Author: The book of Acts, also called Acts of the Apostles, does not
specifically identify its author. From Luke 1:1–4 and Acts 1:1–3, we know that
the same author wrote both Luke and Acts. The tradition from the earliest
days of the church has been that Luke, a companion of the apostle Paul,
wrote the books of Luke and Acts (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11). Full
article: Who wrote the book of Acts? Who was the author of Acts?
Date of Writing: The book of Acts was likely written between AD 61 and 64.
Purpose of Writing: The book of Acts was written to provide a history of
the early church. The emphasis of the book is the fulfillment of the Great
Commission. Acts records the apostles being Christ’s witnesses in Jerusalem,
Judea, Samaria, and the surrounding world. The book of Acts sheds light on
the gift of the Holy Spirit, who empowers, guides, teaches, and serves as our
Counselor. Reading the book of Acts, we are enlightened and encouraged by
the power of the gospel as it spread throughout the world and transformed
lives. Many miracles were performed during this time by the apostles to
validate their message. The book of Acts covers the transitional time
between the ascension of Christ and the completion of the New Testament
canon, and the apostolic miracles were God’s means of authenticating His
message through the men who penned the Bible.
Key Verses:
Acts 1:8: “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 2:4: “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in
other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
Acts 4:12: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name
under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:19–20: “But Peter and John replied, ‘Judge for yourselves whether it is
right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help
speaking about what we have seen and heard.’”
Acts 9:3–6: “As [Saul] neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from
heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to
him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked.
‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ‘Now get up and go into
the city, and you will be told what you must do.’”
Acts 16:31: “So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be
saved.’”
Brief Summary: The book of Acts gives the history of the Christian church
and the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as well as the mounting
opposition to it. Although many faithful servants were used to preach and
teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, Saul, also called Paul, was the most
influential. Before he was converted, Paul zealously persecuted Christians.
Paul’s dramatic conversion on the Damascus road (Acts 9:1–31) is a highlight
of the book of Acts. After his conversion he went to the opposite extreme of
loving God and preaching His Word with power and fervency in the Spirit of
the true and living God. The disciples were empowered by the Holy Spirit to
be His witnesses in Jerusalem (Acts 1—8:3), in Judea and Samaria (8:4—
12:25), and to the ends of the earth (13:1—28:31). Included in the last
section are Paul’s three missionary journeys (13:1—21:16), his trials in
Jerusalem and Caesarea (21:17—26:32) and his journey to Rome (27:1—
28:31).
Connections: The book of Acts serves as a transition from the Old Covenant
to the New. This transition is seen in several key events in Acts. First, there
was a change in the ministry of the Holy Spirit, whose primary function in the
Old Testament was the external “anointing” of God’s people, among them
Moses (Numbers 11:17), Othniel (Judges 3:8–10), Gideon (Judges 6:34), and
Saul (1 Samuel 10:6–10). After the ascension of Jesus, the Spirit came to live
in the very hearts of believers (Romans 8:9–11; 1 Corinthians 3:16), guiding
and empowering them from within. The indwelling Spirit is the gift of God to
those who come to Him in faith.
Paul’s conversion in Acts 9 is a dramatic example of the power of God unto
salvation (see Romans 1:16) and the opening of spiritually blinded eyes. Paul
admitted that, prior to meeting the risen Savior, he was the most zealous of
Israelites and was blameless “concerning righteousness based on the law”
(Philippians 3:6), going so far as to persecute those who taught salvation by
grace through faith in Christ. But, after his conversion, Paul realized that all
his legalistic efforts were worthless, and he considered them “rubbish, that I
may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own
that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the
righteousness that comes from God and is by faith” (Philippians 3:8–9).
Before he met Christ, Paul had been blinded by a pharisaical
misinterpretation of the law and an inflated opinion of his own righteousness.
After he met Christ, the “scales fell from Saul’s eyes,” as it were (Acts 9:18).
His boasting of his own goodness was replaced by his glorying in the cross of
Jesus Christ (Romans 3:27; Galatians 6:14).
