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    Adult Enlightener: Third Quarter 2018
    Adult Enlightener: Third Quarter 2018
    Adult Enlightener: Third Quarter 2018
    Ebook103 pages1 hour

    Adult Enlightener: Third Quarter 2018

    By R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation

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    About this ebook

    The Contemporary Training for the Church (CTC) is a church ministry of training. The discipline of the Contemporary Training for the Church guides train church membership in the distinctive beliefs held by Christians. This ministry is designed as an essential part of the total educational program of the church.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherR.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
    Release dateApr 23, 2018
    ISBN9781681673967
    Adult Enlightener: Third Quarter 2018

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      Book preview

      Adult Enlightener - R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation

      LESSON 1

      LEARNING SESSION

      One person who publicly defended the truth was a man named Stephen. He exhibited the boldness to speak out against vicious opposition. In the face of death, he did not cease to express his conviction regarding the truth about God and God’s dealings with the people of Israel. As one of the seven Hellenist Jews chosen in Acts 6:5 to oversee food distribution, Stephen was the ultimate example, often used in Baptist churches, to demonstrate the kind of character that defines a deacon. His character was described in Acts as being influenced by, if not totally subjected to, the Holy Spirit (see Acts 6:3). More than just distributing food for the community, Stephen and the other chosen six were selected by the community to ensure that the unity within the community was preserved.

      Selected Scriptures:

      Acts 6:8–7:2

      KEY VERSE: And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. (Acts 6:8, KJV)

      BIBLICAL TEACHING EMPHASES:

        I. Stephen’s Faith

       II. Stephen’s Opposition

      III. Stephen’s Courage to Speak

      RESOURCES:

      The Holy Bible, God’s Promises Edition. (Nashville: Boyd Publications, 1998.)

      I. STEPHEN’S FAITH

      Stephen was already described by Luke (the likely writer of Acts) as a man full of the Spirit and wisdom (v. 3, NIV). Now, in verse eight, the author portrayed him as a type of prophet. He was said to be full of God’s grace and power, [and he] performed great wonders and signs among the people (v. 8, NIV). Such a description of Stephen, along with the events that will follow in chapters six and seven, has led many scholars to parallel him with his Master, Jesus Christ. Stephen’s actions and witness follow that of the apostles as they continue to mirror the ministry of Jesus.

      II. STEPHEN’S OPPOSITION

      Unfortunately, Stephen’s actions and strong witness of Jesus Christ intensified the already existing tension throughout Jerusalem, especially among the Jewish religious leaders. The author described the opposition from a group of religious members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (v. 9, NIV). According to Paul Walaskay, these Jewish members were either former slaves set free by their masters or descendants of Jews taken captive by Pompey but later released (Acts [Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998], 71). In the tenth volume of the New Interpreter’s Bible, author Robert Wall writes, A few of these ‘freedmen’ became Roman citizens with influence in the political arena related to Judaism. Apparently a substantial number had settled in Jerusalem out of a sense of religious devotion and had founded a local chapter, or ‘synagogue,’ of this religious movement (The Book of Acts [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002], 121). The author noted these freemen were comprised of Cyrenaeans and Alexandrians and those from Cilicia and Asia. Walaskay suggests the Apostle Paul (at this time called Saul) may have attended this synagogue because Tarsus (Saul’s birthplace) was the principal city of Cilicia (Walaskay, 92; see also Acts 23:34). Saul’s presence at Stephen’s stoning in Acts 7:58 may be evidence that he was in fact a member of this particular place of worship. In other words, Stephen’s opponents are likely fellow Hellenistic Jews from the diaspora (Walaskay, 71).

      In the Synagogue of the Freedmen, the Jewish members found Stephen’s teaching (whatever that entailed) to be offensive, causing them to openly disagree with him. Yet they could not debate with Stephen because they could not stand up against the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke (v. 10, NRSV). Here we see Luke parallel the wisdom of Jesus to the wisdom spoken by Stephen. As Stephen’s account continues, Luke will continue to mirror Stephen’s trial with the trial Jesus endured before His death.

      ACTIVITY

      MAKING IT RELEVANT:

      Acts 6:8 tells us Stephen did signs and wonders. What does this mean?

      The next course of action by these Hellenistic Jews was to stir up the elders and the teachers of the Law by spreading the conspiracy that Stephen’s words of blasphemy against Moses should be understood to be a charge of blasphemy against the Law. Speaking in opposition to the Law was not illegal as the allegation of blasphemy against God was; however, any Jewish person would not likely win friends if he or she spoke out against the Torah or the one who handed it down.

      The slanderous allegation against Stephen ultimately enraged the Jewish masses. As a result, Stephen was apprehended and brought before the Sanhedrin—the group that had already flogged Peter and the other apostles for teaching in the temple courts after miraculously leaving jail (see Acts 5:17–42). Yet in that episode, the negative reaction against the apostles was initiated and completed by the religious leaders, who rose up against God’s messenger. For Luke, Stephen is a prophet-like-Jesus whose vocation is to bring the Word of God to Israel but whose destiny is rejection and death (Wall, 122).

      Standing in front of the tribunal, consisting of the whole body of the elders of Israel, Stephen heard witnesses falsely testify against him. These witnesses claimed Stephen talked endlessly about how Jesus of Nazareth would destroy the temple and change the customs Moses handed down to [them] (v. 14, NIV). The Jewish opponents saw Stephen as a radical critic and a threat. Jesus was seen in the same manner, especially in light of His actions and comments regarding the temple (see John 2:12–19; Mark 13:2). However, Stephen was not disloyal to Moses or the temple because he used both as principal figures in his defense.

      Despite the false accusations against Stephen, Luke concluded this scene with a description of Stephen’s face: his face was like the face of an angel (v. 15, NRSV). Even in a room full of pious men, renowned for their adherence to God’s Law, Stephen reflected God’s glory much like Moses’ face after standing in His holy presence (see Exod. 34:29, 35).

      III. STEPHEN’S COURAGE TO SPEAK

      Chapter seven picks up where the previous

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