Acts 6:1–6

Persecution of the Christian for Christ's sake is an honour from God (Phil. 1:29), and grace makes it a blessing to the church and a testimony to the world. The real danger is from within. It is greater still when the confidence of love gives way, to any great extent, to an evil eye and a discontented tongue. And so it was now.

Scripture ties the multiplying of men on the face of the earth to all this corruption — just as in the history of the church. Acts 6:1. Murmurings and disputes began to arise when the number of disciples multiplied. These matching cases in Genesis 6 and Acts 6 tell us that man is never to be trusted, and that the more we get of him the worse things are.

The same old thing, the unchanging flesh, shows itself among the saved and united company of believers, indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The murmurings were on the side of the Grecians. Their complaint was against the Hebrews, that the Grecian widows were being overlooked. The Grecians were not, as some teach, Gentiles. They were Greek-speaking Jews, born in countries outside Palestine. That is why they were called Hellenists, or Grecians.

Poverty was from the outset a marked feature of the church in Jerusalem. To relieve it, the church kept up its daily ministry to the poor. Through this the enemy now sought to work and to sow division among the converts. A cry went up that the widows of the Grecian Jews were neglected in favour of the native-born Hebrews.

"Their widows," they alleged, were being overlooked in the daily supply of needs. We are not told that this was really so, but that this is what they complained of. The poor "widows" are always remembered by God. The mouth of murmurers should be stopped, if the allegation were false.

It does not say they were neglected, but that this was claimed. In fact, although grace was dominant over it here, there was always a certain jealousy existing between these two classes. You would expect the jealousy on the side of the Hebrews. Here it was on the side of the Hellenists — perhaps a reaction to knowing that such a spirit generally existed, which would give rise to the suspicions we actually see now.

We cannot read further than the sixth chapter of Acts without finding the first symptoms of a disease. That disease has since grown into a raging and destructive epidemic. A murmuring arose among the Jewish converts to Christianity, because certain Greek-speaking widows were neglected compared with their Hebrew sisters. It might have seemed a small thing. In reality it meant a great deal.

Here was an apparent difference of interests. The Spirit of God, through the apostles, corrected the trouble at once... So men appointed by God take charge of the whole matter of practical care. From their names it would seem they were all foreign Jews — the very class the complaint had come from. They took into the circle of divine love and care every needy saint, whether foreign or home-born. So the threatened trouble was averted.

The flesh showed itself in murmuring... Murmurings arose out of jealousy, the result of unbelief. It is the first indication of weakness and failure. This reminds us of the murmurings of Israel as recorded in the book of Exodus. The same old thing, the flesh that never changes, shows itself among the saved and united company of believers, in whom the Holy Spirit lives. The murmurings were on the side of the Grecians... The Grecians were not Gentiles, as some teach. They were Greek-speaking Jews, born in countries outside Palestine, and so were called Hellenists.

It was only a "murmuring" that arose, but the apostles did not wait for it to become a formidable outcry. They discerned that Satan's object in it was to divert them from the preaching of the Word to social service, so they took steps to end any possible objections.

The money came from the disciples, so the apostles told them to choose men they could trust. But the apostles, acting for the Lord in good order, put those men over the work. It was not fitting or proper (the word used here allows a wider sense than the narrow one of "pleasing", or "our pleasure") that they should give up the word of God to serve tables. If they had carried on with that work, that is where it would have ended. In this way loving wisdom turns ungrateful complaints to good... Where the Lord gives, He chooses, as for all ministry in the word; where the assembly gives, they choose, as in this case.

They serve tables in contrast with the ministry of the word... they are appointed to quite another business, in contrast with the minister of the word. Two of them, to use Paul's language, gain a good standing for themselves and great boldness in Christ Jesus. Out of their own zeal they set about serving in the synagogues and elsewhere. Philip goes to Samaria, giving up as a result his office — "this business" — at Jerusalem... That is, deacons were put over everyday matters so that others might be free to minister the word.

In this business the church was to select its own officers; but then the business was the distribution of the funds and food that the church had itself provided. We never read that the church was asked to select or appoint its elders, overseers, or ministers of the Word. The grace and gifts they pass on do not come from the church but from God.

The preaching of the word is separated from the care of the poor. In this case the apostles wanted the people to choose those who might care for the widows. We shall see later on that the apostle Paul himself, with Barnabas, appointed elders. But when it was a question of money, neither the twelve nor Paul would take any part in it. They would not mix the divine service of the word with the handling of the money the believers gave.

