The Ministry Of The Word - [Acts 6:1-7]

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Every generation in the Church has had to defend the Word of God from onslaughts for the sake of preserving the
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Church's primary task, which is the ministry of the Word, so that that focus does not become blurred.
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And it is no different with today's generation. I think of men like William Tyndale, who did not have the joy of being married or having children, but devoted himself to translating the
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Bible into English. And every time you are able to open your English Bible, whether it's listening to a sermon or reading it or studying it for yourself, know that it came on a sea of blood.
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That he had pursued with a passion, unlike any other, to translate the
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Bible into English for the common man to be able to read the Word of God.
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So much so that at one point he had lost a lot of the manuscripts as he sailed out to sea trying to get away from those who were trying to capture him.
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But he continued again. He went into hiding for a number of years, even to the end of his life, where they had him at the stake, burned him at the stake.
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And they chained him. And they had some potter to explode his body on his death so that they would finally shut him up.
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Men of that nature who were devoted to preserve the ministry of the Word of God throughout the ages.
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And the fight is no different today. Unfortunately, today it's coming from within evangelicalism in many ways.
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And we have men like Andy Stanley, who claims that the exposition, the preaching of the
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Word of God is cheating because it is easy. It's not the thing that God uses to grow people.
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And so today, even in our generation, we must defend the Word of God against all onslaughts, whether it comes from the outside or whether it comes from the inside.
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And I want us to look at the early church. They had to deal with this issue a little bit. And if you turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter six, they dealt with the issue of making sure that their primary task, their focus was not blurred.
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And that was the task and focus of the ministry of the Word of God. Acts chapter six, verses one through seven.
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Now, in these days, when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the
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Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, it is not right that we should give up preaching of the
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Word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the spirit and of wisdom whom we will appoint to this duty.
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But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the
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Word. And what they said pleased the whole gathering. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the
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Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.
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These they said before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
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And the Word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
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Notice with me that Luke here repeats a number of words, two in particular. Three times he repeats the
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Greek word for ministry, for service, the word diakonia, where we get the
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English word deacon. You might not notice that in your English reading of the ESV. For example, the first time he mentions it is in verse 1, where he says their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.
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That's the word ministry, service. Then he mentions it again clearly in verse 2, where the apostles said it is not right that we should give up preaching the
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Word of God to serve tables. And finally in verse 4, we will devote ourselves to the prayer and to the ministry, same word, the service, the diakonia of the word.
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So three times he talks about this service and ministry, uses the same word. But the same, another term that he uses frequently here, as you can see plainly in your
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English Bible, is the term for the Word of God. Verse 2, it is not right that we should give up preaching the
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Word of God. Verse 4, we see the ministry of the
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Word. In verse 7, the Word of God continued to increase.
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So really the thrust of Luke here in presenting the early church and what they had to face here is the ministry of the
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Word. The ministry of the Word. And I want us as I walk us through this passage to see three aspects of it as the apostles dealt with this issue initially.
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The first one is this, the ministry of the Word is threatened. The ministry of the
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Word is threatened. Notice from the very start, verse 1. Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the
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Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.
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Now, of course, this is happening in chapter 6. And you may think, well, this is a new issue.
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And it is, but it just seems like it just happened upon them. But up until chapter 6, there was a lot of other issues that the apostles had to deal with.
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And I want us to look at that because that was one of the things that threatened the ministry of the
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Word. There are really four things that you will see here that threatened the ministry of the Word. And the first one is this, there was mounting pressure and trouble and conflict.
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Mounting trouble and conflict that came from, as we will see tonight, from within the church but also from without the church.
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Tom Constable said two of Satan's favorite methods of assailing the church that he has employed throughout history are these, internal dissension and external persecution.
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Notice with me in chapter 4 how the word, the ministry of the word is threatened from earlier before we even get to chapter 6.
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Here we will see the trouble is coming from without the church. Chapter 4 at the beginning in verse 1,
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And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
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And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day for it was already evening.
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Verse 5, On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and all who were of the high priestly family.
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And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, By what power or by what name did you do this?
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Then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said to them, Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom
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God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. Jump to verse 15,
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But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, What shall we do with these men?
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For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.
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But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them not to speak no more to anyone in this name.
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So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
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But Peter and John answered them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.
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And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them.
