In this message we examine the progress of Stephen, a man full of the Holy Spirit, as he did wonders and preached the truth with a power and wisdom that his opponents could not withstand. After he was falsely accused and seized, Jesus gave him the privilege to preach the truth before the entire Sanhedrin, and die as the first martyr of the church.

Teaching Notes:

Stephen: The Life And Death of a Spirit-Filled Man – Pt.1

Acts 6:8 – 15

Intro:  Last week we saw how the devil sought to distract the apostles from their God-given calling by neglecting the Word of God and prayer, and instead busy themselves with serving tables. Instead, they recognized this as not being the will of God, and instead had the congregation choose 7 men whom the apostles laid hands on and appointed to the task. 7 men are listed, but the first 2 are given special prominence. 6:8 – 8:3 is devoted to Stephen, and then 8:4-40 is devoted to Philip. So we will take the next several weeks to focus our attention on these 2 extraordinary men of God.

As we look at Stephen’s life and death, the one thing the Holy Spirit emphasizes about him is that he was filled with the Spirit. Notice:

6:3 – the apostles required that these men be full of the Spirit and wisdom

      6:5 – they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. Note that this is our introduction to Stephen. None of the others are given a description. 

      6:8 – Stephen, full of grace and power… Where did this power come from? Acts 1:8. 

      6:10 – But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 

      7:54 – But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God

      Whenever Stephen is described, the word “full” comes up. He was full of the Spirit, and so also full of wisdom, faith, grace and power.

      What we are going to study in the next few weeks is a description of the life and death of a Spirit-filled man. Evidently the Holy Spirit believed Stephen’s life and death were important to emphasize because he gives great space to these details. In fact, Stephen’s message is the longest recorded message in the book of Acts, even longer than those of Peter and Paul!  May God give us the grace to learn what He desires that we learn from this account!  We are going to examine the Progress, Power, Persecution, Preaching, and Passing of Stephen.

1.  The Progress of Stephen:  Luke 16:10-11. One of the principles of the kingdom is that if a man is faithful in a little thing, God will entrust greater things to him. Stephen began his ministry waiting on tables. As he faithfully served the Lord there, the Lord saw fit to grant him a ministry of signs and wonders, and gave him great wisdom to debate unsaved Jews. As he is faithful in that ministry, Jesus grants him the privilege of preaching the truth before the entire Sanhedrin, and die as the first martyr of the church. Often people feel certain tasks are too menial, and they are beneath them. However, if we want a greater sphere of service, we must be faithful in the one we have been entrusted now. Maybe that means being faithful to set up chairs, overhead projector, and screen for church. Maybe it means being faithful in uploading the messages onto the web site and updating the iTunes podcast. Maybe it means being faithful to contact men in the congregation to bring a Call to Worship and officiate at the Lord’s Table. Perhaps it means being faithful to meet with and disciple just 1 person, or disciple your children. These ministries may seem small and insignificant, but they are your training ground for greater service. 

2.  The Power of Stephen:  Acts 6:8. How was this grace and power manifest in Stephen’s life?  The great wonders and signs he performed among the people. Wonders and signs are linked with miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit in Heb.2:4. Acts 5:12 refers to signs and wonders that Peter did. Acts 14:3 mentions signs and wonders Paul did. The very same expression is used of Stephen. Evidently Stephen was doing the same kinds of signs and wonders that the apostles performed. These would include miraculous healings, casting out of demons, and supernatural revelations. This verse disproves once and for all the position of the cessationists that since the apostles were the ones doing signs and wonders, they ceased when the apostles died.  This is not the only passage which teaches that non-apostles performed signs and wonders:

      Acts 8:4-8  Philip.  1Cor.12:-10 Ordinary Corinthian believers.  Gal.3:5 – Ordinary Galatian believers.

      Thus, the Scripture would actually encourage not discourage ordinary believers to believe that God could use them in doing the miraculous.

      Stephen’s Progress encourages us to faithfulness in humble service.

      Stephen’s Power encourages us to believe God can use us in miraculous ways.

      Next, let’s look at Stephen’s Persecution.

3.  The Persecution of Stephen:  Acts 6:9-15. 

Who were the persecutors?  members of the synagogue (singular) of the Freedmen, Cyrenians, Alexandrians, Cilicians and Asians. Evidently there was a synagogue in Jerusalem where these Hellenistic Jews assembled. They must have been foreign Jews who had been freed from slavery, and had now come to live in Jerusalem. Perhaps it even included Saul of Tarsus, as he was from Cilicia. 

What did they do?  Disputed: there was a dispute or debate going on. How did it work for them? Vs.10 – they couldn’t withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. Reminds me of Jesus’ words in Luke 21:13-15. They weren’t graceful losers. Instead they secretly instigated men…stirred up the people…they set up false witnesses.  They were mad and they wanted to get Stephen, so they resorted to what the religious leaders did to Jesus.

