Paul, never short of metaphors, today offers two relating to Christian death. For believers, death is like a day when we will change our residence, and it is definitely a move to a nicer neighborhood, from a temporary tent to an eternal house (5:1). Death is also like going from a state of nakedness to putting on clothes. Being clothed is, generally speaking, a much more secure feeling than being naked. So in both metaphors, death is presented as something positive. For believers, death is actually our preference! “We are of good courage…and prefer to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord” (5:8). And there is a third metaphor! Death is like going home.

Of course, only those who look at death by faith rather than by sight possess such an attitude about it. To the eye, death seems to be anything but favorable. The world recoils at the thought of dying (and so they should), but we face it courageously knowing it promises better things for us. Twice Paul refers to our current “groanings,” alternately translated as “deep sighs.” Our hearts are longing for the place for which we’ve been prepared, longings which are birthed by the indwelling Holy Spirit who has been given to us by God as a “pledge,” or “down payment,” of our future inheritance. The best is yet to come! This life is the only hell believers will ever know, while this life is the only heaven unbelievers will ever experience.

Knowing what is to come motivates us to strive to please God now, because we also know that our first stop on the other side of death is repayment at the judgment seat of Christ. Everyone, believers and unbelievers alike, will stand before Christ to give an account (and this is certainly illustrated in the judgment of the sheep and goats of which Jesus spoke in Matthew 25). Everyone will be repaid, reaping what they have sown. That is a very fearful thing for those who have never repented (5:11). Believers will be rewarded for the good they have done, but obviously, they will also suffer loss for the good that they could have done, but didn’t. So judgment won’t necessarily be all joy for every believer. For pseudo-believers, like the goats Jesus spoke of in Matthew 25, there will be great shock, followed by weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Take note of Paul’s words, “Having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died” (5:14). That is, because of the fact that Jesus died for everyone, we know that everyone was spiritually dead. This one verse exposes the error found in the Calvinistic concept known as “Limited Atonement,” the idea that Jesus only died for those who were allegedly pre-selected by God. Paul clearly states that Jesus died for all, and not “all” in the sense that Calvinists twist it to mean “all who were preselected to be saved.” No, Paul states that because Jesus died for all, we can therefore be sure that “all died.” Calvinists universally agree that all unregenerate people are spiritually dead, and not just those who are allegedly pre-selected to be saved. So if the “all” in the second part of that verse means “all human beings” (which it must) then the “all” found just two words earlier also refers to all human beings. There is no way to escape this fact.

Why did Jesus die for all? “So that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again” (5:15). There’s the gospel in a nutshell. Jesus died, not just to forgive us, but to make us holy, or as Paul said, “so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (5:21). One must ignore the context of 5:21 to claim, as so many do, that Paul was speaking only of our being made “legally righteous” without being made practically righteous. True Christians have been made “new creatures” (5:17), people who have been spiritually reborn and indwelled by the Holy Spirit, all so they might live righteously. As John would later write, “Make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous (1 John 3:7).

This chapter offers a glimpse into the heart and ministry of the apostle Paul that should have touched the hearts of the Corinthian believers as they considered the price he paid for their sakes. Paul’s intent, I suspect, was to subtly contrast himself with the false teachers who had infiltrated Corinth, men whose motives were selfish.

Every minister, and every Christian for that matter, who reads this chapter should be inspired to imitate Paul’s servanthood and steadfastness in the midst of suffering. Because of his calling to ministry, Paul recognized that he must be holy, and so he “renounced the things hidden because of shame” (4:2). Every minister needs to understand that his calling to ministry is, first of all, a calling to holiness, because the goal of every minister is to make disciples who obey all of Christ’s commandments.

Along these same lines, a second characteristic of Paul’s that is worthy of every minister’s imitation was his conviction to “preach…Christ Jesus as Lord” (4:5). That should be the heart of all preaching, but not just as a worn-out and meaningless cliche’, but as the most fundamental and vital doctrine of true Christianity, so that listeners understand that Christ should be ruling every aspect of their lives.

