- II. THE EARLIEST MISSIONS -
The institution of the Seven - Acts 6:1-7 - N. T. -
About this time, the number of disciples was increasing, the Helenists made a complaint against the Hebrews: in the daily distribution their own widows were being overlooked. So the Twelve called a full meeting of the disciples and addressed them, 'It would not be right for us to neglect the word of God so as to give out food; you, brothers, must select from among yourselves even men of good reputation, filled with the Spirit and with wisdom; we will hand over this duty to them, and continue to devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word'.
The whole assembly approved of this proposal and elected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus of Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
The word of the Lord continued to spread: the number of disciples in Jerusalem was greatly increased, and a large group of priests made their submission to the faith.
Cf. - Acts 2:41+; 2:45 -
Cf. - Exodus 18:16-23 - O. T. - When they have some dispute they come to me, and I settle the differences between the one and the other and instruct them in God's statutes and his decisions. 'It is not right' the father-in-law of Moses said to him 'to take this on yourself. You will tire yourself out, you and the people with you. The work to too heavy for you. You cannot do it alone. Take my advice, and God will be with you. You ought to represent the people before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them the statutes and the decisions; show them the way they must follow and what their course must be.
But choose from the people at large some capable and God-fearing men, trustworthy and incorruptible, and appoint them as leaders of the service of the people to administer justice at all times. They can refer all difficult questions to you, but all smaller questions they will decide for themselves, so making things easier for you and sharing the burden with you. If you do this - and they may God so command you - you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.'
Cf. - Numbers 27:16-20; 1:1-19 - O. T. - Yahweh answered Moses, 'Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom the spirit dwells. Lay your hands on him. Then bring him before Eleazar the priest and the whole community, to give him your orders in their presence and to give him a share of tour authority, so that the whole community of the sons of Israel may obey him. Yahweh spoke to Moses,..: Take a census of the whole community... These are the names of these who are to be your helpers: For Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur. For Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai....... As Yahweh had commanded, Moses took a census of them in the wilderness of Sinai.
Cf. - Isaiah 11:2-4 - O. T. - On him the spirit of Yahweh rests, a spirit of wisdom and insight, a spirit of counsel and power, a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh. (The fear of Yahweh is his breath.) he does not judge by appearances, he gives no verdict on hearsay, but judges the wretched with integrity, and with equity gives a verdict for the poor of the land. His word is a rod that strikes the ruthless, his sentences bring death to the wicked.
Cf. - 1 Timothy 3:8-11 - N. T. - In the same way, deacons must be respectable men whose word can be trusted, moderate in the amount of wine they drink and with no squalid greed for money. They must be conscientious believers in the mystery of the faith. They are to be examined first. and only admitted to serve as deacons if there is nothing against them. In the same way, the women must be respectable, not gossips but sober and quite reliable.
Cf. - Acts 1:14; 2:42; 8:5; 21:8; 13:3 -
Cf. - 1 Timothy 4;14-16 - N. T. - You have in you a spiritual gift which was given to you when the prophets spoke and the body of elders laid hands on you; do not let it lie unused. Think hard about all this, and put it into practice, and everyone will be able to see how you are advancing. Take great care about what you do and what you teach; always do this, and in this way you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.
Cf. - Acts 2:41+; 12:24; 13:49; 19:20 -
Cf. - Romans 1:5-7 -N. T. - Through the Lord Jesus Christ we received grace and our apostolic mission to preach the obedience of faith to all pagans nations in honour of his name. You are one of these nations, and by his call belong to Jesus Christ. To you all, then, who are God's beloved in Rome, called to be saints, may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send grace and peace.
Stephen's arrest - Acts 6:8-15 - N. T. -
Stephen was filled with grace and power and began to work miracles and great signs among the people. But then certain people came forward to debate with Stephen, some from Cyrene and Alexandria who were members of the synagogue called the Synagogue of Freedmen, and others from Cilicia and Asia. They found they could not get the better of him because of his wisdom, and because it was the Spirit that prompted what he said. So they procured some men to say, 'We heard him using blasphemous language against Moses and against God'. Having in this way turned the people against him as well as the elders and scribes, they took Stephen by surprise, and arrested him and brought him before the Sanhedrin.
There they put up false witnesses to say, 'This man is always making speeches against this Holy Place and the Law. We have heard him say that Jesus the Nazarene is going to destroy this Place and alter the traditions that Moses handed down to us.' The members of the Sanhedrin all looked intently at Stephen, and his face appeared to them like the face of an angel.
Cf. - Acts 1:8 -
Cf. - Luke 21:14-15 - N. T. - Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defence, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict.
Cf. - Acts 21:21 -
Cf. - Matthew 2:23+; 26:59-64 - N. T. - The chief priests and the whole of Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus, however false, on which they might pass the death-sentence. But they could not find any, though several lying witnesses came forward. Eventually two stepped forward, and made a statement, 'This man said, "I have power to destroy the Temple of God and in three days build it up"', The high priest then stood up and said to Jesus, 'Have you no answer to that? What is this evidence these men are bringing against you?' But Jesus was silent.
And the high priest said to him, 'I put you on oath by the living God to tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God', 'The words are your own' answered Jesus. 'Moreover, I tell you that from this time onward you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.'
Cf. - Luke 4:20-22 - N. T. - Jesus the rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them, 'This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen'. And he won the approval of all, and they were astonished by the gracious words that came from his lips. - PAGE 103 -
Stephen's speech
The high priest asked, 'Is this true?'... - PAGE 104 -
Hence, these two books (The Gospel According To Apostle/Saint Luke & The Acts Of The Apostles) of the New Testament were closely associated, and being call 'a history of the rise of Christianity'. Therefore, I faithfully believe that it is utmost importance for us; all human beings to comprehend these two books, [ All the others Old Testament and New Testament books are equally importance, but as for now, we will start studying and read these two books first, that is, being call 'a history of the rise of Christianity', before continuing the other books.] to the best of our knowledge and enabling our spirit to acknowledges: "Who is God, and how, and in what ways, that is, God is with us." Amen!
HE / SHE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE / SHE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE / SHE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE." - JOHN 16:12-15 -
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