DIVINE ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF THE TESTIMONY (4)
[p. 48] DIVINE ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF THE TESTIMONY (4)
JT It is thought that we should note that in the book of Acts the truth was dealt with, and as any difficulty arose, such as we see here in chapter 6, it was met by the wisdom which was there in the Spirit, but particularly in the apostles; the apostles are in mind throughout as the leaders of the whole position, and hence it is said in chapter 2 that the converts, through Peter’s preaching, “persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in breaking of bread and prayers Acts 2:42”. So that the dispensation is marked off in this way as under the guidance and leadership of the apostles, the blessed Spirit of God being there with them; chapter 2 brought out that fact. So that what is before us now is this question of deaconship, according to the facts presented.
It says, “In those days the disciples multiplying in number, there arose a murmuring of the Hellenists against the Hebrews because their widows were overlooked in the daily ministration”. That was the problem that now faced the saints, and immediately we are told, “the twelve, having called the multitude of the disciples to them, said, It is not right that we, leaving the word of God, should serve tables. [p. 51] Look out therefore, brethren, from among yourselves seven men, well reported of, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we will establish over this business: but we will give ourselves up to prayer and the ministry of the word”. So that we have here what has been intimated, that the apostles are, under the Lord, under the Spirit, in complete charge: and it is apparent that they are definitely imbued with wisdom to meet this serious difficulty that had [p. 49] arisen. It was really a sectional matter, such as often comes up amongst us. It was sectional in the sense that the Hellenists, who were Greeks, were affected against the Hebrews.
PAH What does that really suggest to us? Is it national feeling there?
JT Yes, and it is a common thing which has often arisen amongst brethren since Pentecost. But it may be linked on with what has been engaging us, which is not exactly national, but an industrial matter, which has brought about a combination of men of all kinds, and all nations and religions, in order to better themselves through that combination, disregarding whether divine principles are involved or not; so that we are therefore in the presence of a most serious matter, and one that deserves the full understanding that God has given to us, so that we may do His will, and not man’s.
ENJ Do you link this matter of combining together with those in Genesis 11:4, who said “Come on, let us build ourselves a city and a tower, the top of which may reach to the heavens”?
JT It is the beginning of all combinations of men arrayed against God, because that is what really developed; but it was to make a name for themselves. That is really the secret of all these combinations that we are dealing with. It is a question of human aspiration to a name. “Let us make ourselves a name, lest we be scattered over the face of the whole earth (Genesis 11:4)”. But then God met that by scattering them, so that the whole human race was scattered, and God can do that again. That is to say He can act against all such combinations, with a view to the deliverance and preservation of His people, and of the truth. Then we have verse 9, which is in view of what has been established by the apostles; that is, the seven deacons. “There arose up certain of those of the synagogue called of freedmen, [p. 50] and of Cyrenians, and of Alexandrians, and of those of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen”. So that they have a man now, representative of God, but thoroughly qualified, as filled with the Holy Spirit, to attack. That is, there is a point of attack in this man Stephen, who was the first one mentioned of the seven.
PAH This really suggests to us the way a difficulty can be met: “Stephen, full of grace and power”. Is it that?
JT Well, that is the point for us today. It is a question of wisdom, the wisdom which God is ready to give us in this crisis. It is said, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not”, (James 1:5). James always has a word of wisdom for us. So it is a question of the brethren understanding what is the point of attack of the enemy, and what God is putting forward, and how the enemy is attacking it, and how that attack is to be met; and I thinly we have an example in Stephen, and including, of course, the others of the seven. We have examples in them to go by.
RP Do you suggest that wisdom is a quality which comes to light when the exercise arises?
JT Yes, it is a quality of God. In earlier days we were accustomed to regard wisdom as a person, the Person of Christ really, but it is to be regarded as a quality, for that is how the book of Proverbs treats it. But then we have in the New Testament that Christ is the wisdom of God, and the Spirit of God is here on those lines; and hence the wisdom that Stephen has, as we see here in verse 8. “Stephen, full of grace and power, wrought wonders and great signs among the people”.
CWA Is this consequent on his being full of the Holy Spirit?
JT Well, that is just what is said in verse 3,
“Look out therefore, brethren, from among yourselves seven men, well reported, of, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we will establish over this business”. “Full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom” is the point stressed.
PRP Have you something more in mind as to this matter of the Hellenists and the Hebrews, as being features amongst the saints? I mean it is not a worldly feature so much, but it is among the saints.
