And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
– Acts 6:5, 8
“And what they said pleased the whole gathering and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.” It lists some other guys and then you get down to verse 8. It says, “And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.” Here you’ve got Stephen and he’s described in these words. “He’s a man full of faith, he’s full of the Holy Spirit. He’s full of grace and he’s full of power.” Now that’s a great description. I want to be described in those ways by God’s grace. A man full of faith, believes God, trusts God, takes God at his word which is obviously evident as you get into the rest of the story here in chapter six and chapter seven as the word just flows from him.
The Impact of Stephen in Acts 6
I’ll never forget one of the men who has had the most impact on my life just using Stephen to encourage me one day. He said, “David, you see men who are used mightily of God in scripture and in history and the word just flowed from them so be that kind of man, full of faith.” The word just flowing from them. So, full of faith, full of the Holy Spirit. That was the commentary on his life. The Spirit-filled him. It was evident and it’s evident here at the end of chapter six. Everybody’s gazing at him in verse 15. “Sat in the council, saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” He was just walking full of the Holy Spirit. So full of faith, full of Holy Spirit, full of grace.
We should want to be described like Stephen––full of the Spirit, faith, grace, and power.
Acts 6 is Full of Grace and Goodness
Oh, what a great commentary, description, to be full of grace, God’s grace, God’s unmerited goodness toward me, just flowing through me. Like evident in me, like I am who I am because of your grace alone and then I’m a reflection of your grace to other people around me. And then, full of power. There was a boldness here and the beauty is that a lot of the grace and faith in the Holy Spirit, it’s not an abrasive power, it’s a humble power. There’s a contrite, humble power, this contrite kind of courage that we see in Stephen that enables him to do that which he could not do in his own power but he’s full of God’s power so he’s doing what is far beyond what he could do on his own.
May this be true of me and these descriptions be true of you. Let us be full of faith today. May we live full of faith in God, trusting God, leaning on God, full of the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit just leading, guiding, directing everything we do. Help us to stay in tune with your Spirit, O God, all day long. Full of grace. Just your unmerited goodness pouring out over our lives and then be reflected through our lives and then power.
A Simple and Powerful Prayer
So God, may it be so we pray. I pray for myself and for others who are listening, Lord, help us to be these things by your grace in us, by the power of Christ at work in us. Help us to live today full of faith. Just believing you and trusting you all day long, full of your Spirit.
Please lead and guide and direct us by your Spirit. Help us to be full of grace, receiving grace. We need your grace every moment today. In everything we do we need your grace and then showing your grace. Help us to be not just reservoirs of grace but reflectors of grace to those around us and power. Lord, give us boldness as witnesses today to the Gospel. Give us boldness and courage. Give us a humble courage, to do all that you call us to do today in obedience to you. May we be men and women full of faith in the Holy Spirit, grace and power. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
