SATANICCOUNTER-ATTACK

5. The Seven are chosen and commissioned (6:1-7)

The devil's next attack was the cleverest of the three. Having failed to overcome the church by

either persecution or corruption, he now tried distraction. If he could preoccupy the apostles with

social administration, which though essential was not their calling, they would neglect their God-

given responsibilities to pray and to preach, and so leave the church without any defence against

false doctrine.

a. The problem (6:1)

The situation is clear. On the one hand, in those days ... the number of the disciples was

increasing. On the other, the excitement of church growth was tempered by a regrettable

goggysmos, a 'complaint ... expressed in murmuring' (BAGD). The cognate verb is used in LXX

to denote the 'murmuring' of the Israelites against Moses,31 and evidently the Jerusalem church

members were murmuring against the apostles, who received the relief money (4:35, 37) and

were therefore expected to distribute it equitably. But such grumbling is inappropriate in

Christians.32

The complaint concerned the welfare of the widows, whose cause God had promised in the Old

Testament to defend.33 Assuming that they were unable to earn their own living and had no

relatives to support them,34 the church had accepted the responsibility, and a daily distribution
of food was made to them. But there were two groups in the Jerusalem church, one called

Hellenistai and the other Hebraioi, and the former complained against the latter because their

widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food (1). It is not suggested that the

oversight was deliberate ('the Hebrew widows were being given preferential treatment', JBP);

more probably the cause was poor administration or supervision.

What exactly was the identity of these two groups? It has usually been supposed that they were

distinguished from each other by a mixture of geography and language. That is, the Hellenistai

came from the diaspora, had settled in Palestine and spoke Greek, while the Hebraioi were

natives of Palestine and spoke Aramaic. This is an inadequate explanation, however. Since Paul

called himself Hebraios,35 in spite of the fact that he came from Tarsus and spoke Greek, the

distinction must go beyond origin and language to culture. In this case the Hellenistai not only

spoke Greek but thought and behaved like Greeks, while the Hebraioi not only spoke Aramaic

but were deeply immersed in Hebrew culture. This

33 35 31 E.g. E.g. 2Cor.Ex. Ex. 11:22; 16:7; 22:22ff.; Phil. Nu. Dt. 14:27; 3:5.10:18.1 Cor.

3410:10.Cf.1Tim.32 5:3-16.E.g. Phil. 2:14; 1 Pet. 4:9.

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ACTS 4:32 - 6:7 being so, Grecian Jews is a good rendering, while the Aramaicspeaking

community is not, since it refers to language only and not culture. 'What is needed here', writes

Richard Longenecker, 'is some such translation as "Grecian Jews" and "Hebraic Jews".'36 There

had always, of course, been rivalry between these groups in Jewish culture; the tragedy is that it

was perpetuated within the new community of Jesus who by his death had abolished such
distinctions.37

The issue was more, however, than one of cultural tension. The apostles discerned a deeper

problem, namely that social administration (both organizing the distribution and settling the

complaint) was threatening to occupy all their time and so inhibit them from the work which

Christ had specifically entrusted to them, namely preaching and teaching.

b. The solution (6:2-6)

The Twelve did not impose a solution on the church, however, but gathered all the disciples

together in order to share the problem with them. They said, 'It would not be right for us to

neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables' (2). There is no hint whatever

that the apostles regarded social work as inferior to pastoral work, or beneath their dignity. It was

entirely a question of calling. They had no liberty to be distracted from their own priority task.

So they made a proposal to the church: 'Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are

known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom [JBP, "both practical and spiritually-minded"]. We

will turn this responsibility over to them (3) and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry

of the word' (4). It is noteworthy that now the Twelve have added prayer to preaching (probably

meaning public as well as private intercession) in specifying the essence of the apostles' ministry.

They form a natural couple, since the ministry of the word, without prayer that the Spirit will

water the seed, is unlikely to bear fruit. This delegation of social welfare to the Seven is

commonly thought to have been the origin of the diaconate. It may be so, for the language of
diakonia is used in verses 1 and 2, as we shall see later. Nevertheless, the Seven are not actually

called diakonoi.38

The church saw the point of the apostles' plan: This proposal pleased the whole group. So they

put it into effect. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip,

Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas from Antioch,

Acts, p. 332. DrLongenecker gives a thorough discussion of the options on pp.

326-329.

E.g. Gal. 3:28; Eph. 2:14ff.; Col. 3:11.

