The Acts of the Apostles
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 9: The Seven Deacons
This chapter is based on Acts 6:1-7.
"In those days, when the number of the disciples was
multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews,
because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration." {AA 87.1}
The early church was made up of many classes of people, of
various nationalities. At the time of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at
Pentecost, "there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of
every nation under heaven." Acts 2:5. Among those of the Hebrew faith who
were gathered at Jerusalem were some commonly known as Grecians, between whom
and the Jews of Palestine there had long existed distrust and even antagonism. {AA 87.2}
The hearts of those who had been converted under the labors
of the apostles, were softened and united by Christian love. Despite former
prejudices, all were in harmony with one another. Satan knew that so long as
this union continued [88] to exist, he would be powerless
to check the progress of gospel truth; and he sought to take advantage of
former habits of thought, in the hope that thereby he might be able to
introduce into the church elements of disunion. {AA 87.3}
Thus it came to pass that as disciples were multiplied, the
enemy succeeded in arousing the suspicions of some who had formerly been in the
habit of looking with jealousy on their brethren in the faith and of finding
fault with their spiritual leaders, and so "there arose a murmuring of the
Grecians against the Hebrews." The cause of complaint was an alleged
neglect of the Greek widows in the daily distribution of assistance. Any
inequality would have been contrary to the spirit of the gospel, yet Satan had
succeeded in arousing suspicion. Prompt measures must now be taken to remove
all occasion for dissatisfaction, lest the enemy triumph in his effort to bring
about a division among the believers. {AA 88.1}
The disciples of Jesus had reached a crisis in their
experience. Under the wise leadership of the apostles, who labored unitedly in
the power of the Holy Spirit, the work committed to the gospel messengers was
developing rapidly. The church was continually enlarging, and this growth in
membership brought increasingly heavy burdens upon those in charge. No one man,
or even one set of men, could continue to bear these burdens alone, without
imperiling the future prosperity of the church. There was necessity for a
further distribution of the responsibilities which had been borne so faithfully
by a few during the earlier days of the church. The apostles must now take an
important step in [89]
the perfecting of gospel order in the church by laying upon others some of the
burdens thus far borne by themselves. {AA 88.2}
Summoning a meeting of the believers, the apostles were led
by the Holy Spirit to outline a plan for the better organization of all the
working forces of the church. The time had come, the apostles stated, when the
spiritual leaders having the oversight of the church should be relieved from
the task of distributing to the poor and from similar burdens, so that they
might be free to carry forward the work of preaching the gospel.
"Wherefore, brethren," they said, "look ye out among you seven
men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint
over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to
the ministry of the word." This advice was followed, and by prayer and the
laying on of hands, seven chosen men were solemnly set apart for their duties
as deacons. {AA 89.1}
The appointment of the seven to take the oversight of
special lines of work, proved a great blessing to the church. These officers
gave careful consideration to individual needs as well as to the general
financial interests of the church, and by their prudent management and their
godly example they were an important aid to their fellow officers in binding
together the various interests of the church into a united whole. {AA 89.2}
That this step was in the order of God, is revealed in the
immediate results for good that were seen. "The word of God increased; and
the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great
company of the priests [90] were obedient to the faith."
This ingathering of souls was due both to the greater freedom secured by the
apostles and to the zeal and power shown by the seven deacons. The fact that
these brethren had been ordained for the special work of looking after the
needs of the poor, did not exclude them from teaching the faith. On the
contrary, they were fully qualified to instruct others in the truth, and they
engaged in the work with great earnestness and success. {AA 89.3}
To the early church had been entrusted a constantly
enlarging work—that of establishing centers of light and blessing
wherever there were honest souls willing to give themselves to the service of
Christ. The proclamation of the gospel was to be world-wide in its extent, and
the messengers of the cross could not hope to fulfill their important mission
unless they should remain united in the bonds of Christian unity, and thus
reveal to the world that they were one with Christ in God. Had not their divine
Leader prayed to the Father, "Keep through Thine own name those whom Thou
hast given Me, that they may be one, as We are"? And had He not declared
of His disciples, "The world hath hated them, because they are not of the
world"? Had He not pleaded with the Father that they might be "made
perfect in one," "that the world may believe that Thou hast sent
Me"? John 17:11, 14, 23, 21. Their spiritual life and power was dependent
on a close connection with the One by whom they had been commissioned to preach
the gospel. {AA 90.1}
Only as they were united with Christ could the disciples
hope to have the accompanying power of the Holy Spirit and [91] the
co-operation of angels of heaven. With the help of these divine agencies they
would present before the world a united front and would be victorious in the
conflict they were compelled to wage unceasingly against the powers of
darkness. As they should continue to labor unitedly, heavenly messengers would
go before them, opening the way; hearts would be prepared for the reception of
truth, and many would be won to Christ. So long as they remained united, the
church would go forth "fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as
an army with banners." Song of Solomon 6:10. Nothing could withstand her
onward progress. The church would advance from victory to victory, gloriously
fulfilling her divine mission of proclaiming the gospel to the world. {AA 90.2}
The organization of the church at Jerusalem was to serve as
a model for the organization of churches in every other place where messengers
of truth should win converts to the gospel. Those to whom was given the
responsibility of the general oversight of the church were not to lord it over
God's heritage, but, as wise shepherds, were to "feed the flock of God,
. . . being ensamples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:2, 3); and the
deacons were to be "men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and
wisdom." These men were to take their position unitedly on the side of
right and to maintain it with firmness and decision. Thus they would have a
uniting influence upon the entire flock. {AA 91.1}
Later in the history of the early church, when in various
parts of the world many groups of believers had been formed into churches, the
organization of the church was further [92]
perfected, so that order and harmonious action might be maintained. Every
member was exhorted to act well his part. Each was to make a wise use of the
talents entrusted to him. Some were endowed by the Holy Spirit with special
gifts—"first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers,
after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of
tongues." 1 Corinthians 12:28. But all these classes of workers were to
labor in harmony. {AA 91.2}
"There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are
diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But
the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to
one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge
by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts
of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another
prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues;
to another the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one and
the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will. For as the body
is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being
many, are one body: so also is Christ." 1 Corinthians 12:4-12. {AA 92.1}
Solemn are the responsibilities resting upon those who are
called to act as leaders in the church of God on earth. In the days of the
theocracy, when Moses was endeavoring to carry alone burdens so heavy that he
would soon have [93] worn away under them, he was
counseled by Jethro to plan for a wise distribution of responsibilities.
