STUDY THEME: LET’S DO CHURCH RIGHT. 7-08-07.
“FINDING OUR PLACE OF SERVICE.” ACTS 6: 17; 9: 36-43; 11: 27-30.
ACTS 6:1, 2-7; 9: 36-40; 11:29-30.
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO ACTS 6.
THE LIFE QUESTION IN TODAY’S LESSON IS, “WHAT DOES GOD WANT ME
TO DO IN THE CHURCH?
THE “LIFE IMPACT” AND “LEARNING GOALS” ARE DESIGNED TO HELP US DO OUR PART IN MAKING OUR CHURCH WHAT GOD INTENDS BY AFFIRMING THE CALL GOD HAS PLACED ON OUR LIVES TO SERVE THE BODY OF CHRIST AND THEN CHOOSING TO USE THE GIFTS AND SKILLS GOD HAS GIVEN US TO MINISTER TO THE BODY OF CHRIST IN SPECIFIC WAYS.
Some people think they have performed their “religious duty” by attending church, but the Christian life and church membership involve much more. Those who attend often come as spectators rather than participants. Just as worship is more than attending church, it means more than worship. It involves service and ministry.
Every member is a minister in the body of Christ. Many Christians, however, think of ministry only as things like preaching, singing or teaching a class. The gifts for ministry are broader than this. Almost anything can be done as a form of ministry in the body of Christ. The more people are involved, the greater is the health and vitality of the church.
How would you church be different if every member served?
PLEASE READ ACTS 6: 1,
We see in this chapter brought out very vividly Satan’s two master methods by which, through out the centuries, he has endeavored to hinder the progress of the work of God. In the first half of the chapter we see him endeavoring to hinder by inward dissension; in the other half by outward persecution.
Here in the first four verses we have Satan trying to disturb the inward peace of the church, and in this way disrupt the church in Jerusalem. In Acts 4-6, the church of Jerusalem experienced three kinds of challenges. One was persecution from outsiders. This was met with prayer, fullness of the Spirit, and bold witnessing.
The second threat came from sin within the church, but God resolved that by the deaths of the two perpetrators. The third threat is described in 6:1. One group of widows complained to the apostles about what they perceived to be a problem. Widows in Bible times were a helpless, dependent group in society. They were often named with orphans as powerless groups who needed help.
In that male-oriented society, they were dependent on others for food and care. Therefore, the church at Jerusalem took the need of widows seriously enough to provide food for them.
When did this happen? Vs. 1 says it was in those days, an inexact time, but many Bible students think vs. 1 took place about five years after Pentecost. It was a time when the number of the disciples was multiplied. This shows that the growth mentioned earlier had continued. The figure could have reached 20,000 men and women.
Among these were Jewish believers from Judea and also from outside the holy land. The ones in the original language called Hellenists are rendered Grecians, but they were probably “Hellenistic Jews” or “Grecian Jews.”
That is, they grew up outside the holy land, where Greek language and culture predominated. The conquests of Alexander the great spread Greek and culture throughout the ancient world.
In the centuries after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., Jews settled all over the civilized world. Many of them returned to the holy land for major feasts. A number heard Peter preach at Pentecost. Some of these became disciples. The number of Greek speaking Jews in the church was probably fewer than the Aramaic-speaking Jews who grew up in the holly land, but they were a substantial minority. Here the age-old problem of discrimination had entered.
The widows of the Grecian Jews were considered outsides by the native-born Jews and so were not getting their share of the food distribution provided by the church for their care
There arose a murmuring or complaining of the Grecians against the Hebrews. This seems to be a legitimate complaint. At least, the apostles took it seriously, since the money was given to them for meeting needs.
2. PLEASE READ ACTS 6: 2-7.
Notice that the apostles are called the twelve, the only use of the title in Acts. The twelve would include the 11 original disciples that were Jesus’ closest companions as well as Matthias, who was chosen to replace Judas.
Notice that the followers of Jesus were called disciples. This was prior to the time when the name “Christian” was used in ll:26. During the early days they also were called believers in 2:44. In order to deal with the problem, the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them. The apostles were quick to deal with the problem. They knew the complaining could eat the heart out of a group of people.
