Week 4 (due Tuesday, 23 August):
1. How are the themes of wealth and poverty dealt with in the book of Acts (at least in the first half of the book)? How does the early believers exemplify generosity or, in other words, how do they use their wealth? How does this relate to Jesus’ teaching about “giving up your life for my sake” (Lk.9:24).
2. What can you learn about leadership from the incident in Acts 6:1-6? Give a few principles that are implied in this narrative.
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Question 1.
ReplyDeleteIn Acts 4;32 all the beliewers were in one heart not one of them claimed that their possessions was just their own, they shared everything they had. There was no needy person among them, from time to time some of them who owned land or houses sold it and brought the money from the sales and put it an the Apostles feet. And it was distributed to the needy. Barnabas sold his field he owned and brought the mo0ney and put it at the Apostles feet. On the other hand Ananiass and his wife Sapphira sold a piece of their protety, with the knowledge of her he kept a part of the money for themselves, but brought the rest and put it at the feet of the Apostles. Peter asked Ananias why he lied to the Holy Spirit and kept some of the money that did not belong to him before. You lied to God and not to man. Ananias and his wife both died for their sins.
Question 2.
In those days the ammunt of disciples in Creased, the Grecian Jews among them complained agaist the Hebraic Jews. Because their widows were overseen in the daily contribution of food. Twelve gathered with all the disiples, it would not be good to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait tables. Seven men who was known to be filled with the Spirit and wisdom. The responsibility was given over to them and the others will attend to prayer and ministry of the word.
(QUESTION 1)Interestingly, in the book of Acts, that after the preaching of Peter, many believed the message of the cross, many repented and were baptized on the same day as 3000. After this, the Church took the position as true followers of Christ, persevering in the doctrine of the apostles, in communion with each other, breaking of bread and in prayers. Undoubtedly had a great desire to obey God and become one people or one family, so much so that those who believed they had all things in common. Christians who had more goods, sold them, and with that money they gave to anyone as he had need (2:45) no doubt had a great love for each other since they were together every day, in communion, were a cheerful heart and had a humble heart, but more beautiful, with that attitude, praising God. Church continued to grow and you were like 5000people (4:4), all were of one heart, one soul, one family was, they knew that nothing was his or her membership, all had in common (4:32-35) there was no need. The apostles were in the care of the Church, they were watching who had a need among the brethren, and he needed something, they made up for their needs with the money of the goods were sold. All were generous of heart, humble, and everyone was worried the other. They were 100% generous heart. This is very good example for us, so the God’s people when understand that we are all one family, and that we are in this world we need to be a blessing and generous to others as God blesses us and is generous with us.
ReplyDelete(Luke 9:24) When a person decides to follow and obey Christ in all, a sincere and humble heart, the person will understand that it's not your life, not their purposes, and is nothing but his will, not is more assets, everything is Christ, for Christ and the kingdom of God. So the Christian life must be ready to use the blessings God has given him to occupy a generous way in the kingdom of God, not only in the Church, but also with all those who need our help, be generous with others, as God is generous to us. Perhaps for many people they lost their possessions, time for Christ's sake, but for God, they are doing yourselves treasures in heaven, and saved their souls. When of our stuff serve to God's work and for every need in this world as well.
(QUESTION 2)We can see in the book of Acts when the church was growing in number, there was a problem (6:1)
ReplyDeleteThe first thing we learn in this passage about leaders is that, when the 12 (apostles), who had heard of the problem, the first thing I did was:
This can help us to see as are the attitudes of the leaders face a problem in the Church. Face the problem and also give a solution to this.
1 - They face the problem, i.e., they recognized that something was wrong, and sought a solution.
2 - The solution was: the Church should look for 7 men with certain characteristics.
- They must be male,
- Must be part of the membership of the Church.
- In good standing.
- Filled with the Holy Spirit
- And wise men.
