As we have seen, luke recorded the facts of history as a reliable testimony to the continuing work of christ through the holy spirit. Actus apostolorum, often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament. Acts 2 new international version niv the holy spirit comes at pentecost. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. Reference to the holy spirit comes in a variety of ways. As we approach the book of acts, we must always keep in mind that luke wrote out of his background in the old testament and first century beliefs about the kingdom of god in christ. Alexander states the purpose of acts in his commentary, as. Acts is the only biblical book that chronicles the history of the church immediately after jesuss ascension. Acts tells us how the christian movement came into beginning. But if the main purpose in writing was merely to pre and recount the. A fundamental difference between the two books is lukes status as an eye witness.
The date is debated, but lukeacts was probably written in the late first century, sometime after the fall of jerusalem in 70 ce. It is the historical link that joins the life of christ with the growth of the christian church. The impetus for the jerusalem council is given in acts 15, verses 1 and 5, but some men came down from judea and were teaching the brothers, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of moses, you cannot be saved. In my former book, theophilus, i wrote about all that jesus began to do and to teach v. Power, status, and resources are to be used for the sake of the community. What can we learn about sharing the gospel from john 1. Acts concerns the very vital period in christian history between the resurrection of jesus and the death of the apostle paul. Jesus has authority on earth to forgive sins mark 2.
Acts facts people, places, and verse by verse study. Lets take a look at some of the most intriguing things in acts and develop a new appreciation for this fascinating book. Many of the miracles of acts arose out of the needs of the people encountered by the apostles, but the purpose of compassion is not nearly so evident in acts as it is in the miracles of jesus. We come to the conclusion of our introduction to the book of acts today by looking at its purpose and theme. As was stated, acts is the second part of what was originally a twopart, single volume i.
Every tongue than had to 1 be from god for the purpose of teaching the truth and 2 be in some language that people could understand. The acts of the apostles was written by a physician named lucian in english luke. As we can see, if one were to demythologize the book of acts, as those of a liberal bent are wont to do, much would be missing concerning the amazing growth and development of the early church. The power of the holy spirit 12week study guide the passionate life bible study series. To give us a better understanding of the book of acts we created a small introduction booklet. Almost every commentator on acts maintains its purpose is to tell the story of the birth and growth of the church.
Jan 02, 2020 the impetus for the jerusalem council is given in acts 15, verses 1 and 5, but some men came down from judea and were teaching the brothers, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of moses, you cannot be saved. Christian church without making use of the book of acts, he would speedily realize with. As we go through the book, well see a simple formula repeated over and over again. What was the purpose of the book acts of the apostles answers. In this regard, miracles demonstrate the following. While there are some areas of great detail of the acts of the apostles, many times you must use cross references to the gospels of matthew, mark, luke and john as well as some other epistles in the new testament to get the full picture of what was. As in the miracles of the lord, there is an emphasis on the accomplishment of the moral purposes of god in. The book of acts is an important book for understanding the actions of the apostles, mostly paul and peter, after jesuss ascension into heaven. But if the main purpose in writing was merely to pre. As in the miracles of the lord, there is an emphasis on the accomplishment of the moral purposes of god in the miracles of acts. Each place is located on a map and then we note the people and events associated with that place. Besides linking the gospel narratives on the one hand and the apostolic letters on the.
Our interest here is to highlight lukes overarching purpose and theme. The emphasis of the book is the fulfillment of the great commission. In the latter portion of acts, luke recorded three rejections of the jews to pauls overtures of salvation. We come to the conclusion of our introduction to the book of acts. Jun 05, 2015 acts is the story of the apostles bearing spiritempowered witness to jesus christ in jerusalem acts 1. The book of acts forms a bridge between the gospels and pauls epistles. While this does not speak necessarily to the purpose of acts, this information still influences the overall purpose. Acts has been called a transitional book because it serves as a bridge between the gospels and the epistles. It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of moses. As such, it provides us with a valuable account of how the church was able to grow and spread out from jerusalem into the rest of the roman empire. Acts free bible commentary on the book of acts in easy. In fact, we would have a difficult time explaining how so many greeks, romans, and barbarians i. The significance of acts as a historical account of christian origins cannot be overestimated. Acts records the apostles being christs witnesses in jerusalem, judea, samaria, and the surrounding world.