Not only did Paul live and preach Christ’s lordship, but he consequently considered himself to be a servant of all, which would only be right for one whose Lord is Christ, since Christ taught us to be servants. The word “minister” does not mean “little king” as you might think from observing some modern ministers, but is actually a synonym for “servant.” Paul’s willingness to serve motivated him to endure continual physical hardship and persecution, which he described as “always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body” (4:10). The wider context seems to indicate that he was referring to the inseparable correlation between his sufferings and the fruitfulness of his ministry. Just as Christ’s death resulted in new life for others, so Paul’s sufferings (even to the point of being stoned and left for dead) contributed to the new life that the Corinthians enjoyed. “So death works in us, but life in you” (4:12), he wrote.

That knowledge helped to keep Paul from losing heart in his sufferings. Not only that, but he knew there was a reward waiting for him one day. “Momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory for beyond all comparison” (4:18). So Paul kept his eyes, not on the temporary and visible, but on the eternal and invisible. So should we. Contemporary “Christianity,” however, sadly lacks this perspective, and books with titles such as, Your Best Life Now, become best-sellers. When you follow Christ, there is a price. At the very least, you will find yourself misunderstood and alienated. We should not be surprised, however, since we are aliens on this earth (1 Pet. 1:1; 2:11)!

So be encouraged today. Chances are, your sufferings for Christ are minimal compared to Paul’s. That should also be an encouragement to be willing to suffer more and make greater sacrifices, as we know that those who suffer more will be rewarded more in the end.

Today’s reading includes a short passage that is sometimes extracted from its greater context in order to encourage unscriptural practices under the banner of “spiritual warfare.” Paul wrote that his gospel was veiled to “those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel” (4:4). Notice Paul did not go on to recommend “binding demons in the atmosphere in order to release people from Satan’s blinding them.” From reading the rest of Scripture, we know that Satan’s blinding is a secondary cause for people’s rejection of the gospel. The primary reason is the hardness of their hearts. Satan simply supplies the lies that hard-hearted people love to believe, giving them excuse to continue in their sin and violate their consciences. Satan can’t stop anyone from humbling himself and believing.

Paul’s critical comment at the end of chapter 2, “We are not like many, peddling the word of God,” is our first indication in this letter that there may have been false teachers who had gained some influence in Corinth. Paul’s comment could have been considered prideful by his readers, so he quickly reminded them that he needed no self-commendation (as the false teachers likely did). Moreover, Paul and his band needed no letters of reference to gain the Corinthians’ trust, and for that matter, needed no letters of reference from the Corinthians to gain the trust of others. The transformed lives of the Corinthians themselves were, metaphorically speaking, Paul’s letter of reference, as he was the human instrument whom God used in their transformation. (How many modern pastors would want their flocks to serve as their letter of reference?) Paul made sure his readers knew that he was not boasting in himself, but in the Lord, who made him “an adequate servant of the new covenant” (3:6).

Paul’s comparison of the old and new covenants gives us some idea what the false teachers were promoting in Corinth, and it should come as no surprise to us at this point in our study. It was the same old issue of Jewish teachers trying to put Gentile believers under the Law of Moses. Paul was quite bold, saying that the difference between the old and new covenants is death versus life, the letter that kills versus the Spirit that gives life. The only thing that the Law of Moses has ever done for anyone was curse them, since it promised a curse upon transgressors, and no one ever kept it. Thinking one was saved by circumcision, one small requirement of the Mosaic Law, while ignoring the majority of the rest of the Law, was especially ludicrous.

Certainly the Jewish teachers could expound on the glories of how God gave the Law to Moses—recounting how it was written by His finger in stone tablets—as they attempted to convince their audiences of uncircumcised men to line up for some very painful minor surgery. Remember that when Moses carried those stone tablets down from Mt. Sinai, he did not realize that his face was literally glowing with God’s glory. Upon seeing him, the people of Israel were afraid to come near him. Consequently, Moses covered his face with a veil to hide the glory that shown from his skin (Ex. 34:27-35). You can imagine Jewish teachers wowing young Gentile men with that story.

Perhaps seizing the Jewish teachers’ strongest argument, Paul pointed out that the glory on Moses’ face faded, symbolic of the temporary nature of the old covenant, whereas the promised new covenant was never-ending. And there was a second analogy. Moses’ veil that hid the glory from Israel symbolized their alienation from God and spiritual darkness, as revealed by their continual rebellion and hardness of heart, even until Paul’s day. How tragic it was that people who heard the Law read every Sabbath remained spiritually blind, separated from the glory of God, because they sought salvation in what could only condemn them. When any of them turned to Christ, however, that veil was lifted, revealing the glory that had previously been hidden from them.

