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Acts 5:39
But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

Acts 7:51
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathersdid, sodo ye.

Exodus 4:12
Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

the spirit.

Job 32:8,18
Butthere is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding…

Micah 3:8
But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.

Luke 1:17
And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

or the Spirit by whom he spoke
The reference to "the Spirit" indicates the Holy Spirit's active role in empowering Stephen. This aligns withActs 1:8, where Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would empower His disciples to be His witnesses. The Spirit's presence in Stephen's speech is a testament to the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy (Joel 2:28-29) about the outpouring of the Spirit in the last days. The Holy Spirit's guidance is evident throughout Acts, as seen in the apostles' boldness and the miraculous signs accompanying their ministry. Stephen's speech, filled with the Spirit, serves as a type of Christ, who also spoke with authority and wisdom that confounded His opponents (Matthew 22:46).

The council’s most learned debaters lined up against Stephen, yet “they could not stand up” (Acts 6:10). Their arguments fell flat, their logic unraveled. Why?

• Jesus had promised, “I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict” (Luke 21:15). This moment fulfills that promise in real time.

• Just as the authorities were “amazed” and “recognized that [Peter and John] had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13), Stephen’s Christ-formed confidence left them speechless.

• Opposition to God’s truth never ultimately prevails (Isaiah 54:17); when God defends His servant, human cleverness is no match.

Stephen’s wisdom was more than sharp reasoning; it was Spirit-saturated insight that pointed every issue back to Christ.

• James describes heavenly wisdom as “pure…peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit” (James 3:17). Those very qualities characterized Stephen’s defense inActs 7.

• Like Solomon, to whom God said, “I have given you a wise and discerning heart” (1 Kings 3:12), Stephen received wisdom as a divine gift, not a human achievement.

•Colossians 4:5 urges believers to “act wisely toward outsiders.” Stephen models that principle, using wisdom to open doors for the gospel rather than to win an academic duel.

His adversaries were not merely facing a gifted speaker; they were confronting the Holy Spirit Himself.

• Jesus had explained, “It will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:20).Acts 6:10 records that very dynamic.

•Acts 4:8 notes that Peter, “filled with the Holy Spirit,” spoke with boldness; here the same Spirit empowers Stephen. Different men, same divine source.

• When the Spirit moves, conviction pierces even hardened hearts (John 16:8). The inability of the council to refute Stephen reveals more about their resistance to God than about any rhetorical shortcoming.

Every word Stephen uttered flowed from intimate fellowship with the Spirit.

•Acts 2:4 shows the pattern: “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak…” What began at Pentecost continues here.

• Paul later reminds Timothy, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power” (2 Timothy 1:7). Stephen’s courage embodies that power.

• This dependence on the Spirit is the hallmark of effective witness (Zechariah 4:6): “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.”

Acts 6:10 illustrates the unbeatable combination of Spirit-given wisdom and Spirit-empowered speech. Stephen’s opponents could not overturn his arguments because they were really resisting God Himself. The verse calls believers to rely on that same Spirit, trusting that when we speak His truth with His wisdom, no opposition can ultimately stand.

To resist the wisdom and the spirit with which he spake.--It is remarkable that Stephen is the first Christian teacher of whom "wisdom" is thus specially predicted. In the Gospels it is ascribed to our Lord (Matthew 13:54;Luke 2:40;Luke 2:52); and we read of "the wisdom of Solomon" (Matthew 12:42). In a writer like St. Luke, it implies something higher even than the "consolation" or "prophecy" from which Barnabas took his name--wider thoughts, a clearer vision of the truth, the development of what had been before latent in hints and parables and dark sayings. The speech that follows in the next chapter, may be accepted as an example, as far as circumstances allowed, of the method and power of his general teaching.