The wise step of appointing seven deacons "to serve tables," and thus to liberate the apostles for prayer and preaching, like other good causes, had results which reached beyond the first object of it. It led to the formation of a most useful body of men, who have served Christ and his Church in other things beside mere "tables 'or temporalities. It brought out Stephen; and who shall say how much that had to do with the conversion of Saul, and so with the evangelization and enlightenment of the world? We learn -

I. THAT THE FAITHFUL DISCHARGE OF THE LOWER DUTY WILL LEAD TO ENTRUSTMENT WITH A HIGHER ONE. (Vers. 8, 9.) Stephen, having acquitted himself well as a deacon, and showing powers of speech and argument, was encouraged to visit the synagogues, and there "dispute" on behalf of Christian truth. And not only so, but God honored him as the channel of his Divine healing power, and he "did great wonders and miracles among the people" It is always wise to begin at or near the bottom of the scale; to do the simplest thing well, and then rise to that which is next above it. It is well, in Christian service as in secular callings and in the affairs of state, to go through the various grades until the higher and perhaps the highest are reached. Faithful work in a humbler sphere will fit for useful and honorable service in a higher; this is true of our life on earth, and will doubtless prove true respecting the life which is to come (Matthew 13:12; Luke 16:10).

II. THAT IS THE SERVICE OF CHRIST WE MUST DEPEND FOR POWER WITH MEN ON GRACE FROM GOD. Stephen was full of" grace and power" (ver. 8); full of power with men because full of grace from God. From the Divine resources there came down heavenly influences into his soul - illumination, sanctity, zeal - and he was strong to interest, to instruct, to convince, to persuade. We shall remain unsuccessful as workers for Christ, however great our natural gifts may be, except we have grace from on high to penetrate and possess our soul, and we be endued "with all might by his Spirit in the inner man."

III. THAT CHRISTIAN CONTROVERSY HAS ITS PLACE IN SACRED SERVICE. Stephen "disputed" with the Hellenistic Jews in the synagogues (ver. 9), and so effectively that "they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake" Statement of Christian doctrine and enforcement of Christian truth may take higher rank, in usefulness, than the defense of Christian theology; but the latter has its place in the field of sacred service, and those who work elsewhere should not disparage or decry it. Everything in its time and in its turn.

IV. THAT ERROR, WHEN IT IS SEATED IN THE SOUL, IS OFTEN ONLY AGGRAVATED BY THE EXHIBITION OF THE TRUTH. (Vers. 11-14.) These men who were in the wrong, instead of being enlightened and benefited by Stephen's forcible exposition, were led into folly and sin. They hired others to give testimony which was virtually if not literally false, and they did their best to compass the violent death of the man who was seeking to lead them into the kingdom of truth and life. When men are not only wrong in theory, but also bad at heart, interested in maintaining that which is false, any endeavor to enlighten them will often fan the flame of their folly and rouse to its fullest exercise the perversity which is in their souls.

V. THAT DEVOTEDNESS IS SOMETIMES RADIANT WITH HEAVENLY BRIGHTNESS. (Ver. 15.) We may Continue to dispute whether the "angel-face" of Stephen was natural or supernatural radiance. It matters little; but it is of consequence to know that the higher Christian graces will write their sign upon our countenance. As sin makes its sad and shameful traces on the frame, so purity, faith, love, devotion, will make the face to be aglow with heavenly light. Nothing but a devoted Christian life could give us such angel-faces as some of those which we see worshipping in our sanctuaries and laboring in our holy fields of love. - C.

I. THE POINTS IN WHICH STEPHEN WAS LAST.

1. His position was entirely subordinate. The deacons were appointed to help the apostles in the lower part of their functions, and even this they did not presume to do without delegation from the apostles. We may imagine, then, the apostles retiring after the ordination to give themselves without distraction to their spiritual exercises. But it was with them as with Moses of old. God took of the Spirit which was upon them and put it on those who were to bear the burden of the people with them. Stephen, etc., became the Eldad and Medad of the New Testament. Nay, Stephen was an Elisha, upon whom a double portion of their spirit rested.

2. Stephen had probably never seen our Lord, but was in all likelihood a pentecostal convert. Otherwise how could such a man have missed nomination to the vacant apostleship? But it pleased the Lord to illustrate in him that the knowledge of Christ after the Spirit is the one requirement for sanctity. "Whom having not seen, ye love."

3. The apostles had forsaken all to follow Christ, but it nowhere appears that Stephen had gone through similar hardships. His fiery trials blazed out upon him all at once, and the language of our Lord concerning the late-called labourers adapts itself with nicety in his case. He could not be said to have borne the burden and heat of the day. So we learn that God has varieties of trial, and applies them to the different characters of His servants. For Peter there is a long, wearing warfare; for John a wearisome, desolate waiting; for Stephen the letting loose upon him at the opening of his career all the hounds of hell in one fell pack. Us, perhaps, He subjects only to those little crosses which form the burden of daily life. But we must consider that in crosses, as well as comforts, God chooses what is best for us. It is possible to reach a great height of sanctity by submitting quietly and lovingly to ordinary trials.

II. THE POINTS IN WHICH HE BECAME FIRST.

1. He seems to have outstripped the apostles in spiritual intelligence, in appreciation of the breadth, comprehensiveness, and spirituality of the Divine plans. He was the morning star who ushered in the dawn of St. Paul's ministry. It is evident that the theology of the one was that of the other. St. Peter clung long to Jewish prejudices, and we have no reason to suppose that the other apostles were further advanced.

2. In zeal for his Master's honour, and devotion to his Master's cause, Stephen appears to have outstripped his contemporaries. Peter had denied his Lord, and long after, at Antioch, showed that he was not entirely emancipated from moral cowardice. But Stephen from first to last was as bold as a lion.