One solution could have been for the apostles to make the distribution. The apostles rejected that possibility, saying that it would not be right for them to neglect preaching and teaching about God to spend their time distributing food. This does not mean that ministries to physical needs are less worthy then the more spiritual ministries. Distributing food to the needy was a worthy ministry for those called to this kind of work. Preaching and teaching are worthy for those called to do that, as were the apostles.
Notice the process the apostles used in seeking a solution. They did not make a decision and then inform the people. They proposed a solution for the people to consider. They propose that the church select seven men to distribute the food and see that it was done fairly.
It would also free up the apostles for their ministry. The apostles said, “We will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” This did not mean that others could not have a ministry that included prayer and teaching or witnessing. In fact, two of the seven men chosen took important steps in witnessing.
The apostles did not select the seven men, but they did state the kind of men they should be. They should be from among themselves. The men needed to be members, not outsiders. They should be seven men of honest report or good reputation. It was essential that they be trusted and trustworthy. They needed to be men full of the Holy Ghost. This was absolutely essential, for only the Holy Spirit could resolve this dangerous issue in a constructive way They also needed to be men of wisdom. They needed to have the insight to achieve their challenging assignment. These are worthy qualifications for performing any church ministry.
The response of the congregation to the apostle’s proposal was positive----the saying pleased the whole multitude and they chose seven men with these qualifications.
The first in the list was Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost. He proved to be more than a distributor of food for the widows. Acts6: 8 to 7: 60 tells how he preached an expanded mission for believers. This bold preaching got him into trouble, and when he refused to back down, he became the first martyr to die for his faith in Christ. As a result the church faced its first persecution and the disciples spread. While on the surface this appears as a difficulty for the church, it resulted in the message of the gospel spreading beyond Jerusalem.
The missionary work of Philip carried forward the vision of Stephen. He preached to the Samaritans and witnessed to an Ethiopian in Acts 8.
Little is known about the other five men chosen by the church to distribute the food. Early tradition connects Procurus with the apostle John, maintaining that he was John’s secretary in writing the Fourth Gospel, that he later became bishop of Nicodemia in Bithynia, and that ultimately he was martyred in Antioch. We know noting further on Nicanor, Timon, and Parmenas.
Interestingly, Nicolas was not even a Jew, but a Gentile who had been a proselyte to Judaism and a convert to Christianity. Luke gave the additional note on Nicolas that he was a proselyte from Antioch. Some people believe this may indicate Luke was from Antioch. It also shows that the only Gentiles in the early church at this point were proselytes, converts to Judaism before becoming believers in Jesus.
All seven of the men had names from the Greek-speaking world. This likely means they themselves were from the same group as the complaining widows. From what ever group, the apostles accepted and endorsed the church’s choices. This approval is seen in the fact that the apostles prayed and laid their hands on them. Some people see the seven as the first deacons and this as an ordination such as we do for new deacons. Nowhere in the passage are they called deacons, although the word serve (draconian) is found in verse 2.
In fact the word deacon does not appear in the Book of Acts. The laying on of hands in the Bible signified approval, prayer, and commissioning to a task.
Vs. 7 is one of several summary verses in the Book of Acts. Vs. 7 shows that the explosive growth of the church continued. The effectiveness of the word of God increased. Evidence of this was seen in the conversion of a great company of the priests.
By placing this summary verse right after the events of vs. 1-6 shows that the resolution of the fellowship problem opened many opportunities for witness and ministry. The apostles were not held back by administrative duties from carrying out what the Church had commissioned them to do. PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO ACTS 9:36.
PLEASE READ ACTS 9: 36-40.
A number of important events occurred in the time from the ministry of the seven to the call and death of Dorcas. Stephen angered some of his fellow Jews by calling the church to reach out to non-Jews. They allowed him to state his views, but after hearing him, they stoned him to death.
A persecution broke out, led by Saul of Tarsus; and as a result, believers were scattered from Jerusalem. However, everywhere they went, they preached. Philip led an evangelistic campaign in Samaria and won a God-fearing Gentile to the Lord.
Meanwhile, Saul was confronted by the Lord on the Damascus road. He began his missionary work. Peter came back into the history in Acts 9:32-43.