JT Just so, it is what had arisen amongst the saints. It is really the first attack, although Ananias and Sapphira came before, in chapter 5; but this is more specious, because it is a question of a sectional feeling; that is to say the Hellenists on the one hand, and the Hebrews on the other.
PRP I was wondering if you had something more in mind as to this, as to the judgment of the evil associations of men outside. We need to be careful that we do not allow anything of that character inside.
JT And, of course, it was not allowed, because in the first attack Ananias and Sapphira died, but it does not say that Peter slew them. He did not; it was a question of God intervening; that was the end of that attack. But now we have these Hellenists, or Greeks, and Hebrews. That is to say it is somewhat more national. Of course, that is the thing to watch. Then on the other hand we have the combination in verse 9, “there arose up certain of those of the synagogue called of freedmen, and of Cyrenians, and of Alexandrians, and of those of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen”. There we have a combination of men. Whatever they may have been, their names are given here, but they are not as those who were among the saints, such as Ananias and Sapphira were, because they were nominally Christians, but these [p. 52] are not.
ENJ Those beautiful conditions that we were looking at previously in the fourth chapter, when “the heart and soul of the multitude of those that had believed were one, and not one said that anything of what he possessed was his own, but all things were common to them”, Acts 4:32 were the conditions that the enemy sought to attack.
JT Quite so; it was really a continuation of what is seen in chapter 2, when the Spirit of God came in freshly.
RP The enemy is relentless, and his attack is against the testimony, either against Christ personally, or Christ in the saints.
JT Yes, and we need not expect any change in that. Indeed we can expect more, because it is getting near to the end of the dispensation.
JM Would this be an example of what we saw earlier, that they persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in breaking of bread and prayers?
JT Well, it is a continuation of it, showing that the work of God was still continuing, until it was hindered through what is mentioned, the feeling of the Hellenists against the Hebrews, because their widows were overlooked in the daily ministration. There may have been some error on the part of the Hebrews in the matter, but apparently it was overcome.
WB It says, “Look out therefore, brethren, from among yourselves”. Does the solution lie with ourselves; love would find the answer to the difficulty?
JT It is a question of love among ourselves; that is the point. The Lord said, “By this shall all know that ye are disciples of mine, if ye have love amongst yourselves”, (John 13:35). It is a question of what is amongst ourselves.
JAA It is a good thing for us to take account of [p. 53] spiritual brethren among us, and seek wisdom from those going on with what is spiritual?
JT Quite so. Then you see the happy outlook and feeling in the third verse. “Look out therefore, brethren, from among yourselves seven men, well reported of, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we will establish over this business”. That is to say the apostles have authority to say, “we will establish”. That is a point to be before us, the idea of the establishment of what is right in the business to be attended to, whatever is to be looked after, there are those ready to do it; and that is what the apostles have in mind here, that these seven men should be full of the Holy Spirit, and thus qualified to take on this business, as it is called.
RP There is no succession of the apostles today, but if there is service to be rendered, the power lies in the Holy Spirit.
JT Exactly, and then in the saints themselves. The Spirit being here, the saints are indwelt by the Spirit as they were then, but we have not such an exhibition of power as there was then. Still the Spirit is here, and the saints are here, and God is here.
PAH There would not be any difficulty in relation to the selection of these seven men. The multitude of the disciples would select them, and as love would be there, there would not be any element of rivalry in the selection, would there?
JT Although it has been remarked recently as to the large number of brethren in Australia, especially in Sydney and Melbourne, yet there are nothing like the numbers they had here. They began with three thousand, and then we have in chapter 4, five thousand, and then further a greater number than that; so we are now in this scripture in the presence of a great number of persons, perhaps five to ten thousand, and therefore there was a greater problem than even our brethren have in Sydney or Melbourne [p. 54] or London. We may as well accept that, that we are in a day of small things.
JP Would you say that there are always those among the saints whom God would use to help in regard to every difficult question that may arise?
JT Well, God is determined that there should be no chaotic condition as there was at the beginning of the creation. There was a state of chaos which God had to face, according to Genesis 1, but now we are in the presence of the Spirit of God come down, and a large number being converted by Him, and we can see that God would be determined to maintain order. So we have these seven men; the number is to be noted; it links on with the Old Testament. As to our brethren in care meetings and the like, it is not a question of the number seven, but it is a question of spiritual power; that is the point.
JP So that the apostles did not leave their work, but others are brought in. The apostles carry on with prayer and ministry.
JT Quite so, things are set in order, and persons are to be known; we are to know each other, and when a crisis arises, we know who is fit to face the matter, where love is operating.
JAA Is that why these men are named? Each one is named definitely as known, and able to take things up in faithfulness.
