
Introduction to Acts
WHY STUDY ACTS?
Acts recounts the story of the young New-Testament church, which was established by the Spirit's power amid hostility and opposition. This study will be of great benefit to our own young South City Church. This is the book where we see new practices as well as new nuances in old things, church planting, church strengthening, elders and deacons, the first baptisms, the first cross-cultural mission, the first martyrs, first sermons of apostles, empowerment of the Holy Spirit and signs and wonders, and so on, all recorded with the light that comes with apostolic witness. As the inspired word of God, Acts is history presented with the right tone and focus and nuance. We read about Pentecost, martyrdom of Stephen, early ministry of Peter and James, of Ananias and Sapphira, Paul's conversion and missionary journeys, Council of Jerusalem, and more.
OVERVIEW
It is good to have a sense of the whole journey before we start. 'Gospel According to Luke, Part 2' might have been a more suitable name for the book. Both Luke ('Gospel According to Luke, Part 1') and Acts ('Gospel According to Luke, Part 2') have the same author—Luke and the same audience—Theophilus.
In Part 1, Luke gives Theophilus a detailed record of the ministry of Jesus—His life, death, and resurrection—using eye-witness accounts. He is detailed and precise in his history. Just as we read in Acts 1:1, Part 1 is about all that Jesus BEGAN TO DO AND TEACH. Part 2 is not a different story but a continuation, with Luke continuing from where he left off, writing about how Jesus CONTINUES His works and teaching. The Spirit is labelled as the Spirit of Christ, so in this sense, the Lord is with His church just as He promised, "lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." In the book of Acts, we also see accounts of some visions of Jesus. Had the early church had not kept the four gospels together as one unit, Luke's two works might have been a unit together.
SECTIONS
Acts can be divided into six sections based on how the gospel spread, and this is in keeping with the Lord's words, ". . . and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
Section 1 | Acts 1-6:7 JERUSALEM, with its summary in Acts 6:7 [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.]
Section 2 | Acts 6:8-9:31 JUDEA AND SAMARIA, with its summary in Acts 9:31 [Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.]
Section 3 | 9:31-12:24 with its summary in Acts 12:24 [But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.]
Section 4 | 12:25-16:5 Paul's first missionary journey, with its summary in Acts 16:5 [So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.]
Section 5 | 16:6-19:20 Paul's missionary journey, with its summary in Acts 19:20 [In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.]
Section 6 | 19:21-28:31 ROME, practically the end of the earth at the time, with its summary in Acts 16:5 [He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!]
TODAY'S TEXT
Acts 1:1-3 [In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.]
The apostles and the early Christians would preach the word boldly, plant churches, suffering great persecution for their witness even to death. They needed the motivation to do this as well as the skills to achieve it.
I PROOFS TO MOTIVATE
How did Christianity ever get off the ground. In John 11:50 [". . . it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish."] we read about how Caiaphas the high priest wanted to squash it completely by killing the leader. He did not know that he was in fact prophesying. The words that he had uttered were profoundly true but not in the way he and the other wicked authorities thought. They wanted to scatter and terrorise the followers of Jesus, but instead, within a few days, the apostles were emboldened, and the movement took off. Such is the impact when someone who is crucified rises from the dead.
II EQUIPPED TO PREACH
The apostles needed to be made competent. Before the resurrection, they were weak, incompetent, and afraid, being concerned about their status, worrying about food, falling asleep when they needed to watch and pray, taking up arms when they were not supposed to, even denying the Lord. After His resurrection, Jesus graciously spent 40 more days with them, teaching them about the kingdom, and asked them to wait for the anointing of the Holy Spirit. To be able to preach the gospel of the kingdom accurately was the only "skill" required. The sower in the parable did not worry about the soil nor about mastering the right technique for throwing the seed, nor about looking trendy; his task was simply to sow the seed. The right seed, not the false gospel, needs to be sown. The word is powerful and the Lord gives the growth.
III They needed the EMPOWERMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. We will look into this next week. The key theme in the book of Acts is the Spirit's empowerment of believers, the kingdom's growth, and the victorious progress of the word of God even in the darkest places