3. According to the omen conveyed in his name (a crown), he was the first to wear the crown of martyrdom. For most of the apostles it was also in reserve, but when they reached paradise they found Stephen already crowned. The labourer called at the eleventh hour had received his wages before those called in the morning.

4. In the brilliancy and number of his miracles Stephen rivalled if he did not outstrip the apostles (ver. 8).Lessons:

1. We should see contentedly and thankfully many alterations made in the old platform of religious thought. These are days of progress, and old-fashioned and high-principled people are made very sore by novelties. In this adherence to old ways and thoughts there is danger, while at the same time there is a safeguard. Still it is very necessary that sound conservatism does not degenerate into bigotry. Not every new idea and practice turned up by the spade of modern inquiry is bad. And as for keeping the platform of popular theology what it was half a century ago, it is impossible. So we can imagine our early Christians jealous for Christ's apostles, saying, "I do not like this Stephen: he carries matters too far; his teaching about the temple is audacious." Yet to Stephen's view the apostles came round in time.

2. It may be a stimulus to our will in the pursuit of holiness to remember that our last shall be first. Hitherto, maybe, we have made little, if any, proficiency. in religion. But if now we are willing to redeem the time, we may advance. The blood and grace of Christ are forces as fresh as ever.

(Dean Goulburn.)

It is observable that no express mention is made of his performance of deacon's functions. He shot ahead of his position, and is only known as the brave champion and first martyr of the cause of Christ. Not that we must infer that he was neglectful of the duties of his calling. His routine of daily duty needed not recording.

I. His MIRACLES. Observe how carefully we are guarded against the supposition that he was a mere wonder worker. The historian does not merely record the miracles, but tells us of the secret of them, "Stephen, full of faith," etc. The man who acts in faith, whether he works a miracle or only achieves some great enterprise for Christ, simply lays hold of the power of God. So in the triumphs of grace. If I win a victory over a besetting sin, or am brought out unharmed from temptation, it is not in my own strength. The Bible knows nothing of inherent strength. The first element of all power is self-distrust. The vine branch has no sap, and consequently no power of fructification of its own; the sap must be sent up from the stem. A little child is quite incompetent to a long walk; but if in confessed impotence it throws itself into his father's arms, he will entry it through. Sanctification, in its source and efficient cause, is no more inherent than justification. "In the Lord have I righteousness and strength."

II. HIS CONTROVERSIES. It was said that in Jerusalem there were 480 synagogues. Among these several would be appropriated to Hellenistic Jews of whom Stephen was probably one, and thus his early associations as well as his office would bring him in contact with the members of these synagogues. It is worth noting that among his opponents were representatives of each of the three continents then known. First that of the Libertines or freedmen, i.e., Jews whose ancestors had been carried captive to Rome by Pompey and others, and had there, in process of time, been emancipated. Many of them would migrate to Jerusalem, and found this synagogue representing the Italian Jews. Cyrene and Alexandria were cities of North Africa. In the former the Jews were a fourth of the population. It was a Cyrenian Jew who bore our Lord's cross, and another joined in laying hands on Paul. In Alexandria two out of its five districts were inhabited by Jews. These African Hebrews would have their representatives in the holy city, who would build their own church and have their own congregation. The Asiatic opponents of Stephen would be furnished by the representatives of the Jews in Cilicia and Asia. The mention of the former is significant. For St. Paul was a native of Tarsus in Cilicia, and according to tradition he appeared as a disputant against Stephen. But the result of the controversy was humiliating to Stephen's antagonists. "They were not able to resist," etc. (ver. 10). No wonder Christ had stricken controversialists dumb by "the mouth and wisdom" He promised to His disciples. As soon as Stephen's opponents felt his irresistibility his impeachment was arranged. Lessons:

1. The conditions of successful controversy. The controversy which carries the inner convictions does not necessarily extort open confession. This may be withheld from pride or prejudice as here. How very few controversies are more than a skirmish of words in which both parties are exasperated! Yet truth ought to be able to win its way by its own force. The three qualifications for controversy are, "a mouth," or power of expression, "wisdom," or power of argument, and lying deeper and giving effect to both, "a spirit — the Spirit of your Father." In some modern controversies, nothing but "the mouth" is exhibited, occasionally "wisdom," but it was "the Spirit" as well as "the wisdom" by which Stephen spoke which his adversaries were unable to resist. The naked logic of the intellect will not by itself convince, but the logic that is seconded by unction carries with it wonderful weight,

2. We may learn from the fact that Stephen's miracles formed but an introduction to his controversies, breaking open a passage for his arguments to reach the minds and consciences of men. Tell me not of an ecclesiastical authority whose dictates are to be received on its own ipse dixit. Stephen did not say after cleansing a few lepers, etc., "These miracles prove that we are seat from God: now listen to us at the peril of your souls." He and his colleagues came down into the lowly valley of disputation; they made a public appeal to the Holy Scriptures, and showed that Jesus was the Christ from documents admitted by their opponents. When men who could produce miracles in favour of their teaching entered the arena of controversy, how can any modern communion which has not the attestation of miracles make a claim to be believed on its own unsupported testimony?

(Dean Goulburn.)

The Book of Acts is composed upon a definite principle, to wit, what Jesus continued to do and teach after His ascension through the instrumentality of His followers. In the first five chapters this principle is illustrated in the doings and sayings of Peter. But when another steps on the arena in whom this truth is shown in a stronger light Peter is at once dropped; in the sixth and seventh chapters Stephen it is that occupies the forefront, then Philip, then Paul. The avowed object of the writer is not to show us Peter, but the "hand of the Lord"; and His hand is here more distinctly seen in Stephen than in Peter. Let us look at Stephen as —

I. A MAN (ver. 3).

1. He was an honest man, and had a reputation for honesty. Some people are honest, but they push bargains so hard that their honesty is suspected. "Provide things honest in the sight of all men." Not only be upright, but convince others of your uprightness. "So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man." "Good understanding"; on the margin, "good success." An unsullied reputation for integrity helps a man forward even in business — it wins the confidence of the public.