So the apostles continued to give themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word. For those who are taught, the Word comes first, because we pray rightly only as the Word teaches us. For those who minister, prayer comes first, for apart from prayer they will not speak the Word rightly.

It was only a "murmuring" that arose, but the apostles did not wait for it to become a loud outcry. They saw Satan's aim in it: to turn them from preaching the Word to social service. So they took steps to end any possible objection. They told the church to pick seven men for the work, men who were to be "of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom." These men were to handle it with a wisdom and honesty beyond all reproach.

The money came from the disciples as a whole. So the apostles call on them to look out from among themselves brothers they could gladly trust. Yet it was the apostles, acting for the Lord in due order, who established them over the business… Loving wisdom turns ungrateful complaints into good. Where the Lord gives, He chooses, as for all ministry in the word; where the assembly gives, they choose, as in this case.

The three principles are quite distinct. (1) The Lord chooses and sends those whom He gives as gifts to the church. (2) The apostle, or an apostolic man with an express commission, chooses or establishes elders. (3) The assembly chooses the administrators of its funds, and the apostles set them solemnly over this business.

Some would say that we are not to listen to the testimony of the world. God's Word says otherwise. The elder "must be well thought of by outsiders," and so it is here too. The world is a very good judge of an honest or a dishonest Christian. It usually gives a very fair and sound judgment on such a point. I have no objection to the judgment of the world in a matter like that.

From Acts 6 we learn that his special work is "serving tables." As the passage shows, this means meeting the bodily and daily needs of the assembly. The work of the overseer is different: it is concerned mainly with meeting spiritual needs. Even so, the deacon still needs spiritual qualifications.

There is no such thing as "everyday affairs" in the Church of Christ. All things are sacred. What an object lesson! A man must be filled with the Spirit to rightly minister to the needs of the saints. Let us remember this.

Every man chosen came from the murmurers. Grace is the great cure for murmuring. It was the Greek-speaking Jews who murmured. And though they are not called deacons, the seven who did the work of deacons were all Greek-speaking. Not even four Greek-speaking and three Hebrews, but all Greek-speaking. What a lesson in the power of grace when it is active!

But deacons, like the seven, were not tied only to the service they were appointed to do. Those who have served well as deacons gain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. We see this in Stephen and Philip, who were two of the seven. God greatly honoured the one as a teacher of the truth. He used the other widely to spread the gospel where it had never yet reached.

It was not right or fitting that they should give up the word of God to serve tables. Yet that is where staying in that work would have led them. So loving wisdom turns ungrateful complaints to good. And in this an important principle is made plain. Where the Lord gives, He chooses, as He does for all ministry in the word. Where the assembly gives, the assembly chooses, as here.

They were well covered in that spiritual armour, which let them turn aside the effort of the "world rulers of this darkness" to divert them from their true service into "serving tables." So they turned to their proper business and said, "But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." The ministry of the Word, or as 1 Corinthians 1:18-21 puts it, "the preaching" — "the preaching of the cross" — is one great spiritual weapon. Prayer is another.

"But we," say the apostles with emphasis, "will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." This deserves much weight. For that service of the word, prayer should take first place. So it was with the apostles, but not with the Corinthian believers... Prayer is dependence going out and expressing itself. It is needed all the more so that the ministry of the word does not rest on the will or resources of man. Instead it comes in weakness, in fear and in much trembling, yet with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that the faith of the saints stands not in men's wisdom but in God's power.

For those who are taught, the Word comes first (see 1 Tim. 4:5), because we only pray rightly when the Word has taught us. For those who minister, prayer comes first, because without prayer they will not speak the Word rightly.

We see that they recognise the word of God as their true sphere of service. They want to give themselves to it completely, and they join prayer with it, which they put first, as the necessary condition. Without that link of conscious dependence, what gift — even the greatest — could be of any use?... Is it not here, in fact, that we fail so much, and the ministry of the word fails in the same measure?

I feel deeply how little prayerful spirit we bring to the work of evangelism... it seems to me that we fall far short when it comes to earnest, persevering, believing prayer. This is the true secret of power.

The field was about to be enlarged. Only a poor root, man's complaints, led to this fresh line of action, yet God was moving over it all. He could use these seven, and would give some of them a good standing, as we find soon in Stephen and later in Philip. He marked it in another way too, which showed His approval: "The word of God increased," in spite of the murmuring, "and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly."