The apostles with this solution, they could continue to preach the word of God and occupied in prayer, while the 7 servants be concerned of the need within the Church.
Now we can see how the Church is formed with a good structure.
This attitude of leadership of the apostles was good, as the church or crowd welcomed the proposal, it is important to be well with the membership when someone is running something like this.
What we can learn too, that this solution, the Church continued to grow both in number, but also in the word of God within the Church itself was not going to be no more problems or gossip, as were men prepared to that task within the Church. Man full of God in their life, faith, the Holy Spirit and in good standing.
No doubt that this good leadership, the word of God was being heard on all sides by the apostles, the church was being cared for by the 7 servants filled with the Spirit of God, a servant in the tables, but we also understand that the Church was growing spiritually, and feel that within the male was Philip, and Stephen, who in other chapters we can see that also were preachers and evangelists, no doubt the Church was growing everywhere, inside and outside, numeric, subject and spiritually.
No doubt that this was a good leadership from the apostles, because after of the solution, the word of God was being heard on all sides by the apostles, the church was being cared for by the 7 servants filled with the Spirit of God, a servant in the tables, but we also understand that the Church was growing spiritually, and feel that within the servers were Philip and Stephen, who in others chapters we can see that also were preachers and evangelists, no doubt the Church was growing everywhere, inside and outside, numeric, in love, in fellowship subject and spiritually. With good leadership the Church grows in every way.
Connie, thanks. How do the examples of Barnabas being generous and Ananias and Sapphira being selfish illustrate what Jesus says about "giving one's life away to find life" and "saving one's life you lose your life?"
ReplyDeleteWhat can we learn about nature and function of leadership from how the apostles handled the situation with these neglected widows?
Pablo (question 1):
ReplyDeleteVery thorough and good response. Their (the church's) sense of communion and family was a bit part of their motivation to be generous because families take care of familes needs. Giving oneself away (in the act of selling property) is the way of Jesus. In that, we gain true life becasue we honour God.
Question 2: Very good response. It is important for leaders to step up to the problems and challenges the church faces and offer practical and spiritually wise solutions, and solutions that involve the church. It is important to involve the people in the solution. The apostles are good examples of how to prioritise their roles and manage the problem. On another note, your list of qualifications is longer than the apostles in Acts 6 but your list may be the kind of qualifications that would be helpful in Chile. thanks.
No doubt that the generous attitude of the early Christians was the result of the generosity that God showed each of them to forgive their sins and give his Holy Espirutu.
ReplyDeleteAll this generosity that we see in the lives of the disciples is the result that God made the lives of the disciples, through their Holy Spirit and was not a momentary enthusiasm, but is the work of the Holy Spirit continues to make this day Hatsa .
They understood very well what Christ did for them on the cross as God forgive their sins and gave them the Holy Spirit.
All this leads the disciples to participate in the generosiadad of God in their lives and especially the disciples who had wealth, they understood that life consists of goods that one possesses but who put their hope in God, they understood that the money should show the same generosity that God showed them, they must show the need for in Christ are one and are part of the same family of God.
All this relates to the passage in Luke where Jesus is calling his disciples to follow each refusing to yourself and being willing to give his life for Jesus.
sgnifica stop living this way I want and start living as Christ wants me to live.
robbing first of my desires and ambitions and to look at the needs of others, is to give my life to serving others as Christ did the same with me stripping system and form of a servant (Philippians 2:7)
This does not mean we should ask materially poor but our hope is not set in the riches of this world and be generous with the needy in the same way that God showed his generosity to us.
Generosity is one of the fruits of my devotion to God.
Thanks teacher, each class has been a blessing to my life, thank you for your words. God bless you so much! Good Spanish....
ReplyDeletewhat we learn in this passage as well as a growing number of disciples also growing needs of the church therefore needs the church always be present in some sense.