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Well, they meet again with the believers and tell them of this incident. And further on in chapter 4, when the believers gathered together and pray over this, look at what they prayed specifically in verse 29,
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And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.
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So here we see initially the ministry of the word is threatened from without the church, outside the church, as they are proclaiming the gospel, the evangel.
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But then we have a threat from within the church. Look at the atmosphere of the early church in Jerusalem, what was happening towards the end of chapter 4, beginning in verse 34.
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This is a threat from within now. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought them the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
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Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, a
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Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold the field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.
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That's the context of what's about to happen in chapter 5. But, in contrast to Barnabas, but a man named
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Ananias with his wife Sapphira sold the piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet.
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But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?
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And as you know, the first church discipline in the early church zapped on the spot, both husband and then later the wife.
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And what was the result? Verse 11. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
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This was trouble from within to get the church away from its focus, primary task of the ministry of the word.
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And then we have more trouble from without again. Chapter 5, verse 16.
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The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
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But the high priest rose up and all who were with him, that is the party of the Sadducees, and filled with jealousy, they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.
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But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.
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And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.
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Verse 25. And someone came and told them, Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.
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Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stolen by the people.
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And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, We strictly charge you not to teach in his name.
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Yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.
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But Peter and the apostles answered, We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised
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Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
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And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.
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When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a
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Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while.
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And he said to the men of Israel, Take care what you are about to do with these men. Verse 38.
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So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone. For if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail.
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But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing
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God. So they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus and let them go.
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The ministry of the word, again, was being threatened from without. And it was also being threatened from within.
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And now we get to chapter 6. And in light of all these threats that they were experiencing, and the sin of Ananias and Sapphira within the church, now they come to another issue in chapter 6.
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Where now, again, from within, the ministry of the word, the primary task of the church, is being threatened.
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But also the threat of the ministry of the word came from another factor. Secondly, it came from the tremendous exponential growth of the early church.
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Notice in our text how, as book ends, this section begins and ends. Verse 1 of our chapter.
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Now in these days when the disciples were what? Increasing in number. Verse 7.
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The number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem. Earlier in the book of Acts, it talks about this exponential growth of the church.
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Chapter 2, verse 41. On the day of Pentecost, those who received his word were baptized.
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And there were added that day about 3 ,000 souls. In one day.
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3 ,000. Chapter 4, verse 4. Luke continues. But many of those who had heard the word believed.
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And the number of the men came to about 5 ,000. That's the number of the men.
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Not all the people. Never mind the women and children. Chapter 5, verse 14. Luke continues.
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And more than ever, believers were added to the Lord. Multitudes of both men and women.
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So you can imagine. Some have estimated maybe 20 ,000 by this time when we get to Acts chapter 6.
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The logistics of the needs that arise with an assembly of this magnitude.
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And the growth that God brought upon them. But another factor that brought, furthermore, the threat against the ministry of the word was complaining.
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Verse 1. A complaint by the Hellenists arose against the
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Hebrews. I call that America's favorite pastime. We love to complain.
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And this is not new. This happened back in the days of the people of Israel, the children of Israel.
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Back in Exodus, when God delivered him from captivity in Egypt. And in Exodus chapter 15, the people, along with Moses, sing praises to God in the song of Moses.
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And they sing praises to his name for how he delivered him with an outstretched arm. And he kills Pharaoh and all his army.
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And three days later, that lasted long, they were in the wilderness complaining to Moses.
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And so much so that they said, we wish we were still stuck back in Egypt. At least we had food then.
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But as you read further in Exodus 16, the text says, though their complaint was against Moses, ultimately, their complaint was against, not their leader, but against the
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Lord. And here it's happening in the early church. A complaint arises.
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And the apostles have to deal with this. And they do deal with it. After all these threats that they've been having, after dealing with church discipline and sin in the church in Acts chapter 5, a complaint arises.
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That's why scripture is clear about this. Philippians 2, do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent children of God, without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.
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In the church, when there is grumbling, when there is complaining, when there is disputing, nothing good comes of it except to give our enemy, the devil, a foothold.
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And the apostles knew that there was a realistic complaint here from the
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Hellenists against the Hebrews, and that was threatening the ministry of the word. But furthermore, to understand this threat, the
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Hellenists were primarily Greek -speaking Jews. That was their native language, whereas the Hebrews' native language was
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Hebrew. The Hellenists used the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, whereas the
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Hebrews used the Hebrew translation of the Old Testament. And another difference was that the
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Hellenists were dispersed. They were part of the diaspora, whereas the Hebrews, they were natives to Palestine.
