Verse 1: “The high priest said: ‘If therefore these things have?’”

If therefore these things have: This is an idiom in the Greek language and could be translated: ‘Are these things thus/true?’

Verse 2: “He spoke, ‘Men, brethren, and fathers: You have heard the God of Glory had appeared to our father Abraham, being in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Canaan.’”

He spoke: Stephen

Men: Addressing the people of Israel in general.

Brethren: Speaking to those believers, within Israel, who are also present.

Fathers: This is a very respectful way of referring to the Sanhedrin, the leadership of Israel.

God of Glory: This Glory of God is going to be manifested in the Kingdom.

Our father: Stephen points out that he is not establishing a different religion, neither is he speaking against the Torah. Stephen is sharing his confession of faith.

Abraham: The patriarch of the Jewish faith.

Mesopotamia: Abraham was not where God wanted him to be, so God redirected him.

Canaan: The land of promise, but also the land of submissiveness. It is only when we submit that we are going to have a hope of receiving the promises of God.

Verse 3: “He said to him, ‘Go forth from your land and from your kinsmen (family), and come into the land which to you I will show.”
Go forth: God told Abraham to move.

Come into the land: God wanted to show him the land where he was supposed to dwell. However, this transformation, this change, that God wanted to bring about was conditional on Abraham’s response.

Verse 4: “Then, coming out of the land of the Chaldeans, he dwelt in Canaan. And thus, after his father’s death, He emigrated him into this land – into which you now are dwelling.”

Coming out: The first thing that God wants to do with us, when we become Christians, is to bring us OUT of the situation we find ourselves in – This may be from a location, a mentality, a sinful behaviour etc. He wants to take us into a new, holy, and sanctified reality.