Truths of the Bible

MAY 18, 2022 STUDY NOTES ACTS 6: 8-15 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES Act 6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. What a testimony this man Stephen had, an honest man, filled with the Spirit, and wisdom A man "full of faith and power," (see verses 3,5,8) he was a man that God could use God did use him to do "great wonders," the word wonders is often found with the word signs The word "wonders" calls for attention to be given to what has happened, seeking an explanation Wonders are the works of miracles that attract your attention and cause you to wonder Wonders lead you to seek that which has been pointed to by the "miracle" or sign The word translated "miracles" here is the word commonly translated "signs" Signs or miracles are the things that point to something else Signs can be either natural or supernatural, there is a message within the miracle or sign In the early church God was working through miracles and signs to authenticate his messengers, Act 2:43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. Act 5:12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. NT miracles were performed by the early church to authenticate God's men and their message Act 6:9 Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. It appears that there are at least 3 synagogues identified in this verse The synagogue of the Libertines, meaning "the "Freedmen" The "Freedmen" were descendants of Jewish slaves who had been captured and taken to Rome They were set free and formed a Jewish community The Cyrenians and Alexandrians, the Cyrenians were from Cyrene, a city in North Africa Luk 23:26 And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. The Alexandrians were from Alexandria, a North African city near the mouth of the Nile River Act 18:24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. And those from Cilicia and Asia, Cilicia was a Roman province in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) Paul's hometown was Tarsus, which was-located in Cilicia, Act 9:11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, Saul may have been one who disputed with Stephen, Act 7:58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. Which was an experience that he never forgot, it was a conviction of the Lord upon him, Act 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. "Asia" in the NT refers to the Roman province of Asia and not to the continent of Asia today It was made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor Regardless of their many differences socially and their opinions of one another They united for the purpose of "disputing with Stephen" They united-together in a debate with Stephen, they questioned his teachings concerning Jesus Act 6:10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. We have already been told why they could not stand their ground against Stephen Stephen stood on "Holy Ground," he was filled with the Spirit, wisdom, faith, and power The natural ability of man is no match for the supernatural Spirit of God within man Jesus had instructed the disciples, Luk 12:11 And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: Luk 12:12 For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say. Jesus had warned the disciples of their times of persecution, Luk 21:12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. Luk 21:13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony. Luk 21:14 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: Luk 21:15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. Paul explains why the Sanhedrin could not stand against the wisdom and spirit of Stephen He had on the whole armor of God, Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Satan's persecution against the Christian was not limited to the days of the early church Persecution of Christians continues throughout the world today, the worst is yet to come, Mat 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. How severe will the future persecution of the church be? Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. Jesus promises that the time of persecution will be cut short, literally amputated, Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. What event will end the time of persecution against the church? The cosmic disturbance will announce the return of Christ, Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: The return of Christ will not be a secret event, Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Christ will remove the Church from the earth, Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Luke explains it this way, Luk 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. Then the Day of the Lord will begin, the day of God's wrath upon Satan and sinners, Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; Rev 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: Rev 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? The witness of Stephen is an example for us today Act 6:11 Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. Since they were making no progress in their disputing with Stephen, they called for help "They suborned men," they secretly recruited false witnesses to lie about Stephen's teaching They hired men to lie about Stephen, which is no surprise, Satan is the father of lies (Jn 8:44) Stephen faced false charges just as Jesus did when he stood before the Sanhedrin, Mat 26:59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; Mat 26:60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, Mat 26:61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. They accused Stephen of speaking "blasphemous words against Moses," a serious charge They claimed that Stephen spoke words that opposed the words of Moses They went a step further, they accused Stephen of speaking blasphemous words "against God" They