Acts: Part 1 - Ch. 1-3
The Importance of Acts
As we move on from the gospels, we now come across the unique section of scripture where one book stands alone when the Bible is broken down. This would be the Book of Acts. The reason that this book stands alone in most cases is because this book is the bridge between the gospels and Paul’s letters to the church. In other words, Acts is the launching point where the post-Christ church really begins. What does the Church look like now that Jesus has come and fulfilled many of the scriptures that were previously taught? Acts answers this question. How should Christ-followers live now that Jesus has come and fulfilled the mission we’ve waited so long for? Acts answers this question. What do preaching and evangelism now look like with Jesus now being the center of the faith? Acts answers this question. With such massive implications being made in this book alone, it is fitting for Acts to be a unique book that is usually set apart from others when the Bible is being broken down into a study. And that’s exactly what we will be doing with Acts as well. We will be taking the month of February and tackling just a few chapters each week to see how the disciples of Christ lived their lives in a world where Jesus has now ascended and His Spirit has now come to comfort and guide us. The book of Acts is also written by Luke, the same author of the gospel of Luke, so we know that these events aren’t far off at all from the time of Christ’s ascension. As Bible Study Tools so neatly puts it, “The book of Acts provides a bridge for the writings of the NT. As a second volume to Luke's Gospel, it joins what Jesus "began to do and to teach" as told in the Gospels with what he continued to do and teach through the apostles' preaching and the establishment of the church.” With this in mind, let’s begin our journey of breaking down this great and unique book.
The Holy Spirit
To begin, we will be looking at the first three chapters today. If you were to open your Bible to the book of Acts right now and skim over the first three chapters, the two words you would use to describe the beginning of this book is ‘Holy Spirit’. Chapter one deals with Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit coming after He ascends and chapter two leads us right into the events that took place at Pentecost. Right at the beginning, however, we see Luke sort of overlap Acts with where he finished his gospel. Acts 1:2-3 says “until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had given orders by the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen. 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 things regarding the kingdom of God.” Luke immediately focuses on Jesus’ promise for the Holy Spirit to come to all believers because this is the next large event that is about to take place. Luke continues with his overlap by discussing Jesus’ ascension one last time and then briefly discusses that Matthias is now added to the twelve disciples becasue they needed someone to replace Judas. After these events take place, we now come to chapter two where the Pentecost finally occurs. Now we must understand the first four verses of chapter two and what they entail so we are going to break them down carefully. Acts 2:1-4 tells us “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out.” It is important to note here that this is an event in time, not an example of how the Holy Spirit comes to every believer.
Furthermore, it is important that these ‘tongues’ that these people began to speak in were strictly from the Holy Spirit. The text clearly states that this occurred ‘as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out.’ I say all this because many believe today that not only are Christians today supposed to experience a similar event, but some believe the reason we don’t have the gift of tongues is simply because we don’t practice it enough. This text would say otherwise. Not only was the Spirit coming specifically for this group of people, but we also don’t see the previous practice of speaking in tongues by this group anywhere in scripture. This was an event that happened one time because it marked the start of the Spirit’s journey amongst men after the ascension of Christ. Even when we see converts later on in God’s Word, tongues aren’t involved in every person’s conversion, and yet, it is undeniable that the Holy Spirit is with them because He led them to salvation! This is why Peter’s sermon that about takes up the rest of chapter two is focused on how this event was prophesied of in the past by the prophets and has now come to fulfillment. It is also in this chapter where we see one of the more popular pieces of scripture that reveals to us how these disciples started living after being filled with the Spirit. The end of Acts 2 tells us that about 3,000 souls were saved that day and then goes on to say in Acts 2:42 “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” This is what a follower of Christ’s life looks like after His ascension and the Spirit’s arrival. They are committed to sound preaching, being members of the Church, communion, and prayer.
The Goal of Preaching
Lastly, chapter three shows us the power that Christ has given His disciples and the preaching that the Church should expect. Peter and John open up the chapter by healing a lame beggar which leads to people ‘praising God’ in verse 9. This again shows us the purpose of miracles. Even after Jesus had ascended, His holy name is still the only name that can produce such a miraculous event. This leads us right to Peter’s sermon which he opens with a bang. Acts 3:12-13, Peter says “But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why are you staring at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him walk? “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Servant Jesus, the one whom you handed over and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.” What an amazing response to this crowd! I know you are amazed at this miracle, but the one who allowed this miracle to take place is the very one who you condemned! This sermon from Peter shows not just the power of Christ, but why everyone must turn, repent, and believe in Christ for salvation. And this is how Luke closes chapter three. I know this was a lot, but I hope you can see why this book is packed with so much wisdom and truth that we must dissect in small chunks. I hope and pray that as we go through the rest of this book, you will be motivated to live your life as these disciples did. May we all honor and glorify Christ with our lives as we are led by His Spirit.
Sources
[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/
[2] BibleStudyTools Staff. (n.d.). Book of Acts. Bible Study Tools. https://www.biblestudytools.com/acts/
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