The grace shown by the apostles met a remarkable answer in the crowd. All the names are Greek, which points to a Greek-speaking background. It seems they chose every one of the seven from the Greek-speaking believers — the very group that had complained against the Hebrews. Was not this grace enough to make the suspicious ashamed? No one arranged a balance of parties or a fair share of places, the way business habits or a courtroom would suggest.

The disciples accepted the advice, and quickly found seven men with those qualifications and elected them unanimously. Being "of good repute" was one qualification for the service: the testimony and judgment of other people counted. "Full of the Holy Spirit" was another qualification: full, not filled — which marks the person's general way of life. Full "of wisdom" — this was the third suggested qualification. Of two of the seven — Stephen and Philip — the writer of Acts will have more to tell us. The others who here come on the scene do not appear on the face of the narrative again.

Christian qualities mark him in a striking way. Scripture calls him a man "full of faith and of the Holy Spirit", "full of grace and power", and marked by "wisdom" (Acts 6:5, 8, 10). These are the outstanding marks of a Christian. Faith must come first. But once we have believed the gospel of our salvation, God seals us with the Holy Spirit. Having the Spirit, we are told to "be filled with the Spirit". If we are filled with the Spirit, grace will mark us — grace that meets every evil in the spirit of Christ. So will power to rise above every circumstance, and wisdom to meet all opposition.

The Christian crowd gave the money, so the apostles left them free to choose the men who would hand it out. This was as wise as it was gracious. The apostles kept away from anything that looked like favouritism, and stuck to their own work with prayer, which is the condition of power... Where the saints gave, they chose by their best judgment the right men to use what they gave... But they never interfered with the ministers of the word. The Lord gave those, not the church.

Notice too that once "the seven" had been chosen, they came before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them as a sign of fellowship with their appointment. Laying on of hands was an old sign of blessing (Gen. 48:14), above all of official recognition (Num. 27:23), or of handing someone over to God's grace (Acts 13:3, Acts 14:26).

The service of a deacon might seem a very small matter, but nothing in God's service is really small... You can see this in the later history of two men named in Acts 6:5. Stephen went on to become the first Christian martyr. Philip became a much used preacher of the gospel — the only man in Scripture called an evangelist (see Acts 21:8). Every true servant of God has begun with small and humble things, so none of us should look down on them or avoid them, though that is our natural tendency.

Ministry in the Word needed no apostolic authorisation. Ministers of the Word are gifts from the ascended Christ to men (Ephesians 4:11-12), and God Himself sets them in the assembly (1 Corinthians 12:28)... Filling an office such as elder or deacon was another matter: it needed apostolic authority, direct or indirect. So the apostles told the assembly to select the men "whom we may appoint over this business." We should mark the we here. It spoke of an authority which none of the company except the apostles could exercise... Here we have the first ordination in the Christian Church — an ordination, we repeat, not to preach, but to carry out the office of serving tables.

The whole body of believers chose the seven at Jerusalem, who served as deacons, and then the apostles appointed them. This election by the church does not apply to elders. Every scripture that deals with the appointment of elders makes that plain: it lay with the apostles alone, or with deputies they had openly authorised... Where Christians gave of their money, they were free to choose men they trusted to hand it out.

In the opening chapters of Leviticus we read how the man bringing an offering was to lay his hand on the head of it. Of the peace offering we read: "He shall lay his hand on the head of his offering." This meant that the Israelite identified himself with the offering. And that is what the apostles meant by laying on their hands. They identified themselves and the assembly with them in the work for which they had been chosen. It was a very simple and appropriate act to show their fellowship with them.

The laying on of hands showed identification with their service. No one should do this lightly or in a hurry (1 Timothy 5:22). Even the apostles saw that they needed God's guidance in prayer before they committed to it. In the same way, in Acts 13 they prayed and fasted first. Only then did they lay hands on Saul and Barnabas, who had just been called to do the Lord's work.

If someone says he was officially set apart, the answer is that it was to serve tables, not to preach the word of God. The whole point of the office was that the twelve, freed from care about this business, could give themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. Philip preached with power, Stephen argued with irresistible wisdom, and both worked miracles. None of that came from an appointment which covered the daily distribution and nothing else.

Probably a similar laying on of hands took place when elders were appointed... But Scripture says nothing about it. That silence seems meant to guard believers from the deadly routine of superstitious form that has spread over Christendom, dishonouring the Lord and harming rule... How weak is the foundation of church pride! How perfect is the word of God, both in what it says and in what it leaves unsaid!

Christendom has copied this apostolic action and badly misused it, claiming that it hands a man a status and passes on spiritual blessing. Treated instead as a simple recognition and mark of fellowship in service, it would be a scriptural act.