Confidence in Jesus’ Unstoppable Kingdom: 7 Days in ActsSýnishorn

Unstoppable despite stress in the church

Read Acts 6:1-7

Acts 6 starts with a big problem: a complaint about unfair treatment in the church. The practical help for widows—women without enough money to support themselves—isn’t working. The Christians from a Greek-Jewish background (Hellenistic Jews) complain that their widows are losing out compared to the Christians from a Hebrew-Jewish background (Hebraic Jews) (6:1). At a time when there was no government support for the poor, this was a huge issue. Treating different groups in the church equally, whatever their background, really matters for Christian unity.

We know this is serious because the apostles (the leaders of the church) get everyone together to discuss it (6:2). It would be so easy to get this wrong. The apostles could argue that who gets the right amount of food each day is just a minor issue—but that would leave them with a divided church. Or they could stop what they’re doing and focus on sorting this out—but that would mean that their essential job of being Jesus’ witnesses would stop.

Instead, the apostles have a different idea. They speak to the church and are clear about their key priority: boldly teaching and preaching about Jesus (the ministry of the Word) (6:2). But they don’t ignore the issue. They suggest letting seven wise, Spirit-filled Christians from among them make sure everyone is fairly treated (6:3-4).

It's a great plan. It protects the church’s unity by making sure that the poor are looked after fairly. And it protects the God-given mission of the apostles to spread the Word and pray. By 6:7, we can see how it’s working. The protection of the apostles’ priorities means that the Word of God keeps spreading and the number of Christians keeps growing. Even a large number of Jewish priests become Christians.

When people feel unfairly treated and church unity is under threat, it can be tempting to either ignore it or to focus all the church’s attention on it. The apostles in Acts do neither. In our churches, it means we can be confident to allow those set aside for the work of Bible teaching to keep the priority of the Word and prayer, whatever other pressures there are. And as that happens, Jesus’ kingdom keeps growing...