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So with all these stark distinctions, there was no love lost between the two of them. Actually, in the exposer's
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Bible commentary, it says this, according to the Talmud, Pharisaism made little secret of its contempt for the
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Hellenists. They were frequently categorized by the native -born and assumedly more scrupulous populace of Jerusalem as second -class
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Israelites. So imagine in a church in Jerusalem of this size, having to deal with the magnitude of numbers, now a complaint arises from one group against another.
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And the complaint was that their widows were being neglected. Secondly, though, we see in the midst of the ministry of the word threatened, and the second point here that Luke brings forth is that the ministry of the word is protected.
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The ministry of the word is protected. Whenever there are threats against the primary task of the church, which is the ministry of the word, whether it's coming from within the church or from without the church, the leadership needs to protect that ministry.
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And the apostles did that very exact thing. Notice in verse 2, And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said,
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It is not right to give this up.
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Literally, the word give up means to neglect. We don't want to neglect the ministry of the word.
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It's interesting because earlier it was used in verse 1 of their complaint. Their widows were being neglected.
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And the apostles say we don't want to neglect what? The ministry of the word. We don't want to forsake it.
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We don't want to abandon it. They said this is not right to do. It is not pleasing to do.
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Question, it's not right in whose eyes? It's not pleasing in whose eyes? The people's eyes?
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Absolutely not. It's not right in God's eyes because it is the word of God. It's interesting that in our text in verse 2.
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It says that we should. It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God in the original.
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The term preaching is not even there. The text says it's not right that we should give up.
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The word of God. We should not give up the word of God. How do we know that this is consistent?
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That they're referring to preaching here. Well, there's some clues earlier in Acts that we see that this was happening before chapter 6.
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And this was a continuation of the church after chapter 6. The proclamation of the word of God.
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Acts 2 .42, for example, uses the terminology. The apostles teaching. The early church devoted themselves to the apostles teaching.
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So what is this ministry of the word of God that they don't want to neglect? That they weren't willing to give up because it wasn't right or pleasing in the eyes of the
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Lord. First, it's preaching that is Christ -centered preaching. It was always
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Christ -centered preaching in the early church. This was the apostles teaching. Who were the apostles?
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They were hand -selected by the Lord Jesus Christ. Luke himself records in Luke chapter 6.
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How the Lord spent an entire night in prayer. Came down and hand -selected the disciples. Whom he also named apostles.
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So if the early church devoted themselves to the apostles teaching. What did the apostles teach other than that which was
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Christ -centered? What they learned from the Lord himself. But also this ministry of the word is not only
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Christ -centered. It is doctrinally based. It is doctrinally based. It is the apostles teaching.
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The term teaching is a Greek term that means a body of truth. A body of doctrine.
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It's used 30 times in the New Testament. And it's no wonder that the King James Version refers to it not only as the apostles teaching.
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But as the apostles doctrine. But not only is it Christ -centered preaching and doctrinally based preaching.
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But the preaching that is referred to in Acts is driven by the text. By the scripture.
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It is biblical. If you just look at Acts chapter 2. The day of Pentecost. What does
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Peter do? He exposits the Old Testament. From Joel. And from Psalm 16.
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And from Psalm 110. This is why the apostles were so committed to not give up the ministry of the word of God.
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The preaching of the word of God. Was this not Jesus' purpose in selecting them?
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Mark chapter 3 verse 14. Listen to what it says. He appointed 12 whom he also named apostles.
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For what purpose? Twofold. So that they might be with him. And secondly.
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That he might send them out to do what? To preach. Proclamation. Declaration.
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This of course in the book of Acts is descriptive of the early church. But in the pastoral epistles it is prescriptive for us today.
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In the book of Acts it's characteristic of what was going on in the early church. But for us today in the pastoral epistles it is clearly commanded.
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Listen to what the pastoral epistles say about the ministry of the word. First Timothy 4 .13.
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Until I come devote yourself to the public reading of scripture. To exhortation. To teaching.
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First Timothy 4 .16. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. First Timothy 5 .17.
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Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor. Especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.
