Full of the Spirit and Wisdom
by Edwin Crozier
As the church grew in Jerusalem, problems arose. The apostles couldn’t do everything. They had to divide roles and labor. To oversee the care of the widows in the congregation, they appointed seven deacons (Acts 6). To find these men, the brothers and sisters were to look out among them and find seven men who had a good reputation, but also who were full of the Spirit and of wisdom.
If this had been said in a historical vacuum, we might be allowed to give it any meaning we want. However, may I suggest we look at a similar situation at the beginning of the Mosaic covenant, which helps us understand what is required? When Moses couldn’t do everything, God appointed other men to lead and oversee part of the work.
In Exodus 31:1-6, God had appointed Bezalel and Oholiab to oversee the construction of the tabernacle. He filled them with the Spirit of God and with ability, intelligence, knowledge, and craftsmanship. Again, in Exodus 35:31-32, 34-35, God appointed these men to oversee the work and teach others to do it. Then, in Exodus 36:1-2, we see that the Lord put skill and intelligence into the craftsmen's minds. In other words, whether the skill and intelligence came miraculously or through instruction, they were full of the Spirit and skill.
To drive this home even further, in the Septuagint (LXX) of Exodus 31:3, God said of Bezalel and Oholiab, “And I have filled him with a divine spirit for wisdom and understanding…” Then in Exodus 35:31, Moses announced, “And the spirit of wisdom and of understanding and all manner of craftsmanship has filled him …”(LXX). See how “spirit” and “wisdom” are brought together.
When Luke recorded that the deacons were to be full of the Spirit and wisdom, he was calling to mind these very events in Exodus. Just as the building of the tabernacle required those full of the Spirit and wisdom, the building and maintenance of Christ’s new covenant temple, the church, required the same.
Understand then what it meant in this context to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. It didn’t mean the men had to speak in tongues. It didn’t mean they had to demonstrate miraculous power. In fact, nothing indicated that anyone other than the apostles had demonstrated miraculous power until after the apostles laid hands on these men after they were chosen as deacons. In this context, being full of the Spirit and wisdom meant having an ability to do the job. After all, where do any of our abilities come from? Are they not all gifts from God? Whether we were naturally gifted with them, learned them in school, or were apprenticed to a former master, our abilities come from God.
With this in mind, we should recognize a qualification for any role in the congregation that is often overlooked. Certainly, men of good reputation should fill these roles. They should also be spiritually mature. But they should also have demonstrated ability to do the work they are being appointed to do. They should be full of the Spirit and wisdom.