So, although the old covenant revealed God’s glory, the greater glory was largely hidden and waiting to be fully revealed in Christ and the new covenant. Consequently, the glory of the old was of no comparison to the new, and how foolish it would be for any Gentile believer to listen to those still veiled in darkness who were trying to take them backwards from new life to old death!

I’ve heard Paul’s phrase, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (3:17), used to encourage people in church services to abandon their reservations and enjoy the freedom of the Spirit, often an invitation to imitate some bizarre charismatic behavior, an incredible contextual misapplication of Paul’s words! Paul was not talking about acting like idiots in church services. The indwelling Spirit, given in the new covenant, grants Jews freedom from the Mosaic Law. Where the Spirit is, there is liberty!  

Not wanting to visit Corinth a third time to face the same unresolved problems, Paul determined to wait. Remember that when we read 1 Corinthians, we learned that there were factions in Corinth over favorite teachers and leaders. Although one group was loyal to Paul, others were declaring their allegiance to Peter or Apollos (1 Cor. 1:12). Thus, there was a group that was opposed to Paul. You can be sure that if there was a group that was opposed to Paul, there was a leader of that group. It seems that during Paul’s second brief visit to Corinth he dealt with that opposition leader rather harshly, excommunicating him with the support of the majority, which proved to be devastating to that unnamed man. Paul now urged the Corinthian believers to forgive and comfort him, reaffirming their love.

Some have surmised that the unnamed man whom Paul encouraged the Corinthians to forgive and reinstate was the incestuous man whom Paul instructed the Corinthians to excommunicate in 1 Corinthians 5. You may recall that he was living with his stepmother in an immoral relationship, clearly marking him as a “so-called brother,” that is, not a brother at all, and one that would not inherit God’s kingdom (1 Cor. 5:11; 6:9-10). It is, of course, possible that the immoral man had repented, and if so, receiving him back into fellowship would have been appropriate.

Regardless of who the offender was who had been disciplined and then reinstated, take note that Paul was not recommending “universal forgiveness,” something that is advocated today in some Christian circles. God’s forgiveness of people is predicated upon their repentance. If it wasn’t, then He would be unrighteous, approving of sin. God never approves of sin. When Christians “forgive” those who are unrepentant, they likewise show themselves to be unrighteous, approving of sin. This is the flaw in the message of “universal forgiveness” that is being propagated. The truth is, “universal forgiveness” is ungodly. Paul instructed the Corinthians to forgive the unnamed man because he was on the verge of being “overwhelmed by excessive sorrow” (2:7). He was repentant. Keep in mind that Jesus advocated excommunication for unrepentant offenders in the church (Matt. 18:15-17). He also declared: “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him” (Luke 17:3).

As Paul journeyed back towards Macedonia and Achaia, he had hoped to meet Titus in Troas, which was on the opposite side of the Aegean Sea, to learn from him how the Corinthians had received his severe letter. Titus didn’t show up in Troas as he had hoped, and so Paul left for Macedonia himself, in spite of the fact that a door for the gospel had been opened in Troas (2:12-13). The health of the Corinthian church was prioritized over starting a new church in Troas. It’s always a good idea to prioritize preserving what has been gained before trying to gain more.

What are we to make of Paul’s words that “we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life” (2:25-26)?

In ancient Rome, when a general returned from winning a battle, he would lead a victory procession through the streets of his capital city. Behind the incense bearers came the enemy captives bound in chains. To the conquerors, the incense was the smell of victory. To the defeated captives, the incense signified defeat and death. Applying Paul’s analogy, Jesus is our conquering general who is leading us in His triumphant procession. We are like incense-bearers from whom wafts an aroma that testifies of life to believers and death to unbelievers. To God’s enemies, we are giving off an aroma of death. When they reject our message, they seal their doom.

Even in Paul’s day there were those who, to borrow his words, “peddled the word of God” (2:17), using it for personal profit. Not much has changed since then, has it?

Congratulations, by the way. You’ve just completed 100 out of 260 days of reading through the entire New Testament!