JT Just so. It suggests to us that we should know each other, and I believe it is quite right for each of us to have a judgment of the others; not to be critical, but at the same time to have a clear judgment of who there is amongst us, who is likely to be helpful.
ENJ And it is a good service to know how to bring such forward. There is something to be done, and things are not revolving round one, or two, or three.
JT Quite so. It has been suggested that [p. 55] in certain places persons are named who are to be in the lead. Well, it is a question of what each local company may have, because the idea of local companies is indicated in the first epistle to the Corinthians. That is to say, “the assembly of God which is in Corinth”, 1 Corinthians 1:2 and “with all that in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours”, so that we have to know each other. In Corinth, or in whatever other place it may be, we have to know the persons, and when a crisis arises we know who is who, and who can do things that may be required. So we do not appoint leaders formally now to lead the brethren. It is a question of what each brother has, and the Spirit of God being always here ready to help whatever is of God.
RP A principle is to be seen in bringing them before the apostles.
JT Just so, that is the point we get here; they apparently knew each other, because it says, “Look out therefore, brethren, from among yourselves seven men, well reported of, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we will establish over this business: but we will give ourselves up to prayer and the ministry of the word”. And then it says, “The saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen”, and so on. We have the seven men named, and Stephen is put forward at once as having peculiar qualities for the crisis to be met.
CMcC Is that why Stephen is attacked in a special way, as one specially approved of God?
JT Well, the devil is in verse 9, whereas God was in the earlier verses, and Stephen is put forward because he is specially qualified.
RGW Do we get the superiority of our resources, and the poverty of the enemy’s resources here?
JT How beautiful! The Spirit of God brings out what Stephen was, and how it justifies the saying in 1 Timothy 3:13, as to deacons. It says, verse 10,
“[p. 56] they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke”; and then it is said, “They set false witnesses, saying, This man does not cease speaking words against the holy place and the law; for we have heard him saying, This Jesus the Nazaraean shall destroy this place, and change the customs which Moses taught us. And all who sat in the council, looking fixedly on him, saw his face as the face of an angel”. What a wonderful testimony is immediately brought in, corroborating what we have had elsewhere — the place that angels have in this dispensation. Why do we not count on them more? This man has a face like an angel.
ENJ What would you say as to that; what is the outstanding feature of the face of an angel?
JT Well, I would say it was heavenly.
ENJ The Lord says that in heaven angels always behold the face of His Father.
JT There the angels behold His face as representative of the children, showing that the idea of the angels’ service is representative. This matter of children is very important. Children are so signalised that their angels behold the face of the Father. It is a question of angelic representation.
PAH So that Stephen really stands in that place here, as representative of heaven.
JT Well, I would think that. It is very remarkable that he should come in so soon, and then that he should be honoured so quickly. He had great ability to bring out the truth, not simply to do deacon’s work, but to bring out the whole truth from the outset to the end. And how he dies! Such a testimony to the Spirit of Christ!
JMcN Is this stated to encourage us to avail ourselves of the same power of the Holy Spirit in order to stand in the broken day in which we live in the same power as Stephen did?
JT Well, I think so. It is a question of what [p. 57] God has raised up. Of course, the Holy Spirit is not raised up; He has come down from heaven, sent down in fact, and always here; He remains here till the end of the dispensation. But then there are men too, whom God has raised up and sent out, and they are to be models for us. So we have a great cloud of witnesses according to Hebrews 12. They are all around us, as it were, persons who have been faithful to the truth from the very outset, and it is for us to notice what they have done, because we are now occupying the ground; they are not here, but we are, and it is a question of taking up the position and serving in it faithfully as they did.
DHB In verse 5 it says also that Stephen was full of faith. Would that help us?
JT Showing that he was a real man in the sense of personal faith in God, because if we have not faith we are nothing.
RP Is that why it refers in the great preaching in the next chapter to the family of faith?
JT Quite so; it may be profitable to compare that with what the writer to the Hebrews says in chapter 11.
CMcC Is there something to learn from the fact that Stephen’s testimony is irresistible before worldly men? It was worldly men who saw his face as the face of an angel. They had to take account of that.
JT Just so. It was all who sat in the council who are specially noted; not the Lord’s people, not Christians, but those who were in the council in Jerusalem.
ENJ Would this all help us, in view of the fact that some may be called on before long to testify in the presence of worldly men, as to how we feel about this question of associations? One was thinking of formation with Stephen, and unless there is formation with us the testimony will be weak.
