Introduction to Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles is the fifth book of the New Testament and gives an account of the early years of the Christian church as it expanded from Jerusalem into the rest of the Roman world. The book is most commonly called by its simpler name, Acts.
Acts opens where the gospels leave off. Over a period of forty days after his resurrection, Jesus taught the disciples before ascending into heaven. The disciples remained in Jerusalem at Jesus’ command until the promised Holy Spirit came upon them in the second chapter. The coming of the Holy Spirit is especially significant in Acts. In fact, we might call the book the Acts of the Holy Spirit, because even the lightest of reading reveals that the Holy Spirit is a critical factor in the advance of the gospel.
Acts 1:8 provides an outline for the book. “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The account begins in Jerusalem. When persecution breaks out against the church, some believers go to Samaria and carry the message of Jesus with them. Finally, in a twist of irony, the church’s greatest persecutor meets the resurrected Jesus and carries the gospel into Asia Minor and Europe - the ends of the earth.
Outline
Acts 1-8:3 The Gospel Witness in Jerusalem
Acts 1-2 The Beginning of the Church
Acts 3-7 The Church in Jerusalem
Acts 8:4-12:24 The Gospel Witness in Samaria
Acts 8-12 Beginning of the Gentile Mission
Acts 13-28 The Gospel Witness in the Ends of the Earth
Acts 13-14 Paul’s First Missionary Journey - The Gospel Goes to Asia Minor
Acts 15:1-35 The Jerusalem Council
Acts 15:36-18:22 Second Missionary Journey - Mainland Europe
Acts 18:23-20:38 Third Missionary Journey - Strengthening the Disciples
Acts 21-28 Paul’s Arrest and Imprisonment - Paul Goes to Rome
Luke, who wrote the gospel which bears his name, also wrote Acts. His style in Acts is very similar to the book of Luke, which he wrote as an “orderly account” after carefully investigating the details (Luke 1:1-4). We see the same carefulness of his research in Acts and many of the details he provides have been verified by other historical sources and by archaeology. An interesting feature of Acts, however, is that Luke actually travelled with Paul beginning in Acts 16. At that point Luke switches to his own perspective by using the word “we.”
Conservative scholars date the book in the decade of the sixties AD. Some lean toward the early sixties because Paul’s arrival in Rome is during that time and his death is not recorded. Others lean toward the latter part of the decade because they feel the Gospel was written during this time and Acts naturally follows. In this scheme, Luke chose not to record Paul’s death, which many feel happened during the persecution under Nero before 68AD. In either event, we can trust the book without knowing the precise date Luke wrote it.
There are many different and interesting ways to study Acts. The characters of Acts make great lessons. We can take a number of people and study them to see their traits. We see Peter, James and John transformed from timid followers into brave and powerful leaders of the church. Saul becomes Paul as he encounters Jesus. Barnabas is the great encourager, while Priscilla and Acquila show us about serving Jesus in the market place. Each character has something to teach us about our own walk with Jesus.
The themes of Acts can be a very fruitful study. The empowering presence of the Holy Spirit is one of the most important themes of the book. We see the promise of the Spirit in 1:5, and in chapter 2 He descends upon Jesus’ followers, transforming them into courageous and bold disciples. Peter’s quote of Joel in Acts 2:17-21 provides a framework to understand the many miracles we see in the book. After Pentecost the Holy Spirit will indwell and empower each believer, often with seemingly incredible results.
Another prominent theme is the role of prayer in believers’ lives. At each major turn in the book prayer is involved. The believers were meeting when the Holy Spirit descended upon them (2:1). Paul prayed after his encounter with Jesus (9:11). The vision to Peter which helped spark the mission to the Gentiles occurred while he prayed (10:9). The church fasted and prayed before commissioning Paul for his first missionary journey (13:3). We have much to learn from these and many other examples in Acts.
There is the unhindered gospel. Acts 28:31 says, “Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” Time and again the message about Jesus appears to be threatened by persecution, division and danger. On each occasion, however, we see God’s providence and provision to overcome these obstacles. There are many lessons for us as we face uncertain times.
Finally there is a helpful exercise which I pass along from one of our seminary professors. We had to create and memorize a one line summary for each chapter. That was many years ago, but I can still remember and place most events in Acts to this day.
2009 Rev. Troy Dennis is a pastor and writer. For more articles and encouraging letters check www.onfireletter.com