# Full *Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.* By [Reborn Jem](https://paragraph.com/@rebornjem) · 2026-07-06 christianity, faith, daily devotional, book of acts, holy spirit, đức tin --- Acts 6:8–10 (NIV) 8 Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. Who Stephen Was --------------- A few verses earlier, the church had a problem. The Greek-speaking widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the apostles asked the community to choose seven men to handle it. Stephen was the first one named. His job, in other words, was to wait tables. To make sure widows got fed. It was practical, unglamorous work — the kind of task we tend to think of as beneath the "real" ministry. And then Luke tells us what happened through this table-server. "Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people." The same man appointed to manage a food line was doing wonders and signs among the people. God did not keep him small because his assignment was small. Wherever Stephen was put, he was full — and what fills a person tends to overflow. Full of God's Grace and Power ----------------------------- Notice the word Luke chooses. Full. He does not say Stephen was talented. He does not say Stephen was ambitious, or gifted at debate, or naturally bold. He says Stephen was full of God's grace and power. That word tells you where it all came from. You can only be full of something that has been poured into you. A cup does not fill itself. The grace was God's grace. The power was God's power. Stephen's part was simply to be the kind of man who could hold it — open, available, not clinging to himself. This matters, because we often measure ourselves by what we can produce. We ask whether we are capable enough, clever enough, strong enough. Stephen's life points somewhere else. The question is not how much you can generate. The question is how full of God you are willing to be. The wonders were real. But they were the overflow. What God had put in was so much that it spilled out into the lives around him. The Opposition Comes -------------------- Then the tone shifts. "Opposition arose, however." It is worth being honest about that word. A man full of God's grace and power did not get an easy road. He got resistance. The fuller Stephen was of God, the more he drew opposition — not less. The opposition came from the Synagogue of the Freedmen — men from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, Asia. These were religious, educated, capable people. They knew the Scriptures. They were used to winning arguments. And they came at Stephen to argue him down. We should not be surprised when faithfulness meets pushback. Stephen was not doing anything wrong. He was full of grace, doing good among the people. And still the arguments came. Being filled with God does not exempt you from opposition. Sometimes it invites it. What They Could Not Do ---------------------- Here is the line the whole passage leans on. "But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke." Read that carefully. It does not say Stephen was smarter than them. It does not say he had studied longer or argued better. It says they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him. The wisdom was given. It was not Stephen's cleverness rising to the occasion. It was the Spirit speaking through a man who was full. The men of the synagogue were arguing against Stephen, but they kept running into something they could not get past — and that something was not Stephen at all. It was the Spirit in him. This is the same promise Jesus made to His followers. Do not worry about what you will say, He told them, for the Spirit will give you words. Stephen is that promise in the flesh. He stood in front of trained debaters with nothing but a Spirit-filled heart, and they could not answer him. Notice too what they did next. They could not beat his wisdom, so — as the following verses show — they resorted to lies and force instead. When people cannot answer the truth, they often try to silence it. The failure was not in Stephen's words. It was in hearts that had already decided not to listen. Walk On ------- Stephen was appointed to serve food and ended up shaking a whole city. He did not do it by being impressive. He did it by being full. So the question this passage leaves with us is a quiet one. What are you full of? We fill ourselves with a lot of things without noticing — worry, comparison, the need to prove something, the endless noise of the day. There is only so much room. Whatever fills us is what will spill out when the pressure comes. Stephen shows us another way. Come to God empty and let Him fill you. Do the small, unglamorous task in front of you as if it were holy, because in His hands it is. And when opposition comes — and it will — you will not have to summon your own strength to meet it. The wisdom will be given. The words will be there. Not because you are clever, but because you are full. Where has God placed you today? Serve there, full of Him, and watch what overflows. All glory to God — forever and ever. Amen. 🤍 If this reflection spoke to you, consider subscribing to follow along my journey of faith, meditation, and rebuilding — one day at a time. Your support truly means more than you know. ❤️ --- *Originally published on [Reborn Jem](https://paragraph.com/@rebornjem/full)*