And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.' (Acts 6.7-8, KJV.)
Acts Bible Study Chapters 6&7: These chapters are significant because they illustrate the challenges faced by the early Christian community, the importance of serving all members of the community, and the courage and faith of individuals like Stephen, who remained steadfast in their beliefs even in the face of persecution and death. Additionally, Stephen's speech in Acts 7 provides a concise summary of Israel's history, emphasising God's continual pursuit of His people despite their repeated disobedience.
Acts 6 summary:
Appointment of the Seven: The chapter begins with a situation where the Hellenistic widows in the early Christian community were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. The apostles decide to select seven men, full of the Spirit and wisdom, to oversee this task. These include Stephen, Philip, and others.
Stephen's Ministry and Arrest: Stephen, one of the chosen seven, performs great wonders and signs among the people. He also engages in debates with members of the synagogue, but they are unable to withstand his wisdom. Consequently, they falsely accuse Stephen of blasphemy against Moses and God, leading to his arrest.
Verses 1-15: An argument arises over the treatment of Grecian Jews as opposed to the Hebrews - the early church took care of everything, in much the same way that we used to care for our extended families. The 12 apostles are relieved of social care responsibilities to focus on the preaching of the Word, but even the deacons had to be filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom to do the social work; once the deacons were named and ordained, this resulted in a multiplication of conversions, including, and I think this is very significant, a great number of Jewish priests. 60 years ago, I participated in a missionary outreach in Israel, at the time, most of the converts were Arabs, but today, there are many Jews who are accepting Messiah. I have been regularly ministering in Israel since our pioneer event in 2011. In September 2016, the challenge was to take the big Roman Amphitheatre in Caesarea on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea and to fill it with 4,000 Jews.
An Ultra-Orthodox sect had somehow found out our plans and threatened the bus company, that if they allowed us to use the buses, they would lose all their government contracts – the company would be bankrupted! In fear, they cancelled all our buses, just two days before we were to be in the stadium on the Saturday – and remember Shabbat, (when no work can be done, no contracts can be arranged), begins on the Friday afternoon!!! We had no buses!!! We cannot bring anybody to the stadium!!! But God has NEVER been defeated! I was crying out, ‘O God, You will NOT be defeated now! In Jesus’ Name, we take the victory!’ The leaders of the Holocaust organisations called my organisers, ‘Don’t worry! We will find the buses ourselves!’ And in two days they found more than one hundred replacement buses! And 4,000 people came!
But the Ultra-Orthodox didn’t stop there. They sent some of their ‘bully boys’ to break into the stadium and destroy the meeting. That’s what they do! And because they could not travel to Caesarea on the Sabbath, they travelled on the Friday and camped all night on the beach outside the stadium. They were there before us! What was I going to do? Was I going to roll over and die and be a ‘normal’ Christian? No! I believe in fighting! This is a battle! I prayed, ‘O God, I want You to put a wall of fire around the stadium!’ Why not? ‘O God, I want angels with flaming swords!’ That’s what the Bible talks about! What happened? The Israeli military and police – with guns (not flaming swords) – rounded up all the bully boys, ‘We know you!’ They photographed them and their documents, and said, ‘If there is any trouble, we have your pictures and your documents, we will hold you responsible! Now you are free to go!’ All the troublemakers went home! And when the people arrived, the police used our buses to form a barricade around the premises! – A wall of fire! You see, God does it! God gave us a wall of fire – the buses! And He gave us angels with flaming swords – the Israeli military with guns!
But what did the devil do then? He wasn’t finished! We arrived two hours before the meeting was to begin, to find there was a storm from the Mediterranean stronger than they had ever experienced in Caesarea before. There was a big steel gantry on the stage to hold the loudspeakers and screens and the wind was making the whole thing swing so violently that the police said, ‘Nobody can come in the stadium, it’s too dangerous, the wind will bring it down on the people!’ We had fought all these battles and won – and now, the people can’t come in!!! I’m a Bible-believing Christian! I stood on the platform and prayed, ‘O God, in the Name of Jesus, stop this wind!!! Two thousand years ago, my Jesus stopped the storm on Galilee. O God, stop this storm on the Mediterranean – NOW!’ And the storm stopped. The wind calmed. And all the people came in. The meeting started on time and my preaching was broadcast live to all Israel on national Yes TV! This is the Power of God! And this was Caesarea, where Peter first preached to the Gentiles, and from where Paul left for his imprisonment in Rome. I’m excited because, up in Heaven, Peter and Paul were also excited! I could imagine them saying, ‘Come on! Do it!’ – Nothing is impossible! And I’ve never ever heard the devil admit he’s been defeated, but those Orthodox Jews wrote on their website, ‘Today we lost 5,000 souls!’ Well, I thought it was only 4,000!
Verse 8: Stephen, one of the deacons chosen for his faith and wisdom, is now working miracles among the people. This wonder working power of the Spirit is not confined to the Apostles, it was something the early church expected as normal in those empowered by the Spirit.
I find it very interesting in verses 9&10, that when Stephen preached - and the authorities disputed what he said - they were unable to resist the wisdom and spirit by which he spoke. All of us, like Stephen, have a personal testimony of the power of God in our lives. People may be offended by the Bible, but they cannot resist your testimony: there is great power in telling others what God has done in our lives. In August 2023, I ministered in Kyrgyzstan for a week-long Youth Forum: 2000 came from every Central Asian country – 250 organisers, and youth leaders working in dynamic evangelism and church planting across all Central Asia! For the first time since the persecution began 20 years ago, the churches took a public venue by faith to declare Jesus! Yes, the KGB monitored every step and detail of the event; they refused some speakers permission to minister, and applied such pressure on the secular director of the stadium that he said, “They will hang me when you’re gone…”
In fact, on my arrival, and before the first meeting, I was informed that the Director of the KGB would come to my hotel to interrogate me and make notes. But I am used to this, having been 4 months under KGB interrogation in my communist prison in 1972! He attended my first meeting in the stadium to look for anything wrong – but afterwards admitted he found no fault, though I preached repentance, many accepted the Lord, and there were miracles of healing.
On the second day I was not expecting him. I let the Holy Spirit take full control, and God gave me a gift of preaching so powerful, I have never experienced anything like it in my life before! Hundreds of the young people flooded forward for prayer and a new Fire from God. Some even said they expected Elijah’s Chariot of Fire to appear! The KGB director came forward with the crowd and himself prayed and was prayed over! – He came to me behind the platform afterwards and personally expressed amazement at my preaching! Why was he so amazed, because I spoke about my personal experience with God!
Acts 7 summary:
Stephen's Defence: Before the Sanhedrin, Stephen delivers a powerful defence, recounting the history of Israel from Abraham to Moses and beyond. He emphasises God's faithfulness and the repeated rejection of God's messengers by the Israelites. Stephen accuses his accusers of resisting the Holy Spirit, just as their ancestors did.
Stephen's Martyrdom: Stephen's speech infuriates the Jewish leaders, who drag him out of the city and stone him to death. Throughout the ordeal, Stephen remains steadfast, even praying for forgiveness for his persecutors. He then sees a vision of Jesus standing at the right hand of God in heaven before he dies. Stephen's martyrdom marks him as the first Christian martyr.