were seeking the death penalty for Stephen, Lev 24:16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death. Act 6:12 And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, "And they," refers to the false witnesses of verse 11, they "stirred up the people" How often do we see the crowds gather today stirred up for a cause? Inflamed with emotions, words filled with anger and hatred, a disorderly mob causing trouble Who were the people "they stirred up? What a change Satan can make through man's opinion "People" who had glorified God because of the healing of the lame man (Acts 4:21) "People" who had magnified the Apostles (Acts 5:13) Listen to the same people that had praised Jesus for His miracles, Luk 23:21 But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. The wiles of the devil, his schemes, lies, tricks, strategies can quickly influence people (Eph 6:11) Satan uses present day popular opinion as a strategy against the Christian and the church Christians must be ready to "Stand Up For Jesus," standing upon the Word of God (Eph 6:17) The "elders" were those men of position and authority within the ruling body of the Sanhedrin The "scribes" were the experts in the Law of Moses, which Stephen was accused of blaspheming The mob "came upon him," as an angry crowd they rushed him to take him by force "And caught him" meaning to seize or grasp with violence, a forceful attack upon Stephen They "brought him to the council," the third time Christians have been judged by the council Peter and John stood before them and were warned (Acts 4:5-7) The Apostles were arrested, beaten, threatened, and released (Acts 5:27; 40) Now Stephen faces the greatest persecution of all against Christians, which many still face today Act 6:13 And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: Stephen is brought before the Sanhedrin Court and falsely accused of a crime Which was a "set up," they brought in "false witnesses" to tell lies about Stephen They spoke "half-truths," but a half of the truth is a whole lie, the same as a bald-faced lie Their lie was that Stephen had blasphemed the Temple and the Law of Moses To speak against the Law of Moses was a blasphemous act against God The Temple was the "Holy Place" and the sanctuary of God's presence The Law of Moses was the revelation of God's mind and will, it was "holy scripture" The charges against Stephen were serious, they said his blasphemy "ceases not" Act 6:14 For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. The false witnesses explain their accusations against Stephen, "for we have heard him say" What did they hear him say? "That this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place" "Jesus of Nazareth" identifies Him as the one who died on the cross, Joh 19:19 And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. Evidently Stephen had quoted from the very words of Jesus himself, Joh 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Jesus explained that He was referring to His own body, Joh 2:21 But he spake of the temple of his body. Jesus spoke of His resurrection from the dead, Joh 2:22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. When Jesus stood before the Sanhedrin Council there were false witnesses against him, Mar 14:56 For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together. Jesus was falsely accused, Mar 14:57 And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, Mar 14:58 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. Jesus did predict the destruction of the temple, but He never said He would do it (Matt 24:1-2) Their other accusation was, "and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us" The life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus did change things, things are now different Stephen and the Apostles were teaching and preaching the difference that Jesus had made Jesus was God, Jesus was greater than Moses, Jesus was greater than the Temple Jesus was the fulfillment of the law and greater than all Jewish religious customs and traditions Act 6:15 And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. Try to picture this setting, Stephen facing all members of the Sanhedrin, 71 faces looking at him Every eye was focused on Stephen, "looking steadfastly on him" The council sat in a semi-circle on elevated seats, their faces looked down on Stephen Faces of bitter rage and anger, speaking words of ridicule and madness, with hatred eyes The Sanhedrin had already been baffled by the words of Stephen, by what they heard Now they "saw his face," 71 faces saw the face of Stephen, can you imagine their faces now? Can you picture their eyes as they begin to look at one another in amazement? The minds and hearts of the council had to wonder who is on trial here today? They "saw his face as it had been the face of an angel" Many members of the Sanhedrin were Sadducees who did not believe in angels They knew that what they saw was something of the supernatural, of heavenly origin They knew of the description of the face of Moses when he came down from Mt. Sinai, Exo 34:29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. Exo 34:30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. The face of Moses confirmed that he had been in the presence of God The message to the Sanhedrin was the same, the presence of God was upon Stephen God's hand was upon Stephen, he was not standing alone before the Sanhedrin CONCLUSION As a Christian, as a church, we must always be on the alert, watching for Satan's attacks One of Satan's most deceitful lies is his lies concerning what God's Word says Satan lies against the "Truths of the Bible," this passage is an example of that fact Satan will take a portion of scripture and twist it to present a false teaching We can see the fulfillment of prophecy today, 2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not