Sometimes God commands us to do exciting work in boring ways.
Acts 1:21-26 (NIV)
CONTEXT: The very first thing the brand new Church did once Jesus ascended into heaven was to call a meeting so that another apostle could be appointed to replace Judas, who betrayed Christ and later killed himself. We join into this meeting as Peter speaks to the group:
21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
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Acts 6:3-6 (NIV)
CONTEXT: This is a portion of the text we read last week in which the office of deacon was added to the Church.
3 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 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. 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. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 31: The Officers of the Church
We believe that
ministers of the Word of God, elders, and deacons
ought to be chosen to their offices
by a legitimate election of the church,
with prayer in the name of the Lord,
and in good order,
as the Word of God teaches.
So everyone must be careful
not to push one’s self forward improperly,
but all must wait until called by God,
so that they may be assured of their calling
and be certain and sure that it is
from the Lord.
As for the ministers of the Word,
they all have the same power and authority,
no matter where they may be,
since they are all servants of Jesus Christ,
the only universal bishop,
and the only head of the church.
Moreover,
to keep God’s holy order
from being violated or despised,
we say that everyone ought,
as much as possible,
to hold the ministers of the Word and elders of the church
in special esteem,
because of the work they do,
and be at peace with them,
without grumbling, quarreling, or fighting
Summary
The first chapter of Acts doesn't unfold the way the disciples would have liked. In their minds, after conquering death, Jesus would rise up and restore Israel to earthly greatness and glory. But instead, He suddenly and surprisingly ascended into heaven. But He didn't leave them empty handed; He promised them that the Holy Spirit would be given to them, and two men dressed in white promised them that Jesus would some day return the same way He had just left.
The disciples had certainly heard of the Holy Spirit, but so much of what they'd learned about Him came in those last few hours before Jesus' arrest and crucifixion, and they really didn't yet understand what it meant. But it did involve power of some sort, so perhaps they'd be endowed with super-human abilities and Spiritual armor before being sent out to rescue God's people.
But that's not what happened either. Instead, they did the most boring thing possible. They called a meeting. Jesus had appointed twelve disciples, and at this point in history, that number was important to maintain. Judas needed to be replaced.
But Peter, who's never been afraid to take bold steps, and who certainly asserts that Jesus gave him authority, doesn't grab the power but instead opens the floor to nominations of qualified men to join the apostles. Then instead of making the pick himself, he led in prayer and then the group cast lots to determine who would fill the open position.
Dig Deeper
One of the tricky things about interpreting the book of Acts is determining whether a passage is descriptive or prescriptive. In other words, does Luke merely describe the event as it occured, or are we being given binding instruction here to always determine leaders by casting lots?
We don't need to read far in Acts to see that casting lots isn't the only way leaders were appointed. Notice that when the first group of deacons were named, the exact mechanism the church employed isn't mentioned. Was it just the first seven guys they found who were full of the Spirit and wisdom, or were those seven somehow whittled down from a larger group? Luke doesn't say.
But what is clear in each passage is that both decisions were made through some sort of broad deliberative process. It wasn't just a supreme leader or exclusive council who made appointments on a whim. The whole church was involved.
One of our biggest distinctives as Reformed churches is that we seek to do all things Biblically. Sometimes the Biblical instruction is clear and defined, such as the words we use while baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Other times we're given more discretion. One church might appoint elders and deacons by lifting qualified names out of a hat, while others utilize a congregational election, yet both methods would be considered Biblical.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who calls His church to do its work in an orderly fashion;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for your church, which is called to do the exciting work of the Kingdom of God through sometimes boring means like meetings;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 1
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