ReplyDeletethe attitude of both the Apostles as the disciples recognized that there was a problem in the congregation of much help in finding the solution.
the decision of the apostles to participate to the meeting shows that they too must assume this responsibility for the problem, the response of the apostles was: you seek to seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Spirit and Saviduria who commissioned this service to the tables.
surely the apostles take responsibility for this problem and give solution to the problem but the assembly should be carried out.
We can learn from this problem here is teamwork to find the solution.
We also learn that the table service is seen by the apostles as a spiritual service as well.
Both the service of preaching and serving the tables have the same spiritual value to God.
otherwise assume responsibility for the apostles that God had entrusted them persist in prayer and ministry of the word.
respect the assembly shows his spiritual leaders also teaches us that faced with a problem we must be humble and willing to take responsibility.
also learn that there is no need to stop doing something to something else we can do both if we all do share in the problems of the congregation.
Marcelo, thanks.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 1: Generosity is evidence that we are children of God. In Acts, it was evidence that the community of believers in Jesus as Messiah was the eschatological community of God - true Israel. this is seen in how the community lived out the mandates of the text of Deut.15:4.
Question 2: Yes, leadership is teamwork. Apostles provided the guidelines and framework but needed the congregation to play their part too. Both apostles and congregation had an interest in the solution. And both played their part and the problem was solved and the church grew. thanks.
From the gospel of Luke, he use the themes of wealth and poverty to emphasized and how to do with it. God would not blame with people who are wealth and only bless the poor but he is concern how people using their wealth and to help other who are poor and need help. This themes also mention in the book of Acts, how to use our wealth and helping to others so that it relate to what Jesus had taught about "giving up your life for my sake” (Lk.9:24). In the early church, the peoples lived with an eye to the needs of others, "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had" (Acts4:32)and there were no needy persons among them. For example; Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.This is what Jesus talk about "giving up your life for my sake" we giving our life away for other, therefore for the sake and the glory of God.
ReplyDeleteI just want to share every one here about the act of generous like the early church and what Jesus had taught "to giving up your life for my sake". There was a lady from one church, she have been a faithful disciple of Christ for a while and all of her live is tough and painful but always joy. She always lived her live for the sake of others, to glorify God, even though she having a hard time in her life,(she has a cancer and it was a last states)but she still helping other. For example, one day, on the way to help one guy who had HIV, she felt down on the ground but she still dragging herself to the man house for cleaning and nursing him. She some times let other borrow her money, even though she have not enough for herself. She has been doing this until the last breath, for the sake of others and God. Last time I met her was at Christian camp. She was sharing her life with God, how happy in her live to help other with out complain. The week after she pass away. This is what Jesus taught us to do, to live our live for others and help for one another. Our live could be somehow to help other and to release other from the hard time and the death to have new life in Christ Jesus.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 2: Where is the crowd there is problems, same as the church. I don't think there are such a place with out problem except heaven. We can't avoiding to having a problems but we can make it better by solve the solutions that happen. What we can learn from Acts 6:1-6 is to face with the It is important for leaders to face up and stand in front of the problems and challenges the church to faces and offer practical and spiritually wise solutions, and solutions that involve the church. It is important to involve the people in the solution and especially the member of that congregation. therefore it is the role of the members to resolve and to growing of the congregation they belong to. It is represent that we are apart of the church. The other things that I had learn is, "chose the right man for the right job" so chose the right leader for the right job, at lease that person should be mature in Christ and well know. If we are looking for the perfect, there is no one in this planet, only Christ and God. It does not have to be perfect but should be a person that gifted with the job that assign and living live with God.
