Be Full of the Holy Spirit –

By Luther Oconer – 

According to Luke, “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” (Acts 6:1).

In this text, we encounter the first recorded internal conflict in the early church as recorded in Acts. What was the issue at hand, anyway? Well, here, we see that the early church in Jerusalem was comprised of two distinct groups of disciples.

The first group were the Hebraic Jews. These were native Jews, born and raised in the Province of Judea, who spoke Aramaic.

The second group were the Hellenistic Jews. These were Jews from the diaspora, including Gentile converts to Judaism, coming 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 have embraced the Graeco-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 that 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 quite 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 appears to reflect a growing resentment among the Hellenistic Jews toward the Hebraic Jews. As a minority within the early church, they were subject to the bias of the Hebraic Jews. They were sort of a second-class type of Jews.

So, recognizing the seriousness of the situation, the twelve apostles needed to take decisive action. “So 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’” (6:2).

The apostles called together all the disciples for what could be considered their first-ever general assembly or, should I say, their convening general conference! Luke notes that “all the disciples” were brought together. Based on Acts 4:4, they were over 5,000! During this meeting, the apostles made it clear that their primary responsibility was spiritual leadership, not administrative duties. They may have been involved in managing the food distribution, in the temporal affairs of the young church, but they recognized that their focus needed to shift to their spiritual calling. They advised: “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” (6:3-4).

So, the apostles proposed to delegate the responsibility of food distribution to seven deacons, so they [the apostles] could focus on prayer and the ministry of the Word. Importantly, they established a clear criterion for selecting these deacons, as stated in verse 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. Let the Hellenistic Jews have a say in the distribution of food! Surely this would be the most logical thing to do if they were to remain a movement from many nations. Representation was key. However, to the apostles, they approached the issue in quite an unexpected way. They simply believed that this crisis could be addressed by selecting believers “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. And I’m saying this as a global south Methodist. Before we even try to figure out what it means to be a global church, let us be a church of Pentecost first. For it is the church of Pentecost that will usher in the church of Revelation, the one that was described in Revelation 7:9-10, composed of people from every tribe 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, Europeans, Hispanic, Pacific Islanders, Filipinos, Koreans, Africans, and most especially Texans! [Laughter] 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 – by the way, as Methodists it’s okay to call ourselves born again, amen! – you are 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 or the language we speak or even our own personal or group. Instead, let us be purely led by the Spirit. Remember, we are a new creation in Christ.

For the apostles, when they emphasized being “full of the Spirit,” they were in essence outlining for the disciples what normative Christianity looks like – that 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 upon the believer. Quantitative because yes, they were all baptized in the Spirit but it didn’t necessarily mean that they were full of the Spirit already. They may have a measure of the Spirit’s infilling, but they are not full of the Spirit. This is why Paul admonishes the believers: “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).

And by being “full of the Spirit,” wisdom follows. Wisdom is the ability to make wise decisions. Wisdom is needed for the work that the seven deacons will undertake. If you are full of the Spirit, you will have wisdom. Actually, in Isaiah 11:2, wisdom is one of the gifts of the Spirit.

How did this convening General Conference of the first Christians take the proposal of the apostles, anyway? Remarkably: “This proposal pleased the whole group” (6:5a).  Wow, there was no more debate. No one tried make an amendment to the proposal. No one said, Let’s perfect this proposal a little bit. No, they simply trusted the leading of the Spirit through the Apostles who were full of the Spirit. Even the Hellenistic Jews, the minority group who were complaining earlier, agreed to this solution.

We are not told how the whole group did it, but they eventually choose the first seven deacons, and here’s a twist—and it’s an amazing twist. For as Luke 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. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them” (6.5b).

So, if you look at all these names, none of these are Jewish or Hebraic names. All of these names are Hellenistic names, hence, the seven were all Hellenistic Jews! Let that sink in for a moment, church. What a twist, isn’t it? This means that even the Hebraic Jews gave up their right for proper representation in the distribution of food. So in a way, what we see here is a change of heart on the part of the more dominant Hebraic Jews. They were willing to entrust their needs to the minority group. They became radically generous. This was repentance. This was revival!

They [including the Hellenistic Jews] were delivered from a what’s in it for me or what’s in it for my group mentality. Church, I do believe that if the Spirit shows up in our proceedings here at the General Conference, we will be of one heart. Why, there will be no more trust issues. We will be more gracious with one another and operate from a place of trust and not out of fear.

And so that’s why what we see in v. 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.”

Church, do we want the world to know? Then let us be a church that is full of the Spirit. In 1786, John Wesley wrote, “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.”

Church, what we have seen here in these past few days is a rebirth of Methodism. And now I see us here legislating, and what we’re really trying to do is we’re trying to revive and update Methodism. It’s like there’s this old collectible car, old precious car. And we realize it doesn’t belong to the museum yet. So, we work on it, we restore, and we even make a few updates here and there. We even update the engine. But let’s not forget 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 that enlivened early Methodism during the time of John Wesley and the early American Methodists, we need that same power again.They were full of the Spirit.

Church, it is my prayer today that we truly become a church of Pentecost. A church that is full of the Spirit. And to be full of the Spirit means we will allow the Holy Spirit to fill every space in the life our movement. And when I say every space, I don’t mean for him to just fill the gaps. Or confine him in just one place. We want him to fill everything.

Let him fill our churches, let him fill our programs, let him fill every fiber of our movement. Let us make room, and we’re not just going to give him one room. We will give him access to all the rooms.  And that means we’re making room for him to move even in how we conduct our remaining proceedings in this general conference. In the petitions we will decide on. In the election of new commission members. And most possibly, when we elect new interim bishops. Can we make that commitment today? To let the Holy Spirit fill every space. But before that happens, we need to surrender. And he will give us a new heart.

Luther Oconer is Associate Professor of Global Wesleyan Theology at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentycky. This article is adapted from the sermon he preached at the convening General Conference of the Global Methodist Church in Costa Rica. Dr. Oconer has served on the faculty at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, until 2021. He teaches on the area of Methodist theology and doctrine, the Holiness Movement, Pentecostal/ Charismatic Movement, and church renewal. He is also the conference superintendent of the Mega Manila Annual Conference of the Global Methodist Church.