Looking at Acts 6.1-7, with Steve Nation
Thus far in the Book of Acts, it’s been quite a ride.
Acts 1: Jesus proclaiming the kingdom of God; giving his disciples their mission to the ends of the earth; his ascension; the prayer meeting and then leadership commissioning. Acts 2: the coming of the long-awaited Holy Spirit, the Pentecost proclamation and revival, and the formation of the first Christian church (glued to the Word, prayer, Communion and fellowship).
Acts 3-4: healing in Jesus’ name, confrontation with opposition, prayer, bold Spirit-filled gospel proclamation, and uncommon generosity and sharing.
Acts 5: the treachery and death of Ananias and Sapphira, the ensuing fear of God, and continued gospel-growth in numbers and maturity.
Now in Acts 6, the next challenge arises. The problem was social inequity in the church (Acts 6.1-7). Was it a deliberate oversight or was it accidental? We aren’t told. The danger: the potential for a significant church split along racial lines (Acts 6.1). The response: a pivotal moment in church history.
What gets top spot?
What will be the dominant ministry of the church? Will it be social concern or Word-ministry? The answer is given in vv. 2-4:
Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.
The apostles delegate the practical matters to suitable men. An important aside: church leaders might need to focus here for a moment. The apostles hear the church members’ complaints. They actually listen. They don’t get defensive, like I’ve ashamedly been prone to do. They listen to the complaint against the perceived failure of Christian standards. They listen, and they act.
People often think the church cannot change. A comment on a newspaper article about Christians in America having less power in the recent elections went like this: ‘Hahahahaha Christians! Your stupid, hate-filled and oppressive superstition is slowly but surely dying! Hahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!’
Really? Are we hate-filled and oppressive? Unfortunately, sometimes. Are we dying? No, Jesus is still on the throne overseeing his mission. Is change needed? Often! Is change possible? Thankfully, yes, change is possible.
Churches can change. Bitterness can be put to death. Fear can be defeated. Compulsions can be broken. Stony hearts can be made soft, and soft words can come from an acid tongue. People can have power without becoming corrupt. Churches can be places of safety, love and healing. Change is possible because the King has come, has sent his Spirit and is in the business of change.1
Stop, listen and act
And that’s what we see in Acts 6. The apostles stop, listen and act. The conclusion: some members of the church must be set apart for the ministry of community care. But, and this is a big but: there must also be men and women in the church who are set apart for teaching the Bible, and praying for the church and the world. In the words of one church historian, the pressing need for the early church (and for us today) is: ‘the main thing is that the main thing remains the main thing’.2 The reason for this: it is through the proclamation of the Word that God gives direction and strength to all ministries (including social concern). So the apostles focus on the Word and prayer.
Acts 6.4 is the early church carrying forward Jesus’ pattern: a two-pronged ministry of proclamation and prayer.
Good Shepherd shepherding
Jesus’ ministry leading up to his passion might be summed up in Luke 5.15-16.3:
‘Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.’
Peter O’Brien, in his paper on prayer in Luke-Acts,4 states that ‘Luke in his Gospel presents a full picture of Jesus at prayer.’ O’Brien then shows how Luke in Acts presents the early church and its individual members, including apostles, engaging in the exact same, prayerful activity. The picture is developed as we see the (deliberate) parallels between Jesus and the church highlighted.5
• Immediately after his baptism Jesus prays and receives the Holy Spirit (Luke 3.21); the apostles and their companions (Acts 1.14) pray before the descent of the Spirit upon them (2.1-4). In Acts 8.15 Peter and John pray for the Samaritans that they may receive the Holy Spirit. After the apostles lay hands on them the Holy Spirit descends (8.17).
• Jesus prayed before the choice of the Twelve (Luke 6.12); the early church prays before selecting Matthias (Acts 1.24).
• Jesus, at the point of his death, prays that his enemies may be forgiven (Luke 21.34), while Stephen, before falling asleep, cries in a loud voice: ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them’ (Acts 7.60).
• And as Jesus offered the ‘evening prayer’ committing his spirit, in the words of the Psalmist, to the Father’s care (Luke 23.46), so the first martyr calls upon the Lord Jesus and cries: ‘Receive my spirit’ (Acts 7.59).
In Acts 6, the response to the apostles’ pri-oritisation of the Word and prayer was: ‘this proposal pleased the whole group’ (v. 5). It has been noted that: ‘all Israel’s failures resulted from a failure of leadership. Her leaders lost focus on Yahweh and that infected their every decision. Today’s leaders must zealously lead with God’s priorities. God will honour such leadership.’6 For our churches, this must mean gospel-centred sermons, but it must also mean prayerful leaders who do the work of prayer (privately and publicly).
Good choice
What was the result of prioritising the Word and prayer in church?
‘So the Word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith’ (Acts 6.7).
O may this be said of our churches – that hard-hearted opponents of the gospel come to the obedience of faith, as believers gather, as the church gathers, and as servants of both Word and prayer carry out their ministry in season and out of season.
This article is an extract from A Call to Extraordinary Prayer: Recharging your Prayer Life Through the Book of Acts by Steve Nation. Published by Christian Focus, ISBN 978 1 527 100 893 and is used here with permission.
FOOTNOTES
1. Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands, (Phillipsburg, New Jersey; P & R Publishing Co., 2002), p. 6. 2. Quoted in Cook, Teaching Acts, p. 125. 3. J. Rinne, Church Elders, (Wheaton Illinois; Crossway, 2014), p. 111. 4. O’Brien, Prayer in Luke-Acts, p. 122. 5. ibid, p. 122. 6. D. Cook, Teaching Acts, pp. 125-6.
