May the word of God keep on spreading!
[Acts 6:1-7]
From an educational perspective, how is the current state of the Korean church? If the focus of the Korean church in the 20th century was 'church growth,' in the 21st century it is shifting towards 'church maturity.' True church growth can only occur in a matured Christian who listens to the words of Christ and obeys them, embodying a matured Christian character (Internet). Are our churches truly receiving the guidance of God's word? Genuine church growth originates from the growth of the word. Revival and growth of a true church occur where the power of God's word is manifested. Therefore, we must draw closer to God's word.
The statement "So the word of God spread" in Acts 6:7 appears three times in the book of Acts (6:7, 12:24, 19:20), and this is the first occurrence in Acts 6:7. It signifies the powerful growth brought about by the word of God. In other words, there was significant growth of God's word as a blessing from God on the pastoral policies chosen by the apostles. Consequently, the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased. We earnestly hope for such a powerful work of the word in our church. Therefore, I would like to meditate on Acts 6:1-7, focusing on how we can allow the word of God to keep on spreading in our church, seeking to receive the grace given to us.
First, in order for the word of God to keep on spreading, we must not neglect God's word.
Look at Acts 6:2 – “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.’” Why do we set aside God's word? In other words, why don’t we read the Bible regularly? Perhaps the reason is not because the Bible is difficult to read or hard to understand. Students might say they don't read the Bible because it's not interesting (Internet). The first reason people don't read the Bible is likely not because they're too busy. When we're occupied with various tasks, reading the Bible becomes challenging. Especially if we don't prioritize reading the Bible in our lives, we won't be able to keep God's word close. The twelve apostles mentioned in today's passage were almost swept up in conflict (vv. 1-2). Here, conflict arose due to complaints stemming from financial disputes between Hellenistic and Hebraic Jewish widows (v. 1, Park). The term "Hellenistic Jews" refers to Jews born in foreign lands who used the Greek language. They resented the Hebraic Jews, who were Palestinian Jews using Aramaic (v. 1). The reason for this resentment was that in the daily distribution for support, the widows of Hellenistic Jews were being overlooked. Logically, this happened because the Hellenistic Jews were a minority compared to the Hebraic Jews who used Aramaic, so they were marginalized in the daily distribution program (Yoo). The term "to wait on tables" in verse 2 reveals that they were responsible for this daily distribution. In reality, most believers at that time lived near Jerusalem and were able to attend daily gatherings (2:46-47, 5:42). During these gatherings, the church provided meals for widows and supplied food for the next meal. At that time, it was known that Judaism had two support programs for those on the brink of poverty. This involved providing food daily for those who were destitute and couldn't afford a meal, as well as providing food and clothing for the urban poor once a week (J. Jeremias, Yoo). The widows of Hellenistic Jews were being overlooked in this relief effort, leading to resentment from the Hellenistic Jewish community towards the Hebraic Jewish community. It raises the question of why the widows of Hellenistic Jews were overlooked in the relief effort. The cause was the creation of two antagonistic factions within Judaism (Mollgan). These two groups, which had differences in language and culture, ultimately became embroiled in schismatic conflicts in which those involved in the relief work were Hebraic Jews, not Hellenistic Jews. The cause of the schismatic conflict was showing partiality based on appearance, or favoritism. Favoritism within the church ultimately leads to division. For example, if a senior pastor favors certain members of the congregation over others who follow associate pastors, it can lead to division within a church, creating essentially two separate churches within one. This kind of division ultimately tears apart the body of Jesus Christ. Another example is if the lead pastor shows favoritism towards a particular elder among the board members, it can lead to jealousy, rivalry, and strife, inevitably resulting in division within the board. God does not show favoritism based on appearance (Rom. 2:11). Therefore, we should not show favoritism towards others based on their appearance.
In the end, in the early church, besides the sin of Ananias and Sapphira mentioned in Acts chapter 5, there were also divisions and complaints within the church stemming from favoritism. How did the apostles address this issue? They immediately gathered the entire church and made it clear that they should not be involved in the church's relief program any longer, emphasizing that prioritizing the ministry of the word was more fitting (Acts 6:2). They warned all the disciples that it was not appropriate to neglect God's word in favor of the relief effort (v. 2). Dr. Yoon-seon Park states: ‘This was the apostles' proper administration (Rom. 12:8). The role of an apostle is a spiritual duty to proclaim God's word, specifically the gospel (Mt. 28:19-20). However, as the apostles took charge of the relief effort, it hindered the original purpose of their ministry" (Park).
If a pastor sets aside God's word in favor of other tasks within the church, what will happen? In short, it leads to ruin. The pastor and the flock both perish. The church falls apart. Look at Hosea 4:6-9: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame. They feed on the sin of My people And direct their desire toward their iniquity. And it will be, like people, like priest; So I will punish them for their ways And repay them for their deeds.” Therefore, pastors must prioritize God's word. Relief efforts or anything else should not take precedence. In order for God's word to spread, we all must prioritize it. We should never neglect God's word and get swept up in various tasks.
Second, in order for God's word to keep on spreading,
we must be dedicated to prayer and the ministry of the word.
Look at Acts 6:4 in today's passage: "We will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word." The apostles, after gathering the entire church and proclaiming that neglecting God's word in favor of the relief effort was inappropriate, delegated the task to seven individuals who were filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom to handle the relief work, receiving praise. In a sense, they selected seven deacons to take charge of this work, while the pastors proclaimed that they would focus on prayer and the ministry of God's word.
