God’s Word for You
Acts 6:5 Full of faith
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Tuesday, December 3, 2019
5 This proposal pleased the whole gathering. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. They also chose Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
Before we look at the names of these men, let’s notice Luke’s phrase, “They chose.” Wouldn’t it be nice to know how this happened? Did they vote on it? Americans like to think so. Americans love to find voting all over the Scriptures, but the word “vote” only occurs in Acts 26:10, where Paul remembers voting (as Saul) in favor of putting men like Stephen (the Stephen in this verse) to death. Did the Christian group cast lots? Perhaps. Casting lots was an ancient, time-honored and Scriptural means of making decisions (Leviticus 16:8; 1 Samuel 14:42; 1 Chronicles 26:14; Esther 3:7, 9:24; Proverbs 16:33; Jonah 1:7). The strongest argument in favor of thinking that they cast lots here was that the apostles had done that to choose Matthias in Acts 1:26. But they might have employed some other means, such as nominating seven names and then closing the nominations.
The first pair of names will recur throughout the following chapters of Acts, Stephen in chapters 6-7, and Philip in chapters 8 and 21. This is not the same Philip who was already an apostle (John 1:43-48, 12:21-22, 14:8-9), but the man who would later drive out demons in Samaria, encounter Simon the Sorcerer (the namesake of the sin of simony), and explain the gospel to the Ethiopian eunuch.
Nothing is known for certain about the other five men. There is an ancient tradition that Procurus was the nephew of Stephen, and that he was a disciple of the apostle John. There are also traditions that Nicanor eventually traveled to Cyprus and was martyred there, that Parmenas later became bishop of Soli in Cilicia (Asia Minor), and that Nicholas of Antioch worked miracles and was martyred. Traditions about Timon conflict with one another, especially those coming from the Egyptian Coptic church.
Why seven? We are not told, except that it was the suggestion the apostles made. It seemed to make sense to the group, and so it was the number they used. Perhaps (this is only speculation) there were seven branch congregations in or around Jerusalem that had more Hellenistic Christians and who therefore needed this kind of help. All seven men who were chosen had Greek names, suggesting that all of them had Greek background or parentage.
While their Greek background made them good candidates for this position, the qualifications were simple: They were filled with faith and the Holy Spirit.
Having faith, trusting in Christ’s atoning sacrifice and in the providence of God, meant that these men would understand and believe that God would take care of the needs of these widows and others who needed their help. Having the Holy Spirit meant that they were moved by their faith to act on it, to do whatever was necessary to see to the physical and spiritual needs of the people in their care. That’s faith being put into action by God himself. Some Christians, like these seven men, have a Divine Call given through the church to serve Christ in public ministry on behalf of the whole church. All Christians have a private call from the Holy Spirit to put our faith into practice with everything that we do. Whatever you do, do it to the glory of God.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.