The Spirituality Of Stephen
Text: Acts 7: 55-60
Intro: In my opinion, Stephen is one of the finest examples of spirituality in the entire Bible. He was one of the first deacons of the early Church in Jerusalem. The Bible describes Stephen as one who was full of the Holy Spirit, faith, wisdom, and power. These qualities are still the ideal for deacons of our day.
In this great servant of God we find a man wholly dedicated to, and in love with, the Lord Jesus Christ. This becomes very obvious when one considers all the Bible has to say about Stephen. There was a godly boldness about him, yet at the same time a serene sweetness of spirit. The boldness of Stephen moved him to speak out bravely for Christ in spite of opposition. His sweetness of spirit prevented him from uttering even one harsh word to his executioners.
Let’s briefly look at the evidence of the spirituality of this great man of God, Stephen.
Theme: Stephen’s spirituality is seen in:
I. HIS LIFE IN THE SPIRIT
A. Stephen’s Walk Confirmed It.
1. Stephen had a reputation of walking with God.
Acts 6: 3 “Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
5a And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost…”
NOTE: [1] The words “honest report” simply mean, “good reputation” (Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison—Editors, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; pg. 1135). In the final analysis, we’re talking about men who were practicing what they preached.
In his book, I Almost Missed The Sunset, Bill Gaither writes:
Gloria and I had been married a couple of years. We were teaching school in Alexandria, Indiana, where I had grown up, and we wanted a piece of land where we could build a house. I noticed the parcel south of town where cattle grazed, and I learned it belonged to a 92-year-old retired banker named Mr. Yule. He owned a lot of land in the area, and word was he would sell none of it. He gave the same speech to everyone who inquired: “I promised the farmers they could use it for their cattle.”
Gloria and I visited him at the bank. Although he was retired, he spent a couple of hours each morning in his office. He looked at us over the top of his bifocals.
I introduced myself and told him we were interested in a piece of his land. “Not selling,” he said pleasantly. “Promised it to a farmer for grazing.”
“I know, but we teach school here and thought maybe you’d be interested in selling it to someone planning to settle in the area.”
He pursed his lips and stared at me. “What’d you say your name was?”
“Gaither. Bill Gaither.”
“Hmmm. Any relation to Grover Gaither?”
“Yes, sir. He was my granddad.”
Mr. Yule put down his paper and removed his glasses. “Interesting. Grover Gaither was the best worker I ever had on my farm. Full day’s work for a day’s pay. So honest. What’d you say you wanted?”
I told him again.
“Let me do some thinking on it, then come back and see me.”
I came back within the week, and Mr. Yule told me he had had the property appraised. I held my breath.
“How does $3,800 sound? Would that be okay?”
If that was per acre, I would have to come up with nearly $60,000! “$3,800?” I repeated.
“Yup. Fifteen acres for $3,800.”
I knew it had to be worth at least three times that. I readily accepted.
Nearly three decades later, my son and I strolled that beautiful, lush property that had once been pastureland. “Benjy” I said, “you’ve had this wonderful place to grow up through nothing that you’ve done, but because of the good name of a great-granddad you never met.”
“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” (Prov. 22:1).
Leadership, Summer 1993, p. 61.
[2] Deacons are also supposed to be men “full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom;” men who live according to Holy Spirit leadership. The idea here is much the same as that found in Eph.5: 18, where it says, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;” “In the Bible, filled means ‘controlled by’…” (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Rich, published by Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois; pg. 136). With reference to Stephen, “the Holy Spirit filled Stephen in the sense that He controlled him” (Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies From the Greek New Testament, Vol. I, published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Ephesians and Colossians In The Greek New Testament, pg. 128).
2. God expects all His children to walk in the Spirit.
Gal.5: 16 “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
Ehp.5: 18 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”
NOTE: The word translated “walk” in Gal.5: 16, refers to “…ordering one’s manner of life or behavior” (Ibid, Galatians In The Greek New Testament, pg. 153). The life and behavior of the child of God is to be governed and controlled by (“filled”—Eph.5: 18) the indwelling Holy Spirit.
B. Stephen’s Works Confirmed It.
Acts 6: 8 “And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.”
NOTE: Working miracles are not the norm for Christians of our day. But the principle illustrated by this verse is applicable to the present. Stephen was a man “…full of (controlled by) faith and power…” (Acts 6: 8a). Everything Stephen did was characterized by reliance upon God and the enabling and authority of the Spirit. That’s the way all Christians are to live their lives.
C. Stephen’s Words Confirmed It.
1. He spoke with wisdom.
Acts 6: 10 “And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he (Stephen) spake.”
2. He spoke God’s Word.
Eph.5: 9 “(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)”
NOTE: In Acts chapter seven, where Stephen defended himself before the Sanhedrin, he quoted seven different Old Testament passages, and alluded to some forty or fifty others. He specifically quoted Gen.12: 1; Ex.3: 6 and 32: 1; Deut. 18: 15; Amos 5: 25; and Isa.66: 1, 2.