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Second Timothy 2 .15. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved. A worker who has no need to be ashamed.
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Rightly handling the word of truth. Second Timothy 4 .2. Preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season.
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Reprove, rebuke and exhort with complete patience and teaching. And finally Titus 1 .9.
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He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught. So that he may be able to give instruction and sound doctrine.
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And also to rebuke those who contradicted. Many say well this is just the early church.
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That's why the apostles were devoted to not giving this up. But later on we see by inspiration of the
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Holy Spirit. This is to be the primary task and focus of the church today.
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And they continue to protect the ministry of the word as we see in verse 3. Therefore brothers pick out from among you seven men of good repute.
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Full of the spirit and of wisdom. Whom we will appoint to this duty.
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Whom we will appoint to this duty. The term duty means there is a need. There is a necessity here.
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And they recognize that there was a need here. And what was that need? To serve the tables in the daily distribution.
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So that their widows wouldn't be neglected. But they didn't just pick anybody. They were men who were of good repute.
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Men who were full of the spirit. And full of wisdom. To serve tables.
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Christ used this term. The aqua near of himself when he said in mark 1045. For even the son of man came not to be served.
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But to serve. And to give his life. As a ransom. For many.
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There was a need. And the apostles recognized this need. And they knew that their calling was the ministry of the word.
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And they appointed these seven to meet that need. It sounds very familiar to Old Testament times in Moses.
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When needs arose with the large nation of Israel. In Exodus 18 it says. Moses father -in -law said to him.
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What are you doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out. For the thing is too heavy for you.
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You are not able to do it alone. Look for able men from all the people.
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Men who fear God. Who are trustworthy and hate a bribe. And place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands.
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Of hundreds. Of fifties. And of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you.
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But any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you.
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And they will bear the burden with you. That's the key.
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It will be easier for you. Jethro told Moses. And they will bear the burden with you.
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And that's why these men were appointed. So that the apostles can continue. In the ministry of the word of God.
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And they continue the protection of this in verse four. We will devote ourselves to prayer.
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And to the ministry of the word. We will devote ourselves.
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That's what was characteristic of the church on Pentecost. They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching.
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It's a compound Greek word. Which adds more emphasis to it. It literally means to do something persistently.
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In the face of opposition. And there was opposition from without. And from within.
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So literally it means they did the ministry of the word persistently.
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Even in the face of opposition. They had a steadfast and single -minded fidelity. To this course of action.
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They were aggressively pursuing their call to the ministry. But what were they devoted to?
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They were devoted to two things. To prayer. And to the ministry of the word.
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As we said earlier, the ministry is the Greek term diakonia. Where we get the term for service and deacon.
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And it's used two other times here. And that's what the word does. It's a ministry. It's a service. And that is what they were devoted to.
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Martin Lloyd -Jones said what is the business of the church? To minister the ministry of the word.
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I love that. To minister the ministry of the word. What the apostles were in essence saying was this.
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The meal has already been prepared. We are just simply serving it.
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When we preach the word. And that's what expository preaching does. It serves the meal that has already been prepared by the
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Lord. Where somebody who doesn't exposit the word of God. Prepares their own meal.
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And therefore it's not the word of God. But it is the word of man. So the apostles were committed to the ministry of the word of God.
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Verse 5 they continue to discuss is that they seek to protect this ministry. And what they said, notice this.
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Pleased the whole gathering. Not just the disciples and the apostles. Pleased the whole gathering.
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What pleased the whole gathering? Both verses 3 and 4. They were pleased that they were picking out men from among them.
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Seven who would be able to attend to this duty, this need, this necessity. And they were pleased with verse 4.
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That therefore the apostles could be freed up. To continue in the ministry of the word.
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What they were called to do. The whole gathering was pleased with this. How is that so? They knew up until this point.
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What was their calling? In verse 6. These they said before the apostles.
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These seven. And they prayed. And laid their hands on them.
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This morning as I was driving into Hartford. There's a plethora of churches. I always love to see the signs that churches post.
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Isn't that a riot sometimes? But this church was called the deliverance church. They're having a deliverance ministry.
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And I thought there's nothing there about that that's biblical. But here I see this is a true deliverance ministry.
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Because by doing this, by picking these seven to meet that need. The apostles were delivered as it were.
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They were freed up. They were released to focus on that which God had called them to focus on.
