Acts 6:3 ... "Select from among you, brethren, seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task."
The church Christ promised to build (Mat. 16:18) was established in Jerusalem in 33 AD on the Day of Pentecost. Jews had come from most of the Roman Empire to observe this major religious festival, and some of them were among the 3000 who were baptized into Christ and added by the Lord to His church of that day of its inception. It seems that these foreign Jews, called "Hellenists," stayed longer than they had first intended in order to be further established in their new-found faith. Using up the funds they had brought to cover their anticipated needs, they soon found themselves in financial straits. The church responded to this crisis at once with the programs mentioned in Acts 2:44-45 and 4:31-37. There were doubtless many facets to this benevolent work, one of which was distributing food daily to Christian widows, some of whom were "Hebrews" (native Palestinians) and the others foreign born "Hellenists," (Greek speaking). Perhaps subconsciously, the men who made the allotments favored the Hebrew widows, since they spoke the same language and were culturally most similar. In any case, the Hellenist widows were being neglected, or overlooked, in the "daily ministration," and their complaint was brought before the apostles. These inspired men offered the remedy presented in the introductory text above.
To qualify for this work, usually recognized as the service of deacons, the men had to meet three criteria. First, they had to be of good reputation; second, they had to be full of the Spirit; and third, they had to be full of wisdom. As we read this, let us not restrict these requirements only to those seven men in Acts 6, or even to the men who now serve as deacons in the churches. Rather, it should be the goal of every Christian to meet these criteria, whether we every hold office in a church or not. These qualities are valuable assets to any Christian and ought to be coveted by every disciple of the Lord.
To be of good reputation means to be respected as one who is honest, upright, and beneficial to his community. Although we should not court the favor of people by dramatizing good works in order to highlight our piety, we do want to be recognized by them as being pious and devoted by love to serving our community. We are taught in I Pet. 3:15-17 to "sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts ... and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong." In other words, as Christians we should be so committed to good works, motivated by good conscience, that we are recognized and valued as good people. If bad treatment comes upon us, let it be persecution for good deeds rather than justly deserved punishment for evil activity, (see I Pet. 4:15).
To be full of the Spirit means to be a wide open channel through whom the Holy Spirit operates in this world. Since the Spirit works through the revealed word (Scripture), a person who is well-informed in God's word, devoted to teaching it to others, and adept in applying it to life experience, may fitly be described as "full of the Spirit." So it is not surprising that in Acts 4:31, after it says "they were all filled with the Holy Spirit," it reports that the Jerusalem Christians "began to speak the word of God with boldness."
Wisdom is the proper application of knowledge. There is no substitute for wisdom. Without it a person can be a brilliant fool and lead an unproductive life. Great knowledge of God's word is not enough. Only the wisdom by which that word can be effectively used is sufficient, and God will give it upon request, (Jas. 1:5).