2. Underlying his honesty was his goodness — he was spoken well of by all who knew him. Paul afterwards said that a deacon "must have a good report of them which are without," i.e., he should not only stand well in the family and in the Church, but in the world. We should first be light; we should then "shine as lights in the world." "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify" — yourselves? No; but "your Father which is in heaven." I can look at the wall, but not through the wall; but I can look at and through the window. And a good character should be clear as glass, transparent as light — a character men can not only look at, but look through and see God beyond.

II. A CHRISTIAN (ver. 5).

1. He was "full of faith" — a strong, healthy believer. Some of his fellow members were exceedingly weak in the faith, shy, timid, vacillating; but Stephen's spiritual life was deep and vigorous. He put unbounded confidence in the new religion; he "held fast his profession." "By faith the elders obtained good report." Not a great report, perhaps, but a good one. Other factors, such as learning and riches, are necessary to obtain a great report. But faith alone, if strong, will secure you a good report, which is better than a great one. By this Stephen "still speaketh," and is still spoken of.

2. He was "full of the Holy Ghost"; and to be "full of the Holy Ghost" is better than to be "full of faith." Faith at best is only the human aspiring after the Divine; but to be "full of the Holy Ghost" is for the human to possess the Divine. To trust God is good, to have God is better. One may be "full of faith " and yet not "full of the Holy Ghost." Many of the Old Testament saints were "full of faith," but none of them were "full of the Holy Ghost " — this is the sole prerogative of saints under the New Testament? The faith of Abraham has never been excelled, but he fell into sins which could not be tolerated in the Christian Church. The apostles before the Pentecost were "full of faith," but on the Pentecost were they "filled with the Spirit"; and as a natural consequence a process of refinement was then commenced unknown to the religious experience of the Jewish Church. Under the Old Testament the Holy Ghost was "upon" men, but under the New He is "in" men — a sweetening, hallowing influence, refining the very fibre of our being. The iron cold has the same properties as the iron heated, but the one is black and dull; the other is white and vivid — the fire imparts to it its own qualities. Thus Stephen was pervaded by the refining fire of God. His whole being was transfused with celestial brightness, and therefore his character grew in fineness of texture.

III. A DEACON (ver. 8).

1. The fifth verse says he was "full of faith," the eighth (according to the best MSS.) that he was "full of grace." "Grace" means favour. In its theological sense it signifies the Divine favour shown to sinners. But as used in the context it signifies the favour shown by Stephen to those with whom he came in contact. "Grace" some suppose to have the same etymology as "grease." Be that as it may; but the body when well "greased" is lithe and nimble, easy in its carriage, graceful in its movements. Now, what grease does to the body, grace does to the soul. Stephen was elected to distribute the charity of the Church. How did he do it? Did he haughtily impress the humble recipients of his bounty with their inferiority? Certainly not. He did it with grace — beautiful ease and comfortable homeliness. Modern Christians may here learn a valuable lesson — not to insult the objects of their beneficence in the very act of succouring them. "Draw out thy soul to the hungry." Thy money? Not only that, but thy soul. Give alms by all means, but give it with grace. 6, Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth."

2. Being thus "full of grace," he was of necessity "full of power." The man devoid of grace cannot in the nature of things wield much influence. But the man habitually kind, polite, and obliging acquires an influence subtle but irresistible in the sphere in which he moves. Judging by the outward show, men are apt to mistake vehemence for power. Lightning is the strong thing in the popular imagination because of the flash and thunder accompanying it. But gravitation, whose voice is never heard, is the central force holding countless worlds in its grip. In like manner the man of wealth, learning, eloquence — the man who can flash and roar — is usually considered the powerful factor. But scan society more narrowly, and you will perceive that none of those things wield so much true power as grace.

3. "He did great wonders and miracles among the people." The same laws govern society now as then — get the grace and you will infallibly obtain the power. The great need of the present age is not physical but moral wonders. Think of our trains, steam packets, electric telegraphs, and telephones: what physical miracles can outshine these? It is within the reach of all to do wonders and to be wonders in goodness,

IV. A DISPUTANT (ver. 10).

1. They were "not able to resist the wisdom with which he spake." He proved victorious in the debate, for two reasons. First, he was evidently a practised logician. His Greek culture and Hebrew studies made him a man of great resource in argument. His speech shows him to be a man of keen philosophic insight. The second and chief reason was that he had truth on his side. The synagogue of the Cilician Jews is mentioned — the very synagogue of which young Saul of Tarsus was a member. This fact, coupled with the profound interest he took in the trial of Stephen, demonstrates conclusively that he was present. Young Saul would unquestionably be quite a match to Stephen in a bare trial of dialectic skill. But Stephen, backed by the truth, was too strong even for Saul. A weak mind, supported by a great truth, can bring about the total discomfiture of the stoutest adversary. The paramount duty of every public teacher is to seek "to be filled with wisdom," that is, with good, sound, solid information. No amount of eloquence will make up for lack of matter. God can "create out of nothing"; and doubtless He has blessed sermons with little or nothing in them. In Genesis we read but once that He "created out of nothing"; but we read repeatedly that He "created out of something" — the author being very shy of using the stronger word. That is the usual method of the Divine operation still. "The preacher sought to find out acceptable words," but "the preacher" also "was wise and taught the people knowledge." The late Rev. Henry Rees, the great Welsh preacher, being asked which kind of sermon he thought most likely the Holy Ghost would bless to the salvation of the hearers, answered, "The sermon most likely to effect their salvation without Him."

2. His "spirit" was as noteworthy as his wisdom. In a written sermon style is of great consequence. Now, what style is to a written, the spirit is to a spoken sermon. Stephen spoke with a marvellous spirit — he imparted warmth, beauty, life, force to his arguments.

