The Balancing Act in Doing God’s Will
Bernard Mukwavi
October 6, 2024
Acts 6:1-7
6 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
3 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
4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 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.
Introduction
Acts 6:1-7 teaches us about maintaining the balance between spiritual leadership and practical service in a growing church. As the number of disciples increased in the Jerusalem church, a conflict arose between the Hellenistic Jews and the Hebraic Jews over the daily distribution of food to widows. The apostles recognized that their primary calling was to prayer and the ministry of God’s Word, so they delegated the practical tasks of serving food and ensuring fairness to qualified individuals, specifically seven men who were full of the Spirit and wisdom.
In Acts 1 we learn that after Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection he spent 40 days teaching his disciples about the Kingdom of God. He also gave them many convincing proofs of his resurrection. After his ascension 120 of them gathered regularly for prayer in an upper room in Jerusalem. This was in keeping to what Jesus had instructed them to do. They were to wait in Jerusalem until they had received the power of the Holy Spirit to be witnesses of Christ. Acts 1:8 reads, “ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” In Acts 2 we read about what happened on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on the gathered disciples as they were together in one place. They had been in one accord. United for the purpose of doing God’s will. They were all empowered by the Holy Spirt and spoke praises to God in other languages. Many Jewish pilgrims who had come from various parts of the world to celebrate the Day of Pentecost heard the disciples praising God in other languages. The crowd’s perplexity, questions and mockery resulted in Peter preaching to them, and they believed in Jesus, repented, and were baptized to become followers of Jesus. The number of believers grew as 3000 of them believed and were added to the number on this day. Chapter 2 all through chapter 5 record the continual growth of the church in Jerusalem numbering over 5000 people. The church was growing daily as the disciples lived lives that glorified God among the community.
However, this growth brought about challenges and conflicts that needed to be addressed and the church structured to meet the growth needs of the church.
First there was sin in the church because of the actions of Ananias and Sapphira as recorded in Acts 5. This was dealt with by the apostles, especially by Peter. Then there was the conflict in the church regarding the daily distribution of food among the widows in the Church as recorded in Acts 6:1-7. The Hellenistic Jews, these are Jews who had adopted the Greek language and culture and were probably living in diaspora as they were born there of Jewish parents, complained because the Hebraic Jews, these were Jews who were born in Israel and resided in Israel following the Jewish traditional culture, were favored in this daily food distribution act. Favoritism brought disunity in the church.
The apostles realized and accepted the fact that there were gaps in the ministry and the church that needed to be fixed. Gaps reveal our inefficiencies and give us an opportunity to humble ourselves and have such moments as learning moments as well as points for repentance. The apostles did not give excuses but instead, they realized that they needed to include the affected disciples in dealing with these gaps. They called the disciples together and asked them to choose men among them who would take charge of the task of food distribution among widows. However, they were guided on how to choose such men. There were qualifications to be met. The Apostles said, “3 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.” This shows the importance of working with God’s people. It requires spiritual maturity, being filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom. Being full of the Holy Spirit means that we are walking in the will of God. Leading surrendered lives.
Criteria for leadership: The seven chosen men were selected based on their spiritual maturity, being full of the Spirit and wisdom.