JT I do not know of anything more profitable [p. 58] for us as to this point that we are now looking at than the war of 1914 - 1918. How the so-called non-combatants were treated, and how they suffered, and how patient they were in simply saying that they could not take human life; I think they were models. And then in the next war, 1939 - 1945, both in Great Britain, here, and America, the same thing came to light, only the authorities were more lenient and more respectful, seeing that there was something in the Christians; that is to say, those who say they cannot take human life. They cannot become the instruments of taking human life, and God is honouring that.
RP In a crisis of the testimony, do we want to understand where we are and where the assembly is in its history? Paul wrote to the Thessalonians that they were not to be soon shaken in mind, and referred to a day of evil yet to come. Are we to understand the evil that is present in the passage of the testimony?
JT It is a question therefore of beginning with what we have here, that is the book of Acts, and then our own times, or the last one hundred and fifty years, or thereabouts: what God has been doing, and that one after another has been here to witness in the service of Christ, and they have been taken to be with the Lord; and now we are here, and it is a question of what we are doing, and whether we are taking example from those who have gone before. Hence in the book of Hebrews we have again an exhortation to remember our leaders, and then to obey our leaders; this would mean that those whom God is using and putting forward amongst us are to be models for the others, and as such they are to be considered. They are to be followed, as it were, so that we may have a continuance of ability in the testimony that is needed for the teaching of the saints.
ENJ I think you inferred earlier that Stephen [p. 59] would, be a sample of a Christian. Would, this indictment have any part in present testimony?
JT Well, it is a remarkable thing. I think it is one of the most remarkable portions of Scripture we have; it is Stephen’s testimony running right through chapter 7. He addresses them there: “Brethren and fathers, hearken. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, and said to him, Go out of thy land and out of thy kindred, and come into the land which I will shew thee”, Acts 7:2,3 and so forth, and he continues down until we come to the verses we read, where he says, “But the Most High dwells not in places made with hands; as says the prophet, The heaven is my throne and the earth the footstool of my feet: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord, or where is the place of my rest? has not my hand made all these things?” Acts 7:48 - 50 And then the terrible indictment in the words, “O stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers, ye also”, and so forth. So that we have here a perfect testimony on God’s part, and an indictment, too, of the Jews, as to the way they had murdered Christ. It is just an indictment by the actual facts of the history of the testimony from the beginning to the end, up to that time.
ENJ Would one able to speak clearly of the great events of the last one hundred and fifty years be a parallel to what Stephen had to say?
JT Very good, because God raised up remarkable men during those years, some of them within our own times, serving the Lord, and God helping them; and it is for us now, the younger men of us, to use what was in them and to follow their example.
RP The life of Stephen, possible a comparatively young man, was remarkable, was it not?
JT It is remarkable what a short time Stephen [p. 60] had, and how much entered into it. It is marvellous that so much should enter into one man’s testimony.
JP He begins right from the very beginning with Abraham. He covers the whole of the testimony from Abraham to the time then present.
JT Just so. Our attention is called to what God is, and what His testimony is, that it is one testimony.
JP And he follows the truth of the Scriptures all the way through.
JM Would verse 55 suggest that the position seen in Stephen corresponds with heaven? It says, “But being full of the Holy Spirit, having fixed his eyes on heaven, he saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God”.
JT Showing that Jesus had gone the whole way, the faithful and true Witness. That is really what is in mind.
JM And does it mean that the same thought is continued now in Stephen? He holds the position on earth corresponding with what was seen in heaven.
JT Paul calls him “thy martyr Stephen”, Acts 22:20. Stephen is honoured thus by Paul himself.
CP Stephen charges them with being uncircumcised in heart and ears. Would that indicate that Stephen himself was in correspondence with the death of Christ?
JT Circumcised in the spiritual meaning of it. Would you enlarge on that, as to what is in your mind?
CP Stephen in charging them with being uncircumcised was one that had thoroughly judged himself before God, and hence was full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.
JT Quite so; hence the word of Paul, “we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God,
[p. 61] and boast in Christ Jesus, and do not trust in flesh”, (Philippians 3:3). Such was Stephen.
WB Do these “freedmen” that are spoken of represent an element which is abroad in the world today, which would seek to be vehement in their judgment of what is of God?
JT I think we have already alluded to what we are dealing with here in Australia, and we do not want to be personal at all, but this character of men is seen all round us, and we have them named here in the chapter we read. In verse 9 it was a question of the synagogue. The Lord uses the word synagogue too, in the book of Revelation, and He calls it the synagogue of Satan. I do not think we should call these men the synagogue of Satan, but it is remarkable the similarity between this and what we have in the book of Revelation named by the Lord. So it says “there arose up certain of those of the synagogue called of freedmen, and of Cyrenians, and of Alexandrians, and of those of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen”. They are banded together and the names indicate whence they come, and they are disputing with Stephen, who is God’s witness. Stephen is in the front now; the apostles are not so much in evidence; it is a question of Stephen, whom God puts forward in His testimony.
