Acts Lesson 1 - 1:1-11 - THE FOUNDING OF THE CHURCH
GENERAL INTRODUCTION: Today, we will commence a new quarter with a study of the Book of Acts, Chapters 1-12. While the Book does not identify its author, the opening verses of both the Gospel of Luke and Acts make it clear that Luke wrote both books, most likely between 61-64 A.D. Identified by Paul as the "beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14), Luke stands as the only Gentile writer in the Bible. Paul also identified Luke as a "fellow laborer" (Philippians 1:14) who accompanied him on his later missionary journeys and also visited him while he was imprisoned (2 Timothy 4:11). As a highly-educated Hellenistic Gentile, we will notice that Luke not only provides very detailed descriptions of events, but writes them in a very polished style. Luke wrote Acts to provide a history of the early church that forms an important bridge between the four Gospels and the Epistles. Acts records the work of the apostles, primarily Peter and Paul, as they witnessed for Christ in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria (includes Galilee), and the rest of the known world at that time. The Book could also be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit, since it demonstrates how the Spirit empowers, guides, teaches, and serves as our Counselor in whatever type of situation we might find ourselves, especially in times when we face opposition.
Because there is an overlap between the last chapter of the Gospel of Luke and the first chapter of Acts, the first five verses of Acts chapter 1 form an introduction which is intended to connect the two books. Taken together, Luke's Gospel and the Book of Acts can be read as Parts 1 and 2 of the same story, the first recording what Jesus began to do during His earthly ministry and the second recording what He continued to do in building His Church through Spirit-led Christians.
Read Acts 1:1-3 - APPEARING TO THEM OVER A PERIOD OF FORTY DAYS
1 The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. 3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
v. 1a: "The first account I composed, Theophilus," - The "first account" refers to Luke's gospel. The identity of "Theophilus" (Gk. lover of God) is unknown. He may or may not have been a real person.
v. 1b: "about all that Jesus began to do and teach" - From the start Luke intends to clarify for his readers that the remarkable, supernatural events that he would unfold in this book were ultimately the work of Jesus Christ, not just those of His enthusiastic followers. The order of the words, "do and teach," is noteworthy: The two-fold nature of Jesus' ministry binds Jesus' doings and teachings with a 'holy knot, in that Jesus began the doing and teaching and it's the church's job to continue it.
v. 2a: "until the day when He was taken up to heaven," - This overlaps with Luke's report of Jesus' ascension after the resurrection in Luke 24:51-it's the same event, and it further affirms that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a fact in history.
v. 2b: "after He had by the Holy Spirit" - The empowering of "the Holy Spirit" is central to the Book of Acts, cited 40 times, because it is the empowering force that makes all things possible.
v. 2c: "given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen." - Jesus didn't leave the apostles to figure out what to do on their own. As here, Jesus orders His apostles to remain temporarily in Jerusalem, following which they would go out into the world as heralds of the good news of salvation.
v. 3a: "To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs," - in reference to the resurrected Jesus and "many convincing proofs," this statement means proof by clear-cut, incontrovertible evidence, as opposed to hearsay. There are ten documented resurrection appearances of Jesus listed in the NT. Paul even reported that over 500 people had seen Jesus after His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-11).
v. 3b: "appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God." - The verb "appearing" implies that Jesus was not in constant attendance with the apostles but appeared to them at various intervals over a 40-day period. Many others saw Him, too.
The "kingdom of God" that Jesus taught his disciples during this interval refers to God's earthly program for the future. Conservative Bible scholars believe that the Messianic Millennial Kingdom, which follows His Second Coming, will be His earthly kingdom (Ezekiel 38 and 39; Revelations 19 and 20). God postponed the Messianic Kingdom at Jesus First Coming because Israel rejected their king.
Acts 1:4-5 - WAIT FOR THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER
4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
v. 4a: "Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem," - Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promised baptism of the Holy Spirit. The coming of the Holy Spirit would empower these apostles to be witnesses for Jesus Christ.
v. 4b: "but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me;" - Christ viewed the Spirit as a significant gift of God's grace to His people. The indwelling of the Spirit in the life of a believer isn't just a means to an end but a major part of the blessings of salvation. Before this, Jesus told them "The Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say" (Luke12:12; 24:49).
v. 5: "for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." - John the Baptist predicted that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11), and Jesus here announces that this baptism of them would take place in a short time. It did in fact happen on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and enabled to preach in many languages (Acts 2:1-4).
Read Acts 1:6-8 - YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESSES
6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
v. 6: "So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, 'Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?'" - Jesus had raised the question of "things concerning the kingdom of God" in v. 3, so it was natural that the disciples would ask about it in relation to Israel, which they equated with the Kingdom of God. Since Israel and Judah had been under Gentile control for over 500 years, they believed the coming of the messianic Age would restore Israel to its earlier position of prestige and military power among the nations. While their understanding was misguided, it was understandable.
v. 7: "He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;" - Jesus did not rebuke the disciples for believing the Messianic Kingdom was already at hand, but told them that it would come at a future time "the Father has fixed." The last days of fulfillment will have two parts: (1) There is the current Church Age, which corresponds to Jesus reign in heaven, where those who believe in Him are saved by grace; and (2) An End-Time when Jesus will return to bring the restoration of those things promised to Israel by the Old Testament.
v. 8a: "but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;" - In the previous verse the disciples had asked Jesus about the restoration of Israel, but here He tells them they will have a different kind of power-God's Spirit at work their lives and in the world. Now the Holy Spirit would empower His apostles at the Pentecost (and thereafter to billions of believing Christians) to bring God's plan of salvation to a lost world.
