And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people

"And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council. And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel... Then said the high priest, Are these things so?" (Acts 6:8-15; Acts 7:1). Stephen's answer to this question may be the most prolific sermon that we have recorded in the Bible, apart from some of the sermons of Jesus. He gave them a powerful summary of the history of Israel, beginning with the call of Abraham, and finished it with this very sharp rebuke of those who were questioning him about the faith: "Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things? Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it" (Acts 7:48-53).

Those who heard Stephen's magnificent sermon that day were probably enraptured by it until it got personal. But because their rejection of God's Son was personal with God, it was inevitable that it would get personal. And because Stephen was the messenger of this very personal and scathing rebuke from God, this was the result: "When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep" (Acts 7:54-60). You may note that with all of his harshly reproving words that he spoke to these people, and as angry as he had made them; it wasn't until he confessed to seeing Jesus standing at God's right hand that they cast him out of the city and stoned him to death. He had already labeled them as the murderers of Jesus, and so they certainly confirmed that they hated Jesus by killing Stephen at the mention of his name. But I want to take a sobering look at what Stephen said in his sermon that set things in motion for him to become the first martyr of the faith of Christ. It was what he said just before the sermon turned into a very hard rebuke of those he was preaching to, and answering to: "Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?"

This quote from Isaiah 66 was really the beginning of the rebuke, because it was the things mentioned in that passage that these haters of Jesus Christ were cleaving to for their righteousness, rather than trusting in the death and resurrection of God's Son for their righteousness. It was the temple, and in fact everything else that was a physical, symbolic representation of what Jesus came to fulfill, that these people chose to stay with instead of finding the true, fulfilling righteousness of God in Christ. Stephen made it very clear that God does not dwell in anything that involves the work of men's hands, and they did not take well to that at all. The reason is simple, and the apostle Paul told us exactly what that reason is: "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (Rom. 10:1-4). Since Christ died to pay the penalty for the sins of all men, and rose again to be the mediator and high priest of the new covenant; faith in him alone is the only way to righteousness that exists. As the passage says, Christ marks the end of all of the ceremonial law that Israel was required to keep, and indeed has fulfilled it all in himself. That clearly means that everything that was under the old covenant, that was a physical, symbolic form of something Christ would fulfill after a spiritual order, has nothing whatsoever to do with righteousness, and in fact is no longer in effect. As long as something that can be done or accomplished by man is regarded by God's people as pertaining to righteousness, then we are still trusting in our own works for our righteousness, at least to some degree. Paul described the righteousness that is of God, that Christ both died and rose to provide for us: "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference... Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" (Rom. 3:21,22,27,28).

The same Paul took it a step further to show exactly how God's righteousness is fulfilled 'in us' when we have true faith in Jesus: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom. 8:1-4). So if we receive God's Spirit as the result of having faith in what Jesus has done for us, we are freed from the sinful nature, and have the capacity to "walk after the Spirit" in the actual righteousness of God; because the holy Ghost IS in fact the very righteousness of God. Furthermore there is nothing physical or symbolic that has anything to do with that process, other than the fact that our bodies become the temple of God by means of his indwelling Spirit; which we receive BY FAITH in Jesus, and not by some supposed 'obedience' to a carnal act or ceremony. "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Rom. 14:17). You may note in that verse that the apostle plainly states that the righteousness of God is IN the holy Ghost, and that it has nothing to do with carnal things of any kind. Everything that is a natural form that is upheld and regarded by God's people as being part of the Gospel, is actually only a 'work of [mans'] righteousness' that has nothing to do with the empowerment of God's Spirit by faith in Jesus (Tit. 3:5). Faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus is the only thing that has to do with us being set free from sin by the 'Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,' as Paul cited in Romans 8:2. As far as 'obedience,' the book of Acts lets us know what that is as well: "And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, [which] God hath given to them that obey him" (Acts 5:32). And by what means do we receive the Spirit? "That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Gal. 3:14).