AM Why do you think Peter’s testimony is so different to Stephen’s? He says, “I know that ye did it in ignorance, as also your rulers” (Acts 3:17), whereas here Stephen is most definite and severe in his indictment of them.
JT It is just a question of where the Jews were. Whether they are treated as murderers, or whether they are treated as innocent, doing a thing ignorantly and in unbelief; and I believe the point is that this chapter is now indicting the Jews for their wickedness in murdering Christ, whereas in the third chapter they are viewed as having done the thing ignorantly [p. 62] and in unbelief. The idea of the city of refuge is opened up in the third chapter, but not so in this chapter. There is no refuge for the Jews now; they are exposed.
AM Do you think we should be able to discern the change in the attitude of men? The apostasy coming in fast, our attitude is to be different from what it might have been in earlier days?
JT I would think so. Take the Reformation; I should not think that the Spirit of God would specially stress the apostasy at the time of the Reformation, because it was a peculiar time. God was opening up things and was favourable to men notwithstanding the history of Christendom, but now we have come to another time and things have changed. Wickedness and bad doctrine of every description are current and openly avowed, so that the time has come for God to bring forward the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is a very late part of the Scripture, and it is intended to be a weapon for the ministry as to current conditions and the judgment that is coming, so that men might fear, and that the saints who are now walking in the truth might be confirmed. The wickedness that is to be dealt with presently, as the book of Revelation shows, is awful, so that the beast and the false prophet, who represent moral wickedness, are cast alive into the lake of fire. It is all to bring home to us at the present time what wickedness there is, and how God is going to deal with it.
JAA Why does Stephen refer to the Lord as the Son of man, in verse 56? “I behold the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God”.
JT I think because he is moving away from the Jews. It is a question now of men, not the Jews especially. When the preaching began, it was the Jews first, but it is not that now. I think that is [p. 63] what is meant; the Lord has taken the place of the Son of man.
JAA While Stephen is in power in relation to the judgment of God, is he still manifesting the dispensation of grace? He was full of grace and power, the Spirit of God says. In relation to the Son of man, grace is still coming out to others; so Stephen maintains the dispensation.
JT Yes, I think it is important to see that the attitude of the Spirit of God has changed here; that is to say, the Jews are no longer in mind as at first. It is a question of the Son of man standing at the right hand of God, having in view the whole of humanity, instead of the Jews, so Paul agreed with that in saying later, “We turn to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46)”. The time had come for that in the closing chapters of the book of Acts.
Ques Is it a question of God’s rights here? Stephen saw the Son of man standing. The standing is significant.
JT Mark says that the Lord Jesus “sat at the right hand of God Mark 16:19”. That is a feature of permanency; He has taken up a position at the right hand of God, sitting there, He has title to that. But here He is standing. The Lord is ready to take that attitude, to stand at the right hand of God, ready to serve the gentiles. And we have come into it. We have come into this gracious attitude of the Lord standing at the right hand of God.
JM Is there something akin in Revelation when He says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock”? Revelation 3:20 Quite so. The Lord is ready to come in, if anyone opens to Him, but you do not get that thought here. It is the general position of mankind here, and the Son of man ready to act because He is the Son of man. It is a question of His relations with men. “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”, 1 Timothy 2:5. That [p. 64] is the position. The Jews have no longer a claim to God. He has now turned to the gentiles, and we are in that, so we ought to glory in it. The epistle to the Romans shows that the gentiles’ time will come too, when they will be dealt with, and so the writer, in chapter 11, urges the gentiles to fear, lest the judgment come upon them. God is going to return to the Jews, although He has abandoned them at present, but He will return to His ancient people because of the fathers. He loves them for the fathers’ sakes, and will return to them, but He is not doing it yet.
ENJ In verse 57 it says, “And they cried out with a loud voice, and held their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord”. Is that condition developing rapidly now in Christendom?
JT It seems so. How the servants of God are being threatened!
ENJ Holding their ears would indicate that they did not want to hear the testimony.
JT Then the solemn thing is that our own apostle Paul is seen keeping the clothes of those who stoned Stephen. A most solemn thing! But he was converted nevertheless, so that he says he was shown mercy “for a delineation of those about to believe on him to life eternal”, (1 Timothy 1:16).