Be Full of the Spirit So the World Will Know (Acts 6:1-7)

A photo from the altar response following Dr. Oconer’s sermon adapted for this article. Photo by Matt Reynolds.

The following is a sermon preached at the Convening General Conference of the Global Methodist Church in Costa Rica, on September 24, 2024. To view, go to https://www.youtube.com/live/QzQ4OqY0J-0 (scroll to the 24-minute mark).

In our text, we encounter the first recorded internal conflict in the early church, as detailed in Acts. What was the issue at hand? According to Luke in Acts 6:1, “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.”

Here, we see that the early church in Jerusalem comprised two distinct groups of disciples. The first group was the Hebraic Jews—native Jews, born and raised in the province of Judea, who spoke Aramaic. The second group was the Hellenistic Jews—Jews from the diaspora, including Gentile converts to Judaism, from various nations around the Mediterranean. Most likely, they were among the pilgrims who had traveled to Jerusalem for the Festival of Weeks. As foreigners, they spoke Greek and embraced the Greco-Roman culture of the time.

Remember, in Acts 2, these were the same people who understood the various languages spoken when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the 120 disciples on the Day of Pentecost. They were also among the 3,000 individuals who were “cut to the heart” by Peter’s sermon, leading them to repent and be baptized. Following this, in Acts 2:42-47, the new and old disciples alike devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. We also know they shared everything in common, selling property and possessions to meet the needs of the growing community of believers. With more people being added to their number daily, the responsibility to provide for everyone became enormous.

However, a conflict arose. The Hellenistic Jews began to complain that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. Beneath the surface, this conflict reflects growing resentment among the Hellenistic Jews toward the Hebraic Jews. As a minority within the early church, the Hellenistic Jews may have felt they were subject to bias from the Hebraic Jews, possibly being treated as second-class.

Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, the twelve apostles needed to act decisively. According to Acts 6:2, “The Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.’”

The apostles called together all the disciples for what could be considered the first-ever general assembly, or, should I say, convening general conference. Luke notes that “all the disciples” were brought together, which, based on Acts 4:4, numbered over 5,000! During this meeting, the apostles made it clear that their primary responsibility was spiritual leadership, not administrative duties. Though they had likely been involved in managing the food distribution and other temporal affairs of the young church, they recognized that their focus needed to shift to their spiritual calling. As they advised in Acts 6:3-4, “Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

The apostles proposed to delegate the responsibility of food distribution to seven deacons so they could focus on prayer and the ministry of the Word. Importantly, they established a clear criterion for selecting these deacons, as stated in Acts 6:3—they were to be men known to be “full of the Spirit and wisdom.”

Notably, the apostles did not specify representation from the Hellenistic Jews, which might be our instinct today if faced with a similar issue. One might think, "Let the Hellenistic Jews have a say in the distribution of food!" That would seem like the logical way to handle things if they were to remain a movement from many nations. Representation was key. However, the apostles approached the issue in an unexpected way. They believed that the crisis could be addressed by selecting believers who were “full of the Spirit and wisdom.”

People of the Global Methodist Church, may we learn from this. As we navigate what it truly means to be a global church—a movement from many nations—may we aspire to be a Church of Pentecost first. Speaking as someone from the Global South, I emphasize that before we figure out what it means to be a global church, we must first be a church of Pentecost. For it is the church of Pentecost that will usher in the church of Revelation as described in Revelation 7:9, composed of people from every tribe and tongue, crying out, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

As followers of Jesus, let us prioritize our identity as people of the Holy Spirit before identifying ourselves as North Americans, Hispanics, Europeans, Pacific Islanders, Filipinos, Koreans, and Africans. Why is this important? Because we are a people born of the Spirit first and foremost. Remember when Jesus explained the new birth to Nicodemus in John 3:8? “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

If you consider yourself born again (and yes, it’s okay for us Methodists to say that we are born again!), then we are first and foremost born of the Spirit. Therefore, as we engage in the business of this conference, let us resist being guided by the color of our skin, the language we speak, or even our personal or group agendas. Instead, let us be purely led by the Spirit. Remember, we are a new creation in Christ.

For the apostles, being “full of the Spirit” outlined what normative Christianity should look like—a true disciple of Jesus is one who is full of the Spirit. For there is a quantitative dynamic to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. While all believers are baptized in the Spirit, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are full of the Spirit yet. They may have a measure of the Spirit's infilling, but they are not full of the Spirit. That’s why Paul admonishes in Ephesians 5:18, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”

And when we are “full of the Spirit,” wisdom follows. Wisdom is the ability to make wise decisions, and it is crucial for the work the seven deacons would undertake. If you are full of the Spirit, you will have wisdom. In fact, Isaiah 11:2 tells us that wisdom is one of the gifts of the Spirit.

So how did this convening General Conference of the first Christians take the apostles' proposal? Let's look at Acts 6:5: "This proposal pleased the whole group." Remarkably, there was no debate and no amendments to the proposal. The disciples simply trusted the leading of the Spirit through the apostles, who were full of the Spirit. Take note: even the Hellenistic Jews, the minority group, agreed to this solution.

We are not told how the group went about choosing the seven deacons, but they eventually did. Here’s the twist: as Acts 6:5 continues, “They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.” All seven deacons had Hellenistic names. They were all Hellenistic Jews! Even the Hebraic Jews, the dominant group, gave up their right to representation in the food distribution, entrusting the task to the minority. This was a remarkable act of radical generosity and repentance—a sign of revival.

Both the Hellenistic and Hebraic Jews were delivered from a "What's in it for me?" or "What's in it for my group?" mentality. Church, if the Spirit shows up in our proceedings here at the General Conference, we too will become of one heart. There will be no more trust issues. We will be more gracious with one another and operate from a place of trust, rather than fear. Just as John said in 1 John 4:18, "Perfect love casts out fear." That's why what we read in Acts 6:7 is no accident: "So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith."

If we want the world to know, we must become a church that is full of the Spirit. In 1786, John Wesley wrote in his “Thoughts Upon Methodism,” “I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power.”

What we are witnessing today is a rebirth of Methodism. Now I see us here legislating, and what we’re really trying to do is trying to revive and update Methodism. It’s like this old precious car. And we realize it doesn’t belong to the museum yet. So, we work on it. We restore it, and we even make a few updates here and there. We even update the engine. But let’s not forget that it still runs on gas. It ran on gas before; it’s going to run on gas again. We need the power of the Holy Spirit, the same power of the Holy Spirit that enlivened early Methodism during the time of John Wesley and the early American Methodists. We need that same power again.

It is my prayer that we truly become a church of Pentecost—a church that is full of the Spirit. To be full of the Spirit means allowing the Holy Spirit to fill every space in the life of our movement. When I say “every space,” I don’t mean just filling gaps or confining the Spirit to one place. We want the Spirit to fill everything, to fill every space, every nook and cranny. Let Him fill our churches, our programs, and every fiber of our movement. Let us give Him access to all the rooms, not just one.

We will give him access to all the rooms. That means we’re making room for him to move even in how we conduct the remaining proceedings of this general conference—whether deciding on petitions or electing new commission members or interim bishops. Let us commit to allowing the Holy Spirit to fill every space of our movement. May we make that commitment today.

Luther Oconer is Associate Professor of Global Wesleyan Theology at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He is also the conference superintendent of the Mega Manila Annual Conference of the Global Methodist Church.