ReplyDeleteQUESTION 1:
ReplyDeleteIt seems very evident that Luke continues his theme of wealth and poverty from Luke to Acts and a great example of this is Ananias and Sapphira vs the other believers. Acts 4:32-37 shows us how the believers are sharing their possessions with each other and specifically distributing their possessions to those in need (v35) and then 5:1-10 shows us how Ananias and Sapphira weren't willing to share all their possessions but yet in their greed they still wanted the credit for sharing. We already know from our previous study of Luke that the rich vs poor isn't necessarily literal but more about putting your faith in your possessions vs not putting your faith in your possessions. We can clearly see that most of the early believers (particularly Barnabas) did not put their faith in their possessions but rather in God as opposed to Ananias and Sapphira who clearly couldn't fully commit their faith to God as they kept their faith in their possessions. And the fact that the author tells us that as soon as their greed was discovered they died, is a good indication of what our future will be like if put our faith in our possessions, holding on to our 'riches' rather than giving it to God. This is also how I think Jesus means giving up your life for his sake.
Question 2:
ReplyDeleteAt this time the church is rapidly growing and the church here in Jerusalem is fairly large which in turn created tension among the believers, particularly the Hellenistic vs Hebraic Jews as the Hellenistic Jew's widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So obviously tension among people calls for leadership to settle their disputes fairly. We can learn from this text that the congregation as a whole chose their leaders rather than the apostles which i think is important today for each congregation to choose their own leaders rather than claiming leadership. We can also see from this text that church leaders need to be full of 'Spirit and wisdom' (v3). Also this may be the first indication of our different roles in God's kingdom (one body, many parts) because when the 12 apostles told the church to choose their leaders they then said they will give their attention to 'prayer and ministry of the word' (v4). When we read the seven they chose it is important to note Steven who was described as 'full of faith and the Holy Spirit'. This I believe is another good indication of leadership qualities. In verse 6 we can see how the leaders were prayed on by the apostles which is also a good indication that we should be praying for our church leaders.
O, Thanks for your comments. This Christian lady is a wonderful example of the kind of generosity that was in the early church. She lived out Jesus' teaching of giving your life away" for the sake of others. She literally gave her life away and because of it others can know true life now and forever. Her deeds are treasures in heaven.
ReplyDeleteJacob, thanks. It is so difficult to know how to handle our "wealth" properly. However we handle it, God expects us to use it to bless others.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 2: I'm glad you noticed that leadership qualities here are not what we normally might expect in leaders such as organisational skills, an extrovert nature, charisma, gook looks, etc. Here leadership qualities are full of Spirit, wisdom and faith. Those who possess these qualities are worth following becasue they lead to God. Thanks.
Also I just now read other people's responses to the questions and I just wanted to point out Marcelo's entry when he mentioned the teamwork amongst the leaders. This is an important thing to consider when dealing with problems in the church because as the old saying goes "two heads are better than one" (but in this case its 7 heads). Thank you for pointing that out Marcelo. You are the man, I don't care what Cristy says about you! ;) HA!
ReplyDeleteThere is some good discussion going. Thanks. Keep it up. Just remember that you are to give two responses - one response to my question and one to a fellow student's response. This means that if there are two questions you will need to have at least 4 entries. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah I agree that two head better that one for sure! There must not work as a one man show! even though Jesus's disciple still need all twelve. Ministry work is like a fishing, it is not like fishing by self but it is like fishing by the nets, we throwing the nets. It is like what the early fisher man do, no one man show. So ministry will be growth more as fare as we work as a team.
ReplyDeletePablo, in regards to your answer to question 1. Your list of 'leadership criteria' seems good, yet I'm not sure that Acts 6:1-6 sets the criteria that you have mentioned. What exactly do you mean when you say 'in good standing' and what qualities support a good standing person?
ReplyDeleteAlso my fellow classmates, I found it rather intriguing that verse 3 says "Spirit" and verse 5 says "Holy Spirit" Is this of any significance do you think? Perhaps not significant at all but I just now noticed this and wondered. Anybody have any insight?
I like the comment marcelo about teamwork when there is a good team, and specially in this chapter about apostles of Christ, and we can see when problems are recognized, faced and solved like one team. The result is always: The Word of God continues to grow.
