Acts 6:8

Stephen Accused of Blasphemy

8 Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.

Acts 6:8 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 6:8

And Stephen, full of faith and power
The historian proceeds to give a narrative of Stephen particularly, the first of the seven deacons; of his faith and miracles, of his elocution and wisdom, of his courage and intrepidity, of his constancy, and of his suffering martyrdom. He is said to be full of faith, as before, ( Acts 6:5 ) the Alexandrian copy, and four of Beza's copies read, "full of grace"; and so do the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions; the Ethiopic version reads, "full of the grace of God": he had an uncommon share of it; it was exceeding abundant in him; he had a sufficiency of it for the service and sufferings he was called to: and he was full of power to preach the Gospel, and teach it the people, which he did with authority; to defend it, and oppose the adversaries of it; to bear reproach and indignities for it, and even death itself; and to do miraculous works for the confirmation of it, as follows:

did great wonders and miracles among the people;
openly before them, such as speaking with divers tongues, healing diseases, casting out devils

Acts 6:8 In-Context

6 They had them stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 So the preaching about God flourished, the number of the disciples in Jerusalem multiplied greatly, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.
8 Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.
9 Then some from what is called the Freedmen's Synagogue, composed of both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and disputed with Stephen.
10 But they were unable to stand up against the wisdom and the Spirit by whom he spoke.
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