📖 Biblical Definition
Stephen was one of the seven men chosen by the Jerusalem church to oversee the daily distribution to widows (Acts 6:5). He was "full of faith and of the Holy Spirit," "full of grace and power," and performed "great wonders and signs among the people" (Acts 6:8). When members of the synagogue debated him, "they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking" (Acts 6:10). His speech before the Sanhedrin in Acts 7 is the longest speech in Acts — a masterful survey of Israel's history demonstrating that the nation had always resisted the Holy Spirit and persecuted God's prophets, culminating in their betrayal and murder of "the Righteous One." As he was being stoned, Stephen saw the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:56). His dying prayer — "Lord, do not hold this sin against them" (Acts 7:60) — echoes Christ on the cross. Saul of Tarsus stood by consenting, and the persecution that followed Stephen's death scattered the church and thereby spread the gospel — the blood of the first martyr became the seed of the church's expansion.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
One of the seven deacons; the first Christian martyr.
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STE'PHEN, n. [Gr. Στέφανος, a crown.] One of the seven deacons of the early church, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, who delivered a powerful defense before the Sanhedrin and was stoned to death — the first martyr of the Christian faith.
📖 Key Scripture
• Acts 6:8 — "Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people."
• Acts 7:51 — "You stiff-necked people... you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you."
• Acts 7:56 — "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."
• Acts 7:60 — "Lord, do not hold this sin against them."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Stephen's boldness is softened into mere social activism, and his confrontational preaching is avoided.
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Modern Christianity celebrates Stephen as a martyr while ignoring what he actually said that got him killed. His speech in Acts 7 is one of the most confrontational sermons in the New Testament — he called Israel's leaders "stiff-necked," accused them of always resisting the Holy Spirit, and charged them with murdering the Righteous One. This is not the gentle, non-judgmental Christianity that the modern church promotes. Stephen's deacon role is also used to flatten church office into mere social service — but Stephen was a theologian and evangelist who debated in synagogues and performed signs and wonders. The diaconate in Scripture is a spiritual office, not merely a charitable function. Stephen received his crown by speaking the truth without compromise, not by being inoffensive.
Usage
• "Stephen's name means 'crown,' and he received his crown by laying down his life for the truth — the first in an unbroken line of Christian martyrs."
• "Stephen prayed for his murderers while they were killing him — matching his Lord's example on the cross with perfect fidelity."