Overview
When the early church needed additional leaders, the apostles asked the believers to identify people of honest report who were full of spiritual wisdom. Rev. Rico Magnelli explains how character, visible spiritual maturity, and wisdom from God—not worldly status—help a community recognize people prepared to serve.
Transcript
Honest Character and Spiritual Wisdom
And please turn to Acts chapter 6. Look ye out among you is what we want to consider. When the time came to add new leaders to the 12 apostles, God provided specific criteria to help the early church make decisions. Confidence in the gift of Holy Spirit is very evident and is what aided them to be truly successful. It's something to build on. And we'll see that in a few verses that we'll consider. Acts chapter 6. Once the work of the ministry began to expand, the 12 apostles needed help to carry it out.
And in verse 3, it says, Wherefore, brethren, they said, Look ye out among you. They were talking to the brethren. The context is the disciples. Look ye out among you, the disciples, the brethren, seven men of honest report full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. The first thing we see is that they were to have an honest report. That means that they had a good witness of their character and their reputation was good. And then further, we see what they were guided to look for.
They were to be full of the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit. Full here means complete or sufficient. And it's describing the men to be chosen. So there must have been something about them that was indicating to those that were observing that, yes, this person is full, is complete, is sufficient in this category. It was evident. And what were they complete or sufficient in? The Holy Spirit and wisdom. And these two concepts are actually one in meaning. These words grouped together are the figure of speech hendities. And this figure of speech hendities means two words employed, but one thing or idea intended, Holy Spirit and wisdom.
And it could be rendered Holy Spirit wisdom or spiritual wisdom. They were to be full of it. They were to be complete with spiritual wisdom, as opposed to what? The wisdom of the world. They were to be full of spiritual wisdom, not the wisdom of the world. That's not where their completeness came from. That's not where their sufficiency came from. It came from spiritual wisdom. And it must have been significantly obvious to choose out among people. How interesting. Keep your finger here. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 2, please. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 in verse 5.
It says, Paul speaking to the Corinthian church, and the Corinthian church had fallen into bad habits of magnifying and elevating worldly wisdom above spiritual wisdom. They were what one might call a carnal Christian group, born again, but they elevated natural knowledge above spiritual knowledge. And he says to them in verse 5 of chapter 2, that your faith, that your faith, the faith here is the faith of Jesus Christ, that they all had, because they were born again, as brothers and sisters in the household of faith, in the family of God, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Wisdom from God Rather Than the World
See, we're not going to get corroboration. We're not going to get a pat on the back. We're not going to get an endorsement from the wisdom of the world. It's not going to happen. It has to come from the power of God. And the faith of Jesus Christ is that accomplished work of Christ given to us spiritually. Look at this. How be it we speak wisdom among them that are perfect. That word means mature here, yet not the wisdom of this world, nor the princes of this world that come to naught.
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory. And for many, it is still hidden because they're not relying on the accomplished work of Christ. They're relying on something else. It's still hidden to them in a practical manner. Acts chapter six, back to that. God has set before us our glory in Christ, because it's Christ in us, the hope of glory. And that's the conclusion of the faith of Jesus Christ. It brings us to the gathering together of the church, like it says in 1 Thessalonians 4.
And 1 Corinthians 15 and many other places. But back to Acts in verse four of Acts six, it says, but we will give ourselves continually the prayer and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased, meaning they thought it was right. The whole multitude. It was right in the eyes of God. It was right in the eyes of the people, the disciples. And they chose Stephen. Watch this, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit. He was a man full. This word, full is the same as in verse three.
It's complete or sufficient. He was complete or sufficient with the faith and of the Holy Spirit. And again, you have two concepts that actually are melded into one. It's the figure, speech, and diaries again. It could be rendered Holy Spirit faith. It's the Holy Spirit faith. It's referring to the faith of Jesus Christ that came with the gift of Holy Spirit. Faith actually is spiritual because it comes in the gift of Holy Spirit. Look at Acts 11, please. This is the criteria that they were setting before the disciples to look for.
Notice it doesn't say anything about what they looked like. It doesn't say anything about their socioeconomic background. It didn't say anything about what kind of car they drive, where they work, where they went to school, how they cut their hair. Didn't say anything like that, did it? That's not the criteria that was used. It says that they were full of spiritual wisdom. And Stephen was noted as being full of Holy Spirit faith. He must have really had a lot of confidence in the accomplished work of Christ. Well, here's another individual.
