Acts of the Apostles
Lesson 5Acts Chapter 6-7
When we left our study last week, we saw that God was adding mightily to the body of the church in Jerusalem. This week we will see that growth continue, and we will learn a great deal about the ministry of that church, its congregation and its leadership. From this, I believe that God will give us greater insight into our own responsibilities as members of our local body of believers and the work that He has set for us – wherever and whoever we are.
In this lesson, we will study Chapters 6 and 7 of the book of Acts and see firsthand the work of the church in Jerusalem and the continuing spread of the gospel message. Unfortunately, we will also witness violence in a dramatic way, with the stoning of Stephen and the death of one of the newly elected deacons, or servants, of the local church.
We will examine congregational responsibilities, ministry responsibilities and leadership responsibilities, as God begins building the Church, starting with the church in Jerusalem.
For our study this week, read Acts Chapters 6 and 7 and answer the following:
- See what you can find out about the Apostle Paul. Many books have been written on Paul. See if you can determine what he was like, what he looked like, how he thought, etc. In addition to non-biblical books and references, we can also learn much about Paul from the New Testament itself. For starters, look up the following and jot down some of the facts about Paul that we learn from these verses.
- Acts 13:9
- Acts 17:28
- Acts 21:39
- Acts 22:3
- Acts 22:24-29
- Acts 23:6
- Philippians 3:5
- We can tell from prior chapters that the number of Christians being added to the church is growing daily and is now very large, certainly in excess of 5,000 and perhaps many more times that. (See Acts 5:12-16) Given that the church was now this size, where did the Apostles build the first Church buildings? (Acts 5:12, and 5:42)
- So, the church is now substantial in size with many "disciples" following the Apostles. The daily work of the new "church" appears to be prayer, study, and healing; based on what we have read through chapter 5. What can we now also infer from Acts 6:1 that was a part of the work and ministry of the church in those days?
- There were two types of Jew referred to by Luke: (1) those from Palestine – the native born Jews of the land, and (2) the Hellenistic Jews – those born in Greece; foreigners or aliens to the land of Palestine as a result of the dispersion. In addition to these differences, fill in the blanks below to annotate other distinguishing factors of these two groups.
- The Palestinian Jews spoke Aramaic; the Hellenistic Jews spoke __________.
- The Palestinian Jews biblical text was written in Hebrew; the Hellenistic Jews scripture was in Greek and was called the __________.
- Based on your understanding of the two groups, do we have similar issues within the Church today? Explain what those challenges are, and how local churches are meeting those needs.
- The church is rapidly growing in Jerusalem, and its congregation is now made up of at least three groups. What three groups of people are mentioned in the first two verses of Chapter 6?
- Read Chapter 6 verses 3-4. What principles about church leadership are illustrated here? (There are at least two.)
- We can learn something else from these verses – that working in Christ’s kingdom is not just about teaching, preaching or praying; it’s also about ministry. What basic jobs were the first Deacons asked to take on?
- What else did these deacons do, based on Stephen’s and Philip’s examples?
- When Stephen was hauled before the Sanhedrin, did his response indicate a thorough knowledge of scripture? Does this example show us that as God’s servants we have a responsibility to be well-trained in scripture? Does it also show us we have a responsibility to train those whom we elect as church leaders?
- Who was one of the notable witnesses of Stephen’s stoning?
- Continuing from above, why would he have been there, and what business did he have in all this?
- Did he actually approve of the stoning of Stephen? (Acts 8:1)
- What impact did Stephen’s stoning have on the growth of the church?
Again, we see the great testimony of the Apostles who boldly faced persecution, and in this example, even death.
Yours in Christ,
Wes
[2016]