As a result the jews believed and were baptized and were added to the church acts 2. In earlier lessons we summarized lukes purpose for the book of acts by saying that he wrote a historical account about the dynamic impact of the gospel. In only three decades, a small group of frightened believers in jerusalem transformed. On one level, as is true of most literary works, luke had many purposes and acts has many themes. The acts of the apostles is universally seen as a history of the church in the years immediately following the resurrection of jesus, with its focus on the lives and works of st peter and st paul. Political forces are at work in the united states much like they have been in europe.
In this lesson we will explore this purpose more thoroughly by delving into some of the major themes luke used to illustrate and support this main idea. The recipient of the book, theophilus, is the same person addressed in the first volume, the gospel of luke see introduction to luke. The acts of the apostles, abbreviation acts, fifth book of the new testament, a valuable history of the early christian church. The book of acts provides a detailed, orderly, eyewitness account of the birth and growth of the early church and the spread of the gospel immediately after the resurrection of jesus christ. Major themes in the book of acts the bart ehrman blog. Therefore, it is reasonable to include lukes purpose for acts as falling under his purpose for the book of luke. The book of acts is an adventure thrill ride from start to finish, but we tend to skip over a lot of the incredibly compelling details. The book of acts was likely written between ad 61 and 64.
One clear purpose of miracles was to authenticate the character of jesus and his relationship with his heavenly father. A better title would be the acts or the workings of the holy spirit, because he is the real main character of the book. Book of acts overview insight for living ministries. Authorship, background, purpose while the books are anonymous, early christian tradition named the author of luke and acts as luke the physician, gentile convert and friend of paul col 4. Acts was written in greek, presumably by the evangelist luke, whose gospel concludes where acts begins, namely, with christs ascension into heaven. Theres never been much contention about the authorship of acts. While the birth of the church is found in acts though not in the way most think lukes purpose was far different. Acts free bible commentary on the book of acts in easy english. Acts 2 niv the holy spirit comes at pentecost bible gateway.
The main theological emphasis of the book of acts is the holy spirit. As a second volume to lukes gospel, it joins what jesus began to do and to teach 1. In acts 10 we find the next instance of miraculous tongues. The acts of the apostles often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth. Stephen said some words from the book by the prophet isaiah isaiah 66. Peter is the human main character in the first 12 chapters. The book of acts, which continues the narrative that luke began in his gospel, is especially important because it was the first written history of the christian church. Purposes of the book of acts reformed bible studies. T he book of acts forms a bridge between the gospels and pauls epistles. The book of acts describes how the church spread after jesus ascended to heaven. The most literary aspect of the book is the delicate persuasion or rhetoric that paul uses to induce philemon to receive his slave with kindness. The purpose of the book of acts is governed by the jews response to peter and paul.
Christian life occurs in a community oriented with a vocation for the kingdom of god. The most popular bible verses from acts found 1,007 verses acts 1. The book of acts also describes the work of the two apostles peter and paul. The book begins with jesus promise of the holy spirit, which is later fulfilled in reference to the jews, and then for the gentiles. What was the meaning and importance of the jerusalem. Key verses and themes in acts bible commentary theology. Luke recorded three rejections by the jews to peter and the apostles associated with him to the message of repentance and proclamation of the kingdom. Major themes in the book of acts the debate over the historical accuracy of the book of acts is important, in no small measure because as i have pointed out already it provides us our one and only narrative of what was happening among the followers of jesus in the years immediately after his death.
