Main Lessons from Acts 1:13b-2:41
~ Jesus called and chose the 12 apostles for a specific apostolic ministry: to be witnesses of Jesus' time with them and His death and resurrection.
~ The three dramatic signs of Pentecost (wind, fire and speaking in other languages) indicated the commissioning and equipping of the apostles by the Holy Spirit for this apostolic ministry.
~ God was in control of Jesus' death and resurrection, according to His own previous plan, and it was God who exalted Jesus to the judgement seat of heaven.
~ It is God who calls people to Christ, granting the gift of the Holy Spirit.
* The fourth sign of Pentecost - the ability to confidently and clearly state that Jesus is Lord (having authority over the believer's own life) and Jesus is Christ (aka Messiah, the promised Saviour, who has saved the believer from the consequences of their sins) is the defining evidence of the Holy Spirit's presence within all Christians, including those of today. (See also 1 Corinthians 12:3 and Romans 10:6-13.)
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
The Author of Acts and his message
Since the second century, the book of Acts has sometimes been called by a longer name: “The Acts of the Apostles”. This is because it describes the actions of the closest followers of Jesus as they began to teach others about Him, soon after His death. As we read and study the book of Acts, we will learn about what it meant to be a Christian in the first years after Jesus rose to heaven, and also examine what being a Christian means today.
As a historian, Luke collected his information about the events he recorded in Acts from several sources. As he wrote in the introductory verses of Luke, he included information “handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses” (Luke 1:2). This would have included John Mark, who wrote the earliest gospel, Mark, and Barnabas his cousin, who had been in Jerusalem with Peter (Acts 4:36-37 & 11:22). Luke spent time with these men because all three were Paul’s co-workers, and they were together with Paul during his imprisonment in Rome (Colossians 4:10,14 & Philemon 1:24). Luke wrote, “I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning” (Luke 1:3), and he was also involved in some of the action himself, having spent time with Paul as he travelled around the Mediterranean Sea (see, for example, Acts 16:10-17) and staying with him through his journey to Rome (Acts 27:1-2ff) and much of his imprisonment (Colossians 4:14,18).
Acts has also been described as “The Acts of the Holy Spirit”, because it shows who the Holy Spirit is and how He acted in the earliest days of the church. As we find out more about this third person of the Trinity, we will also learn to recognise and rely upon His work in our own lives.
As a theologian, Luke used history as a tool to explain deep truths about God. He did not write only a mere factual record. He was concerned that the events he chose to include should show clearly their significance for salvation. Luke will show us that salvation is prepared by God, given to us by Jesus Christ, and marked by the Holy Spirit (Stott, J.R.W. (1991) The Message of Acts). Luke was a Gentile, not a Jew (Colossians 4:10-11,14). He was the only Gentile to have his writings included in the New Testament. So it is significant that the events of Acts will reveal finally that, “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:39) We will be shown that the gospel (the good news of Jesus Christ) “is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, and then for the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16)
Acts was written to a person called Theophilus. From Luke’s courteous reference to him as “most excellent Theophilus” (Luke 1:3), we can guess that he was probably an important government official. The name Theophilus is Greek, and it means “God-lover” or “God-beloved”. It has been suggested that this may even have been a carefully chosen pseudonym. Whoever he was, Theophilus had been taught something of Jesus, and Luke wrote his two books to help him to know and understand everything about Jesus with certainty. As we read the same words that Theophilus studied centuries ago, we will be learning the same lessons about Jesus, His people the church, and the Holy Spirit He sent to them.
As a historian, Luke collected his information about the events he recorded in Acts from several sources. As he wrote in the introductory verses of Luke, he included information “handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses” (Luke 1:2). This would have included John Mark, who wrote the earliest gospel, Mark, and Barnabas his cousin, who had been in Jerusalem with Peter (Acts 4:36-37 & 11:22). Luke spent time with these men because all three were Paul’s co-workers, and they were together with Paul during his imprisonment in Rome (Colossians 4:10,14 & Philemon 1:24). Luke wrote, “I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning” (Luke 1:3), and he was also involved in some of the action himself, having spent time with Paul as he travelled around the Mediterranean Sea (see, for example, Acts 16:10-17) and staying with him through his journey to Rome (Acts 27:1-2ff) and much of his imprisonment (Colossians 4:14,18).
Acts has also been described as “The Acts of the Holy Spirit”, because it shows who the Holy Spirit is and how He acted in the earliest days of the church. As we find out more about this third person of the Trinity, we will also learn to recognise and rely upon His work in our own lives.