Stephen as an Example of Spirit-Filled Service
Later on, the book of Acts develops a man by the name of Barnabas. Great, wonderful man. Actually, the Bible calls him a good man. Wonderful minister. Look at what it says about him. In Acts chapter 11, verse 24, for he was a good man. And look at the next phrase, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. And much people was added unto the Lord. He was full. He was complete. Same word used in Acts 6. He was complete. He was sufficient in Holy Spirit and of faith. Again, we see the same figure of speech employed.
He was full of Holy Spirit faith. That faith comes from that spirit, that gift of Holy Spirit that's been given to us. He's the individual that went and sought the Apostle Paul, who wasn't Apostle Paul at the time. He went and sought him out and endorsed him in front of many of the individuals that Paul had persecuted. And many people were concerned about Paul, but Barnabas vouched for him. And this is what it says about him. See, the criteria for looking for leaders, it's right in the word. And then what do we do with this faith?
Look at Jude 20, please. It's not just that we get born again and we receive the faith of Jesus Christ, which is his accomplished work, which brings us eternal life and also the potential to walk like Christ. When God energizes that faith of Jesus Christ within us to bring to pass the works of Christ. In Jude 20, it says it this way, but ye beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit, building up yourselves, this building up doesn't mean you physically get built up.
What it's talking about is a figurative reference to establishing confidence upon an existing foundation. We're establishing confidence on an existing foundation. What is that foundation, your most holy faith? And that faith cannot be five senses or natural knowledge or worldly wisdom because it's holy. It's holy faith. It's set apart by God. It's so set apart that he has it within the gift of Holy Spirit. And what does this do? Well, we utilize this as our foundation, that most holy faith. We build confidence upon that foundation. We do this by taking ownership of the Spirit and using it.
We take ownership of the gift of Holy Spirit and use it. And that's exactly what they were doing in Acts chapter six. That is not what they were doing in 1 Corinthians chapter two. That's what they were doing. That's the criteria, the foundation, if you will, of what to look for. Are they full of spiritual wisdom or is it worldly wisdom? Are they full of Holy Spirit faith to the end that they exude a confidence in the accomplished work of Christ? It comes out in their words. It comes out in their actions.
Selecting Leaders from Among the Believers
It comes out in their prayer. These are all observable because it had to be observable. You couldn't look at somebody and say, well, he's wearing the right shirt. He must be full of Holy Spirit faith. He's got the right hat on. It doesn't work that way. It says praying in the Holy Spirit. That would refer to speaking in tongues because speaking in tongues builds confidence. One of the things it does, it builds confidence on the accomplished work of Christ. That's the faith. Then it says, keep yourselves in the love of God.
Absolutely. Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. One manner of rendering this word looking actually is expecting. Expect the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Expect it. Leaders need it. I'm sure we can all attest to that. We need it. But we're not building upon our own foundation on our own laurels. We build upon the work of another man. We build confidence on that foundation that's already been laid. And then we keep ourselves in love and we look. We expect the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ all the way unto eternal life.
That mercy will be there all the way to the end. So we never need to be afraid. We never need to be concerned. We never need to hesitate on the things of God ever. That's the confidence that we can have. And we're looking for, when we look for leaders, this is part of the criteria, if you will, that is in our hearts and thinking. Not what they look like. Not even how well they teach the Word or know the Bible. Those are wonderful. But this is the criteria that you see in the Word. The greatness of the walk is in the Spirit.
Key Takeaways
- Confidence in the gift of Holy Spirit is very evident and is what aided them to be truly successful.
- there must have been something about them that was indicating to those that were observing that, yes, this person is full, is complete, is sufficient in this category.
- this figure of speech hendities means two words employed, but one thing or idea intended, Holy Spirit and wisdom.
- the faith of Jesus Christ is that accomplished work of Christ given to us spiritually.
- Faith actually is spiritual because it comes in the gift of Holy Spirit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main message of “Look Ye Out Among You”?
When the early church needed additional leaders, the apostles asked the believers to identify people of honest report who were full of spiritual wisdom. Rev. Rico Magnelli explains how character, visible spiritual maturity, and wisdom from God—not worldly status—help a community recognize people prepared to serve.
Which scriptures are central to this teaching?
The teaching draws especially from 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 Corinthians 15, Acts 11, Acts 6, Jude 20.
How can believers apply this teaching?
Receive the truth presented, verify it in Scripture, and live it out with faith, humility, and love. Faith actually is spiritual because it comes in the gift of Holy Spirit.
Scripture References
1 Thessalonians 4; 1 Corinthians 15; Acts 11; Acts 6; Jude 20
This text was prepared from the teaching audio or source document. Please verify scripture references against your own Bible.
