Spirit and Wisdom

SCRIPTURE
Acts 6:3
Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.

OBSERVATION
At this point in Acts, the church is expanding rapidly and begins to experience growing pains. In this case, it is the distribution of food to the widows. The solution is to choose seven men to oversee the leadership of this ministry. These men are to fulfill three requirements. First, they must be full of the Spirit. What is interesting here is that there is an implication that not all believers are full of the Holy Spirit, and the apostles are making a distinction between the presence of the Holy Spirit in all believers and the fullness of the Holy Spirit in individuals. Second, these men should be full of wisdom and have the ability to make good decisions. Third, the attributes of both fullness of the Spirit and wisdom should be known. Some translations use the phrase, men of good reputation. That seems to imply that these men are living lives that are active and open the in community, visible to those around them.


APPLICATION
So, how am I doing in these three areas. How passionately am I pursuing the fullness of the Holy Spirit? How am I tuning my soul to be sensitive to the moving of the Spirit?

Am I developing wisdom? Am I soaking myself in God’s word and God’s wisdom? Psalm 37:30 says “The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom and his tongue speaks what is just. The law of his God is in his heart.”

Am I living my life in such a way that the presence and fullness of the Holy Spirit is seen in me by others? Is the fruit of the Spirit evident in my life? Do others see wisdom in me? Do I live my life in such a way to be a “man of good reputation?”


PRAYER
Father God, stir the fullness of the Holy Spirit within me. Give me a passion and hunger to pursue your word in such a way that it implants itself in my heart. Help me to live a life that is giving and compassionate. And may all these characteristics in me bring glory, not to me, but to you.