Acts Chapter 7 Study Guide

Family Study Guide for October 12 - October 118, 2006
(Read Acts 7 Online)

Reflections on Acts 7 by Mark Chesner, Coach

If there was ever a man with a gift for giving a complicated answer to a simple question, it must be Stephen. The High Priest asks, "Are these charges true?" - a simple yes or no question - and instead we recieve a short course on Israel's history as a people and a nation. Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Aaron... What is going on here? Is Stephen just stalling for time?

No, notice how he pairs off each stage of Hebew history:

• Abraham contasted with logical doubts about God's promises.
• Joseph contasted with the Patriarchs (i.e. the fathers of the tribes of Israel)
• Moses versus the Israelites he tried to save
• Moses versus Aaron in the wilderness

Each time, we are left with two conclusions: (1) God was following a plan through what was apparently good and apparently bad, and (2) the great leaders trusted God and followed his plan even when it did not appear to make sense at the time.

And in case anyone missed the implication, he ends off with a pretty direct shot, "You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it."

This leads to the obvious conclusion, as the leaders become furious and drag Stephen off to be killed. Stephen, following and trusting in God's plan, is cursed and murdered by the leaders of his day. And he dies not knowing how God's plan is going to be worked out after he is gone.

But the writer of Acts knows. Notice the little phrase there in the middle of the last section, "Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul." This Saul is going to become Paul in the chapters to come. By following God's plan for his life, Stephen has ensured that Saul is drawn closer to the message of Christ, so that he will be ready when God decides to speak to him. And the world will never be the same.

Questions to Consider
- Have you ever had to follow God's plan, even when it did not make a lot of sense at the time?
- When have you seen God's plan unfolding in your life, working against your expectations?
- Have you ever been like the Jewish leaders here, opposing God's plan simply because it did not fit your preconceptions?

Bible.Org Outline for Acts 7

2. His Defense (7:1-53)
a. The High Priest’s Question (7:1)
b. Stephen’s Response (7:2-53)
1) The Patriarchal Age (7:2-8)
2) The Nation in Egypt (7:9-19)
3) The Rejection of Moses by the Nation (7:20-39)
a) Moses’ Early Years (7:20-29)
b) Moses’ Call by God (7:30-34)
c) The Nation’s Rejection in the Wilderness (7:35-39)
4) The Rejection of the Nation by God (7:40-43)
5) The Tabernacle and the Temple (7:44-50)
6) The Rejection of Christ by the Nation (7:51-53)
3. His Death (7:54–8:1a)

Finish the Verse Questions for Acts 7

Finish the Verse: Then he // gave Abraham the
covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs. [Acts 7:8]

Finish the Verse: However, the // Most High does
not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says: "'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things?' [Acts 7:48-50]

Finish the Verse: While they were stoning // him,
Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep. [Acts 7:59-60]

Reference Questions for Acts 7

Q: According to Acts 7:02, who was our father?
A: Abraham

Q: According to Acts 7:09, God was with whom?
A: Him - Joseph

Q: According to Acts 7:20, Moses what?
A: Was born, was no ordinary child, for three months was CARED for in his father's house

Q: According to Acts 7:22, Moses what?
A: Was EDUCATED in all the wisdom of the EGYPTIANS, was powerful in speech and action

Q: According to Acts 7:25, Moses what?
A: Thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them

Q: According to Acts 7:26, Moses what?
A: Came upon two Israelites who were fighting, tried to RECONCILE them

Q: According to Acts 7:36, for forty years in the desert he did what?
A: Wonders and miraculous signs

Q: According to Acts 7:37, Moses what?
A: Told the Israelites, "God will send you a prophet like me from your own people."

Q: According to Acts 7:42, what is written?
A: It is written in the book of the prophets: "Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?"

Q: According to Acts 7:46, David what?
A: Enjoyed God's favor and asked that he might provide a DWELLING place for the God of Jacob

Q: According to Acts 7:55, who was full of the Holy Spirit?
A: Stephen

Q: According to Acts 7:55, who was standing at the right hand of God?
A: Jesus

Q: According to Acts 7:56, I see what?
A: Heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God

Q: According to Acts 7:56, who was standing at the right hand of God?
A: The Son of Man