Act Six

The Organized Church (v.3)

The New Testament Church is an organized church. Paul wrote in another place “Let all things be done decently and in order.” Disorder is a good sign that God is not in something. Just look at a snowflake. What do you see? You see order; you see a pattern. God has a pattern for the church as well.

“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.” Whatever this means, it means that some are involved in certain aspects of the work and others to another. As with the order of authority in a home or marriage, it is not a case of the man being more important than his partner. Just as Christ being the Second Person of the Trinity does not make Him any less than God. There must be order. There is Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring. There is Sunday and then Monday.

Whatever the government in your local autonomous assembly of believers, hopefully there are some recognized and assigned to care for the tables, the widows, and the parking lot and there are some who are giving themselves (continually) to prayer and the ministry of the word.

In the context of the experience of the Jerusalem church, it should be pointed out that nothing should get in the way of prayer and the ministry of the word and yet nothing should be neglected.

What title you give to Stephen or Philip may depend on the tradition you have been taught, but it should be pointed out that the Bible calls the “honest,” “full of the Holy Ghost,” and “wise.” Call them what you wish, but let those who follow in their footsteps be nothing less than they.