Peter’s vision of the sheet full of unclean animals in Acts 10:9–15 is another
sign of the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant’s unity of
Jew and Gentile in one universal Church. The “unclean” animals in Peter’s
vision symbolized the Gentiles, who were declared “cleansed” by God
through the sacrificial death of Christ. The Old Covenant law had served its
purpose (see Galatians 3:23–29), and both Jews and Gentiles are united in
the New Covenant of grace through their faith in the death and resurrection
of Christ.
Practical Application: God can do amazing things through ordinary people
when He empowers them through His Spirit. The book of Acts shows how
God essentially took a group of fisherman and commoners and used them to
turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6). God took a Christian-hating murderer
and transformed him into history’s greatest Christian evangelist, the author
of almost half the books of the New Testament. God used the persecution the
Christians endured to help stimulate the incredibly rapid expansion of the
fledgling church. God can and does do the same through us—changing our
hearts, empowering us by the Holy Spirit, and giving us a passion to spread
the good news of salvation through Christ. If we try to accomplish God’s work
in the world in our own power, we will fail. Like the disciples in Acts 2, we
must faithfully proclaim the gospel, trust God for the results, and devote
ourselves “to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of
bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42).
BIG IDEA:
LUKE CHRONICLES: THE ACTS OF THE RESURRECTED JESUS CHRIST
PERFORMED BY HIS CHOSEN APOSTLES THROUGH THE POWER OF THE
PROMISED HOLY SPIRIT
INTRODUCTION:
Today we are going to begin a study of the Book of Acts and focus on the
mission of the church for today. For the life of Christ we have the Synoptic
Gospel accounts of Mat, Mark, Luke and John. But for the important transition
time of the founding of the church and the spread of the gospel through the
efforts of first Peter centered in Jerusalem and then Paul as the special
Apostle to the Gentiles, we only have the one historical document of the
Book of Acts. That concept of “transition time” is very important. This is a
bridge period of time – the gospel of the kingdom is still being offered first to
the Jews in the early chapters – there is still the presentation of the now risen
and ascended Messiah to God’s chosen people. There is still the offer of the
coming kingdom if they will repent and embrace the promised Messiah. But
there is a transition as they continue to reject (not individually, but as a
nation) and now the coming of the future king will be linked to the
completion of the fullness of the times of the Gentiles. As a transition book,
we will see some things that are not normative for this church age. But we
will also learn much from studying the initial missionary journeys about how
the head of the church wants us to build His church.
Key Verse: Acts 1:8 “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem; and in all Judea
and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
You can outline the book along these geographic lines. Not sure how far we
will take this study before we interrupt and go down a different path … but
we are at least committing to the first section. Look at the contrast between
the two parts of the Book
Chaps 1-12
Chaps 13-28
Jerusalem the center – Jewish focus Antioch the center – Gentile focus
Peter – central figure Paul – central figure – Apostle to the Gentiles
Peter imprisoned Paul imprisoned
We should gain confidence from studying this book; we should get excited
about the power of God working through His people; we should learn much
about witnessing; we should learn much about church methodology; we
should draw closer to the person of Jesus Christ Himself as we see His
continued activity right now in the world – understanding the significance of
His resurrection and ascension and current role at the right hand of God.
Title of the Book:
Stott: The most accurate (though cumbersome) title, then, which does justice
to Luke’s own statement in verses 1 and 2, would be something like “The
Continuing Words and Deeds of Jesus by his Spirit through his Apostles.”
Bock: “The Acts of the Sovereign God through the Lord Messiah Jesus by His
Spirit on Behalf of the Way.”
LUKE CHRONICLES: THE ACTS OF THE RESURRECTED JESUS CHRIST
PERFORMED BY HIS CHOSEN APOSTLES THROUGH THE POWER OF THE
PROMISED HOLY SPIRIT
CONNECTION TO THE GOSPEL OF LUKE
“The first account I composed, Theophilus,”
A. Who is Luke?
Identified as the author by the “we” passages in Acts (other travelling
companions can be ruled out like Silas and Timothy) and by church tradition
and by the link to the gospel he wrote
1. Historian
Luke 1:1-4 “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of
the things accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning
were eyewitnesses and servants of the word have handed them down to us,
3 it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully
from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most
excellent Theophilus; 4 so that you might know the exact truth about the
things you have been taught.”
