Full of the Sprit

How attractive is the father or mother of a newborn, glowing with joy over God's good gift. Just as attractive is Stephen, a man full of the Holy Spirit. We are drawn to him. What does a person "full of the Spirit" look like? By God's grace, can I be such a person?Effective Witness in Deed and in Word (6:8-10) Stephen engages in an effective witness by deed and word, not unlike the apostles (5:12, 42). The Spirit-fullness he knows includes grace and power, so that he is able to do great wonders and miraculous signs. Grace further defined by power is not simply a miracle-working ability (compare 3:12). It is a more comprehensive "gracing" that includes effective preaching (6:9-10; compare 14:26; 15:40; 20:32). As part of a larger "apostolic" circle that included Philip and Barnabas, Stephen does miracles as a token of salvation's advance first to Hellenistic Jews and then to other peoples (8:6; 14:3; 15:12).Should we expect more "Stephens" today? Though normally signs and wonders are the work of apostles and prophets at particular junctures of God's salvation history, Stephen's activity is witness to the fact that even "this restriction is not absolute" (Stott 1990:126). Let us pray to be full of the Spirit and let God's "gracing" do what it will.Stephen's witness in the Hellenistic Jewish synagogues draws opposition. In theological debate, however, Stephen bests all comers; no one has an answer for him (compare Lk 12:12; 21:15; Jn 16:8-11). Stephen has conquered their minds. But God has not chosen through this witness to also conquer his opponents' wills and lead them to repentance and conversion.Plot and Trial (6:11-14) Stephen's opponents resort to subterfuge. In private they prompt some to make the claim that they have heard Stephen speaking blasphemous things against Moses and God (also see vv. 13-14). In New Testament times blasphemy encompassed more than simply uttering the divine name (as in m. Sanhedrin 7:5); it was any slanderous or scurrilous word spoken against humankind or God or anything associated with his majesty and power (Lk 22:65; 23:39; compare 5:21; Num 15:30). The Hellenistic Jewish instigators and their agents arouse the elders and the teachers of the law and, for the first time, the people against the Christian witness (contrast Acts 2:47; 4:21; 5:13, 26). The opposition gathers such momentum that all rush on Stephen in a violent arrest (4:1; 19:29; compare Lk 8:29; Acts 27:15). - notes courtesy of Bible Gateway