The book of acts in 3 minutes thechurchatbrookhills org youtube. I believe the lesson god teaches peter in acts 10 and 11 is one of the most prominent and one of the most crucial theological truths in the book of acts. Each section forms an integral part of the new testament, and only by seeing the relationship of the different parts to the whole can the new. The book of acts provides a detailed, orderly, eyewitness account of the birth and growth of the early church and the spread of the gospel immediately after the resurrection of jesus christ. Theophilus, who was the personal recipient of the dedication in the prologue to. First, acts combined with the gospel of luke makes up over onefourth of the entire new testament. Jan 02, 2020 the epistles of the bible are all found in the new testament.
But stephen reminded the jews that god was bigger than any temple. For many basic details verse by verse, it still is of good value and often will help on word meaning and. Acts of the apostles 4 imprisonment in rome are 6062 a. F download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
Acts intro to acts biblica the international bible society. Except for 1 peter and 1 john the catholic epistles have played more of a part in molding the christian church than pauls letters. May 02, 2020 the book of acts shows how god essentially took a group of fisherman and commoners and used them to turn the world upside down acts 17. The book of acts new international commentary on the new testament kindle edition by bruce, f. Purpose of the book as indicated previously, the original purpose of both the gospel and acts may have been to assist. Acts 2 new international version niv the holy spirit comes at pentecost. Discuss the establishment and nature of the lords kingdom. Explain the importance of the apostles being baptized with the holy spirit. Besides linking the gospel narratives on the one hand and the apostolic letters on the. The book of acts new international commentary on the new. The following is a brief presentation of approximate dates of events in the book of exodus. Let me mention just a few of the reasons why actsand thus our study of this bookis so important.
It is titled acts to emphasize that this book records the acts of the apostles through the work of the holy spirit. Pauls epistles, as many circumstances in them are referred to by the narrative contained. The book of acts is a thrilling account of the early church discovering what it means to be christian. The title as we know it comes from the second century and only partially discloses the theme of the document. That larger book has been called one of the best commentaries on this book of scripture. Three angels broadcasting network 3abn 3,690,604 views. Mar 23, 2015 this video explains the transitional book that is the book of acts, and how it starts with jews to jews, and slowly changes to gentiles, as the jewish nation as a whole rejects jesus christ, and. This gospel is a companion volume to the book of acts, and the language and structure of these two books indicate that both were written by the same person. James is the first of the catholic or general epistles which gain their name because they lack any specific address. T he book of acts in the bible, written around 6263 a. The authors name does not appear in the book, but much unmistakable evidence points to luke. To continue the story begun in the gospel of luke ac 1. The initial question regards the identity of theophilus, the one for whom the book is written.
Actus apostolorum, often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament. The gospel of luke and the book of acts are closely related. Third, the early church writers attribute the third gospel and the book of acts to luke. They include 21 of the new testaments 27 books, extending from romans to jude. Intro to acts biblica the international bible society. There are different ways to divide the book of acts. Stay connected amidst social distancing receive weekly bible studies to share with family and friends. Philip, peter and johns ministry to the samaritans as well as. Some question whether origen doubted the authenticity of james, 1 but his. The book of acts provides a bridge for the writings of the nt. It is an important book in understanding how we can be directed by the holy spirit and the role of jesus lessons in our lives. Thirteen of these epistles were written by the apostle paul.
Acts free bible commentary on the book of acts in easy english. For example, pauls speech to the ephesian elders in acts chapter 20 has an. Some have concluded that theophilus was the magistrate who heard pauls case in rome and that acts and luke was a legal brief in pauls defense isbe, theophilus 3. In only three decades, a small group of frightened believers in jerusalem transformed. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. According to the book of acts, james, the brother of john, was killed by herod agrippa i acts 12.
In this passage, luke is restating the great commission challenge jesus gave in luke 24. Acts is a fastmoving historical account of the first three decades of the church. The new testament without the book of acts leaves a great yawning gap. There has been much debate as to the purpose of acts. The ending of acts with paul in rome forms an inclusio with the words of jesus at the ascension in acts 1.
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. Second, the we passages found in sections of the latter half of the book acts 16. Its narrative supplies a bridge connecting the life and ministry of jesus to the life of the church and the witness of the earliest believers. Through the power of the holy spirit, they lived out a triumphant faith in the face of opposition and persecution, established order for the growing movement, and took the gospel to the ends of the earth. Both books are addressed to theophilus, the authors patronand perhaps a label for a christian community as a whole as the name means beloved of god, and the preface of acts explicitly references my former book about the life of jesusalmost certainly the work we know as the gospel of luke. As such, it provides us with a valuable account of how the church was able to grow and spread out from jerusalem into the rest of the roman empire. The book is filled with some of the finest saints ever to live, coming into contact with some of the most evil enemies of the cross ever to trouble the church. Since luke is an otherwise littleknown figure, there is no logical reason to attribute the authorship to him, unless he is in fact the author. But ye will receive power, the holy spirit having come upon you, and ye shall be my witnesses both in jerusalem and in all judaea and samaria and to the end of the earth. This e book is a shorter and more popular commentary on acts. Romans, 1 and 2 corinthians, galatians, ephesians, philippians, colossians, 1 and 2 thessalonians, 1 and 2 timothy, titus, and philemon. He transposed a few incidents from marks gospel to the time of the apostlesfor example, the material about clean and unclean foods in mark 7 is used in. It is a bridge between the gospels and the epistles. Which also said, ye men of galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven.
