Acts 6:8

Stephen Is Arrested

8 Stephen was full of God's grace and power. He did great wonders and miraculous 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 The group brought them to the apostles. Then the apostles prayed and placed their hands on them.
7 So God's word spread. The number of believers in Jerusalem grew quickly. Also, a large number of priests began to obey Jesus' teachings.
8 Stephen was full of God's grace and power. He did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.
9 But members of the group called the Synagogue of the Freedmen began to oppose him. Some of them were Jews from Cyrene and Alexandria. Others were Jews from Cilicia and Asia Minor. They all began to argue with Stephen.
10 But he was too wise for them. They couldn't stand up against the Holy Spirit who spoke through him.
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