3. "They were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit." The wisdom alone they could. Dry argument skims only the surface of our nature, it does not stir the depths. "Intellectual preaching" seldom moves people. Moreover, they could resist the "spirit" alone; and in this day of sensationalism it is of some moment that we remember it. Mere "hwyl," however delightful at the time, leaves our hearers securely immured in sin. But the wisdom and the spirit joined will prove irresistible. Alas! to the cavilling Jews it was the savour of death. If they could not resist his preaching, they could and did resist his person. "They suborned men — they stirred up the people — they caught him and brought him to the council."

V. A PRISONER (ver. 11, etc.).

1. The speech he made serves to show —(1) That he was profoundly versed in the Hebrew literature. It must be remembered that it was delivered at the spur of the moment under circumstances the most embarrassing. I am told that there are twelve discrepancies in it. How to account for them? Simply that Stephen was obliged to address his judges from memory without the chance of correcting himself by reference to the sacred Scriptures. Is it a cause of wonder that, in a review so minute and so searching, the valiant deacon should commit a few trivial mistakes?(2) His Greek culture and sympathy. It would be almost a matter of sheer impossibility for a man born and bred in Palestine to deliver it. Native Jews like Peter and John dogmatise; Hellenistic Jews like Stephen and Paul philosophise.(a) Stephen presents the council with a lucid and succinct philosophy of the national history. The same principle he proves to be running through Jewish history from the call of Abraham to the building of the temple. What is that principle? That true religion is independent of any fixed rite or particular locality, and that religious progress has always meant religious change, every change, however, involving progress on the part of God, but stern resistance on the part of man. What if God hath purposed to make another great change in the establishment of Christianity, and what if the Jews like their forefathers were making a resolute stand against it!(b) The critics are much exercised to know how his speech can be viewed as a refutation of the charge of blasphemy. But they overlook the fact that he does not defend himself except incidentally. His supreme desire is to vindicate not himself, but the truth. Herein Stephen, the martyr of Christianity, contrasts favourably with Socrates, the martyr of philosophy — both alike indicted for blasphemy. Socrates, to his honour be it said, scorned to stoop to any base or unworthy artifice to save his life; his thoughts nevertheless continually reverted to himself. The first personal pronoun bristles through his famous apology. But Stephen has neither "I" nor "me" on his lips so much as once — he wholly forgets himself in his intense eagerness to expound to the council the formative principles and historical career of the kingdom of God.

2. But if his speech was remarkable, his bodily appearance was more remarkable still (ver. 15).(1) Solomon says, "A man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed." Notice the young man before his admission to college — his countenance is marked by a certain degree of heaviness and opacity, is devoid of expression for the simple reason that there is behind but little to be expressed. Observe him again at the termination of his course — his features are illuminated, his eyes flash pure intelligence. Put light within a marble vase and it grows translucent. And "the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord" — Light the candle within and the face without will shine.(2) Now if wisdom is thus able to radiate through the veil of flesh, how much more goodness, and especially goodness and wisdom together? You can tell a good man by his very face. "They took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus." That wickedness stamps itself on the features is an universally acknowledged fact. On the other hand, goodness restores grace to the faded features. Many men and Women, though plain enough from an artistic standpoint, possess indescribable charm. Believe me, young people, nothing will so improve your looks as deep piety. It is significant that the word translated "good" in the New Testament may be also rendered "beautiful." Stephen was "full of faith and of the Holy Ghost," and therefore "they beheld his face as it had been the face of an angel."(3) But is this all? I believe not. When Moses returned from Sinai, "the skin of his face shone so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold it." And the angelic lustre on Stephen's face was doubtless miraculous. But here as in other instances, the miraculous, so far from obscuring the natural, serves to illustrate it. It brings out into clearer prominence a law which, were it not for the transfiguration of Stephen, of Moses, and of Christ, would escape our attention — that genuine goodness is a Divine light within, whose inevitable tendency it is to make luminous both soul and body. In regeneration this Divine spark is struck, and sanctification is only the theological name for transfiguration. "Be ye transformed in the spirit of your mind": literally, transfigured — the very same word that is used to describe the transfiguration of Christ. The Divine brightness first makes luminous the dark, dull, obtuse soul, and then the dark, dull, obtuse body. But more especially is this spiritual luminousness to be witnessed upon deathbeds. Friends beautiful in life are still more beautiful in death. Their faces seem to catch the pure beams of eternity like mountain tops the first light of day.

VI. A MARTYR.

1. Look at the mad fury of his hearers. "They were cut to the heart," "sawn asunder." The prophets of old had been "sawn asunder" by their stiffnecked forefathers; now they are "sawn asunder" by the powerful ministry of Stephen. They further "gnashed on him with their teeth." Only in one other connection is this strong phrase used — "there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." It seems as though the uncontrollable fury of the damned seized the motley crowd. Hell seemed broken loose on the streets of Jerusalem.

2. But if the rabble were wild with rage, Stephen himself was calm and collected.(1) He first offered a prayer on his own behalf. He next prayed on behalf of his murderers. So deeply had he drunk of the spirit of the Saviour, that he unconsciously quotes His very words. Nowhere outside the religion of the New Testament do we behold such majesty and meekness in the grim presence of death. Pagans may die heroically — Christians only die forgivingly.(2) No wonder that such a man should see "into heaven." His body was in a state of incipient transfiguration; his eye, therefore, supernaturally strengthened, pierced beyond the azure, and swept the vast places of eternity. Men in the present day will receive only the testimony of the senses, and because they see not heaven and hell they will not believe. But are they sure the supposed weakness of the proof lies not in the weakness of their vision? Stephen looking stedfastly into heaven, "saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God." And if credit is to be given — and why not? — to the dying testimony of saints, his is not a solitary case.(3) But not only he saw into heaven, but heaven itself was "opened." There was an elevation of the human — there was also a condescension of the Divine. Under the Old Dispensation "the way into the Holiest of All was not made manifest"; but now heaven is "opened." "After this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven" — standing open. Since Christ entered, the doors have been standing open — to offer shelter and home to the weary and persecuted pilgrims. "I see... the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God." This is the only instance except twice in the Apocalypse that Jesus after His ascension is called Son of Man. Why called so here? Because He was an object clearly discerned by the bodily eyes of Stephen. To the eyes of faith lie is Jesus or Christ or Lord; to the eyes of the body He will for ever be the Son of Man. When St. John thinks or writes of Him, He is always the Son of God; but when St. John is rapt up in vision He is the Son of Man. When He first ascended He "sat" to elbow His indisputable right to be there; but having established His right, lie sits or stands as occasion requires. Stephen sees Him standing — eagerly watching this momentous crisis in the history of the Church. And with this magnificent panorama floating before his view, the intrepid martyr "fell asleep" — "to sleep, aye, perchance to dream." This sleep of Stephen has given to our burial grounds the Christian name of "cemeteries" — they are places where our friends sleep; and "if they sleep, they will do well."