"Be thou for the people to Godward," Jethro advised, "that thou
mayest bring the causes unto God: and thou shalt teach them ordinances and
laws, and shalt show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that
they must do." Jethro further advised that men be appointed to act as
"rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and
rulers of tens." These were to be "able men, such as fear God, men of
truth, hating covetousness." They were to "judge the people at all
seasons," thus relieving Moses of the wearing responsibility of giving
consideration to many minor matters that could be dealt with wisely by
consecrated helpers. {AA
92.2}
The time and strength of those who in the providence of God
have been placed in leading positions of responsibility in the church, should
be spent in dealing with the weightier matters demanding special wisdom and
largeness of heart. It is not in the order of God that such men should be
appealed to for the adjustment of minor matters that others are well qualified
to handle. "Every great matter they shall bring unto thee," Jethro
proposed to Moses, "but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it
be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt
do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and
all this people shall also go to their place in peace." {AA 93.1}
In harmony with this plan, "Moses chose able men out of
all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of
hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers [94] of
tens. And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought
unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves." Exodus
18:19-26. {AA 93.2}
Later, when choosing seventy elders to share with him the
responsibilities of leadership, Moses was careful to select, as his helpers,
men possessing dignity, sound judgment, and experience. In his charge to these
elders at the time of their ordination, he outlined some of the qualifications
that fit a man to be a wise ruler in the church. "Hear the causes between
your brethren," said Moses, "and judge righteously between every man
and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. Ye shall not respect
persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall
not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's." Deuteronomy
1:16, 17. {AA 94.1}
King David, toward the close of his reign, delivered a
solemn charge to those bearing the burden of the work of God in his day.
Summoning to Jerusalem "all the princes of Israel, the princes of the
tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by
course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds,
and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his
sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant
men," the aged king solemnly charged them, "in the sight of all
Israel the congregation of the Lord, and in the audience of our God," to
"keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord your God." 1
Chronicles 28:1, 8. [95] {AA 94.2}
To Solomon, as one called to occupy a position of leading
responsibility, David gave a special charge: "Thou, Solomon my son, know
thou the God of thy father, and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a
willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the
imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek Him, He will be found of thee; but
if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off forever. Take heed now; for the Lord
hath chosen thee: . . . be strong." 1 Chronicles 28:9, 10. {AA 95.1}
The same principles of piety and justice that were to guide
the rulers among God's people in the time of Moses and of David, were also to
be followed by those given the oversight of the newly organized church of God
in the gospel dispensation. In the work of setting things in order in all the
churches, and ordaining suitable men to act as officers, the apostles held to
the high standards of leadership outlined in the Old Testament Scriptures. They
maintained that he who is called to stand in a position of leading
responsibility in the church "must be blameless, as the steward of God;
not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to
filthy lucre; but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just,
holy, temperate; holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he
may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the
gainsayers." Titus 1:7-9. {AA 95.2}
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The order that was maintained in the early Christian church
made it possible for them to move forward solidly as a well-disciplined army
clad with the armor of God. The [96] companies of believers, though
scattered over a large territory, were all members of one body; all moved in
concert and in harmony with one another. When dissension arose in a local
church, as later it did arise in Antioch and elsewhere, and the believers were
unable to come to an agreement among themselves, such matters were not
permitted to create a division in the church, but were referred to a general
council of the entire body of believers, made up of appointed delegates from
the various local churches, with the apostles and elders in positions of
leading responsibility. Thus the efforts of Satan to attack the church in
isolated places were met by concerted action on the part of all, and the plans
of the enemy to disrupt and destroy were thwarted. {AA 95.3}
"God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as
in all churches of the saints." 1 Corinthians 14:33. He requires that
order and system be observed in the conduct of church affairs today no less
than in the days of old. He desires His work to be carried forward with
thoroughness and exactness so that He may place upon it the seal of His
approval. Christian is to be united with Christian, church with church, the
human instrumentality co-operating with the divine, every agency subordinate to
the Holy Spirit, and all combined in giving to the world the good tidings of
the grace of God. {AA
96.1}
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"The First Christian Martyr"
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