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The ministry of the word of God. And finally we see in our text.
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The ministry of the word is threatened from both outside the church and within the church. As we see here.
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The apostles seek to protect the ministry. And finally we see the ministry of the word is multiplied.
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It is multiplied. Notice the three things verse 7 it says of this multiplication.
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First of all the word of God continued to increase. It had already been increasing by God's blessing.
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And now it continued to increase. And why did it continue to increase? Because of verse 2 and verse 4.
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Because they determined it's not right to give up the ministry of the word. They determined to devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.
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And God blessed that. And it continued to increase. Because it is the word of God.
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First Thessalonians 2 .13. And we also thank God constantly for this. That when you receive the word of God.
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Which you heard from us. You accepted it not as the word of men. But as what it really is.
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The word of God. Which is at work in you believers. This is the word of God.
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This is the task of the church today as it was the task of the early church.
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Martin Lloyd -Jones said quote. The preacher is a man under authority. And he should be aware of that authority.
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But here's a clincher. Where does he get that authority? Lloyd -Jones continues. Our message is the word of God.
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It is the word from God. This is revelation. God has unveiled his truth to us through the pages of scripture.
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This is God's divine revelation to us. And that is where our authority lies.
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Those who speak the word of man. Though they claim authority. Have no authority before God.
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But our authority comes because this is the very word of God. And Peter was one of the apostles here was he not?
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In the early church. And it's no wonder that he wrote in his first epistle. First Peter 4 verse 11.
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Whoever speaks as one who speaks the oracles of God.
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But Luke continues. Verse 7. Not only did the word of God continue to increase. But notice the number of disciples multiplied.
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I mean we're already in the 20 ,000 probably by this point. And because they're continued in the ministry of the word.
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God used the word of God. And the number of disciples multiplied. And if that wasn't enough. This is great.
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The third part of verse 7. And a great many of the priests.
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Became obedient to the faith. The expression of God's saving work.
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Paul uses that expression in Romans chapter 1. The obedience to the faith. Why was there this work happening?
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Why is the ministry of the word of God multiplying as we see in verse 7? Because of the nature of the word of God.
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Because what it does. And what the word of God is. It is the word of God. And it's the word from God.
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First Peter. Peter who was here. Describes the word of God as the imperishable seed.
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By which we are born again. In chapter 2 verse 2 of his epistle. He describes the word of God as the pure milk.
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By which we grow. Jesus himself said in John 17. That this is the word is the truth.
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By which we are sanctified. By which we are set apart and made holy. Second Timothy 3 .16.
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Paul said. It is profitable for teaching. For rebuking. For correcting and training in righteousness.
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Because all scripture is breathed out by God. In Hebrews 4 .12.
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The word of God alone is living and active. Penetrating. To the depths of soul and spirit.
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Judging the thoughts. Motives and intentions. Of the heart. And that is why when we proclaim the truth of the word.
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Which is from God. That is why God can use it in people's lives. Not only for salvation.
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But also for sanctification. The word of God has always been under attack in the church.
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And it's no different today. And the attacks come from outside. And they come from inside.
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Merrill Unger wrote it. And put it very well. To an alarming extent. The glory is departing from the pulpit.
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The basic reason for this gloomy condition is obvious. That which imparts the glory.
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Has been taken away from the center of so much of our modern preaching. And it has been placed.
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On the periphery. The word of God has been denied the throne. And given a subordinate place.
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Where such exposition and authoritative declaration. Of the word of God are abandoned. Ichabod.
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The glory has departed. Must be written over the preacher. And over the pulpit.
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From which he preaches. I thought that's what's written a lot of. Churches today.
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As I was driving in Hartford. There's a place. That's known as church corner. There's literally on that block.
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Three churches on the three of the four corners. And you can tell by the names. And I talked to some of the people.
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Where I was at. These churches do not proclaim. The word of God. They proclaim.
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The word of man. There are far and few churches brethren nowadays that are proclaiming. The unadulterated word of God.
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But that is the task. That was the task of the early church. And that is our task today.
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May we be found faithful. Father, thank you for. The ministry of your word in our lives.
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For its living power. Because the Holy Spirit. The divine author of the word. Has his way with us through the scriptures.
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May we be found faithful to proclaim. The truth and be devoted to the ministry of the word of God.