(J. Cynddylan Jones, D. D.)

(R.V.): — These two words, "grace and power," are closely connected. Their union here is significant. It was not the intellect, or the eloquence, or the activity of St. Stephen which made him powerful among the people, and crowned his labours with such success. It was his abundant grace. Eloquence, and learning, active days and laborious nights, are good and necessary things. God uses them and demands them from His people. He chooses to use human agencies, and therefore demands that the human agents shall give Him of their best, and not offer to Him the blind and lame of their flock. But these things will be utterly useless and ineffective apart from Christ and the power of His grace.

(G. T. Stokes, D. D.)

I. THE SPHERE. Amongst the four hundred and eighty synagogues which existed in Jerusalem at this time some were frequented exclusively by the Jews of the Dispersion. Families which had removed from the same region of heathenism to settle for devotion or trade in the holy city clustered together for daily prayer in the same congregation; exactly as to this day in Jerusalem Spanish Jews (called Sephardim), who have dwelt there since 1497, are only to be found in their four synagogues, and German and Polish Jews (called Ashkenazim)in others. Here they fall naturally into three divisions.

1. The Libertines (Libertini), or Freed-men from Rome. Some ninety years had now passed since Pompey carried off a multitude of Jewish captives; and their descendants, most of them manumitted by their masters, had either settled in the Trastavere, on the right bank of the Tiber, or been banished from Italy. It is possible that many of the four thousand whom Tiberius deported to Jardinia ( A.D. 19) had found their way to their own land.

2. The Jews from North Africa, from Alexandria, and Cyrene, the capital of Libya, and where Tripoli now stands, both of which swarmed with Hebrews.

3. Asiatic Jews, from the province known in official language as "Asia," and always called so in the New Testament, from Cilicia, whose capital gave birth to Saul.

II. WITH THESE VARIOUS REPRESENTATIVES OF HELLENISED JUDAISM THE CHURCH NOW CAME FOR THE FIRST TIME IN CONTACT. The elevation of Stephen had this for its result, that his spiritual and intellectual gifts found a wider and more public sphere. His duties brought him in contact with the poor brethren of his own section of the Church, and through them with their unbelieving neighbours. These opportunities he used for the preaching of the gospel. Stephen was much more than an almoner. He was a deep student of tim Old Testament, a theologian of unusual insight, a powerful reasoner, and an advanced Christian. In him we first find those gifts of healing which Jesus had given the apostles exercised by a man who was no apostle. In him, too, we find the promise fulfilled which had hitherto been fulfilled to Peter (Luke 21:15). His manner of speech, however, was unlike that of Peter. Peter was a witness, and preached by witness-bearing. Stephen was a student, and preached by exposition and controversy. These synagogues, to which no doubt he belonged, were homes of learning and bigotry. Intense enough and terribly sincere were the disputants whom Stephen encountered, but proud, narrow, self-righteous, and bitter; just the men to argue themselves into a bad temper, and, when beaten in logic, to fall to abuse.

III. WE ARE LEFT TO GATHER THE SUBJECT OF DISPUTE FROM THE RESULT. From the charge brought against Stephen, from the evidence of the witnesses, and from his own defence, we gather that that great question was the bearing of the new faith on the old system.

1. In his earliest sermons Peter had hinted that the advent of Jesus, His passion and resurrection, formed the consummation towards which Mosaism pointed, the accomplishment of the great hope which all the prophets had foretold, and for which Israel waited. This constructive teaching was not unpopular, and orthodox Jews did not cease to be so upon baptism. Up to this time the question had not been raised, What if the Jewish hierarchy and commonwealth reject it? Now, however, it was getting to be not unlikely that the Sanhedrin might excommunicate the Church. Suppose it did, was that to be conclusive against the Church? Must the new economy be fettered by the limitations of the old? Nay, did not the very coming of Him to whom the whole symbolic ritual pointed require its abolition, and initiate of necessity a new worship?

2. How far Stephen went in this direction it is impossible to tell, but on it his face was set. He was the first man who dared to think that the gospel was a Divine step forward, which existing institutions might refuse to accept, and in that case have to be dispensed with. He probably went a good way in depreciation of the Mosaic system. To be sure the false witnesses misrepresented him as his Master was misrepresented. Still Stephen must have said something like it, nor is it hard to guess in what sense he said it. The whole of Mosaic worship on its external national side was anchored on the rock on which the temple stood. There was nowhere else any altar, priesthood, etc. Moreover, the current faith of the people believed in all this external system, and in little else. So long as that stood, God was propitious and Israel blest; no matter how full the temple was of cheating or Jerusalem of uncleanness. This was the system which threatened to reject the gospel. As it had slain Christ, it seemed about to cut off from its fellowship Christ's Church. What did recent events prognosticate? The downfall of Christ's cause over the temple system? Stephen had read the history of his nation with other eyes than those of the rabbis. Underneath all the changes of Hebrew story he had learned to trace a Divine progress towards some spiritual end. He had not found in this latest phase of national religious life such a finality as his countrymen dreamed of. The most material, local, and unspiritual of all forms of Hebrew worship did not seem the form likely to be everlasting. But one thing he had found to mark the whole of his ancestral history. As often as God had led Israel forward through a moment of change into a fresh spiritual epoch of blessing, so often had His purpose been rejected by the bulk of Israel. This they were doing now, by idolising a material temple and rejecting a spiritual Christ.Here is the key to Stephen's long defence, which maintained —

1. That a mode of worship limited to a single spot and a fixed ritual was by no means essential to God's service, but had been late in its origin and temporary in its purpose — being only one most recent stage in a very long and gradual process of Divine manifestation.