But stephen reminded the jews that god was bigger than any temple. Acts concerns the very vital period in christian history between the resurrection of jesus and the death of the apostle paul, the time when christian ideas and beliefs were. What every book of the new testament is about crossway. Jan 14, 2014 while we dont know everything about the early church, we can learn a lot about the church from the book of acts. The holy spirit empowers the church to continue the ministry and mission of jesus acts 1.
What was the meaning and importance of the jerusalem council. This is, in effect, an outline of the book of acts see plan and outline below. The temple in this book called acts was the third temple. The book of acts was written to provide a history of the early church. The book of acts ends just as it begins, emphasizing the apostles role as those who expanded gods kingdom on earth, through their proclamation. We will explore three major themes that are introduced in the opening of the book of acts and developed throughout its chapters. Acts overview mcgarveys original commentary on acts. In earlier lessons we summarized lukes purpose for the book of acts by saying that he wrote a historical account about the dynamic impact of the gospel message. Understanding the book of acts in the bible learn religions. The acts of the apostles, fifth book of the new testament, a valuable history of the early christian church. The primary purpose of the book of acts is not to record the birth of the church, the. As weve already said, luke wrote the book of acts and the purpose was probably so wed have a historical record of how the church started and how it grew and what the church did through men. Intro to acts biblica the international bible society. There are two major textual variants of acts, the western texttype and the alexandrian.
The work of the holy spirit is so prevalent in acts that many commentators have suggested the book should be titled the acts of the holy spirit rather than the acts of the apostles. As weve already said, luke wrote the book of acts and the purpose was probably so wed have a historical record of how the church started and how it grew and. The presence and working of the holy spirit is the dominating mark of the book of acts. Its narrative supplies a bridge connecting the life and ministry of jesus to the life of the church and the witness of the earliest believers. The book of acts provides a bridge for the writings of the nt. And they answered, believe in the lord jesus christ give yourself up to him, take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself into his keeping and you will be saved, and this applies both to you and your household as. This is the story of christianitys beginnings and how evangelism played. Acts 2 niv the holy spirit comes at pentecost bible. Neither the third gospel nor the acts provide an explicit statement of authorship, but the testimony of the early church is clear, and there is internal evidence that demonstrates lucan authorship. Acts was apparently written in rome, perhaps between ad 70 and 90, though some think a slightly earlier date is also. Stay connected to your students with prezi video, now in microsoft teams. What was the purpose of the book acts of the apostles. Introduction to the book of acts study resources blue letter bible. A singlechapter book known best for the story that lies behind it, namely, a runaway slave who had become a christian and whom paul is sending back to his owner also a christian with the letter.
As such it answers the question many firstcentury observers would have. The major points of the book of acts by lauren leaver on prezi. Apologetics is the branch of theology that is concerned with. T he book of acts in the bible, written around 6263 a. Christian church without making use of the book of acts, he would speedily. We look at the places mentioned in acts, taking them in alphabetical order. Of the 27 books that make up what we know as the new testament, the one called the acts of the apostles is unique in the information it contains. They replied, believe in the lord jesus, and you will be saved you and your household. It is an important book in understanding how we can be directed by the holy spirit and the role of jesus lessons in our lives. What was the writers purpose in writing the book of acts.
This title may be a bit misleading, because 11 apostles are barely mentioned, while the book concentrates almost exclusively on the early work of peter chapters 112 and the short but influential ministry of paul chapters 28. There are several major themes in acts, and here let us consider three of them. One finds embedded in acts a record of christian defenses made to both jews e. They contended that acts gives the impression of being a pure history, that the historical purpose of the book could not be more clearly expressed than in luke 1. I connect the commencement and the close, because i think that the juxtaposition throws great light upon the purpose of the writer, and suggests some very important lessons. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
1459 210 1015 58 338 246 205 111 1327 307 855 815 1157 1179 1183 252 554 1330 1238 707 752 873 274 784 1136 1310 488 852 1056 562 896 741 146