Introduction to the Book of Acts

Stop—don’t toss this introduction away without reading it. I truly believe that it is important for us to have a good preliminary idea about things we are to study in depth. We need to read, then study, and then reread God’s word. It is far too deep to just read casually. Thanks.

We began our second journey through the bible with the study of Genesis which we completed last Sunday. The study of the Acts of the Apostles will be our second book in this six year venture into the pages of Holy Writ. Acts may not be your favorite book in the New Testament, but it has to be one of the most informative and therefore one of the most important books ever written. The passage that sets the tone for our study is found in the 8th verse; “…You shall receive power [In fact, the title of the first lesson will be “Empowered to Witness] 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.” CHRIST WAS TALKING TO THE NEW CHURCH. The church is a body of believers that witness of Jesus Christ. The book of acts is the story of how the church is to accomplish this task!

The first sentence tells us that Luke was the author and this is his second book written to Theophilus. He tells us that he was a companion to Paul and it is thought that he wrote the acts from Rome while Paul was in prison there. The date of writing was about AD 62 or 63. Colossians 4:14 tells us that Luke was a physician. Luke was a gentile Christian and probably one of Paul’s converts. He was with Paul in both of his Roman imprisonments. The book tells the story of the church and the spread of gospel from Jerusalem, the Jewish capitol to Rome which was the capitol of the world at the time. It covers the time period from the death of Christ, AD 33 to AD 63 a thirty year period covering the early church.

Dr. Luke was the author of Acts and the book of Luke, and there are many similarities; actually Acts is a continuation of the book of Luke. In his gospel, Luke tells us what Jesus started to do and teach before he ascended. In Acts, he tells us what Jesus began to do and say following His ascension and until the gospel reached Rome upon Paul’s arrival there. The writer told us in his gospel what Christ did on earth; in Acts he speaks of what Christ does and teaches from heaven. Both were written to Theophilus, a Greek word that means “A friend of God.” Nothing more is known about Theophilus than what you will find in Luke and Acts.

Acts presents the church in its beginning as an example of what it should have continued to do—and even what it should be doing now. Acts is really restricted to the BEGINNING of the church in each town and city where it was newly established. You will find Jesus Christ as the hero of this book.

As you read Acts, remember that Christ is in heaven. He is already enthroned as King of Kings and Lord of Lords at his Father’s right hand and he is interceding as our High Priest. The church is already organized with its officers and apostles and its laws and ordinances have been established. The mother church at Jerusalem will soon have its first pastor and deacons. You must remember that the church has already been commissioned; Christ commissioned the church as one of his last acts on earth—1. To bear witness of the fact that Jesus, was born, lived and died and was resurrected. 2. Proclaim to the world the risen Christ as Savior of the world.

We must remember that the church was organized, but young and still ignorant of some duties and doctrines. At the time of His ascension they still were still expecting the establishment of an earthly Jewish kingdom. One asked, “Lord, doest thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He evaded that question by saying that they would not know the time or the season. We think of this as meaning long and short periods of time, because he used the words Chronos which means long time; and kairos which means a short period of time. This tells us that the ‘second coming’ may be soon or in the distant future…it is not for us to know.

They were still ignorant as to the way a church democracy was to work. The had been accustomed to levels of power and could not yet understand that though the church would make no distinction between the apostles, deacons, and other brethren…not even between men and women. The Lord’s idea of the church was that it should be a pure democracy—an organization where everyone without regard to age, sect, or previous conditions or status would participate equally. There are three specific groups mentioned in the gospel and Acts; 1-The eleven apostles, 2-Several women, including is mother, and 3-The four brothers of Jesus which were unbelievers until the very last.

On the cross Jesus asked John to take care of his mother. Some think that his brothers were poor and unable to care for her; others think that John had been more faithful than his own brothers. I can find no place in the bible where it says that Mary was taken up without dying, or anything about her immaculate conception; not even that she was born holy. There is no record of her being the queen of heaven, and the fountain of all grace, and the source of salvation. This idea must have come from some perversions of the scriptures as other church organizations were developed to fit man’s ideas. This doctrine is taught by the Catholic Church.

Allow me to clarify how we know that Luke wrote the Acts. You will not find in the book of Luke or Acts any statement that specifically states that Dr. Luke wrote the books. However, there are several places where the pronouns “WE” and “US” occur; and these leave no doubt as to who is talking. You can confirm this by reading chapters 16, 17, 20, 21, 27, and 28. Each time it is evident that the writer was an eyewitness of Paul’s ministry. I have no one that doubts that this eyewitness was Luke.

Even though he wrote two books in the NT, we still know very little about Luke. It is obvious that he was a brilliant writer, and since his books were canonized, we can feel sure that they were inspired writings. Luke’s name only appears in the NT only three times. Colossians 4:14 tells us he was a medical doctor and a close associate of Paul. Philemon 24 also says that he was with Paul. Then 2 Timothy 4:21 says that Luke was with Paul when Paul wrote the book of 2 Timothy. Then in Acts 13 to 28 there are several events that happened with Luke present as an eyewitness. The book has at least six purposes; A. It is has a historical purpose. B. It has a theological purpose. C. It records what Jesus “began’ to do and teach while on earth. D. It also records what Jesus continued to do and teach through His Spirit and His apostles. E. He confirmed that Jesus was the Messiah, and F. He proved that Christianity and the church were not a departure from but a continuation of God’s purpose in the Old Testament. There is no conflict.

The following outline will give you a snap-shot view of the entire book.

1. Chapters 1 through 12 takes place takes place with Jerusalem as center.

a. They were waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promises…1.
b. The promise was fulfilled at Pentecost…2.
c. Work of Peter and John, with Sadducees opposition…3-4.
d. Dealing with social problems in church…4-5.
e. With new prosperity came renewed hostility from Sadducees…5.
f. A problem with church administration…6.
g. The Pharisees opposed Stephen’s teaching and killed him…6-8.
h. Expansion through Judea, Samaria and surrounding by Philip…8.
i. Change came when Saul was converted…9.
j. The doors of the church opened to gentiles…9-11.
k. New Roman persecution from Herod Agrippa I…12.

2. Chapters 13 through 21 takes place after Antioch became the center.

a. Paul and Barnabas entered the missionary business…13.
b. Explaining the greatest mission tour of all times…13-14.
c. Jerusalem conference over gentile freedom from the Law…15.
d. Paul’s second mission tour…15-18.
e. Paul’s third mission tour…18-21.

3. Paul’s enemies—he became prisoner…21-28.

a. Paul’s problems centered in Jerusalem…21-23.
b. Paul before the Roman court in Caesarea…23-26.
c. Paul appealed to the Roman court and Nero…27-28.
d. Two years waiting for Nero’s decision—writing and witnessing…28.