2. That at every critical turning in Israel's history Israel had mistaken the leadings of God, and resisted those who were sent to save it.

(J. Oswald Dykes, D. D.)

It is impossible to listen to the ministrations of others or to watch carefully our own without perceiving great inequalities in respect of power. You will observe many devoted men who are amiable in their characters, zealous in their ministry, whose sermons are carefully prepared, who preach the truth faithfully, while, on the other hand, there is but little in their ministry of "the demonstration of the Spirit and power." On the other hand, you often see men of less intellectual calibre who produce an impression which even the unconverted cannot fail to feel. And this inequality is scarcely less observable in regard to one individual. You may frequently hear a sermon full of power in the morning, and one decidedly feeble, from the same minister, in the evening; and if you could ascertain the preacher's own opinion, you would find, in all probability, that he was best satisfied with the one which the people found the feeblest. Now, it is clear that this gift of power is pre-eminently the want of the Church of God, both at home and abroad. Note —

I. STEPHEN'S POWER. It was —

1. The power of persuasion (ver. 7).

2. It was a power in controversial defence of truth (ver. 9).

3. It was the power of searching and probing the heart to the very quick (Acts 7:54).

4. But there is one thing to remark, and it is this — when we look for power, we must not look for an easy, smooth, pleasant, triumphant victory. Stephen had all the power of which we speak, but it called forth the angry passions of the wicked, so that they rose up against him, and he fell the first martyr to the truth. Stephen's power, however, is just the very thing we want. We want persuasive power to bring in men, we want controversial power to maintain the truth, and we want heart-searching power to awaken sinners, even if it provoke them. This is the power to be sought and prayed for by the whole Church of God.

II. ITS SOURCES.

1. Wisdom. There was the same connection between wisdom and power in Micah, "Now then, I am full of power, of the Spirit of the Lord, of wisdom, and of might." There is the same connection in the prophecies of our blessed Saviour (Isaiah 11.) — the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, was given to him. Light words, conceits, affectations, and outward display overthrow all thoughts of power. The man of God wants wisdom. He has to unfold the deep things of God, and he must not go lightly to the work. He is a steward in the Lord's household; he has to deal with a multitude of different dispositions, under different circumstances. Stephen's wisdom was pre-eminently Scriptural. There is only one of his discourses preserved, and that one is full of Scripture. He was not one of those who thought his own reason was anything when compared with the wisdom of God. He was not ashamed to draw all his conclusions from the Bible, and to base the whole fabric of his reasonings simply upon Scripture. The clearest evidence of the most consummate folly is the venturing forth in the strength of your own understandings. There may be wisdom in the simplest cottager, or the youngest child, far exceeding the loftiest flights of merely intellectual philosophy, Nor does it require anything extraordinary either in intellect or eloquence to produce such wisdom, for the Psalmist says, "I have more understanding than all my teachers; for Thy testimonies are my meditation. I know more than the ancients, because I keep Thy precepts."

2. Faith. The connection between faith and power is a union frequently recurring. "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." Abraham "was strong in faith," but that may refer to one simple single act; "full of faith" implies that the whole mind and character were completely imbued with it. It was like St. Paul, when he said, "The life that I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God." But how is this faith displayed?(1) In dependence. It is the office of faith to lean. Self-satisfied men are confident in their own powers and do not care to lean. Timid, doubting souls are so perplexed by their misgivings that they are almost afraid to lean, but the sinner who knows his nothingness leans his whole weight on Christ. So it is in our own personal experience. Men are very apt to lean with one hand on Christ, and one hand on resolutions, or on the Church, or on the sacraments; "but we must learn to lean with both hands on Christ," and to lean the whole weight; and when you so begin to lean you will first taste the joy of peace and power. Men may go forth to preach leaning upon the excellences of a previous education, or on the advantages of his early youth. But what are these for the great work we have to do?(2) In expectation, for "faith is the substance of things asked for." If we pray for pardon without expectation of receiving it, or for the Holy Spirit without opening the heart in the full hope of his sacred entrance, or if we send men in the Lord's name, or go forth ourselves, to preach the gospel without expectations, where can be our faith? And is not this one reason why there is no more power in the Church of God? Do we not meet Sunday after Sunday with very little practical belief that souls will be born again through the preached Word? Perhaps a man begins with sanguine expectation, but after some months or years of hard toil he is ready to say with Peter, "We have toiled all night and taken nothing." Stephen was full of power; but he was first full of faith. He could grasp a fast hold of the Saviour, and so they were "not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake."

3. All his wisdom, faith, and power were to be traced to a yet higher source — he was first full of the Holy Ghost. This has always been so. Micah was full of power, and he says, "Truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord." The great mountain shall melt before Zerubbabel; but "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." Paul went to Corinth, not "with excellency of speech, or man's wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and power." In Thessalonica his "ministry came not in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and with much assurance." Even Stephen and Peter and all the rest were powerless until the Spirit of God came, and then they were full of power, and soon thousands were added to the Church. It is clear, therefore, that if we desire power in our ministry, we must seek first for the gift promised by our blessed Lord and Saviour in John 14:17. In Stephen's case the two promises were fulfilled. The Spirit was with him, so that opposing powers were overcome under the influence of the Spirit. He was in him, so that when the stones were dashed at him there was a calm spirit of well-supported prayer. Conclusion: There is a mighty conflict raging — every day the conflict thickens. Depend upon it that these are not days for an easy, tranquil, indulgent Christianity. I might ask for money; I might ask for men — and we want them even more than money — but the great want is power to strengthen the whole Church of God. What is the use of men if God does not make them men of power? We do not want mere ecclesiastical machines, because we do not believe in mere ecclesiastical machinery. We want men filled with wisdom, faith, and the Holy Ghost.