v. 8b: "and you shall be My witnesses ." - Instead of trying to figure out when the Kingdom would come, Jesus tells them to re-direct their attention to something different-a worldwide witness for Jesus Christ. Like the Holy Spirit, "witnesses" will be a major theme continued throughout the Book of Acts. As God's Spirit empowered the Israelites and Jesus, God' Spirit would likewise empower the disciples as they executed their mission.
v. 8c: "both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." - This is the next surprise. The witness of the apostles will not be limited to Judea and Israel but will spread to Samaria and "even to the remotest part of the earth." So, the apostles will start where they are - Jerusalem - and will over time spread the gospel in wider and wider circles until the entire world is encompassed; and this model still applies to MHBC and every other church today.
- Acts 1:8 essentially forms an inspired outline of the whole book of Acts: It refers to a person - Jesus Christ - and to a power - the Holy Spirit-and to a program - an ever-expanding worldwide witness. In Acts, Luke continued to record the fulfillment of this prediction until the gospel and the church had reached Rome. Then, from the heart of this vast empire, God would pump the gospel out to every other remote part of the world. Starting from Jerusalem, the gospel message radiated farther and farther like the ripples a stone makes when it strikes a pool of placid water.
- The Christian church, according to Acts, is a missionary church that (1) responds obediently to Jesus' commission; (2) acts on Jesus' behalf as an extension of His ministry; (3) focuses its proclamation of the kingdom of God - the gospel - in its witness for Jesus; (4) is guided and empowered by the very same Spirit that directed and supported Jesus' ministry; and (5) follows a program whose guidelines for reaching the lost have been established by Jesus Himself.
Read Acts 1:9-11 - WHY DO YOU STAND LOOKING INTO THE SKY?
9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."
v. 9: "And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight." - In Luke's gospel, he gave a brief account of Jesus' ascension (24:51). Now he provides an expanded view, which includes the witness of angels in the next verse. This account takes place forty days after Easter and the location is the Mount of Olives. Jesus' ascension returns Him to the heavenly throne at the Right Hand of God from wence He came to earth, and He will remain there until He comes again in glory-a cataclysmic event that will come suddenly and without warning (2 Peter 2:10). In heaven, He now intercedes for us with the father. (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 9:28).
v. 10a: "And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going," - The phrase "they were gazing intently" attests to the fact that the ascension was an event witnessed and corroborated by all eleven apostles. This verse marks the end to Jesus' resurrection appearances.
v. 10b: behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them." - The "two men" were angelic messengers who resembled men; and two, incidentally, is the minimum number of witnesses. required to prove a fact under Jewish Law (Deuteronomy 19:15). Some commentators have suggested that these two men were OT saints, like Moses and Elijah, but most scholars deem it unlikely based upon their similarity with the angels that appeared at Jesus tomb (Luke 24:1-7).
v. 11a1: "They also said, 'Men of Galilee,'" - In those days "Galilee" was considered to be a backwater, an insignificant place, whereas Jerusalem and Judea were the centers of Jewish religious life; yet, Jesus was raised in Nazareth of Galilee, He made his headquarters in Capernaum of Galilee, and it was in Galilee that He called His disciples and conducted most of His earthly ministry. It was in Judea that He encountered his most significant opposition, and it was in Judea that He was crucified.
v. 11a2: "why do you stand looking into the sky?" - For the third time, Luke reports that the apostles were looking up to heaven. This repetition reinforces the fact that the eleven apostles were not only witnesses of the resurrected Christ, but also of His ascension to heaven.
v. 11b: "This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven." - These angelic messengers announce two things: (1) That the Jesus they had known and walked with had entered into his heavenly home; and (2) that the Jesus they had known would return personally, bodily, and visibly the same way (Daniel 7:13; Revelation 1:7).
- Luke's point is that the missionary activity of the early church rested not only on Jesus' commands, but also on His living presence in heaven and the sure promise of His return.
- In Luke's mind, the Ascension of Christ has two dimensions: (1) In the Gospel, it is the end of the Story of Jesus and (2) in Acts, it is the beginning of the story of the Church, which will go on until Christ comes again.
APPLICATION-The Story Continues:
1. The story of the church in Acts continues the work that Jesus began. Christ's ascension marked the end of the story of Jesus and the beginning of the story of the church. From the start of the Book of Acts, Luke clarified that all the supernatural events that he unfolds in the Book were ultimately the work of Jesus Christ, not just things accomplished by enthusiastic followers.
2. 'Doing and teaching' forms the mission statement for churches today. The two-fold nature of Jesus ministry connects 'doing and teaching' with a holy knot, so that Jesus began the doing and teaching, and it's now the job of the church-us-to continue it.
3. The empowering of the Holy Spirit makes all things possible. The empowering of the Holy Spirit is one of the central themes of the Book of Acts. Just as the coming of the Spirit empowered the apostles, Spirit-led Christians are empowered to continue their work in the present age.
4. Part of God's ongoing program is that Spirit-led Christians will serve as witnesses for Jesus Christ. It means we respond positively to Jesus' commission and act for Him as an extension of His ministry, which will be guided by the same Holy Spirit that guided Him.
5. According to Jesus' teaching, the 'Kingdom of God' refers to God's program for the future. It refers to an End-Time event when Jesus will return suddenly and without warning to bring restoration of those things promised to Israel in the Old Testament, followed by the Messianic Kingdom on earth.