Peter was still the leader in the Jerusalem church, but verses 32-35 tell of a visit to Lydda, an important crossroads in western Palestine. There were already believers there. A man named Aeneas lived there. He had been bedridden and paralyzed for eight years. Peter healed him in the name of Jesus. Aeneas got up and walked. Many turned to the Lord as a result.
The scene changed in vs. 36. Joppa, now known as Jaffa, was located on the seacoast, about twelve miles from Lydda. It was here that Huram, King of Tyre, brought timber from Lebanon to be carried up to Jerusalem for the building of the temple in Solomon’s time. It was here that Jonah took ship to avoid going to Nineveh as the Lord’s messenger.
Julius Caesar gave the city to the Jews in whose hands it remained until the Jewish-Roman War in A.D. 66-70.
One of the residents of Joppa was a woman named Tabitha, her Aramaic name. Its Greek equivalent was Dorcas. The meaning of her name was “Gazelle.” She was a disciple, a model one. This dear woman loved the Lord and manifested it in a very practical way. She was known for being full of good works and alms deeds, or acts of charity, which she did. In vs. 39 we learn that she was a seamstress, who made coats and garments.
No mention was made of her age, but she was sick, and died. In those days in that land they washed the body and buried it that day or the next. Houses had an upper room, and they placed the body of Dorcas there. Friends of hers knew that Peter was in Lydda, which was about a three-hour walk from Joppa.
They sent and asked him to come right away to Joppa because Dorcas had died. She was already dead, so unlike the sisters of Lazarus and Jairus, they did not ask Peter to heal her.
Although the Book of Acts records no resurrections prior to this time, the friends of Dorcas obviously wanted Peter to do what Jesus did—restore her to life. When Peter arrived, Peter found many widows in the upper room. They all praised Dorcas and showed Peter the coats and garments, which Dorcas made, while she was with them. She apparently had been a friend to these other poor widows, and they felt lost without her. Dorcas shows us that although the church ministered to many widows, there were ways that they in turn could minister to others. This principle still applies. All of us benefit from the church’s ministries in many ways. Mature believers look for ways they can serve in and through the church.
When Peter arrived, he heard what the widows said about Dorcas. Then he asked them to leave him alone with her body. “No one had asked Peter to perform a miracle, even though Jesus at one time in Matt. 10:8 had given him the power to raise people from the dead.”
Peter could not act on his own initiative but felt the need to ask the Lord for guidance.
Following the practice of Jesus when the Lord raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead, he sent all of the people out of the upper room. He needed to be alone with Jesus and pray in private. Peter knelt down in humble adoration and dependence on God. He understood the need for Dorcas to continue her work among the poor. And now he prayed for power to perform miracles in harmony with God’s will.
Before he did anything, he sough the direction and power that only comes from God. Jesus had raised three people from the dead, and Peter had been an eyewitness at all three events. Perhaps at this moment, Peter was reminded of a similar scenario when Jesus raised a girl lying in her home in Mark 5:35-43
Peter spoke to the dead Dorcas. Jesus did the same thing with the girl He raised from the dead. Using Aramaic, Jesus had said, Tabitha, kaum! (Mark 5:41, Little girl, I say to you, get up!’) Peter used almost the same words, except he called the dead by name, “Tabitha, arise.” The first sign of life was that she opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up. Then he took her hand and lifter her up. He called in the widows and presented their friend to them alive. As word of this miracle spread, many believed.
Dorcas was not an official in the church. She was a poor widow, but she had a ministry to others. She made clothes for them and was known for her acts of love. She was among a group that the early church ministered to, but she too had a ministry.
All of us benefit from the various ministries of the church, but we have opportunities to share in those ministries using the skills God has given us. Dorcas was not called to teach, but she was called to use her skills as a seamstress. This ministry was important to those whom she helped.
Some skills are more impressive than others, but all those skills used in service to the Lord and to others are important. PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO ACTS 11: 29-30.
4. PLEASE READ ACTS 11:29-30.
These verses are part of the actions of the Antioch church. This church was started when believers were scattered from Jerusalem by persecution. Some unnamed believers came to Antioch and preached at first only to their fellow Jews, but some of them began to tell the good news to Gentiles. Through the grace and power of God many believed, and the church became a congregation of Jews and Gentiles. The word of God was so strong among the Antioch Christians that the Jerusalem church heard about this and sent Barnabas to investigate. This great man encouraged the church in what they were doing. He sent for Saul, now converted, to come to Antioch to help teach the new converts. After the miraculous raising of Dorcas, God taught Peter that salvation was for the Gentiles. One church that figured prominently in sharing the gospel with Gentiles was the church in Antioch.
