This week we move into our second book of the New Testament – the Book of Acts. Having finished the first of the four Gospels (the first to be written), we now move to the one “history book” of the New Testament. Acts creates a bridge between the Gospels and the Epistles or letters of the New Testament. Acts records the growth and development of the earliest church – showing God’s activity in the lives of the earliest disciples and the earliest converts to Christianity. Acts was most likely written in 80-90 C.E., by the same person who wrote the Gospel of Luke. The author states that his first book (Luke) was to record all that Jesus did and taught, and this book has the same purpose. Acts shows that Jesus is STILL at work through the Holy Spirit in the life of the early church. As you read through the Book of Acts you might want to concentrate on the following things:
The key figure and the main character in the Book of Acts is the Holy Spirit. Watch for the way the Spirit moves people and spreads the gospel through these stories in Acts.
There are really only two Apostles whose lives are outlined in this book – Peter and Paul. Watch for the unfolding of their stories and ministries. Watch in particular for the events that bring these great Apostles together.
Acts 1:8 says “You will be my witness to Jerusalem, to Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Many biblical scholars suggest that this is the thematic outline of Acts. Watch for this movement as the Gospel spreads from Jerusalem, like ripples in a pond.
Things to keep in mind:
Acts is not a history book in the modern sense. It was never the author’s intent to give systematic and unbiased account of the growth of the church. Instead the book provides vignettes of that history that point to the power of God and the universal appeal of the Gospel.
The early church who received this book was beginning to organize itself into an institution. They looked back to this early history to grant them clues about their future as the Body of Christ.
In these chapters you will read of Pentecost; the true birth of the church. You will read of the Apostle’s first fumbling attempts at healing and preaching. You will hear of the first persecution of the church, and the first experience of being “divided” as a church (otherwise known as the Ananias and Sapphira affair). In many ways these first five chapters introduce the themes that will carry throughout the rest of the book.
