The major areas of history with which the author has dealt are. Jesus knew from the begging that he was going to be betray by judas jesus said it was better for him judas not to be born. In my former book, theophilus, i wrote about all that jesus began to do and to teach acts 1. Stephen, a faithful servant of god during the earlychurch years, proclaimed his faith in jesus boldly and was stoned because of it. Greek word adelphoi, which, depending on the context in new testament usage, may refer either to brothers or to. Lukes prologue, containing a repetition of christs history from his passion till his ascension, acts 1. Acts 1 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Here the writer spoke of his former book, meaning that acts is the second of at least two volumes.
The genre of the book of acts is narrative history with several sermons. The beginning verses of acts make it clear that acts is a sequel of the story started in luke and written to the same man named theophilus, generally a title ascribed to highranking roman officials. Our story starts off where the gospel of luke left offjesus is back now that hes resurrected, jesus decides to hang out and chat with his disciples whom luke calls apostles for forty days. Acts chapter 1 begins with a summary of proofs of the life of jesus christ. There is no single chapter that does not exhibit gods power and wisdom in operation. The book of acts gives the history of the christian church and the spread of the gospel of jesus christ, as well as the mounting opposition to it. The book of acts is unique because it is the only book of church history in the new testament. Acts 1 indepth versebyverse bible study and commentary of acts chapter 1 in plain english. Study guide for acts 1 by david guzik blue letter bible.
Acts 1, new international version niv the bible app. The background of acts third millennium ministries. Luke as the author of acts in book 1, chapter 5, section 3 of his ecclesiastical history. Those who hold this theory believe that lukes purpose in writing luke and acts was to write a defense of christianity, somewhat akin to a legal brief. Both books are most easily tied to the geography of the book.
Acts of the apostles 1, new living translation nlt the. We find this important background information on the book of james in acts 8. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Acts 1 jesus promises the holy spirit verse 8 to the disciples and ascends to heaven before their eyes. Acts 1 is the first chapter of the acts of the apostles in the new testament of the christian bible. Acts 1 bible study acts 1 chapter bible study and commentary.
Comparing these passages to acts 1, we can learn that holy spirit baptism and the baptism of the great commission were two separate baptisms. At one time the gospel of luke and the book of acts were joined together as one. In chapter 2 paul announces the judgment of god according to truth, explaining. In this episode we give a brief background of the book and talk about what to expect with this study, the days following the. The student can connect the marching orders jesus gave the apostles with us today. It is the greatest sequel ever written, the sequel of sequelsthe sequel to the story of christ see 1. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. They continued to preach, and the church at antioch. Acts 1 background information with maps and images. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the. It contains many particulars concerning the apostles peter and paul, and of the christian church from the ascension of our saviour to the arrival of st. Chapter 2 recounts the day of pentecost when the holy spirit was poured out on the 120, the reaction of the jews who heard these 120 speaking in other tongues, and peters powerful sermon following the infilling. 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. At the end of the gospel of luke jesus says that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at jerusalem.
Acts, chapter 1 united states conference of catholic bishops. He also indicated that he wrote this book to a person named theophilus. Acts chapter 1 commentary northwest college of the bible. The book of acts, also called acts of the apostles, does not specifically identify its author. This chapter functions as a transition from the former account that is, gospel of luke with a narrative prelude verses 15. T he book of acts in the bible, written around 6263 a. And third, we will look briefly at other aspects of the new testament that indicate that. The book of acts provides a bridge for the writings of the nt. As it is expected, the book of acts has a similar literary style as the gospel of luke because it is the second volume of lukes account.
The most probable explanation for leaving the reader in suspense is that the outcome of pauls appeal had not yet been decided when the book was being written. Kjv bible verses from acts, often referred to as the acts of the apostles, is not to be considered as a history of what was done by all the apostles, who were dispersed into different nations. Lesson 1 investigates the author, historical setting, and the theological background of the book of acts. 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. This is our discussion on the first chapter of the book of acts. The baptism of the great commission was a command required of all people throughout the whole world. He decides to hang around with all his favorite disciples for forty days. The book containing this chapter is anonymous but early christian tradition affirmed that luke composed this book as well as the gospel of luke. Really, very little is written about the apostles in acts.
The first 12 chapters of the book of acts deal with peter, and the remainder of the book, the last 16 chapters is devoted to the apostle paul. Sep 04, 2008 acts 1 jesus taken up into heaven 1in my former book, theophilus, i wrote about all that jesus began to do and to teach 2until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the holy spirit to the apostles he had chosen. Authorship of actsluke is the author of the book acts. I told you, theophilus, about everything jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the holy spirit. David spoke about judas concerning his betrayal in the book of psalms. Lets look at some context from the old testament and gospels to see where this. The waiting period introduction the gospel story has a sequel. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of bible. Mar 05, 2018 we find this important background information on the book of james in acts 8. The book of acts tells how the multiethnic, international. As a second volume to lukes gospel, it joins what jesus began to do and to teach 1. Acts cliffsnotes study guides book summaries, test.
