The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 1 — Section 204

supernatural radiance, It matters little ; but It is of consequence to know that the higher Ohristian graces will write their sign upon our countenance. As sin makes it.~ sad and shameful traces on the frame, so purity, faith, love, devotion, will make the face to be ,wlow with heavenly light. Nothing but a devoted Christian life could give us such a~gel-faces as soma of those which we see worshipping in our sanctuaries and labour- ing in our holy fields of love.-C. Vere. 1-7.-T/ie appointment of deacl>TUJ. I. THE SPIRIT OF STRIFE. 1. It arose 6etween the HelleniHts and the Hebrews, members of the same nation of the same blood, of the same Church, but of different places of birth, education, ~nd, above all, of different languages. Language is, perhaps, the greatest divider between man and man. So many of those associations which govern the mind are rooted in the sound of our native tongue, We may notice that Christianity reconciles the difference of the Palestinian Jew and the Greek-speaking Jew; the Book, the New Testament, is the thought of the Jew in the tongue of the Greek. 2. It was on a question of pecuniary benefit. Most disputes of the bitterest kind in the family life turn on questions of money-property and its distribution. Hence the Christian duty of strict justice and exactitude in all dealings with the goods of this world. 3. Jealousy was at the root of the strife. No feeling more painful than the sense of neglect and of the preference of others. All Christian principle is rooted in love, which alone can conquer jealousy. All Christian graces are but forms of the "love that seeketh not its own." Love must seek to remove this "root of bitterness," which otherwise will trouble many and pollute the pure flow of peace in the Church. II. THE 0ALLING TOGETHER OF THE CHUBoH. To the sense and piety of the multitude the appeal of wisdom and of justice may ever be safely made. But without strong leading, even Christian congregations may become scenes of anarchic passion. It is composed of many wills. If none is present to represent with conscientious- ness and firmness the will of the Head of the Church, nothing but confusion can be expected. When that will is clearly apprehended, and the duty thence arising firmly laid down, the majority, if not the whole, will be found ready to obey. Such was the case at Jerusalem. III. THE COUNSEL OF THE APOSTLES. 1. The division of Christian functions is necessary. It is not "pleasing," either to the Head of the Church or to the jud_g;ment of its enlightened members, that callings and duties should be confused; above all, thac the higher calling should suffer in efficiency from being joined with a lower. The "Word of God," or thought and utterance in the Church-the Christian ministry in the special sense-was the special function of the apostles. The "serving of tables" was another kind of function, evidently important and necessary. R1t for the two to be fixed in the same persons would have been a want of congruity, or of harmony. For the ministry of the Word freedom from the distractions of business is peculiarly necessary. 2. The central function in the Church is that of the teacher. If this languish or be in any way fettered, the life of the congregation must suffer. It demands a whole man and whole energies. The resolve of the apostles is, therefore, to persevere in prayer and in the ministry of the Word. These two words sum up the life of the preacher. By prayer he draws from the fount.ain of truth and Divine strength ; and in preaching he gives forth that which he has thus received. Without the inner communion with God there can be no power to prevail over the hearts of men. 3. Directions for the appointment of deacons. Seven are to be selected; the number has sacred associations, which were doubtless helpful to the mind. A sevenfold band symbolizes strength, Divine presence and assistance. (1) They are to be " full of the Spirit "-an expression which cannot be defined, but the meaning of which can be felt. Divine presence in the soul is ever indefinable, and is known by its effects on the tone of the man, and on the energy, the gentleness, and persua- siveness of his speech and action. (2) 'fhey are to be wise men-who are always needed for tasks so delicate as that here assigned them. Goodness and sense: these are the great qualities needed in Church officers every day. Neither weakly good men nor merely shrewd men fulfil the desired qualifications. IV. THE ELECTION, The counsel of the apostles is approved unanimously; and seven brethren are chosen out and presented to the apostles, who ratify the choice  200 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, Loa. 'VI, 1-16,