February 8
Read: Acts 6:1-7
Recently I have done a great deal of studying on discipleship. It seems to be a hot topic currently, and there are many, many books out on how we should do it. As they all claim a biblical foundation, let’s cut out the middle man and see what we might glean from the Bible directly concerning this idea of discipleship.
In Acts 6, we see seven men chosen by the congregation for special work. Often, study Bibles will call these men the first deacons. The church had a ministry that was not getting sufficient attention. Concerned church members brought the problem to the apostles. The apostles called the church body together and explained that they did not have the time to personally oversee this business, as it would distract them from their primary duties of Bible study and prayer. So they empowered the congregation to select men who could do the work for them. In Acts 6:3, they gave specific qualifications for the position. They must be men, of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom. Isn’t it fascinating that they didn’t look for successful businessmen, or wealthy merchants, or proven managers? You know, the church may have considered these things in their decision making. The Bible doesn’t tell us one way or another. But first and foremost were the spiritual qualifications.
Rather than call these men the first deacons, I prefer to think of them as simply mature disciples of the Jerusalem church. They had obviously been in the church for some time, as it takes longer than a few weeks to recognize the stated qualifications. These men clearly stood out amongst the congregation as men who serious about their service for God and mature in their faith. In the chapters that follow, we see that at least two of them men, Stephen and Philip, were fervent witnesses for the Lord. George Barna (Growing True Disciples, Waterbrook Press, 2001) defined a disciple as a “person committed to becoming and to reproducing spiritually mature zealots for Christ.” Certainly this group embodied that definition to the utmost degree.
As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we too are called to be disciples. If we asked the church about you, would you be described as a man “of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, an evangelist?” And if not, then what are you doing to change that? The most important part of Barna’s definition is in the first few words, “a disciple is a person committed to becoming...”. What you are now is not as important as what you are committed to becoming. Please, Lord, make us all like those men in Acts 6, sold out disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Oh, and by the way, there was an additional significant consequence of these six disciples’ service. Look closely at Acts 6:7. After these disciples assumed ministry responsibilities, “the Word of God increased; and the number of disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.” Who’d a thunk it?
Just a servant,
Bro. Tom
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