This section is an exposition on the early part of genesis. All the awesome things he said and did and the super cool way he died and came back to life again. Luke was from antioch but traveled with paul all over southern europe and the middle east. The most probable explanation for leaving the reader in suspense is that the outcome of pauls appeal had not.
In the book of acts, we discover how gods multiethnic, international church grew through persecution and missionary journeys throughout the world. David guzik commentary on acts 1 describes the ascension of jesus into. The book of acts course a, lesson 1 free bible study. There are different ways to divide the book of acts. There are many who feel that acts is one of the most important books in the bible.
Peters discourse concerning the death of judas iscariot, acts 1. Acts begins with the ascension of jesus, and tells the story of how the gospel was spread beyond the jewish community to the whole world. The book of acts ends with pauls imprisonment in rome. Although many faithful servants were used to preach and teach the gospel of jesus christ, saul, also called paul, was the most influential. The structure of the books of luke and acts are closely tied. It is titled acts to emphasize that this book records the acts of the apostles through the work of the holy spirit. The student can tell what jesus did after his resurrection.
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 the apostles waited in jerusalem for the holy spirit, matthias was appointed to replace judas 1. Stay connected amidst social distancing receive weekly bible studies to share with family and friends. The kingdom would come with power in that generation mark 9. Oct 07, 2018 this is our discussion on the first chapter of the book of acts.
However, several references point to a gentile audience, such as the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors 1. Nov 08, 2012 an overview of the book of acts, which provides an introduction to the apostles and gives a brief summary of the leaders, peter and paul, as well as the other apostles. The book of acts was penned by luke, the physician. Who was theophilus at the beginning of luke and acts. Intro to acts biblica the international bible society. In this episode we give a brief background of the book and talk about what to.
It might appropriately be called some of the acts of some of the apostles since it does not try to describe all of the acts of all the apostles. Jan 02, 2020 those who hold this theory believe that lukes purpose in writing luke and acts was to write a defense of christianity, somewhat akin to a legal brief. Acts 1 14 in chapter 1, 120 of jesus followers waited in the upper room for the promise of the holy spirit. 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. The book of acts was written by luke, the physician, to theophilus as a supplement to the gospel of luke. We will see many examples of this baptism in the book of acts and will learn much more about it. But ye shall receive power, after that the holy ghost is come upon you. Acts chapters 1 through 7 describe the gospel in jerusalem, chapters 8. Luke begins his second book with the same event that closed his first, the ascension 1. Acts chapter 1 explained discover the 66 books of the bible. However acts chapter 27 is not the end but the beginning of the church, in fact acts is still going on, for we are now the church acting, we are now the bringers of the gospel, instrument of righteousness to be used by god for his glory. In chapter 1 after giving the introduction and purpose of the book, paul surveys natural revelation via creation, noting that the creation rejected the creator for the satisfaction of baser instincts. Luke even began to speak in the first person plural in the latter portion of acts, as he traveled the roman empire alongside.
But all were written by the inspiration of the holy ghost. The theme or key to the book of acts is found in 1. It should leave you in no doubt of gods intention for his body. The return of the disciples to jerusalem, and their employment there, acts 1. From there we see jesus ministry move from galilee 49, through samaria and judea 1019. He was also the author of its companion work, the gospel of luke. Acts 1 1 in my former book, theophilus, i wrote about all that jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the holy spirit to the apostles he had chosen. This event dramatically altered world history, and the gospel message.
I believed judas was predestined to betray jesus as in acts 1. Luke is uniformly identified as the author acts by the second century a. Commentary for psalms 1 david was the penman of most of the psalms, but some evidently were composed by other writers, and the writers of some are doubtful. The book of acts ends abruptly with pauls imprisonment in rome. The apostles had the holy spirit come upon them acts 2. Besides linking the gospel narratives on the one hand and the apostolic letters on. The tradition from the earliest days of the church has been that luke, a companion of the apostle paul, wrote the books of luke and acts colossians 4. Luke begins with a global perspective, dating the birth of jesus to the reign of the roman emperors in luke 2.
Acts 1 background information with maps and images picture. The holy spirit coming in power shows that this too is the day the kingdom is established 1. With regard to lukes understanding of salvation history, the ascension also. Luke acts makes up 28% of the new testamentmore than that written by either paul or john. Anyhoo acts starts with jesus already back in black. The book of genesis records the origin of the spiritual body which we designate as the church. Sir william ramsay, archaeologist who started his career to prove luke to be in error, offered this testimony as a result of his research. The student can explain how and why judas was replaced. The acts of the apostles is a historical narrative of the work of the holy spirit in the. Many people call acts the acts of the apostles, but really, if you want to add to the name acts, perhaps, a better name would be the acts of the early church.