(E. Hoare, M. A.)

Alexandrians, Cilicians, Cyrenians, Grecians, Nicanor, Nicolas, Parmenas, Philip, Prochorus, Stephen, TimonAsia, Cilicia, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Syrian AntiochFaith, Full, God's, Grace, Marvels, Miracles, Miraculous, Performed, Performing, Power, Signs, Stephen, Wonders, Wrought1. The apostles, desirous to have the poor cared for,
2. as also careful themselves to dispense the word of God, the food of the soul,
3. recommend,
5. and with the church's consent ordain seven chosen men to the office of deaconship.
7. The word of God prevails,
8. Stephen, full of faith and the Holy Spirit, confuting those with whom he disputed,
12. is brought before the council,
13. and falsely accused of blasphemy against the law and the temple.

Acts 6:8

     2351   Christ, miracles
     5457   power, human
     8164   spirituality

Acts 6:5-8

     6670   grace, and Holy Spirit

Acts 6:5-10

     8024   faith, and blessings

Acts 6:8-9

     1418   miracles, responses

Acts 6:8-10

     5293   defence, human
     7703   apologetics
     8136   knowing God, effects

Acts 6:8-14

     5936   riots
     7505   Jews, the
     8483   spiritual warfare, causes

October 4 Morning
Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.--EXO. 34:29. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory.--Lord, when saw we thee a hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?--In lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves.--Be clothed with humility. [Jesus] was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.--All that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on Stephen, …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

February 16. "We Will Give Ourselves Continually to Prayer" (Acts vi. 4).
"We will give ourselves continually to prayer" (Acts vi. 4). In the consecrated believer the Holy Spirit is pre-eminently a Spirit of prayer. If our whole being is committed to Him, and our thoughts are at His bidding, He will occupy every moment in communion and we shall bring every thing to Him as it comes, and pray it out in our spiritual consciousness before we act it out in our lives. We shall, therefore, find ourselves taking up the burdens of life and praying them out in a wordless prayer …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Filled with the Spirit
'Men ... full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom.' ... 'A man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost....' 'Stephen, full of faith and power.'--ACTS vi. 3, 5, 8. I have taken the liberty of wrenching these three fragments from their context, because of their remarkable parallelism, which is evidently intended to set us thinking of the connection of the various characteristics which they set forth. The first of them is a description, given by the Apostles, of the sort of man whom they conceived to be fit to …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Good Earnests of Great Success
So I felt when I met with the brethren last Thursday night. The attendance at the church meeting was very numerous, and the unanimity that prevailed not only gratified me, but I must confess astounded me too. I think all of us who know anything of the history of churches, especially those of a democratic order, where we recognize the rights of every member, understand how easy it is for thoughts to diverge, for counsels to vary, and for excellent brethren conscientiously to disagree. A breach once …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 14: 1868

Phil. 1:01 the Rights and Duties of Lay Churchmen.
[19] "Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons."--Phil. 1:1. THIS opening verse of St. Paul's Epistle to the Philippians is a very remarkable text of Scripture. I suspect it receives far less attention from Bible- readers than it deserves. Like the gold of California, men have walked over it for centuries, and have not observed what was under their feet. In fact, if some Anglican divines had stood at the …
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times

The Signs
There are indications that to some of those who took part in the crucifixion of Christ His death presented hardly anything to distinguish it from an ordinary execution; and there were others who were anxious to believe that it had no features which were extraordinary. But God did not leave His Son altogether without witness. The end of the Saviour's sufferings was accompanied by certain signs, which showed the interest excited by them in the world unseen. I. The first sign was the rending of the …
James Stalker—The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ

The Outbreak of the Arian Controversy. The Attitude of Eusebius.
About the year 318, while Alexander was bishop of Alexandria, the Arian controversy broke out in that city, and the whole Eastern Church was soon involved in the strife. We cannot enter here into a discussion of Arius' views; but in order to understand the rapidity with which the Arian party grew, and the strong hold which it possessed from the very start in Syria and Asia Minor, we must remember that Arius was not himself the author of that system which we know as Arianism, but that he learned the …
Eusebius Pamphilius—Church History

The Epistles of Paul.
1. The apostolic epistles are a natural sequence of the office and work committed by the Saviour to the apostles. They were the primitive preachers of the gospel, and, under Christ, the founders of the Christian church. From the necessity of the case they had a general supervision of all the local churches, and their authority in them was supreme in matters of both faith and practice. It was to be expected, therefore, that they should teach by writing, as well as by oral instruction. It does not …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

The Right to Run Things
A new mission station opened! Another conquest of the Gospel! Have you ever wondered how it was done? Suppose you are a missionary, and have already passed successfully through the language-learning stage. Suppose you are assigned an area where the Gospel has never been preached, an area teeming with people, very few of whom have ever even heard the precious name of Jesus. You probably have a fellow worker. You have good health, a reasonable knowledge of the language and local customs, and a heart …
Mabel Williamson—Have We No Rights?