      Jesus                                             Stephen

Seized him – Mt.26:50                           Acts 6:12

False witnesses – Mt.26:60                    Acts 6:13

Accused of Blasphemy – Mt.26:65         Acts 6:11

Stirred up the crowd – Mk.15:11             Acts 6:12

What were their accusations? He speaks blasphemous words against Moses and God. How was he doing this? 6:13 – He speaks against the holy place and the law. This was a very serious charge. There was nothing more sacred to the Jews than their temple and their law. The temple was the holy place, and the law was the Holy Scripture. Since the temple was God’s house and the law was God’s word, to speak against either was to speak against God or to blaspheme.

In what sense were their accusations were true?  6:14 – “we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.”  

What did Jesus really say? Jn.2:19 “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John adds that Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body (Jn.2:21). Here it sounds like Jesus said that others would destroy the temple. But in Mk.14:58-59, witnesses said that He said He would destroy the temple. Since Jesus’ death was voluntary, it is likely that He would say this.

What did Jesus mean? Well, in many of the things Jesus said there was a double meaning. On the surface He was saying, “When you destroy My body, I will raise up a resurrection body.” But going a little deeper, Jesus may have been referring to the effect of His death upon the temple (the whole priesthood and sacrificial system). In other words, when He dies, the temple dies. When He is destroyed, the temple is destroyed. All the blood flowing to make atonement for sin is gone! I introduce a whole new system of approach to God. In Jesus’ death, He destroys the temple in the sense that He replaces it with Himself. He becomes our one and only High Priest. He becomes our Perfect Sacrifice, for all time. He becomes our Mercy Seat, the place of meeting with God. The temple is no longer the place where people meet with God. Jesus is! Jesus meant that when He died, He would be taking the place of the temple, by dying for sin once for all, and by rising from the dead to reign as the everlasting priest

What did Stephen mean that Jesus “will” destroy the temple?  Jesus “will” destroy this place. Stephen puts it in the future. What did Stephen mean? Jesus, in His death, destroyed the basis for the old system. But the old covenant system of worship was not replaced overnight. There was a transition period in which the old system was being dismantled. Finally, in 70 A.D. it was completely done away with when the temple was literally destroyed. 

What did Stephen mean that Jesus will change the law of Moses? Stephen understood that Jesus had introduced a radical break with OT Judaism. Not only did Jesus replace the Temple, Priesthood, and Sacrifices. Jesus fulfilled the Law – Mt.5:18. Heb.7:12 says that when there is a change in the priesthood, there is also a change in the law. How did the law change? Sabbath and tithing are not taught in the NT. Circumcision is gone. Animal sacrifices are abolished. No more holy places or holy times. Festivals are not observed. Why? Because Jesus is the fulfillment.

In what sense were their accusations false?  It was not true to say that Jesus fulfilling the Temple and Law was to blaspheme against God. Stephen was not speaking against the temple or law. He was speaking for their fulfillment in Jesus. Stephen didn’t denigrate these things, he magnified their importance. What was the purpose of all the sacrifices, priesthood, and temple? To prepare the people to receive the True Temple, Priesthood, and Sacrifice. So for Stephen to say that Jesus fulfilled all of them only pointed out that these things had served their purpose. They pointed to Christ, and now that Christ has come, are no longer needed. How did Jesus “destroy” the Temple? In the same way that I might destroy my shadow by lying down on it. When the Reality has come, the shadow is destroyed. But I’m not saying the shadow is bad when I lie down on it and destroy it.

Life Application:

1. Beware of those that seek to get you turn back to the law of Moses!   Jesus has done away forever with the Old Covenant way of approach to God:  If anyone tells you that you  need to back to the OT and resurrect the festivals, get circumcised, keep the Sabbath, offer sacrifices, reject them as false teachers! Galatians 4:8-11; 5:2,4,6. The whole argument of the book of Galatians, is that we are justified by faith alone, and that it is damning to go back to the law of Moses. This is truth that Stephen was willing to die for. Never insult Jesus by trusting in or clinging to those things that were only shadows of Him. Imagine a husband who goes off to war, while his wife waits patiently for him. Every day she gazes longingly at his photo, yearning for the day when he will return. Finally, he comes home and stands at the door ringing the doorbell.  What would you think if when the wife saw her husband, she shut the door and clung to her photo? How insulting to her husband! Christ has come. All these things pass away in the light of His glorious presence! 

2.  Behold the glory of Jesus Christ!  He is greater than the Temple (Mt.12:6), greater than Aaron, greater than all the animal sacrifices combined. He’s greater than Moses or any other human. He is greater than the angels. He alone is worthy! This is a truth we should be willing to live and die for – the glory of Christ. Beware of anything that devalues Christ. JWs devalue Him by denying His deity. We devalue Him by seeking to earn our salvation. We devalue Him when our meetings are not about Him, when our worship is not centered on Him, when our lives are not lived for Him. He is our Life. He is the Sun around whom we revolve. Bow down and kiss the Son – Ps.2:12. Worship Him. Serve Him. Live for Him. Die for Him! 

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