There are several organisational principles in the Bible. The idea of representation is well canvassed. When they were to go and search the Promised Land, God asked Moses to choose 12 men, one each for the 12 tribes of Israel. From the Old Testament record, we also discover that God had always favoured participatory leadership. In order to relieve Moses of unbearable workload, God asked him to choose 70 leaders from among the people. God took of Moses’ spirit and impacted to the men. Those chosen were to handle the day to day running of the camp so Moses could focus on the higher tasks. We see the same pattern repeated in our text. The apostles recommended nomination of seven brethren whose sole duty was to equitably distribute relief materials. The generality of the people found this idea acceptable.

whatever is given to you as a task in God’s household, handle it by the Spirit…There is no aspect of the church life that is carnal, all are spiritual.

Something that we must take to heart is that even in as simple a matter as food distribution, the candidates were to be filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom. This means there is no aspect of the Church life that should be carried out without empowerment of the Spirit. If food distribution calls for in-filling of the Spirit, what do we make of singing and preaching? The lesson is this: whatever is given to you as a task in God’s household, handle it by the Spirit. A sweeper who is doing his job by the Spirit can influence a lot more for God than a preacher who is in the flesh. There is no aspect of the church life that is carnal, all are spiritual.