Acts 6:1-15

The Seven

This chapter is about the job was becoming too big for the Twelve. This situation set in motion the selection of the first deacons - the Seven. Here are a couple of observations about the seven and their selection.

There are various ways that churches govern themselves. The three primary forms of church government are: Rule by Bishops (Episcopal), Rule by Elders (Presbyterian), and Congregational Rule. Most people in the USA would assume that Congregational Rule is to be preferred because it has the most in common with democracy. While it is true that each of these forms have some support in Scripture it is also true that the method with the least amount of scriptural support is Congregational Rule. In fact, this chapter supplies the only such example I of which I am aware and even here those making the selection were following the instructions of the Twelve. In virtually every other case in scripture where you see “the people” clamoring for a particular position they are virtually always wrong. This would be seen in cases from wanting to go back to Egypt, to wanting a king now, to crying, “Crucify Him!”

Did they get it right this time? Maybe. It certainly helped things in the short run. We really on hear more about possibly three of these seven. Certainly Stephen was a good, and possibly great, man. We read in this short chapter about how powerful he was in the Spirit. There is no denying that Stephen was a holy and true follower of our Lord. We have no reason to doubt that he performed well in his duties as a deacon serving the widows, even if his term of service ended in a seemingly untimely fashion.

Philip was apparently another winner. He was a powerful evangelist as we shall see in future readings. He apparently lived a good long life and raised daughters who were prophetesses. Again, we have no reason to believe that he was anything short of outstanding in carrying out the duties of a deacon, even though he clearly had other callings.

The other one that we possibly heard more about was Nicolas of Antioch. While he is not specifically named it is thought that he was the Nicolas after whom the Nicolaitans were named. Who were the Nicolaitans? We don’t know a whole lot about them, but we do know that they were not good news. Twice they are mentioned in the letters to the churches in Revelations. The church at Ephesus was commended for hating them. It was held against the church at Pergamum that some of their people held to the teachings of the Nicolaitans.

Every method of governance has its strengths and weaknesses. Every method has its good people and bad people. Every field has its wheat and tares. In whichever method we find ourselves let us strive to listen to God and obey, for that is the key whether one is a member in a congregational vote, an elder sitting in counsel, or a bishop presiding over a city.