a certain man named Simon, who in the past had been a wonder-worker and a cause of surprise to the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was a great man: To whom they all gave attention, from the smallest to the greatest, saying, This man is that power of God which is named Great. And they gave attention to him, because for a long time his wonder-working powers had kept them under his control. But when they had faith in the good news given by Philip about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, a number of men and women had baptism. And Simon himself had faith and, having had baptism, he went with Philip and, seeing the signs and the great wonders which he did, he was full of surprise. Now when the Apostles at Jerusalem had news that the people of Samaria had taken the word of God into their hearts, they sent to them Peter and John; Who, when they came there, made prayer for them, that the Holy Spirit might be given to them: For up to that time he had not come on any of them; only baptism had been given to them in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they put their hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came on them. Now when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the touch of the Apostles' hands, he made them an offering of money, saying, Give me this power, so that when I put my hands on anyone he may get the Holy Spirit. But Peter said, May your money come to destruction with you, because you had the idea that what is freely given by God may be got for a price. You have no part in this business, because your heart is not right before God. Let your heart be changed, and make prayer to God that you may have forgiveness for your evil thoughts. For I see that you are prisoned in bitter envy and the chains of sin. And Simon, answering, said, Make prayer for me to the Lord, so that these things which you have said may not come on me. So they, having given their witness and made clear the word of the Lord, went back to Jerusalem, giving the good news on their way in a number of the small towns of Samaria. But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, Get up, and go to the south, to the road which goes from Jerusalem to Gaza, through the waste land. And he went and there was a man of Ethiopia, a servant of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, and controller of all her property, who had come up to Jerusalem for worship; He was going back, seated in his carriage, and was reading the book of the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, Go near, and get on his carriage. And Philip, running up to him, saw that he was reading Isaiah the prophet, and said to him, Is the sense of what you are reading clear to you? And he said, How is that possible when I have no guide? And he made Philip get up by his side. Now the place in the book where he was reading was this: He was taken, like a sheep, to be put to death; and as a lamb is quiet when its wool is being cut, so he made no sound: Being of low degree, his cause was not given a hearing: who has knowledge of his family? for his life is cut off from the earth. And the Ethiopian said to Philip, About whom are these words said by the prophet? about himself, or some other? So Philip, starting from this writing, gave him the good news about Jesus. And while they were going on their way, they came to some water, and the Ethiopian said, See, here is water; why may I not have baptism? [] And he gave orders for the carriage to be stopped, and the two of them went down into the water, and Philip gave him baptism. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away; and the Ethiopian saw him no more, for he went on his way full of joy. But Philip came to Azotus, and went through all the towns, preaching the good news, till he came to Caesarea.
But they were not able to get the better of him, for his words were full of wisdom and of the Spirit.
And you have those who keep the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
But at least you have the credit of hating the works of the Nicolaitans, as I do.
Then it seemed good to the Apostles and the rulers and all the church, to send men from among them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; Judas, named Barsabbas, and Silas, chief men among the brothers:
A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you go about land and sea to get one disciple and, having him, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
But I truly am full of the spirit of the Lord, with power of judging and with strength to make clear to Jacob his wrongdoing and to Israel his sin.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Acts 6
Commentary on Acts 6 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 6
Ac 6:1-7. First Election of Deacons.
1. the Grecians—the Greek-speaking Jews, mostly born in the provinces.
the Hebrews—those Jews born in Palestine who used their native tongue, and were wont to look down on the "Grecians" as an inferior class.
were neglected—"overlooked" by those whom the apostles employed, and who were probably of the Hebrew class, as being the most numerous. The complaint was in all likelihood well founded, though we cannot suspect the distributors of intentional partiality. "It was really just an emulation of love, each party wishing to have their own poor taken care of in the best manner" [Olshausen].
the daily ministration—the daily distribution of alms or of food, probably the latter.
2-4. the multitude—the general body of the disciples.
It is not reason—The word expresses dislike; that is "We cannot submit."
to leave the word of God—to have our time and attention withdrawn from preaching; which, it thus appears, they regarded as their primary duty.
to serve tables—oversee the distribution of provisions.
3. look ye out among you—that is, ye, "the multitude," from among yourselves.
seven men of honest report—good reputation (Ac 10:22; 1Ti 3:7).
full of the Holy Ghost—not full of miraculous gifts, which would have been no qualification for the duties required, but spiritually gifted (although on two of them miraculous power did rest).
and wisdom—discretion, aptitude for practical business.
whom we may appoint—for while the election was vested in the Christian people, the appointment lay with the apostles, as spiritual rulers.
4. we will give ourselves to prayer—public prayer, as along with preaching their great work.
5. Stephen, &c.—As this and the following names are all Greek, it is likely they were all of the "Grecian" class, which would effectually restore mutual confidence.
6. when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them—the one proclaiming that all official gifts flowed from the Church's glorified Head, the other symbolizing the communication of these to the chosen office-bearers through the recognized channels.
7. word of God increased … disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly—prosperity crowning the beautiful spirit which reigned in this mother community.
a great company of the priests were obedient, &c.—This was the crowning triumph of the Gospel, whose peaceful prosperity was now at its greatest height. After Stephen's teaching and trial made it clear that sacerdotal interests could not stand with the Gospel, such priestly accessions became rare indeed. Note (1) how easily misunderstandings may arise among the most loving and devoted followers of the Lord Jesus: but (2) How quickly and effectually such misunderstandings may be healed, where honest intentions, love, and wisdom reign: (3) What a beautiful model for imitation is furnished by the class here complained of, who, though themselves the majority, chose the new office-bearers from amongst the complaining minority! (4) How superior to the lust of power do the apostles here show themselves to be, in not only divesting themselves of the immediate superintendence of temporal affairs in the Christian community, but giving the choice of those who were to be entrusted with it to the disciples at large! (5) How little of formal organization did the apostles give to the Church at first, and when an emergency arose which demanded something more, how entirely was the remedy suggested by the reason of the thing! (6) Though the new office-bearers are not expressly called Deacons here, it is universally admitted that this was the first institution of that order in the Church; the success of the expedient securing its permanency, and the qualifications for "the office of a Deacon" being laid down in one of the apostolical Epistles immediately after those of "a Bishop" (1Ti 3:8-13).
Ac 6:8-15. Stephen Arraigned before the Sanhedrin.
8. And Stephen, &c.—The foregoing narrative seems to be only an introduction to what follows.
full of faith—rather, "of grace," as the best manuscripts read.
9, 10. synagogue of the Libertines—Jewish freedmen; manumitted Roman captives, or the children of such, expelled from Rome (as appears from Josephus and Tacitus), and now residing at Jerusalem.
Cyrenians—Jews of Cyrene, in Libya, on the coast of Africa.
them of Cilicia—amongst whom may have been Saul of Tarsus (Ac 7:58; 21:39).
and of Asia—(See on Ac 16:6).
10. not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake—What he said, and the power with which he spake it, were alike resistless.
11-14. blasphemous words against Moses—doubtless referring to the impending disappearance of the whole Mosaic system.
and against God—This must refer to the supreme dignity and authority which he claimed for Christ, as the head of that new economy which was so speedily to supersede the old (compare Ac 7:56, 59, 60).
15. as … the face of an angel—a play of supernatural radiance attesting to all who beheld his countenance the divine calm of the spirit within.