ReplyDeleteThe disciples continue to multiply and people you thought would never make it obey. In this case the Jewish priests.(6:7). God bless you, we are one team as well.
My brother Jacob, When I mentioned about ('in good standing' ) I was talking about the good reputation of the 7 elected . sorry for my english. I also wanted to mention that is important in God's family, against any issue or election in any ministry, we always deliver this cause to God, pray to Him,(6:6) that God will bless the ministry, and also can supply the necessity of the Church in a good way ..God bless you
ReplyDeleteActs reflects great generosity through the community of believers, this is displayed in Acts 2:45 where they sold possessions and gave to those in need. Following in Acts 4:32 riches they had they never claimed for themselves. I guess in Acts there is a sense of unity, everything is for everyone and there were in fact no needy persons among them 4:34 suggesting little or no poverty. I believe the best example of wealth and poverty on a spiritual level is Peter healing the lame man at gate beautiful. 3:6 he informs the man he has no gold or silver (wealth) but has something better and tells the man to walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
ReplyDeletein the world i've experienced leaders who seek power, but never have enough, treat others without equality and have wrong motives. Chapter 6 discribes leaders of a very different nature. Firstly we can see the apostles are able to delegate to others rather than keeping power and authority for themselves, they are more concerned about carrying on the ministry of Gods word, but also recognize a need and the needs of their widows. secondly the choosing of the leaders in chapter 6 are described to be full of the spirit and wisdom, who were chosen from the people not just one person!So from this example of leadership in chapter 6 we see leaders are wise, one of all and not 1 over all, a sound reputation, faithful and full of the spirit which is worked out i their lives. Great checklist and future reference:)
ReplyDeleteJacob i forgot about ananais and sapphira, good point to bring up they did hold their faith in their riches, something we can all be guilty of at times, and I like your comment David about blessing others with what we have! Thats such an awesome reminder!! amen brotha ned;)
ReplyDeletecristy i like your short story because they're better than novels :P
ReplyDeleteO, I like your emphasis on the church and problems it has but how do we resolve matters. Chapter 6 is a great example of solving matters! Thumbs ups!!!
ReplyDeleteHaha jacob you should check it out in your Greek bible teachers pet:0
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not Jacob I'm a girl of few words:)
ReplyDeleteAnybody want their homework done for free? Because Cristy is my "doulos"
ReplyDeleteI very much agree with the response from my brother (O). I think we have a great responsibility for the goods that God has given us and are not for our sole benefit, but also to help those in need, I believe that generosity is a sign of our conversion also in which we We share in the bounty of God. Luke in Acts 20:35 makes mention of the words the apostle Paul reminded the Lord Jesus when he said, is more blessed to give than receive.
ReplyDeleteI think if we consider these words of the Lord Jesus who gave His life for us all, will be much us partakers of God's generosity in this world.
brother (O) I think your mencionastes an important point in your comment saying that the church should be involved in the wise decisions that have taken their leaders to carry them out, I think this will help a lot to the assembly itself to grow spiritually since they are the ones who will have to give the solution to problems with the direction of their leaders, I believe also that here the work of the leaders played a key roll but the assembly has chosen seven men filled with the Holy Spirit is a clear signal that the congregation took advantage of this prolblema to grow spiritually, so we can learn that problems in the congregation but will always be our attitude to solve the problem help us find a solution and certainly wise as a congregation grow spiritually.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 1:
ReplyDeleteEquality is the theme of wealth and poverty in the early church. They give their money or properties for those who need for living, everything is in common. This is such an ideological community that we need. One day, who know, Barnabas who sold his lands for helping brothers and sisters might need help from the community. I think, since it is the time of miracles, the stories about Jesus, the works of Holy Spirit, and the teaching of loving neighbour as brothers made them be kind and generous to each other. The teaching of Jesus about “giving up your life for my sake” maybe deeper in the spiritual issue more than helping one another because in that context Jesus taught his disciples about lifting up God to be number one in their lives.