This should be regarded as the preface to both Luke and Acts since the
author considered his work to be a historical unity.
Things “accomplished” or “fulfilled” as prophecied in the OT – that would
apply more to the life of Christ than the events of Acts
Luke was not an eyewitness to the extent that the apostles were – excellent
at research; interviewing the eyewitnesses; compiling and checking the fact
All about accuracy and truth and reliability – not dry and dull history here –
exciting events
2. Physician – educated; could certainly distinguish miracles from medical
works of healing; understood the significance of the miracles which Christ
performed – pointing to Him as the Messiah; previewing His power when He
comes to establish His kingdom on earth; and those miracles performed
early on by the apostles to authenticate their new message; also lived
through the transition of seeing those miracles becoming less prominent as
the foundation of the church was laid and now others came along to build the
superstructure
3. Gentile – Col. 4:11, 14 – in that list of greetings, distinguished from those
who were of the circumcision; probably the only Gentile writer of any book of
the bible; possibly a native of Antioch
4. Traveling Companion of Paul
B. Who is Theophilus? – “lover of God” or “friend of God”
MacArthur: (on Luke 1:3) “most excellent” – This was a title used to address
governors (Ac 23:26; 24:3; 26:25). This sort of language was reserved for the
highest dignitaries, suggesting that Theophilus was such a person.
Important figure; probably wealthy; from the ruling class; ¼ of NT addressed
personally to him
May have supported financially the project of researching and writing and
distributing these scrolls. Was he a believer already or someone that Luke
was trying to impact with the Gospel message?
Good generic name for each of us as we receive this revelation – want to
grow as lovers of God, as friends of God, as those who understand the mind
of God and obey Him
C. What was the Emphasis of the Gospel of Luke?
The Works and Words of Jesus
Matt: Jesus as King of the Jews Mark: Christ the Servant John: Son of God
Presentation of Jesus as the Son of Man – a title that points to Him as the
promised Messiah; perfect man of righteousness
Daniel 7:13-14 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the
clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the
Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. 14 “And to Him was given
dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and men of
every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be
destroyed.”
I. (:1-2) THE ACTS OF THE RESURRECTED JESUS CHRIST
A. Synergy Between the Works and the Words of Christ
“about all that Jesus began to do and teach,”
No disconnect between how Jesus lived and what He taught
No hypocrisy when it comes to Christ
Christians are often discredited at this point – when their actions don’t match
their words
Doctrine must impact behavior – that is why doctrine is so practical
Lloyd-Jones: The starting point, the fundamental thing, is that Christianity is
about Jesus. Christianity is not a teaching – it is a person. It is not merely a
moral outlook that is to be applied in the realm of politics. You start with a
historical person.
Boice: Christianity is a historical religion. It is a religion that is not based
primarily on an idea or philosophy. Most of the religions of the world can exist
apart from their founder. You do not have to have a historical Buddha to have
Buddhism. All you have to have are Buddhist teachings. So also with many
other religions. This is not the case with Christianity. If you take away the
history – if you reduce it, as some have tried to do, to a religion of mere
ethics or ideas – Christianity evaporates. This is because Christianity is
indissolubly linked to the life and accomplishments of Christianity’s founder.
And the life of Jesus continues today and must impact me today!