Our reading today ends happily, but how sad is the beginning! Rather than rejoicing that the Gentiles had “received the word of God” (11:1), “those who were circumcised” in Jerusalem (which would have consisted of all the church’s leadership) were upset at Peter for eating with Gentiles! Even more tragic is the fact that eating with Gentiles was not forbidden by the Law of Moses, but only by the tradition of the Jewish elders. This would not be the last time in church history when the love of tradition (or pet doctrines) would supersede love for people. May the Lord help us to be innocent of such pharisaism.

Peter corrected those who took issue with him very gently, and naturally so, knowing that he would have agreed with the nature of their complaint prior to his recent experiences in Joppa and Caesarea. What had happened, however, had clearly been the work of God. Thankfully the Jerusalem elders had the humility to admit their misunderstanding, resulting in a landmark moment in church history: Gentiles could become God’s children, heirs of eternal life, through Jesus! Still to come, however, was a related controversy concerning Gentile believers’ obligation to keep the Law of Moses.

When Peter recounted his story before the Jerusalem council, he reported something that we did not read in the original story recorded in Acts 10, namely that the angel who appeared to Cornelius had said to him, “Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household” (11:13-14). As I wrote yesterday, it is difficult for me to accept the idea that Cornelius needed to be saved from a sentence of hell, otherwise we would have to conclude that God might send a sincere, God-fearing, continually-praying, almsgiving, believing Gentile to hell just because he had not believed a gospel that he had never heard, a gospel that had he heard it, he would have immediately believed. So I still must maintain that when Peter visited Cornelius and his household, they became saved in the sense that they were then born of the Spirit and incorporated into the body of Christ, having become spiritual children of God.

In the end, the Jerusalem elders concluded that “God [had] granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.” Does this statement prove, as some claim, that God sovereignly grants the ability to repent to certain individuals whom He has predestined for salvation and that God does not sovereignly grant the ability to repent to those whom He has not predestined for salvation? It is tragic that such a question even needs to be asked. The conclusion of the Jerusalem elders was not, “God has granted to a limited number of pre-selected Gentiles the ability to repent” but, “God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.” That is, God has granted to all the Gentiles, just as He has granted to all the Jews, the opportunity to repent and gain eternal life. And of course, God does more than simply grant an opportunity to the human race to repent. He actively works to influence them to repent through creation, conscience and the proclamation of the gospel. No one can or would come to Jesus unless the Father draws them (John 6:44).

Today’s reading illustrates God’s favor upon sincere seekers. He goes to great lengths to make sure they hear about Jesus. He still does today.

Cornelius, a Roman army commander in charge of 100 men, was stationed in Caesarea, a strategic Roman port on the Mediterranean Sea. His sincere faith was manifested by his “fear of God,” his continual prayers, as well as his gifts to the poor, and none of these went unnoticed before the Lord. Cornelius and his household were chosen by God to be the first Gentiles in the body of Jesus Christ.

There was, however, an obstacle. The early church consisted entirely of Jews who did not mix with Gentiles, considering them unclean. Associating with Gentiles was unlawful (not according to God’s Law, but according to their man-made traditions). Remember that Jesus had already commanded His disciples to make disciples of all the nations, or as the Greek says, all ethnic groups (Matt. 28:19). Jesus also told them that they would be His witnesses in Judea, Samaria, and the remotest parts of the earth (Acts. 1:8). But His message hadn’t penetrated their minds very deeply! So God had to take drastic action to help the church overcome its prejudice carried over from Judaism.

Peter didn’t immediately understand his God-given vision, but within time it became clear to him. Repentant Gentiles, just like repentant Jews, could be forgiven and cleansed by God and included in the church.

But here is a question I can’t help but ask: If Cornelius had died before Peter’s visit, would he have spent eternity in hell? It is hard for me to accept the idea that God would send a sincere, God-fearing, continually-praying, alms-giving Gentile to hell just because he had not believed a gospel that he had never heard, a gospel that had he heard, he would have immediately believed (as proven by the record)! Salvation has always been offered to anyone who would believe (see Romans 4:1-3), and this was true before, during, and after the old covenant. Cornelius was certainly a believer in the God of Israel before Peter ever arrived, and he was living out his faith.