Question 2:
From 6:1-6 taught me about “put the right man in the right job.” Because the problem is about the Hellenistic, so they chose the Hellenists to be in charge this problem. If the apostles chose Jewish leaders to do this job maybe the problem will occur again. One more thing that is very important; they chose those who were full of wisdom, faith and the Holy Spirit. The combination of these two qualities is very clever for solving any problems. As same as the qualification of elder and deacon in 1 Tim 3:1-13, which is very perfect for those who will take care of God’s people.
One thing that is very evident in Luke's writings is his great concern for the earthly quality of life of people. He clearly calls out the rich in their disregard for the poor and he shows a very strong concern towards the welfare of the poor. We see this in the parable of the the rich man, in Jesus' teachings about caring for the poor and alleviating suffering, and in Luke's version of the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Plain.
ReplyDeleteThis is clearly continued in the book of Acts whereby the Christians sold all they had and shared what they had in community with each other. There was much concern about the welfare of the Christian community as a whole. In Acts 4-5 and in 6 as well for instance, we see collections taken up to support widows. The needy Christians were dealt with. Luke also shows the opposite of what is expected of Christians through Ananias and Saphira.
All of this show that Christians were expected to fully rely on God to meet their daily provision. When Jesus said to "give up your life for my sake" in Luke, for the early Christians, that meant that they would give up their economic and financial security and would meet the needs of the community around them and trust that God will meet their needs as they come. They relied not on the things of this world but on God.
Christy,
ReplyDeletePeter saying to lame man, "I have no silver or gold" indicates that the money that the church members gave to apostles was all used to help needay among them. He didn't pocket any himself. How did Peter make a living? (Actually, I've never thought of this question until now in responding to you...so thanks for stimulating my thinking).
Sam, Thanks. Question 1: That's right that Barnabas one day may find himself in need of help. Giving goes both ways. Blessing goes to both the giver and receiver becasue it creates community and relationship.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 2: Yes, "the right man for the right job." This is important in putting people in roles that affects others. We need to put the right person in the right role.
Ethel, Thanks. Great response!
ReplyDeleteQUESTION1
ReplyDeleteThe believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, to prayer (Acts 2:42-45). Moreover, they sold poverty and possessions to give to anyone who needed it. In Acts4:33-34, “God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all, that they were no needy persons among them.” They were practice what they believe by using wealth for the sake of others, they open their eyes to the needs of others and with a common spirit of sacrifice and love that lifted up the neighbors rather than concerning on themselves. This is related to the teaching of Jesus about “giving up your life for my sake” (Lk.9:24). From the result of the generosity, believers were praising God and the community of God was strengthen.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteadding question 1
ReplyDeleteJesus Christ is a great example for us, that He gave his own life for our sakes. In the same way, we should show our generosity to everyone, especially ones who needed it.
I agree with O and Marcelo about better to give than receive. It is easy to say it than doing it but will have to practice it, so it will come naturally for us:)
1.
ReplyDeleteIn Acts 2:44 we see how the early Christians recognized each other as brother and sisters in the family of God. They, the Christians in Jerusalem, shared all they had so they could benefit from God’s gifts. As part of God’s spiritual family, it is our responsibility to help each other in every way possible. God’s family works it best when we all work together. In Acts 4:32-37 we see how the again the early church was able to share property and possession as a result of unity in the Holy Spirit working on believer’s lives. The sharing was done in a voluntary way and it didn’t involve “all” private property, but only as much as we needed. This wasn’t a membership requirement in order to be part of the church. Spiritual unity ad generous hearts is what these early Christians possessed; this is also what attracted others to them. This also was not a biblical command but it offers vital principles for us to follow.
Acts 9:36, talks of Tabitha giving to the poor; 10:2, 4 we are told of a God fearing centurion and his family and how he gave generously and prayed for the ones that needed. Acts 5:1-11; 8:14-24 basically talks about money over the needs of others.