So again, it is fully believing what Jesus has done for us that results in him baptizing us with this 'Spirit of life.' Any supposed terms of obedience that has to do with anything apart from the empowerment of God's Spirit in our lives, is a 'work of righteousness' that has no place in the Gospel that Christ suffered and died to give us. So let me be a bit more pointed and up to date here, and declare what Stephen would be calling out if he were brought before a council within the body of Christ today to be questioned. He would be preaching the exact same message that he preached that day, only an updated version; and he would be throwing everything overboard that God's people are trusting in now that is a work of men's hands, that has nothing to do with pure faith in Jesus, and the resulting baptism of his Spirit and power and love for the souls of men (Acts 1:4,5,8; Rom. 5:5). He would be challenging and rebuking everyone who cleaves to and trusts in water baptism to any extent for their obedience or righteousness. It was a work of the law, and it was a physical form of what Jesus came to accomplish after a spiritual order; and Jesus has done exactly that, baptizing believing souls with the holy Ghost for nearly two thousand years since he left the earth (Mat. 5:17; Mat. 3:15). Paul clearly told us that there is now only 'one baptism,' and it is certain that it's the one Jesus suffered and died to provide for us (Eph. 4:5). He would charge God's people to stop wasting their time and their reverence on the supposed 'communion' service, because it is only a fragment of the Passover which Jesus died and rose to fulfill. Even Jesus told his followers that the Passover and everything in it was going to be "fulfilled in the kingdom of God" (Lk. 22:15-18). And what exactly is the 'kingdom of God,' and what exactly is it not? "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Well, if we've received the holy Ghost with it's inseparable sign of "speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance," then we're in the kingdom of God; and furthermore we are IN CHRIST, who IS the Passover (Acts 2:4; I Cor. 5:7).

In fact Christ IS the baptism as well, as it is written: "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ... Now the Lord is that Spirit" (Gal. 3:27; II Cor. 3:17). The second verse there clearly shows that the baptism mentioned is the baptism of the holy Ghost, and not water baptism. Water baptism puts no one into Christ, and in fact was only intended to introduce Christ to Israel for the sake of believing in him and being baptized by him with the holy Ghost (Mk. 1:7,8). If Stephen were here today he would tell God's people to stop calling some building where they meet to worship together 'the house of God.' He would be very clear that WE ARE the house of God if we have his Spirit residing in us, even as the scriptures also declare to us: "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" (I Pet. 2:5). He would tell us to start acting like we're the house of God, and talking like we're the house of God; and that God did not send his Son to suffer and die for some building made by man. Stephen would in fact speak the exact same words that he spoke that fateful day: "Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?" He would tell us pointedly just exactly where God DOES dwell, and WHERE IS the place of his rest; as the remainder of that verse from Isaiah 66 describes: "but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word" (Isa. 66:2). He would charge us that God doesn't care about our posh buildings where we like to gather, but rather it is our hearts that he is searching and seeking further space in which to dwell. And trust me when I tell you that this valiant ambassador of the faith who gave his life so willingly that day, would NOT SPARE the ministers who prod God's sheep for their hard earned money to support all of their ministries. He would give a scathing rebuke to those who take advantage of the good hearts of God's people to get them to 'sow' more than is meet into 'their' ministries, when they already support the local ministry that feeds them.

He would rebuke the ministries that harp on things like Elijah's barrel of meal, and he would do it by scripture: "For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened" (II Cor.8:12,13). On the other hand he would not spare those who refuse to pay their tithes and offerings into the ministries that labor to nourish their souls, and he would reprove that with scripture as well: "For it is written in the law of Moses, thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? ... Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel" (I Cor. 9:9-11,14). No, Stephen spared nothing or no one on the day he died, and in fact that is WHY he died. Seems I remember his predecessor who gave his life for the Gospel's sake, being in like manner. Yeah, I'm talking about Jesus, who spared nobody when it was time for rebuke, and paid dearly for doing so. The same Spirit that was in Christ, that later dwelt in Stephen, will do the same things today if willing vessels like Stephen are available to do so with. I might add that nothing has changed, and people will still do what they did that day when they could not bear the words that Stephen directed at them. We are in fact right on top of the time when these kinds of things will break out among God's people, and we had better "assure our hearts before [Christ]," lest we be found on the wrong side of this malady. All it takes is loving him with all of our heart, and proving that by trusting in nothing other than our faith in him, and the resulting divine love and power of God in us, for our righteousness. One thing I can tell you, and that is that our faith in him is enough, and anything that is 'added' to it is too much. Amen.