Cf. Rom. 16:1; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:8, 12; 4:6.

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SATANIC COUNTER-ATTACK a convert (NEB, 'a former convert') to Judaism (5), i.e. a

proselyte. Ithasbeen pointed out that all seven had Greek names. They may all, therefore, have

been Hellenistai, deliberately chosen to satisfy this group who were complaining. But this is

speculative. It seems more likely a priori that 'some of both classes of Jews were elected, the

only fair and proper course'.39 Whether they were deacons or not, and whether they were

Hellenistai or not, the church presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their

hands on them (6), thus commissioning and authorizing them to exercise this ministry.

c. The principle

A vital principle is illustrated in this incident, which is of urgent importance to the church today.

It is that God calls all his people to ministry, that he calls different people to different ministries,

and that those called to 'prayer and the ministry of the word' must on no account allow

themselves to be distracted from their priorities.

It is surely deliberate that the work of the Twelve and the work of the Seven are alike called

diakonia (1, 4), 'ministry' or 'service'. The former is 'the ministry of the word' (4) or pastoral

work, the latter 'the ministry of tables' (2) or social work. Neither ministry is superior to the

other. On the contrary, both are Christian ministries, that is, ways of serving God and his people.

Both require spiritual people, 'full of the Spirit', to exercise them. And both can be full-time

Christian ministries. The only difference between them lies in the form the ministry takes,

requiring different gifts and different callings.

example when we speak of ordination in terms of 'entering the ministry'. This use of the definite

article implies that the ordained pastorate is the only ministry there is. But diakonia is a generic

word for service; it lacks specificity until a descriptive adjective is added, whether 'pastoral' ,

'social', 'political', 'medical' or another. All Christians without exception, being followers of him

who came 'not to be served but to serve', are themselves called to ministry, indeed to give their

lives in ministry. But the expression 'full-time Christian ministry' is not to be restricted to church

work and missionary service; it can also be exercised in government, the media, the professions,

business, industry and the home. We need to recover this vision of the wide diversity of

ministries to which God calls his people.

In particular, it is vital for the health and growth of the church

39 Lenski, p. 246.

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ACTS 4:32 - 6:7 that pastors and people in the local congregation learn this lesson. True, pastors

are not apostles, for the apostles were given authority to formulate and teach the gospel, while

pastors are responsible to expound the message which the apostles have bequeathed to us in the

New Testament. Nevertheless, it is a real 'ministry of the word' to which pastors are called to

dedicate their life. The apostles werenottoobusyfor ministry, but preoccupied with the wrong

ministry. So are many pastors. Instead of concentrating on the ministry of the word (which will

include preaching to the congregation, counselling individuals and training groups), they become

overwhelmed with administration. Sometimes it is the pastor's fault (he wants to keep all the

reins in his own hands), and sometimes the people's (they want him to be a general factotum). In

either case the consequences are disastrous. The standards of preaching and teaching decline,

since the pastor has little time to study or pray. And the lay people do not exercise their God-

given roles, since the pastor does everything himself. For both reasons the congregation is

inhibited from growing into maturity in Christ. What is needed is the basic, biblical recognition

that God calls different men and women to different ministries. Then the people will ensure that

their pastor is set free from unnecessary administration, in order to give himself to the ministry

of the word, and the pastor will ensure that the people discover their gifts and develop ministries

appropriate to them.

d. The result (6:7)

concentrate on their pastoral priority, the word of God spread (7a). But of course! The word

cannot spread when the ministry of the word is neglected. Conversely, when pastors devote

themselves to the word, it spreads. Then, as a further result, the number of disciples in Jerusalem

increased rapidly, and (a remarkable development) a large number of priests became obedient to

the faith (7b). The two verbs 'spread' and 'increased' are in the imperfect tense, indicating that

both the spread of the word and the growth of the church were continuous. This verse is the first

of six summaries of growth, with which Luke intersperses his narrative. They come at crucial

points in his unfolding story: after the apostles' decision to give their attention to prayer and

preaching (6:7);40 after the dramatic conversion of Saul of Tarsus (9:31); after the equally

wonderful conversion of the first Gentile, Cornelius, followed by the overthrow of Herod

Agrippa I (12:24); after Paul's first missionary journey and the Jerusalem Council (16:5); after

the

40 Cf. Acts 2:47; 4:4; 5:14; 6:1.

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