(Luke 9:24) “Giving up your life for my sake,” this for me talked about how our life is to be lived for him. Being a Christian doesn’t necessarily mean living the good life, it’s a life of sacrifice, a life of giving yourself yourself up for the Lord. We would never put ourselves at risk or in danger. In contrast, in following Christ, if this is what is most important to you, you may find yourself in unsafe, unhealthy, and uncomfortable places. You may risk death, but you should not fear it because you know that Christ will raise you, eternal life. As disciples of Christ we are not to just live life on earth to please ourselves; we should spend our lives serving God and his people.
sammy sam, i like what you said about equality my brother. back home inequality is something that you can see. sad to say in my home church the poor let the rich do whatever they want. they normally do not say anything, this should be seen as a chance for the more stable (in wealth) families to share their lives and possessions with the less fortunate brothers and sisters.
ReplyDeletei agree with everyone :)
ReplyDeleteQUESTION 2
ReplyDeleteThe apostles chose the seven, who are full of Spirit, wisdom and faith. The apostles know how to deal with this issue by sending the right man in the right job. The issue was about the neglect of the Hellenistic Jewish widows in the daily provision for their dietary needs. So there was tension between Grecian Jews and Hebraic Jews.The task couldn’t be complete if the apostle send the Hebraic Jews to do the job. For example if you are going to go preach the gospel in Thailand but ones who can’t speak Thai would be a big challenge for them. The gospel wouldn’t be send completely. In the same way, it will be hard for the Thais to tell the gospel to the kiwis. The language could be a brier. Therefore leadership is very important to complete the task, to put the right man in the right job.
Jacob and Christy, you guys are funny! very interesting conversation going on there;p
ReplyDeleteJacob, refer to your curiosity about the differences between (6:3) Spirit and Holy Spirit (6:5). I look up in the Greek it said the same word "pneumatos" both v.3 and v.5. from the translation of KJV "Holy Ghost" I was wondering about it earlier too but didn't really bother to find out, thank you for bring that up again. I hope this might help!
David, just wondering about the seven that have been chosen by apostles, are they all Grecian Jews?
ReplyDelete2.
ReplyDeleteA church leader must be one that has good reputation, the authority to lead others . Leadership is more of an influence within the group rather than having a degree, being a sports star, famous writer, someone of extreme intelligence, and the sort.
Second they are to be “full of the Spirit.”(Gal. 5:22-23) some people are further along than others in surrendering to the Spirit. Evidence of this surrender is in life-traits of generosity and faithfulness, gentleness and self control.
And thirdly people that are “full of wisdom, “which is a problem solving ability.
I like how O framed the first question in that in the wealth and poverty relations by the first century church, they gave up their lives for each other for the sake of the glory of God. It reminds me of the lessons that one of our teachers from earlier on in the year talked a lot about the concept of glory and how it relates to being in the name of and therefore being made into the image of. How God gave us Jesus who gave his life for us and how therefore we should give our lives for each other.
ReplyDeleteI think the Acts 6 incident tells us that being in church leadership, one has to be concerned about being everything for everyone. Since we are blessed with different gifts, those who are blessed with teaching must teach and minister to the word, those who are blessed with ministering to others can minister on tables. I think this can be related to the our lessons on evangelism about being missional churches. It means that the church leadership must be concerned not only about ministry of the word but also about meeting the needs of the community, in this case, the needs of the widows. This also shows that the church leader is pro-active. The twelve knew what they needed to do in order to meet the need of the congregation so they did something about it. They also did not take on something they knew was not their role so instead they delegated.
