Cruciform Church
The audio from Sunday’s sermon was lost, so here’s a snapshot of what we saw together:
Context
The book of Acts is structured around seven scenes, each framed by a progress report on the growth of the Church. These scenes show what the Church is, how the Spirit moves, and the theological and practical implications of both.
Scene 1: The Ascension and Pentecost | The Church is a new creation, Spirit-filled and submitted to Christ.
Scene 2: The Tale of Two Temples | The Church is the new temple and priesthood of God.
Scene 3: The Blood of the Martyrs is the Seed of the Church | The Church is a cruciform community, shaped by the cross.
This scene begins with Stephen’s death and ends with Saul’s conversion. Death and life. Despair and hope. The first martyr becomes the seed of the Church’s greatest missionary.
How do you view Suffering?
Stephen’s death brings us face to face with suffering. The Bible acknowledges many forms:
Self-inflicted (Proverbs)
Caused by others (Psalms)
Universal and mysterious (Ecclesiastes)
For Christ’s sake (Acts)
We all carry assumptions about suffering, often shaped more by the culture than the cross. Consider a few common views:
Therapeutic Deism: God exists to alleviate pain.
New Age Mysticism: Suffering is an illusion to detach from.
Prosperity Gospel: Suffering reveals a lack of faith.
These worldviews are often branded in Christian language and seep into the Chruch. In reality they are offshoots of the humanist worldview that dominates our culture. As the Humanist Manifesto puts it:
“Suffering is not redemptive… it is to be understood, alleviated, and prevented.”
Meanwhile the Bible is clear:
“It has been granted to you… not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.”
Philippians 1:29
The question is: How do you view suffering?
How the Cross Shapes Our Suffering
Stephen’s death demonstrates how the early church viewed suffering. The horror, the suffering, of his death is not diminished, but his death also reveals hope and glory. Stephen’s death is an echo of the cross and demonstrates how the early church was a cruciform community, a community shaped by the cross full of both suffering and glory, pain and hope.
1 | A Suffering Community
Stephen’s death sends a shockwave through the early Church. Yet they were not exempt from pain for Jesus promised:
“You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
John 16:33
The irony of Acts is clear: the Church, an outpost of God’s Kingdom, grows not by force but by sacrifice. We might expect Stephen, full of power and performing miracles, to crush his opposition. Instead, he lays down his life.
This is how God’s Kingdom advances: not by the sword, but by the cross:
“They conquered… by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony… they did not love their lives to the point of death.”
Revelation 12:11
Stephen’s death is not defeat, it is how the Church learns to live the cruciform life.
2 | A Glorious Community
Suffering is not the end. For the Church, suffering precedes glory. Stephen, as he dies, sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God, the same place we saw Jesus in Acts 1. He’s ruling and reigning in the midst of it all.
“Our momentary light affliction is producing… an eternal weight of glory.”
2 Corinthians 4:17
God doesn’t delight in our pain, but He meets us in it. He is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18), and in Christ, our suffering is never wasted.
Whether it’s persecution, disease, loss, or personal failure, God is present and He is forming something beautiful in the pain.
A cross-shaped Church is destined for resurrection. We can endure pain and suffering because glory always follows.
3 | A Hopeful Community
Stephen’s final words are stunning: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60).
How could he say that? How could he forgive as he died? Hope. Stephen’s heart was anchored in the reality that Christ reigns. His eyes were set on the One who suffered and rose again.
Church history is filled with this kind of hope: Polycarp, while he burned at the stake cried : “Eighty and six years have I served Him… how can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” William Tyndale, before his execution prayed: “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes!”
Hope isn’t for fairy tales. Hope is found in those who suffer with future glory in mind. It’s for those who know the risen Christ. The vision of Jesus in Acts 1 is the vision Stephen saw in death, and it’s the anchor we hold onto today.
Big picture
Stephen’s death is a witness to the world. Saul (soon to be Paul) was present. The Church scatters. Philip goes to Samaria. The Gospel moves forward.
Are you suffering today?Suffering finds us in many forms, but when it does, we can trust: God will meet us in the pain. He will comfort, redeem, and reshape us so that our lives become a witness to His glory.
We are a suffering people. A glorious people. A hopeful people. Shaped by the cross, carried by grace, and anchored in the hope of resurrection.