B. Significance of the Ascension – Huge Turning Point in History
“until the day when He was taken up,”
1. Proof of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Testimony to the resurrection is theme of the Gospel message in Acts
Significance of where Jesus is today
Approval of God signified in this “taking up” – cf. Enoch
Look at the testimony of John in his gospel – presenting Jesus as the eternal
Son of God who existed from all time and came down from heaven to enter
this world via the virgin birth – a totally unique situation; here now he is
returning to his heavenly home
2. Progressive Revelation now advancing to a new era
Emphasis on the Holy Spirit – could not be given until Jesus returned to the
Father
Stott: Here Luke tells us how he thinks of his two-volume work on the origins
of Christianity, which constitutes approximately one quarter of the New
Testament. He does not regard volume one as the story of Jesus Christ . . .
and volume two as the story of the church of Jesus Christ . . . For the
contrasting parallel he draws between his two volumes was not between
Christ and his church, but between two stages of the ministry of the same
Christ. . . Thus Jesus’ ministry on earth, exercised personally and publicly,
was followed by his ministry from heaven, exercised through his Holy Spirit
by his apostles. Moreover, the watershed between the two was the
ascension. Not only did it conclude Luke’s first book and introduce his second
(Acts 1:9), but it terminated Jesus’ earthly ministry and inaugurated his
heavenly ministry.
C. Spirit Mediated Special Instructions to His Chosen Apostles
“after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had
chosen.”
3 Main Players all referenced in this phrase
Apostles = envoy, delegate or ambassador, sent out with a message and
carrying the authority of the sender
We have our marching orders for this age — how obedient are we?
We must be a people who are Mission-Oriented – cf. The Great Commission
Church
Stott: Luke has used the same verb eklegomai in his account of Jesus’ calling
and choice of the Twelve, “whom he also designated apostles”, and he is
about to use it again when two men are proposed to fill the vacancy left by
Judas and the believers pray “Lord, . . . show us which of these two you have
chosen” (24). Significantly, the same verb is also used later in connection
with Paul. The risen Lord describes him to Ananias as “my chosen instrument
to carry my name before the Gentiles . . . “ (9:15), and Ananias conveys this
message to Paul: “The God of our fathers has chosen you . . . You will be his
witness . . . “ (22:14-15). It is thus emphasized that all the apostles (the
Twelve, Matthias and Paul) were neither self-appointed, nor appointed by any
human being, committee, synod or church, but were directly and personally
chosen and appointed by Jesus Christ himself.
We have been chosen to bear fruit as well
II. (:2b-4a) THE ACTS OF THE CHOSEN APOSTLES
A. Foreordained Privilege
“to the apostles whom He had chosen”
Will be looking later in the chapter about the replacement chosen for Judas =
Matthias; how does the apostle Paul play into this equation?
“Training of the Twelve” – good name for book about the apostles – look at all
that Jesus invested in preparing these men for the pioneering work of
spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth
B. Fabulous Proofs – incredible, astonishing, wonderful, marvelous
1. Convincing Presentations
“To these He also presented Himself alive, after His suffering, by many
convincing proofs,”
Appearances – not constantly for that 40 day period, but a number of distinct
appearances
Bock: Kistemaker lists ten appearances of Jesus: to the women at the tomb,
Mary Magdalene, the Emmaus disciple, Peter in Jerusalem, ten disciples,
eleven disciples, seven disciples fishing in Galilee, eleven disciples in Galilee,
the five hundred, and James the Lord’s brother
1 Cor. 15 details many of these
Death described as “His suffering” – we can never minimize what took place
Bock: As the apostles return to Jerusalem, they can be assured that the
suffering of Jesus did not end the story of the kingdom but was part of God’s
program. Jesus is raised, alive, and ready to bestow the blessing they need
to carry out the mission he will give them. . . There will be a day when Jesus
returns from heaven to complete what God has started through him. The
introduction to Acts not only highlights key themes of the book; it also
proclaims with assurance that God’s program is on track.
Blaiklock: The fact of the resurrection was to be the solid foundation of the
apostles’ faith and the chief ingredient of their early message.
Read the Book of Acts looking for any reference to the resurrection of Jesus
Christ
People are constantly demanding proof for Christianity – look at how these
men were transformed by the gospel; empowered to accomplish an amazing
work in the short timeframe of their lifespan; if they were testifying to a lie –
if they had not seen the risen Christ – what a fraud! Liar, Lunatic, or Lord –
those are the options — (today they add a fourth choice: Legend)
2. Multiple Appearings
“appearing to them over a period of forty days,”
to different people and different groups of people at different times and in
different settings
3. Authoritative Teaching
“and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.”
