A Man Full of God's Grace and Power

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

A Man Full of God's Grace and Power

Date: Feb. 13, 2019

Passage

Acts 6:8-15 (ESV)

8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

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Daily Bread

Key Verse: 6:8

And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.

1. The wisdom the Spirit gave him (8-10)

Stephen, one of the seven leaders, had already been described as, "a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit" (5). His ministry was most probably among the Hellenic Jews as this was where his opposition came from. Jews from the Synagogue of the Freedmen began to argue with him. However, they could not stand against him. Stephen was not necessarily cleverer than these Jews, yet because of his faith and reliance on Jesus, the Holy Spirit equipped him with the necessary wisdom to answer them.

2. The face of an angel (11-15)

These Jews arranged for men to falsely accuse Stephen of blasphemy against the law of Moses and God. When he was brought before the Sanhedrin, they produced false witnesses who slandered him further and distorted Jesus' own teaching. It can be very distressing to be falsely accused of all kinds of evil, yet Stephen was calm and had the face of an angel.

Prayer: Prayer: Lord, help me to rest in your grace and power in difficult times.

One Word: Ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom

The New Jerusalem

Revelation 21:9-27

Key Verse: 21:22

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.

Today's Question

What is the sixth commandment?

See answer and references