“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. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. “
Acts 6:5-6
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OCTOBER 31, 2024
Today’s passage introduces a person who will play a pivotal role in the next chapter of the early church: Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.
Filled implies displacement of what previously occupied the space. Two different things cannot occupy the same place at the same time, especially if they are incompatible with one another. Stephen was filled by faith. For Stephen, living by faith had replaced living by sight. Holy Spirit had replaced flesh.
All of us lived according to the flesh or our sinful nature before being changed by the gospel and the Spirit. When we submit to Jesus as Savior and Lord, we invite the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts. The Spirit’s ongoing role is to equip every believer with gifts to offer in service to the community, and to empower every believer to display the attributes of Jesus in their life as they are conformed to the image of Christ.
As the subsequent events in Acts will reveal, Stephen had a filling of the Holy Spirit that would cost him his life.
We are all filled with something. Someone has said that you can tell what fills a person by observing what spills out when they are jostled. Stephen will be stoned to death by men enraged by his forthright proclamation of Jesus as the Messiah, and yet as his life ebbed away, he responded to his murderers with forgiveness. How does a dying man reply in such a manner? Stephen’s final words could only be uttered by one full of faith and the Holy Spirit.
Questions for reflection and discussion:
- What fills you?
- With what are you filling yourself?
- What might others say fills you?
- How do you respond when ridiculed because of your faith in Christ?
Church Reading Plan: Hosea 5-6; Psalm 119:145-176