ReplyDeleteDear Pablo, I therefore declare that you can no longer tease/make jokes about Gip giving long answers. ;p
ReplyDeleteOn question 2, I noticed that many (Gip, Pablo, Marcelo, O, Jacob, etc.) pointed out that leaders have to be filled with the Holy Spirit. For the record, I agree with this despite the fact that I glaringly omitted it in my answer for number 2 but only because of the fact that I noticed that the qualification of "full of faith and filled with the Holy Spirit" is only stated regarding Stephen and not the other six. So my question is, why is the qualification written only with regard to Stephen?
Question 1
ReplyDeleteWealth can be a blessing or a curse depending on the depending on whether it is used as a means to exercise power, a tool of self indulgence or a resource to serve others. As Luke wrote in the account of acts he summaries the life of the early community in chapter 2 v42-46. Which is "devotion and generosity" They considered each other and they sold their possesions to give to anyone in need. (ch2 v45). Also recorded in Ch4 v32-37 potrays a beautiful picture of giving. They laid their life down for their brothers. v34 mentions that there was no needy persons among them ... they distributed to anyone who had need. The early church really hit the nail on the head in what Jesus said in Luke 9:24. They died to self, they laid down their life for the sake of their brothers. We were called to serve and that was exaclty what they did. They didn't indulge themselves with the luxurious materials and pleasure. But instead they followed Jesus they laid down what their self wanted and served.
Question 2
ReplyDeleteIn Acts 6:1-6 the words that stood out to me were "full of the spirit and wisdom". That were basic characters that the apostles suggested that the congregation look for in men that were to be given the responsibility of the matter at hand. The characterists to me is something that all leaders are to have.
What really caught my eye was verse 5 and in the TNIV version reads this proposal pleased the whole group. The apostles wisdom is really clearly established. They placed a proposal on the table for that church and letting them decide for themselves on what they want for their church. They didnt just chip in and started dictating how things are to be done. In their wisdom they first of all turned FINAL WORD job to the people of that congregation to deal with. They way i understand it is they turn it down for good reason because they have the ministry of the word to attend to. A principle there is it is a better idea to decline an offer if you think its going to hinder your ministry. Also, when given the FINAL WORD job it is best that you offer a proposal and you let them decide for themselves. Its best you sometimes take your self out of the equation.
Dear Ethel, In regard to the question you placed above on why was the characteristics of "full of faith and of the holy spirit" only given to Stephen. That is a really interesting question. His spiritual life and devotion needed to be noted. In my opinion he may have had an extraordinary depth of faith that needed noting. Possibly so that if they knew who Stephen was, they can see him as a role model and Luke may have wanted to praise Stephen for his faithfulness.
ReplyDeleteDear Gip, I like the fact that you mentioned that God's grace from Acts and used the illustration that "they open their eyes to the needs of others and with a common spirit of sacrifice and love that lifted up the neighbors" That is a powerful sentence Gip. The common spirit of sacrifice that we must all have. To offer ourselves and our material stuff to lift up our neighbours. :)
ReplyDeleteCan someone invent a LIKE button on this blog ... just a suggestion :)
ReplyDeleteJohn, great response and some very perceptive comments. You made a good observation about the poor in your home church being quiet and letting the more wealthy run the show. This is an example of inequality between wealthy and poor. What can you do to help bring more equality and to empower the poor to be on same level as the others. This can be your ministry back home. :)
ReplyDeleteGip,
ReplyDeleteYes, their names suggest they are are Grecian (Hellenist) Jewish believers.
ethel, Good observation about the connection between the idea of "missional" and "giving up our lives" for others (Lk.9:24).
ReplyDeleteI think we are to assume that the other 6 were full of the Spirit, too, but Luke wanted to especially state this about Stephen becasue he focuses our attention on him and his ministry which led to his death (like Jesus) but which also resulted in the spread of the word of God. All this was so becasue of the power of the Spirit. thanks.
Laii, thanks for your comments and response: "Wealth can be a blessing or a curse depending on the depending on whether it is used as a means to exercise power, a tool of self indulgence or a resource to serve others." This hits the nail on the head about wealth. It's not wealth itself but how it is used.
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