The believers there were the first to be called Christians. Later they became the first truly missionary church. Thus it was a warmly evangelistic church with a fellowship that included Jewish and Gentile believers. It was a church that taught people and trained them as disciples. As time moved on, the church in Antioch increasingly grew in prominence.
During the year in which Barnabas and Saul taught the believers in Antioch, prophets came to the city from Jerusalem. None of these prophets are identified except Agabus. Agabus’s role as a prophet is seen when he predicted the arrest of Paul in Jerusalem.
Agabus received a word from God that famine was going to strike the Roman Empire. Luke added a parenthetical note that the famine happened during the reign of Emperor Claudius. (41-54 A.D.)
The famine was caused by several long bouts of crop failures in various areas: Rome, Greece, Egypt, and Judea. The Judean famine occurred when Tiberius Alexander ruled over the region, which places the famine around 46-48 A.D.
We have already noted the repeated references to the generous spirit of the early Christians, a generosity that was not limited to the Jerusalem church. The believers in Antioch chose to respond with the same willingness, and it was the Jerusalem church from which the gospel came to them. They wanted to give materially to those who had given spiritually to them. Their hearts went out in particular to those in Judea. They felt a bond with those in Jerusalem because this was where the ministry of the apostles was based. Their spiritual heritage had its foundation in Jerusalem.
It is possible that, since Agabus had come to Antioch from Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Christians also had heard his prediction of the coming famine. Even if they knew hard days were ahead, it doesn’t appear they asked for help from the believers in Antioch. The church in Antioch initiated their own relief effort, for they determined to send relief to the brothers who lived in Judea.
As with other times of giving we have previously studied, there was no coercion or requirements placed on the believers. Each person gave according to his ability. Ability is from the Greek word meaning to be well off. This word for prosperity is tied to a verb meaning to travel through an area easily.
The idea of a smooth and favorable journey is similar to our word farewell. To say farewell to someone is to wish him a prosperous journey. This doesn’t mean that the Antioch church was full of wealthy people, but they were to give to the degree they had prospered. To whatever degree they had been favored financially; they passed that on in the relief effort.
We need to realize what was so amazing about this offering. It was given by a church with mostly Gentile members to a group of Jews whom they never had met. Before their conversion neither Jews nor Gentiles would give the time of day to a member of the other group.
There were feelings of prejudice and even hatred between the two groups, but being together in the church had diminished such feelings for believers in Antioch. Thus they gave money to be sent to some Jews. They did this because of one thing---they viewed the Jewish believers as brothers and sisters in Christ.
The verses also show that disaster relief is a legitimate ministry for the church and they show that our vision should extend beyond the congregation to which we belong. The verses also show that giving is one way that everyone can participate in the mission and ministries of the church. .
The collected relief funds were given to Barnabas and Paul for deliver to Jerusalem. This passage refers only in broader terms to Judea, but we can assume they went specifically to Jerusalem, since it was the primary church in the area. Acts 12:25 refers to the two men going “to Jerusalem,” a phrase that can also read “from Jerusalem.”
Barnabas and Saul go to the elders and not to the apostles? It has been suggested that the apostles were absent from Jerusalem at that time, but it might be wiser to connect this with what we studied in Acts 6.
The men were chosen in Acts 6 to handle the administration of the food distribution to the widows. The apostles made it clear that such administration, while important, was not their duty, so Paul and Barnabas may have bypassed them to give the money to those who would administer it.
Wise giving and stewardship means that money be entrusted to those who will use it wisely for the kingdom of God.
NEXT WEEK FROM ACTS 10: 1-28 WE ANSWER THE LIFE QUESTION, “WITH WHOM SHOULD WE SHARE THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST?” A.V. DAUGHERTY
The word Christian appear 3 times in the New Testament: 11:26, 26:28 and 1 Peter 4:16.
It means a person belonging to or following Christ. The name may have originated in the church, or it may have been a derogatory term used by outsiders.