As a theologian, Luke used history as a tool to explain deep truths about God. He did not write only a mere factual record. He was concerned that the events he chose to include should show clearly their significance for salvation. Luke will show us that salvation is prepared by God, given to us by Jesus Christ, and marked by the Holy Spirit (Stott, J.R.W. (1991) The Message of Acts). Luke was a Gentile, not a Jew (Colossians 4:10-11,14). He was the only Gentile to have his writings included in the New Testament. So it is significant that the events of Acts will reveal finally that, “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:39) We will be shown that the gospel (the good news of Jesus Christ) “is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, and then for the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16)
Acts was written to a person called Theophilus. From Luke’s courteous reference to him as “most excellent Theophilus” (Luke 1:3), we can guess that he was probably an important government official. The name Theophilus is Greek, and it means “God-lover” or “God-beloved”. It has been suggested that this may even have been a carefully chosen pseudonym. Whoever he was, Theophilus had been taught something of Jesus, and Luke wrote his two books to help him to know and understand everything about Jesus with certainty. As we read the same words that Theophilus studied centuries ago, we will be learning the same lessons about Jesus, His people the church, and the Holy Spirit He sent to them.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Acts 1:1-14
Main Lessons from Acts 1:1-14
~ Luke wrote Acts as the second volume of his "orderly account" for Theophilus, which began with The Gospel of Luke. (See also Luke 1:1-4.)
~ Jesus promised that His apostles would be baptised with the Holy Spirit, the gift of God the Father.
* Jesus told the apostles that with the power they would gain when the Holy Spirit came on them, they would go out to the world as His witnesses.
~ The angels explained that Jesus had gone to heaven and promised that Jesus would return again.
~ Luke wrote Acts as the second volume of his "orderly account" for Theophilus, which began with The Gospel of Luke. (See also Luke 1:1-4.)
~ Jesus promised that His apostles would be baptised with the Holy Spirit, the gift of God the Father.
* Jesus told the apostles that with the power they would gain when the Holy Spirit came on them, they would go out to the world as His witnesses.
~ The angels explained that Jesus had gone to heaven and promised that Jesus would return again.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Acts and it's place in the New Testament
The Bible is a collection of books. These books are divided into two main sections, called the Old Testament and the New Testament. The books are of many different types: there are books of history, although they are not necessarily written in the same style of today’s history works; there is also poetry, advice, prophecy (predicting and warning about future events); allegorical tales and letters. The New Testament is made up of 27 books written originally in Greek, most of which are actually letters.
The first four books of the New Testament, named after their authors Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, are called Gospels. They give biographical accounts of Jesus’ life, ministry, death and resurrection from four different perspectives. Two of the writers, Matthew (also called Levi) and John, were among the twelve apostles that Jesus chose and taught during the time of his ministry. The other two, Mark (also called John Mark) and Luke, were active in the early Christian church and worked closely with Peter and Paul. We will read about John, Mark and Luke in Acts.
Acts, the fifth book of the New Testament, is the book we will be studying for the next fifteen weeks or so. It gives a historical account of the activities of the earliest Christians as they began to travel throughout the world, telling people the good news about the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the peace with God that comes from trusting and believing in Him.
The remainder of the New Testament, except the last book, is a collection of letters (also called epistles) written by the earliest followers of Jesus to teach and encourage each other in their Christian faith. The letters of Paul come first, not in the order they were written but in order from longest to shortest. The letters to churches were written to the Romans, two letters to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians and two letters to the Thessalonians. Paul also wrote letters to individual people, two to Timothy, to Titus and to Philemon. We will read about many of these churches and people in Acts as well.
One of the letters, addressed to the Hebrews, is of unknown authorship. The other letters are named after their senders, rather than their recipients: they are the two letters of Peter (one of the disciples), one by James (Jesus’ brother, who became leader of the church in Jerusalem), the three letters of John (who wrote the fourth gospel) and finally the letter of Jude (another brother of Jesus). The writers of these letters are also written about in Acts.
The disciple John also wrote the last book of the New Testament, Revelation, recounting a vision from Jesus.
The books of the New Testament, other than Revelation, which relates to the future, cover events from roughly 6BC to AD60. They were written between AD50 and AD90. They were collected together by the leaders of Christian churches and the authoritative canon (official list of NT books) was being defined from AD180.
The books of the Bible were originally written by hand on scrolls of parchment paper. By the 2nd century AD, the scrolls were being replaced with the “codex”, an early form of book with pages folded and sewn at one side. Chapter divisions were added to the Bible about a thousand years later. After the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg in the 1450s, verse numbers were added. Titles were added at the same time as these forms were being introduced to other literature. Hence, my great-grandmother’s Bible has a brief summary at the beginning of each chapter in italics, while my Bible has headings added in a bold font throughout the text.
The first four books of the New Testament, named after their authors Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, are called Gospels. They give biographical accounts of Jesus’ life, ministry, death and resurrection from four different perspectives. Two of the writers, Matthew (also called Levi) and John, were among the twelve apostles that Jesus chose and taught during the time of his ministry. The other two, Mark (also called John Mark) and Luke, were active in the early Christian church and worked closely with Peter and Paul. We will read about John, Mark and Luke in Acts.