All of this is to say that Cornelius and his believing household were not “saved” that day in the sense that they escaped a sentence of hell. That happened when they originally believed in God and repented. Cornelius and his household were saved that day in the sense that they came to believe in Jesus (whose life and ministry they already knew something about; see 10:37-38), were then born of the Spirit, incorporated into the body of Christ, and also baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Today’s “gospel” often shares little resemblance with the one Peter preached. Note that Peter declared that Jesus is Lord of all and not just a Savior (10:36). Jesus had died on a cross and was resurrected on the third day (10:39-41). God had appointed Him as “Judge of the living and the dead,” and He had ordered His disciples to solemnly testify of that fact (10:42). The prophets had foretold of Jesus (10:43) and God will welcome every person “who fears Him and does what is right” (10:35), which is another way of saying that repentance is required for salvation. The primary benefit for those who believe is “the forgiveness of sins” (10:43), which obviously implies the truths of humanity’s guilt and God’s wrath. Give me that old time religion!

It goes without saying that Cornelius and those gathered believed everything Peter told them. They didn’t need to pray a “sinner’s prayer.” The Lord immediately confirmed that they were full-fledged members of His family by pouring out His Spirit on them just as He had done on the day of Pentecost on 120 Jews. It was so convincing that Peter ordered them to be baptized in water.

How did Peter and the others know those gathered had received the Holy Spirit? They heard them speaking in other tongues (10:45-46). So we see a continuation of the pattern we have been observing in Acts. Speaking in other tongues is a biblical evidence for baptism in the Holy Spirit.

It is no wonder why Paul described himself as the world’s foremost sinner in 1 Timothy. He held the coats of those who stoned Stephen, being in “hearty agreement with putting him to death” (Acts 8:1). Soon after, he “began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison” (Acts 8:3). Paul later wrote that he had previously “persecuted the church of God beyond measure, and tried to destroy it” (Gal. 1:13), and described himself as being a “blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor” (1 Tim. 1:13). During his testimony to King Agrippa he admitted: “I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth….not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons…but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them. And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities” (Acts 26:9-11).

Yet God forgave him! Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:15-16: “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. And yet for this reason I found mercy, in order that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience, as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.” This should give hope to the world’s second-greatest sinner (that would be me), and everyone down the line! Amazing grace!

Jesus said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (9:4). When someone persecutes the church, he persecutes Jesus, which is His body. Likewise, how you and I treat Christ’s followers is how we treat Jesus. When we provide food, drink, clothing, shelter and comfort for “the least of these” among Christ’s body, we’re doing those things for Him, proving our love. When we ignore “the least of these,” we’re ignoring Jesus, and prove that we don’t believe in Him. This is what He taught (see Matt. 25:31-46).

Surely Saul/Paul was born again on the road to Damascus. When he heard the Lord’s voice, he said to Jesus, “Who art Thou, Lord?” (9:5). He was calling Jesus Lord before he even knew to whom he was speaking. (Wouldn’t you have done the same?) He subsequently obeyed Jesus’ instructions. And notice that Ananias, when he first met Saul, called him “brother Saul” (9:17). Yet Ananias told “brother Saul” that he had come so he would regain his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Saul was born again, but had not been filled with the Holy Spirit. This is so obvious that only theologians will debate it.

The Bible doesn’t record Paul’s actual experience of receiving the Holy Spirit, but we know that sooner or later he spoke in other tongues, because he said so in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 14:18). We’re seeing a pattern develop here.

Peter was involved in the beginnings of at least two major revivals, one in Lydda/Sharon and the other in Joppa. Both were precipitated by miracles.

Notice the differing receptivity between the people of Lydda/Sharon and the people of Joppa. As a result of the miracle of Aeneas’ healing, “all who lived at Lydda and Sharon…turned to the Lord” (9:35). In Joppa, as a result of Tabitha’s being raised from the dead, “many believed in the Lord” (9:42). These cities were near one another, yet the people in Lydda/Sharon were more receptive to God than the people of Joppa. This phenomena can be observed all over the world. Receptivity varies from nation to nation, state to state, city to city, and neighborhood to neighborhood. Receptivity also changes over time. There haven’t been any revivals in Joppa lately.

God knows who is receptive and who is not, as He is constantly trying to reach every person through His creation and through their consciences. He will direct us to receptive people wherever they are, whether there be a receptive multitude or single individual. Let’s stay in tune with the Spirit!