Pastors must know how to delegate. If a pastor tries to do everything in the church without delegating to elders, deacons, or lay ministers, or if they constantly interfere and prevent lay ministers from doing their jobs properly, it is not acceptable. Such a church can never be considered a healthy church. Why do pastors hesitate to delegate to lay ministers? In my opinion, there are at least two reasons. The first reason is authoritarianism. As long as the pastor's authoritarianism exists, it is difficult to foster an atmosphere in the church that values expertise (Internet). When the pastor's authority is abused and they pastor within an atmosphere of authoritarianism, they are unwilling to delegate as much as possible to lay ministers. Another reason is distrust. In other words, I think the pastor does not delegate because they do not trust lay ministers. This, in a way, shows that the pastor only trusts themselves. They do not believe that anyone else can do the job properly.
However, the apostles delegated the relief work to seven deacons and declared in front of the entire church that they would be dedicated to prayer and the ministry of the word. Here, the ministry of the word refers to feeding the believers with God's word just as feeding widows in the relief work, and also includes preaching the gospel to non-believers. What's interesting is that in verse 2, the apostles had already announced that they would be dedicated to prayer and the ministry of the word. But in verse 4, there is an additional statement that they would be dedicated to prayer before preaching the word. The fact that prayer comes before preaching the word teaches us that a preacher must first and foremost be a person of prayer (Park). Without striving to become a person of prayer, a pastor or a servant cannot emerge, and even if they do, it will not be right. It would be almost like obscuring the glory of God. The apostles' decision and declaration to be dedicated to prayer and the ministry of the word reflect Jesus' pastoral philosophy directly from the perspective of the author Luke. One crucial aspect that Jesus demonstrated to the apostles was that He placed the ministry of prayer before the ministry of preaching the word (Lk. 5:15-16) (Yoo).
Do pastors today have this pastoral philosophy of the apostles? When we look at the Korean church, we are faced with the unfortunate reality that the prayer life and preaching ministry of pastors are weakening due to the overload of administrative tasks in the church. We cannot deny this fact. Therefore, one of the things many full-time co-workers say is that they cannot pray properly or study the word properly because of the many administrative tasks (work) in the church. I find Professor Sang-seop Yoo's advice helpful: ‘In order for the modern church to restore the pastoral philosophy of the apostles of the early church, pastors must boldly entrust what should be entrusted to lay ministers, and it is absolutely necessary for pastors to return to the essential ministry of prayer and the word’ (Yoo). In order for God's word to keep on spreading, we all must be dedicated to prayer and the ministry of the word.
Third and last, in order for God's word to keep on spreading,
there must be faith and fullness of the Holy Spirit.
Look at Acts 6:5 – “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.”
When the apostles declared that they would be dedicated to prayer and the ministry of the word, the whole assembly accepted it with joy (v. 5). So, the apostles told the whole congregation to choose seven deacons. The criteria for selecting the seven deacons are mentioned in verse 3:
- A man full of Spirit and wisdom, which refers to someone who is spiritually wise (Grosheide).
The work of providing relief in the church is not merely a worldly, secular task of caring for the physical needs. Since the church's relief work can be considered a spiritually centered activity centered on Christ, spiritual wisdom is necessary (Park). Full of the Spirit and wisdom denotes the amount of wisdom needed to handle the responsibilities well.
- A person known to be full of faith.
Here, being known to be full of faith refers to being recognized by people as possessing virtue and credibility (Park). One of the qualifications for a deacon, as stated in 1 Timothy 3:10, is to be a person who has no charge against them. This implies that the qualification of a deacon candidate is the fact that they are recognized by the congregation. One interesting thing is that when we look at the names of the seven chosen individuals who are full of the Spirit, wisdom, and faith, they all have Greek names. This indicates that the Hellenistic Jews at the time had resented the unfairness in the church's relief work. The fact that these seven Hellenistic deacons were appointed was a very fair and generous treatment (Park). The names of these seven Hellenistic deacons are Stephen, Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a convert to Judaism from Antioch (Acts 6:5). As we know, Stephen and Philip are mentioned in Acts 6-8. These seven deacons are men full of faith and of the Holy Spirit (v. 5). The apostles entrusted the entire relief work to them.
When thinking about the early Jerusalem church, with the twelve apostles full of faith and the Holy Spirit alongside the seven deacons, we can't help but ask ourselves what our own church should be like. We must seek to be filled with faith and the Holy Spirit. To achieve this, we must dedicate ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word, just like the apostles. One cannot become a person full of faith and the Holy Spirit by neglecting prayer and merely observing the word. Pastor Tozer expressed it this way: ‘To live a life filled with the Spirit, one must live in God's word, just as fish live in water. Living in God's word doesn't simply mean studying the Bible or attending doctrinal classes. It means meditating on His word day and night, loving it, and fully digesting it. When various issues of life try to infiltrate our hearts and capture our minds, we must react almost reflexively according to the word’ (Tozer).
In his book, " That Incredible Christian" Pastor Tozer stated: ‘When examining the history of the church over the centuries, every revival of the church has always been accompanied by obedience to the truth. The touchstone that distinguishes a revived church from a dead one is how the members of the church respond to the truth. A dead church does not obey the truth; it merely attaches itself to the outer shell of truth. On the other hand, a church desiring to do God's will immediately receives the blessing of spiritual empowerment’ (Tozer). Through today's message, we have been shown God's will: (1) We must not set aside God's word for other matters. (2) We must dedicate ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. (3) Therefore, we must become people filled with faith and the Holy Spirit.
May God's word keep on spreading within our church!
James Kim
(Full of the Word, Full of the Spirit!)