Acts, the fifth book of the New Testament, is the book we will be studying for the next fifteen weeks or so. It gives a historical account of the activities of the earliest Christians as they began to travel throughout the world, telling people the good news about the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the peace with God that comes from trusting and believing in Him.
The remainder of the New Testament, except the last book, is a collection of letters (also called epistles) written by the earliest followers of Jesus to teach and encourage each other in their Christian faith. The letters of Paul come first, not in the order they were written but in order from longest to shortest. The letters to churches were written to the Romans, two letters to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians and two letters to the Thessalonians. Paul also wrote letters to individual people, two to Timothy, to Titus and to Philemon. We will read about many of these churches and people in Acts as well.
One of the letters, addressed to the Hebrews, is of unknown authorship. The other letters are named after their senders, rather than their recipients: they are the two letters of Peter (one of the disciples), one by James (Jesus’ brother, who became leader of the church in Jerusalem), the three letters of John (who wrote the fourth gospel) and finally the letter of Jude (another brother of Jesus). The writers of these letters are also written about in Acts.
The disciple John also wrote the last book of the New Testament, Revelation, recounting a vision from Jesus.
The books of the New Testament, other than Revelation, which relates to the future, cover events from roughly 6BC to AD60. They were written between AD50 and AD90. They were collected together by the leaders of Christian churches and the authoritative canon (official list of NT books) was being defined from AD180.
The books of the Bible were originally written by hand on scrolls of parchment paper. By the 2nd century AD, the scrolls were being replaced with the “codex”, an early form of book with pages folded and sewn at one side. Chapter divisions were added to the Bible about a thousand years later. After the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg in the 1450s, verse numbers were added. Titles were added at the same time as these forms were being introduced to other literature. Hence, my great-grandmother’s Bible has a brief summary at the beginning of each chapter in italics, while my Bible has headings added in a bold font throughout the text.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
I'm studying Acts
In preparation for the Women's Gathering (for Bible Study, Prayer and Friendship) that will be starting at our church next week, I have been reading through Acts and have begun studying it more deeply than ever before. As I have prepared questions to discuss with the women, as well as optional extras for them to study further at home, I am seeing many things more clearly myself. It has been quite eye opening to realise that Acts isn't just a historical account of the actions of the apostles, it is also a detailed theological treatise based upon the actions of the Holy Spirit (without sacrificing historical accuracy). While there are specific passages in other places in the New Testament that teach explicitly about the Holy Spirit, Acts is the book where we can see Him most openly at work.
As well as reading the text of Acts several times and making my own connections, I have also begun reading the earlier chapters of a few commentaries on Acts. I began with The Communicator's Commentary series volume on Acts by Lloyd J Ogilvie (thinking it would be helpful for someone seeking to teach others) but found it had not enough substance and was a bit undisciplined for my taste. Then I tried the Tyndale New Testament Commentaries volume on Acts by I Howard Marshall and found it wonderfully rich but unfortunately just a bit too heavy for me at this time, although I would love to read through it another time if I can find enough of it! I have finally settled on The Message of Acts by John Stott, from the BIble Speaks Today commentary series. This is a great mix of explanation of the Biblical text and helpful connections to present-day Christian life, and matches well to my present needs for helpful teaching.
I am also getting help from Jeff as he reads my draft questions and helps me refine them. He has shown me where I have gaps in what I have brought out from the passages, or where I have missed the mark by a long way, going off on a tangent rather than focussing on the main emphasis of the text itself. It has also been helpful to have him giving me handy hints from his knowledge of the original Greek. Yesterday, for example, he explained to me that the word used for "other tongues" in Acts 2:4 is completely different from the word used later by Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 13:1) which speaks of "tongues of angels", so the two should not be confused.
As well as reading the text of Acts several times and making my own connections, I have also begun reading the earlier chapters of a few commentaries on Acts. I began with The Communicator's Commentary series volume on Acts by Lloyd J Ogilvie (thinking it would be helpful for someone seeking to teach others) but found it had not enough substance and was a bit undisciplined for my taste. Then I tried the Tyndale New Testament Commentaries volume on Acts by I Howard Marshall and found it wonderfully rich but unfortunately just a bit too heavy for me at this time, although I would love to read through it another time if I can find enough of it! I have finally settled on The Message of Acts by John Stott, from the BIble Speaks Today commentary series. This is a great mix of explanation of the Biblical text and helpful connections to present-day Christian life, and matches well to my present needs for helpful teaching.
I am also getting help from Jeff as he reads my draft questions and helps me refine them. He has shown me where I have gaps in what I have brought out from the passages, or where I have missed the mark by a long way, going off on a tangent rather than focussing on the main emphasis of the text itself. It has also been helpful to have him giving me handy hints from his knowledge of the original Greek. Yesterday, for example, he explained to me that the word used for "other tongues" in Acts 2:4 is completely different from the word used later by Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 13:1) which speaks of "tongues of angels", so the two should not be confused.
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