Some suggest that God permitted the Jerusalem persecution so that the gospel might be spread outside of Jerusalem. Jesus did command His disciples to take the gospel to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8), and it was to Judea and Samaria that the Jerusalem believers were scattered (8:1). Wherever they went, they shared the gospel (8:4). How many saints have experienced God’s redemptive purposes in what first appears to be their misfortune? I certainly have. When “all hell breaks loose,” heaven has a plan.

Philip is the only person named in the New Testament as an evangelist. He was also a cross-cultural missionary, as he ministered to people of a different ethnicity. (Remember that Jews and Samaritans generally hated each other.)

Notice that Philip’s ministry was anointed with gifts of healing and other miracles, as paralyzed and lame people were healed and the demonized were delivered. If Philip had not been so supernaturally equipped, his message may well have gone unheard, because Simon the magician had already captured the Samaritans’ attention with his magic arts. Isn’t it tragic that so much of the modern church is powerless, sometimes even denying God’s supernatural power, while cults and false religions promote themselves by means of minor miracles of satanic origin? Help us, Lord!

We read today that the people of Samaria believed Philip’s gospel and were being baptized, having “received the word of God” (8:12-14). They were thoroughly born again. Yet we also read that the Holy Spirit “had not yet fallen upon any” of those thoroughly born-again believers (8:16). The Holy Spirit was inside them through the new birth, but He had not yet come upon them. They still needed to be clothed with power, and that is precisely why Peter and John journeyed to Samaria—“that they might receive the Holy Spirit” (8:15). This is one more indication that there is a second experience with the Holy Spirit that is available to every believer.

These truths are so plain and simple that only theologians can deny them. Nothing is said in this passage that this incident was some kind of one time, special event orchestrated by God so that the Samaritan church would have a visible divine endorsement that would never be needed again. It was nothing more than what Scripture says it was: The Samaritans who believed in Jesus were born again but had not experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit. So Peter and John traveled to Samaria to pray for them that they might receive the Spirit.

When Peter and John prayed for those new believers in Samaria, the Bible doesn’t say that they spoke in tongues, yet we know something supernatural happened, because Simon saw something so spectacular that he tried to buy the ability to impart the Holy Spirit. He had already seen healings take place and demons being cast out (8:7), so whatever he witnessed must have been quite amazing. It seems safe to assume that they were speaking in tongues, just as Peter and John did along with 118 others on the day of Pentecost.

The story of the Ethiopian eunuch teaches us that God knows how receptive every person is, and that He will lead us to spiritually hungry people. This eunuch was ripe for salvation, reading from the most messianic chapter of the entire Old Testament, wondering what it meant! An evangelist’s dream come true! We should ask God to guide us to receptive people.

Immediately after the eunuch made his confession of faith in Jesus, Philip baptized him in water. This was the first indication that the eunuch truly believed in Jesus. People who say they believe in Jesus but who are unwilling to obey His simple command to be baptized are fooling themselves.

Finally, notice that there was no way for Philip to “follow up” on his new convert, because he was immediately and supernaturally transported to another location. The modern urgent necessity of following up on new “converts” is an indictment against the impotence of the modern gospel. True disciples will abide in Christ’s word, just as He said (see John 8:31). They won’t need to be coerced to act like believers.

Why did Stephen make such a lengthy defense and recount so much of Israel’s history? According to his accusers, he had been speaking against the Temple and the Law of Moses (Acts 6:13-14) and thus needed to prove he was not anti-temple or anti-Law. His long discourse revealed his great knowledge and respect for his Jewish heritage, Moses, and the Law.

But Stephen’s defense was much more than a history lesson. It was a convicting sermon centered around two stories of God-sent men who were rejected by their own, namely Joseph and Moses. The lesson was obvious.

Stephen also recited a messianic prophecy that God gave through Moses, attempting to point the Sanhedrin to Jesus (7:37). And he challenged their religious traditions and unscriptural view of God and His Temple (7:48-50). In his closing statement, Stephen nailed them to the wall: “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become” (7:51-53). No beating around the bush there!

Keep in mind that Stephen was anointed by the Holy Spirit as he made his defense (7:55). It was God speaking through him, and God wanted the Sanhedrin to be fully accountable for what they had done and for what they were about to do. When Stephen finished, they would be without any excuse. This was no blaspheming heretic they were about to stone; this was a devoted Jew who was very knowledgeable of Scripture and who had believed in the Messiah God had sent.