The Johannean Literature.
I. Sources. 1. The Gospel, Epistles, and Revelation of John. The notices of John in the Synoptical Gospels, in the Acts, and in Gal. 2:9. (See the passages in Young's Analytical Concordance.) 2. Patristic traditions. Irenaeus: Adv. Haer. II. 22, 5 (John lived to the age of Trajan); III. 1, 1 (John at Ephesus); III. 3, 4 (John and Cerinthus); V. 30, 3 (John and the Apocalypse). Clemens Alex.: Quis dives salvus, c. 42 (John and the young robber). Polycrates of Ephesus in Eus. Hist. Eccl., III. 31; …
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

Deacons and Deaconesses.
Deacons, [729] or helpers, appear first in the church of Jerusalem, seven in number. The author of the Acts 6 gives us an account of the origin of this office, which is mentioned before that of the presbyters. It had a precedent in the officers of the synagogue who had charge of the collection and distribution of alms. [730] It was the first relief of the heavy burden that rested on the shoulders of the apostles, who wished to devote themselves exclusively to prayer and the ministry of the word. …
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

Philip, the Evangelist
BY REV. GEORGE MILLIGAN, M.A., D.D. Philip the Evangelist must be carefully distinguished from Philip the Apostle. And though it is little that we are told regarding him in Scripture, that little is very significant. He first comes before us as one of the seven chosen by the early Church at Jerusalem to take charge of the daily ministration of charity to the poor widows (Acts vi. I ff.). And when this work is hindered by the outbreak of persecution following on the death of Stephen, we find him …
George Milligan—Men of the Bible; Some Lesser-Known

Whether Christ Should have Led a Life of Poverty in this World?
Objection 1: It would seem that Christ should not have led a life of poverty in this world. Because Christ should have embraced the most eligible form of life. But the most eligible form of life is that which is a mean between riches and poverty; for it is written (Prov. 30:8): "Give me neither beggary nor riches; give me only the necessaries of life." Therefore Christ should have led a life, not of poverty, but of moderation. Objection 2: Further, external wealth is ordained to bodily use as to …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether to Baptize is Part of the Priestly Office, or Proper to that of Bishops?
Objection 1: It seems that to baptize is not part of the priestly office, but proper to that of bishops. Because, as stated above (A[1], OBJ[1]), the duties of teaching and baptizing are enjoined in the same precept (Mat. 28:19). But to teach, which is "to perfect," belongs to the office of bishop, as Dionysius declares (Eccl. Hier. v, vi). Therefore to baptize also belongs to the episcopal office. Objection 2: Further, by Baptism a man is admitted to the body of the Christian people: and to do this …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether the Fulness of Grace is Proper to Christ?
Objection 1: It would seem that the fulness of grace is not proper to Christ. For what is proper to anyone belongs to him alone. But to be full of grace is attributed to some others; for it was said to the Blessed Virgin (Lk. 1:28): "Hail, full of grace"; and again it is written (Acts 6:8): "Stephen, full of grace and fortitude." Therefore the fulness of grace is not proper to Christ. Objection 2: Further, what can be communicated to others through Christ does not seem to be proper to Christ. But …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

The Holy Catholic Church.
"Christ is gone up; yet ere He passed From earth, in heaven to reign, He formed One Holy Church to last Till He should come again. So age by age, and year by year, His grace was handed on; And still the Holy Church is here, Although her Lord is gone." A question often arises which is, in no little degree, perplexing to Christian people. What is the Holy Catholic Church? The words are very often in our mouths; for they are repeated continually in the Creed. What do we mean by them? The teaching of …
Edward Burbidge—The Kingdom of Heaven; What is it?

The Church History of Eusebius. Index of Subjects.
Aaron, [1]373. Abdus of Edessa, [2]101. Abdus, the father of the preceding, [3]101. Abgarus, Prince of Edessa, correspondence of, with Christ, 100, [4]101; healed by Thaddeus, [5]101, [6]104. Abilius, second bishop of Alexandria, [7]147, [8]149. Abraham, [9]83, [10]87, [11]88. Achæus, a judge at Cæsarea, [12]303. Achillas, presbyter of Alexandria, [13]321. Achior, the Ammonite, [14]93. Acolyths, [15]288. Actium, [16]263. Acts, book of, [17]88, [18]98, [19]112, [20]113, [21]117, [22]122, …
Eusebius Pamphilius—The Life of Constantine

Twenty-Fifth Day for More Conversions
WHAT TO PRAY.--For more Conversions "He is able to save completely, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession."--HEB. vii. 25. "We will give ourselves continually to prayer and the ministry of the word.... And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied exceedingly."--ACTS vi. 4, 7. Christ's power to save, and save completely, depends on His unceasing intercession. The apostles withdrawing themselves from other work to give themselves continually to prayer was followed …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

The Birth of England's Foreign Missions
1785-1792 Moulton the Mission's birthplace--Carey's fever and poverty--His Moulton school--Fired with the missionary idea--His very large missionary map--Fuller's confession of the aged and respectable ministers' opposition--Old Mr. Ryland's rebuke--Driven to publish his Enquiry--Its literary character--Carey's survey of the world in 1788--His motives, difficulties, and plans--Projects the first Missionary Society--Contrasted with his predecessors from Erasmus--Prayer concert begun in Scotland in …
George Smith—The Life of William Carey

Twenty-Seven Articles Respecting the Reformation of the Christian Estate.
Now though I am too lowly to submit articles that could serve for the reformation of these fearful evils, I will yet sing out my fool's song, and will show, as well as my wit will allow, what might and should be done by the temporal authorities or by a General Council. 1. Princes, nobles and cities should promptly forbid their subjects to pay the annates and should even abolish them altogether. For the Pope has broken the compact, and turned the annates into robbery for the harm and shame of the …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

Synagogues in the City; and Schools.
"R. Phinehas, in the name of R. Hoshaia, saith, There were four hundred and sixty synagogues in Jerusalem: every one of which had a house of the book, and a house of doctrine," "A house of the book for the Scripture," that is, where the Scripture might be read: "and a house of doctrine for traditions," that is, the Beth Midrash, where traditions might be taught. These things are recited elsewhere, and there the number ariseth to four hundred and eighty. "R. Phinehas, in the name of R. Hoshaia, saith, …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

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