3. He spoke without weakness.
a. Boldness is the result of being filled with the Spirit.
Acts 4: 31 “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.”
b. Boldness is seen in Stephen’s defense before the Sanhedrin.
Acts 7: 51 “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fathers did, so do ye.
52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.”
NOTE: Boldness like this could only come from the Holy Spirit. Stephen knew that this council had the power to put him to death; but he boldly spoke the truth just the same. This servant of God laid the truth on the line, and it cut them to the quick.
II. HIS LOVE FOR SINNERS
A. He Preached Christ In Spite Of Disagreement.
Acts 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.
10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.”
NOTE: Stephen didn’t fool around with debating nonsense. He gave people what they really needed—Jesus.
The officer in charge of the royal pew in the chapel at Windsor, England, noted that King George frequently commented on the sermon as he left the church. If he had been blessed by it, he would say in a cheerful voice, “That will do very well. That will feed souls!” When the preacher’s delivery was cold and his words were lifeless and barren of Gospel teaching, he would shake his head sorrowfully as he left the pew and mutter under his breath, “That won’t do. That just won’t feed souls!”
The king’s criterion for determining the value of a sermon is scripturally sound. Ministry of all kinds, whether oral or written, may well be judged by the same standard -- does it feed souls?
Our Daily Bread.
B. He Preached Christ In Spite Of Danger.
Acts 7: 52 “Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murders:
………………………………………………………….
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
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.”
NOTE: This was nothing less than mob violence at its worst. Stephen had trifled with Jewish tradition by telling them the truth about Jesus—He was the prophesied Messiah. But Israel as a whole had rejected and rebelled against the very one for whom they claimed to be waiting.
III. HIS LOOK THAT WAS STEADFAST
A. It Was A Lingering Look.
Acts 7: 54 “When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
55a But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven…”
NOTE: [1] The word “stedfastly” means, “…to gaze intently: --behold earnestly…” (James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D., The Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible, published by MacDonald Publishing Company, McLean, Virginia; #816 of the Greek Dictionary Of The New Testament, pg. 17). The idea here is that of an intense, lingering gaze.
[2] Your gaze would have been fixed too if you’d seen what Stephen must have seen. Perhaps he saw the beauty of Christ, as described by the Apostle John, in the book of Revelation. John said that Christ’s “…countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength” (Rev.1: 16c).
B. It Was A Longing Look.
Acts 7: 55 “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
NOTE: [1] Folks, I don’t think one could get a glimpse of heaven and not experience a longing to be there. For a few brief moments the wonders of the throne room of God in heaven was opened to Stephen’s view. My, what a longing his ole heart must have experienced. His heart must have begun to sing:
Longing, longing for Jesus/ I have a longing in my heart for Him/ Just to be near Him/ To feel His presence/ I have a longing in my heart for Him.
[2] Even in trials, let us never forget where we belong, and may we continually cultivate that heavenly longing in our heart.
In his classic devotional book titled The Saint’s Everlasting Rest, English Puritan pastor and author Richard Baxter (1615-1691) wrote:
Why are not our hearts continually set on heaven? Why dwell we not there in constant comtemplation…Bend thy soul to study eternity, busy thyself about the life to come, habituate thyself to such contemplations, and let not those thoughts be seldom and cursory, but bathe thyself in heaven’s delights.
Our Daily Bread, July 28, 1997
C. It Was A Loving Look.
Acts 7: 59 “And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”
NOTE: [1] I wonder if the words of the Psalmist came to Stephen as he was being stoned?
Ps.116: 15 “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”
[2] Even as he was being stoned to death, Stephen’s gaze was still fixed on Jesus. And as he looked lovingly into the face of his Lord, Who had already stood to receive him, he could think of no better way to show his love for Christ than to paraphrase Christ’s words from the cross.
2a. Jesus said, “…Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit…” (Luke 23: 46a). Stephen said, “…Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7: 59).
2b. Jesus said, “…Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do…” (Luke 23: 34a). Stephen said, “…Lord, lay not this sin to their charge…” (Acts 7: 60a).
[3] What a joy it will be to finally be with Jesus. In a few brief moments, Stephen would be with the one he loved and served.
We know very little about heaven, but I once heard a theologian describe it as “an unknown region with a well-know inhabitant,” and there is not a better way to think of it than that.
Richard Baxter expresses the thought in these lines:
My knowledge of that life is small,
The eye of faith is dim,
But it’s enough that Christ knows all,
And I shall be with him.
To those who have learned to love and trust Jesus, the prospect of meeting him face to face and being with him forever is the hope that keeps us going, no matter what life may throw at us.
James Packer, Your Father Loves You, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986, page for September 23.
Theme: Stephen’s spirituality is seen in:
I. HIS LIFE IN THE SPIRIT
II. HIS LOVE FOR SINNERS
III. HIS LOOK THAT WAS STEADFAST
