Bible Studies

Chapter Six of The Book of Acts, Waiting on Tables and the Ministry of the Word

by John Clark 
06/18/16
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A complaint arose from a religious group "because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food" (verse 1). There was a potential conflict stated in verse 2. The twelve apostles held a church business meeting and said, "It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables." The answer to this problem was to "select seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom whom we may put in charge of this task" (3). 

     Note the above qualifications; a good reputation, and full of the Spirit and wisdom. This is comparable to choosing deacons today, but how much attention is given to these two qualities. This teaching is also reinforced in I Timothy 3. The early church wanted these men to be filled with the Spirit and have a gtood reputation, but how often does the local church today just put forth names to vote on. This teaching could also apply to church boards. People selected should have wisdom and other gifts to bring to the table, to help the church function effectively. 

     This whole process of choosing deacons was done so that the apostles could devote themselves to "prayer, and to the ministry of the word" (4). Here is another application central to the local church today. Too often, pastors allow themselves to get caught up in many thinngs other than focusing on teachig, preaching, and meeting the spiritual needs of the congregation. There is nothing wrong, of course, with a pastor "waiting on tables," or helping paint the fellowship hall, as long as they are not neglecting their gift of pastoring. 

     After these seven people were unanimously voted on (verse 5), they were "brought before the apostles, and after praying, they laid their hands on them" (6). How many local churches today follow the practice of laying on of hands? 

     Choosing people to "serve tables" so that the apostles could devote themselves to prayer, and to the ministry of the word' was taken very seriously. What was the result? Verse 7 says, "And the word of God kept on spreading, and the number of the disciples continued to increase..." The end of this verse says that even many of the priests were 'becoming obedient to the faith." Many of the priests were probably wrapped up in tradition. 

     In verse 8 the chapter shifts the focus to Stephen, who "full of grace and power, was performing great signs and wonders among the people." He, like the other apostes, had his opponents who wanted to argue with him, but "could not cope with the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking" (10). They not only argued with him, but also "secretly induced men" to say certain things, "stirred up the people," and "put forward false witnesses" (11-13). Does that not sound like what is going on in the culture of today?

     Notice that Moses and the law is mentioned three times in verses 11-14. These people were steeped in tradition, including the priests. One of the criticisms was that Jesus will "alter the customs which Moses handed down to us." One commentary stated that this affected the whole gamet of the Mosaic Law, including the Sabbath. Several verses in the New Testament back this up by saying that the early Christians met together on the first day of the week.

    This chapter ends with the people seeing Stephen's face, "like the face of an angel." What does this mean? After consulting several commentaries, I can sum it up by saying that it refers to the divine brightness of the face and countenance caused by a holy joyfulness and higher wisdom.This lines up with the immediate context in verse  10 where it says that his opponents "were unable to cope with the wisdom...with which he was speaking." Other verses in the Book of Acts have the same general sense. 

     Application questions:

     1. When your local church elects people for deacons and to sit on the church board is any consideration given to their repuation and gifts?

     2. Is your pastor caught up in a lot of things besides the ministry of the word? If so, find other people to fill his shoes.