Only the one sent from heaven could speak with knowledge and authority on
such a topic
What are some of these things concerning the kingdom of God?
Bock: God’s promised rule that comes with Jesus’ messianic program and
activity . . . appears thirty-two times in Luke and six times in Acts (1:3; 8:12;
14:22; 19:8; 28:23, 31).
Theme of Renewed offer of the kingdom of God to the Jews before turning to
the Gentiles with the gospel
J Sidlow Baxter: They were to witness to Him (1) as being indeed the
Messiah-King of Israel, the crucified but now risen Deliverer of His people, the
predestined King of the long-promised “kingdom of heaven”: and (2) as the
personal Saviour, from the guilt and power and eternal penalty of sin, of all
who believe upon Him, through His atoning death and resurrection. They
were to present the offer of the King and the kingdom, just as the Lord
Himself had done up to the time of His crucifixion; only now there was a
wonderful new factor in the message – that of the Cross, the atonement for
“the sin of the world,” and the good news of personal salvation by faith on
the Lord Jesus, the Christ of Israel and now the Saviour of the world.
C. Final Preparation – Wait in Jerusalem for the gift of the promised Holy Spirit
1. Call for Staging
“And gathering them together,”
2. Trigger for Deployment
“He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father
had promised,”
Jerusalem = dangerous place to wait
10 day period of waiting upon God; must have been difficult to wait when
they were primed for action; importance of faith in the promises of God
What has our experience been in terms of waiting upon God?
OT prophecies of the coming of the Holy Spirit: Joel 2:28ff, Is. 32:15; Ezk.
36:27
Jesus’ promises of the coming of the Holy Spirit: John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7
III. (:4b-5) THE ACTS OF THE PROMISED HOLY SPIRIT
A. Holy Spirit Baptism Promised by God the Father and Testified to by Jesus
Christ
“but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard
of from Me;”
B. Holy Spirit Baptism Preferred Over the Water Baptism of John
“for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit”
Parallel to John 3 – born again (born from above) by water and the spirit
Does this establish a pattern for this age that the baptism with the Holy Spirit
should be an event subsequent to one’s conversion? Importance of
understanding the transitional nature of the Book of Acts
1 Cor. 12:13 “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body”
C. Holy Spirit Baptism Coming Soon as a New Phenomenon
“not many days from now.”
Specific timetable in mind; Father knows; we must be watching and ready
Dramatic upcoming event of Pentecost
CONCLUSION:
These opening verses distinguish Jesus Christ from the founder of every
other religion. His life on earth was only the beginning of His spiritual
ministry. That ministry continues today under His direction by His appointed
apostles through the power of the Holy Spirit whom He has sent – because of
the historical fact of His resurrection and ascension into heaven.
We are called to be witnesses today – not something complicated – tell
people that Jesus is still alive and at work in our lives and wants to work in
their lives as well.
Look at the impact of a faithful individual in witnessing for Christ: a couple of
key heroes of the faith went home this week – having finished the course of
their witness to Christ:
– Alan Tibbels – Sandtown Habitat for Humanity – what type of impact could
this man have? Became a quadriplegic 25 years ago after a terrible accident
on a church basketball floor – his life must have been over?? For nearly 21
years, Mr. Tibbels was the force behind Sandtown Habitat for Humanity, an
organization that built and renovated nearly 300 homes in one of the city’s
most blighted areas. What the newspaper accounts fail to emphasize is his
consistent witness to his Lord and Savior.
– John Wooden – legendary coach of the UCLA college basketball team; 99
years of testifying to the importance of godly character
As we begin this study of ACTs, think about what type of testimony and
impact you should be having for Christ. But it must start with first obeying
the gospel message of repentance from your sins and faith in the crucified
and resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.