Stephen’s Spirit-inspired speech also revealed insights into Old Testament stories that we would not have otherwise known. For example, we discovered that Moses knew forty years prior to the exodus that God had called him to deliver Israel, but he acted prematurely and in his own wisdom (7:25). God’s work should be done God’s way and in God’s time. We need more than just God’s calling. We need His plan.

We also learned that before Moses was forty years old he “was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds” (7:22). As an adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter, Moses would have enjoyed a high political position in Egypt. He could have looked forward to a future of wealth, power, and prestige. But he identified with God’s chosen people who were suffering oppression and injustice. Moses stands as an example to us, as the author of Hebrews wrote:

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin; considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward (Heb. 11:24-26).

Like Moses, Stephen also stands as a timeless example of a man who sought to please God rather than man. As he was being condemned by the men who would soon stone him, Jesus, whom Scripture tells us is seated at the right hand of God, stood to His feet, I suspect in admiration (7:56). Not only that, but Jesus opened Stephen’s spiritual eyes to see Him standing. What a privilege, and what an honor!

With his final breath, Stephen prayed for his persecutors, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” (7:6). How that gracious prayer must have pierced the consciences of his murderers, testifying against them that they had just condemned another innocent man. Notice that, unlike Jesus’ prayer for the Roman soldiers from the cross, Stephen apparently did not add the words, “for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:24). The Sanhedrin knew exactly what they were doing, and for that reason, I have to doubt if God answered Stephen’s prayer.

Not only did the early believers generously meet the material needs of the poor among them, but they also provided daily food for a good number of Jewish widows who were apparently not part of the church. In the early church, the poor were given greater priority than they seem to be in the modern church. Doubtless one of the reasons for this is that in developed nations, we don’t regularly see undernourished widows begging in our streets. Our standard of living is so high that most widows are living well by the world’s standards, and those who aren’t have a host of social programs to assist them. But it was not that way in Jerusalem in A.D. 35. And it is not that way in much of the world today. For that reason, the ministry of Heaven’s Family has a widows’ fund that assists very poor Christian widows in developing nations. In my opinion, there should be thousands of such ministries in light of what Scripture teaches us. James wrote: “This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress” (Jas. 1:27). This is Christianity 101!

One problem always arises out of benevolence: More needy people start showing up for the handouts. Those who are overlooked start complaining, as if they have a right to free food. We see that phenomena in today’s reading. Paul later addressed these kinds of problems in a few of his letters, telling the churches, “If anyone will not work, neither let him eat” (1 Thes. 3:10), and laying out detailed instructions regarding which widows should and should not be supported (see 1 Tim. 5:3-16).

There are always more opportunities to do good than any one of us have time for, and so we each should focus on those particular opportunities that, for us, have the most potential for fruitfulness. The apostles recognized that, although it was good to serve widows, it was not right to serve widows at the neglect of their higher calling of the ministry of the Word of God. By releasing what was a lesser opportunity for them, they opened a greater opportunity for some others, and the Kingdom advanced. Had the apostles not delegated their responsibility in order to focus on prayer and preaching, Luke may never have penned Acts 6:7: “And the word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.”

One of those men who was given a greater opportunity to serve Christ by being selected to oversee the widows’ food distribution was named Stephen. It wasn’t long, however, before he, too, had to walk away from serving tables, as God anointed him to be a powerful evangelist. Take note that Stephen was faithful to serve in whatever way he could, and God promoted him. That is just how God works. He tests us in small responsibilities to see if we can be trusted with larger responsibilities. When we are only willing to do “great things” for God that earn us money or make us famous, then we disqualify ourselves. We must be willing to serve God in any capacity, and for no reward. Only then are we qualified to do anything in His kingdom. God only promotes those whom He can trust. If we are unfaithful in small things, God knows He can’t trust us with more.

Incidentally, those seven men who were selected to serve widows are often considered to be the church’s first deacons, a word that in the original Greek simply means “servant” not “one who sits on a deacon board to run the church and make the pastor’s life miserable!” (Couldn’t resist!)

The signs and wonders performed by Stephen are today’s mention of miracles in the book of Acts! Every chapter we’ve read so far has contained a record of the manifestation of God’s supernatural power. We pray again today, “Lord, less of us, and more of You!”