Introduction to the Book of Acts

“Christ is the theme, the church is the means, and the Spirit is the power”

Before we begin to investigate the book of Acts we must decide what it is not.

1. It is not the complete history of the early church.

Much of what took place in the development of the early church in other geographical area is not even mentioned in this book.

2. It is not the complete story of what all the Apostles did.

It records the actions of only a few of the apostles.  What about Thomas, who evangelized in India, or Andrew who was crucified in Macedonia during the reign of Nero, or Bartholomew who was beheaded in Armenia, or what about Mathias. Their stories are not even mentioned. Why?  Maybe God has a different agenda.

3. It is not a book of doctrine, it is historical in nature.

Many attempt to base certain doctrines upon some of the episodes which are recorded in this book.

This is like trying to use some of the miraculous events in the Old Testament to establish doctrine. God did certain things at certain times to accomplish certain purposes. He opened the Red Sea and the Jordan River and the Hebrews walked across on dry land, but that doesn’t mean that we should expect this to happen every time we come to a body of water. The same is true of the establishment of the early church and the verification of the Apostles. People were healed as Peters shadow passed over them, but to try to establish a doctrine of shadow medical treatment is simply not what God had in mind. That happened for a purpose, to establish Peter as an authentic Apostle of the Most High God so that in the future when Peter, Paul, and James did write doctrine, they would have credibility.

So, what is the Book of Acts?

1. The Book of Acts provides us with a vivid account of the radical change which took place in the attitude and actions of the disciples, who were passive and almost invisible, after our Lord’s death, as described in the Gospels.

2.  The Book of Acts provides the bridge between the gospels and the Epistles. We could never understand the New Testament if we did not have the Book of Acts, for it fills the gap that would exist between the Gospels and the Book of Romans, which follow. At the end of the Gospels we find a handful of Jews gathered in Jerusalem talking about a kingdom to come to Israel. In the book of Romans we find an apostle who is not even mentioned in the Gospels, and who was not one of the twelve, writing to a band of Christians in the capital city of Rome, talking about going to the ends of the earth to gentiles. The book of Acts tells us how this happened and why this change occurred.

3. The Book of Acts is a forceful defense of the apostleship of Paul, who wrote most of the doctrine of the church. By what authority did he speak?

In what ways would Acts be a book about transition?

1. Transition from Judaism to Christianity. The apostles were all Jews.
2. Transition from Jews to Gentiles. Jews were not supposed to even associate with gentiles, they were considered unclean.
3. Transition from the written Mosaic Law, Torah( along with Talmud, the Rabbinic interpretations  and commentaries and traditions that sprang up around the Law), to Grace, what the prophet Jeremiah alluded to :

“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.Jer. 31:33 (NIV)

4. Transition from a localized to a worldwide movement of God.. The disciples were still thinking in terms of being freed from the domination of Rome, but God had bigger things in mind.
5. Transition from the leadership of the person of Jesus to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

      And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever–     the Spirit of truth. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my  name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you  John 14:16-17,26 (NIV)

The Name: the full name is,” The Acts of the Apostles, “Praxeis is the Greek word “acts”. Praxeis was commonly used in Greek literature to summarize the accomplishments of outstanding men.

The Author: Luke. The Apostle Paul referred to him as Luke the beloved physician” in Col. 4:14. Luke wrote the book of Luke. Together the two books make up 25% of the new Testament.

Luke may have been a Hellenistic Jew but was probably a Gentile based on the fact that in Acts 1:19 he uses the term “in their own language” implying that he was not Jewish. Also in Col. 4:10-14 Paul lists three of his fellow workers as “of the circumcision” and then includes Luke’s name with two gentiles. It is possible that Luke was a Greek physician to a Romans family, who had been granted his freedom and Roman citizenship. He was a traveling companion of Paul. In 2 Tim. 4:11 he was the last one to be with Paul after the others had deserted him, “Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.”Dr. Luke would rank as a scientist of his day. Also he wrote the best Greek of any of the New Testament writers, including Paul.

What was Luke’s source material?

He was probably an eyewitness to many of the events in the book.

He also had opportunities to interview many of the people who were eyewitness of the events recorded in the Gospels as well as Acts.

He studied and relied upon written accounts.

Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us,  just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.  Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,  so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. Luke 1:1-4 (NIV)

“Eyewitness” is the Greek word autoptai–auto meaning “that which is of itself,” and opsomai meaning “to see.” “To see for yourself” would be an eyewitness. It is a medical term which means to make an autopsy. In fact, what Dr. Luke is trying to say is, “We are eyewitnesses who made an autopsy, and I am writing to you about what we found.”

The date written: Probably between 62 A.D. when the events in chapter 28 abruptly cut off, and before 70 A.D. when Jerusalem was destroyed and would have most probably mentioned. There is also no mention of the persecution by Nero which took place in 64 A.D.

What is the purpose of the Book of Acts?

 “Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”

 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. Acts 1:1-3 (NIV)

1. To show what happened next. Luke is explaining to his friend Theophilus what happened next in the life of Jesus and the disciples.

2. To show how Jesus continued to manifest himself through the Apostles, continuing to do and to teach through the power of the Holy Spirit. We take this for granted, but to the disciples and then the church this was not anticipated. This was a totally new concept. Dr. Luke gives us a great strategy by which the Lord works among mankind. He says, “In the first book, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach….” The Gospel of Luke is the record of the incarnation of the son of God. In John’s word, he was “the word made flesh, who came and dwelt among us, “ John 1:14 Jesus, the man, came to begin something, “to do and to teach,” and the record of that beginning is in the Gospels. But by clear implication, this second book is the continuation of what Jesus began to do. In a very real sense, Acts is not the acts of Christians, but the continuing acts of Jesus. It is the account of what Jesus continues to do and to teach. In the Gospels he did it in His physical body of flesh. In the book of Acts he is doing it through the bodies of men and women who are indwelt by his life. Thus whether in the Gospels or in Acts, incarnation is the secret strategy by which God changes the world.

3. To show the mechanism by which Jesus through the Apostles caused the Great commission to be accomplished.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”Acts 1:8 (NIV)

4. To show how the Church continued to grow in numbers.

In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about ahundred and twenty) Acts 1:15 (NIV)

 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. Acts 2:41 (NIV)

 But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand. Acts 4:4 (NIV)

 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.  Acts 5:14 (NIV)

 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.  Acts 6:7 (NIV)

 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord. Acts 9:31 (NIV)

 But the word of God continued to increase and spread.  Acts 12:24 (NIV)

 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. Acts 16:5 (NIV)

 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. Acts 19:20 (NIV)

 To show the development of the institution of the ecclesia, the church, is a group of people who have been ‘called out’. Usually the word is used of the believers in Christ who have been called out from the world to be a people for their God. Up until this time we had synagogue and the temple. The church had an entirely different structure. A pastor is not a priest. He is not the intermediary between man and God.

To show that the Book of Acts is in effect an unfinished book. It ends abruptly with Paul living in his own hired house in Rome. It just ends there as though you might turn the page and find the next chapter.

 We are the next chapter.