He is also a contributing author to the gathering storm and the zondervan kjv commentary. Its subject and intention is nicely summarised by the words of the lord in chapter 1. Acts includes apostles, prophets and miracle workers. At one time the gospel of luke and the book of acts were joined together as one book with two volumes. Introduction to the acts of the apostles free online bible. The book of the acts of the apostles forms the fifth, and last, of the historical books of the new testament.
Acts with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Luke, the author of the gospel of luke, was a doctor and gentile. By its opening words the acts of the apostles is linked in the clearest way with the gospel of luke. When the various new testament books were formally brought together into one collection shortly after a. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the book of acts new international commentary on. 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. The new testament can be divided into four main sections the four gospels, the book of acts, the twentyone epistles, and the book of revelation. Clearly, the author ofthe book of luke is also the one who penned the book of acts.
Read one chapter each day and spend time with god using the devotionals and questions provided. Acts is the only biblical book that chronicles the history of the church immediately after jesuss ascension. Book of acts overview insight for living ministries. The 28 chapters of the acts of the apostles provide a wide variety of compelling characters, both good and bad. Witnesses to the world, his body of work includes a biblical commentary on hebrews and coauthorship of the popular bible prophecy commentary. Gardnersuggests theophilusmayhave been lukes benefactorin this writing.
The acts of the apostles is a unique and therefore crucial book of the new testament. Book 1 philip and pat juler book 2 chun kertyoo book 3 reg and marjorie vines book 4 david clines book 5 john and grace robertson book 6 bob and vic mccallum book 7 chue petnamngern book 8 vic and jean fleming in the present book, as in my other books, my aim is to provide biblical reference material that bridges two gaps at the same time. The main issues revolve around whether he is a man perhaps a greek official for whom luke acts is an apologetic for the gospel or a kind of generic. This work, originally out in 1857, has proved helpful to many, though it is now far out of date as to literature commenting on acts. 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 recipient of the book, theophilus, is the same person addressed in the first volume, the gospel of luke see introduction to luke. Written by the same author and for the same purpose, both were addressed to a christian named theophilus and were designed for the purpose of presenting to him a complete and well authenticated narrative of the early history of the christian movement. A good study bible we recommend the following features. James, the son of zebedee and james, the son of alphaeus, but it is unlikely that either of these wrote the letter.
In the book of acts, we discover how gods multiethnic, international church grew through persecution and missionary journeys throughout the world. A pivotal point in the book of acts is when saul of tarsus the apostle paul meets jesus on the road to damascus and is converted. Revelations mark of the beast exposed 22 revelations ancient discoveries duration. The acts of the apostles, fifth book of the new testament, a valuable history of the early christian church.
Characters of the acts of the apostles bible study guide. They are addressed to the same individual, theophilus, and the second volume refers to the first. This is the second lesson in our series the book of acts. The recipient the recipient of the book was a man named theophilus, meaning one who lovesgod. In luke, heisaddressedas mostexcellent, whichwasatypeof title used for those in the roman government acts 23. We will after the first of the year actually begin a verse by verse study of the book of acts. It opens with a greeting to theophilus, who was also the intended recipient of lukes gospel. Luke records many examples of conversion in the book of acts e. Commentary on the book of acts of the apostles by matthew. And on this account it has been generally placed at the end of the four gospels.
This video explains the transitional book that is the book of acts, and how it starts with jews to jews, and slowly changes to gentiles, as the jewish nation as a. The writer refers to himself only as james, a servant of god and of the lord jesus christ. Im not sure exactly which sunday marching into january, but we will do that. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament. The difficulty with this date is in explaining lukes use of mark since. The importance of the book of acts one can hardly overstate the importance of the book of acts or its contribution to the canon of scripture. You can find the best commentary on acts for you using the tools on the right side. The book of acts in 3 minutes thechurchatbrookhills org. The same theophilus is addressed, and in the first chapter the story is resumed just at the point where the gospel left off, save that a few extra details are given of the lords words. We read of the evangelistic methods and message of the early apostles and preachers 3. This is the story of christianitys beginnings and how evangelism played. The book of acts is an important book for understanding the actions of the apostles, mostly paul and peter, after jesuss ascension into heaven.
Acts reading guide devotional reading plan youversion bible. A personal catastrophe does not explain it either because luke already wrote enough to fill his scroll. Stephen said some words from the book by the prophet isaiah isaiah 66. Therefore, we must be sure to get the message god was teaching peter. Church persecution at the hand of saul of tarsus acts 8. God took a christianhating murderer and transformed him into historys greatest christian evangelist, the author of almost half the books of the new testament.
The book of acts is the link between the gospels and the epistles. 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. A history of the early church gene taylor2an outline of the book i. Apr 19, 2011 revelations mark of the beast exposed 22 revelations ancient discoveries duration. The galatians felt pressured to seek salvation from the law of moses, even though they had already accepted the grace of christ. In acts, for example, he has timothy circumcised, while he denies the. These letters were sent out as circular epistles to be passed around and read in several locations. For assurance of our own salvation, we can compare our own conversion experience with those in acts. The book of acts tells how the multiethnic, international. It alone presents an extensive picture of early church life and history.
These chapters are the high water mark of acts, theologically speaking. The internal evidence in acts for this conclusion is twofold. As a second volume to lukes gospel, it joins what jesus began to do and to teach 1. Acts 2 niv the holy spirit comes at pentecost bible. If the book of acts were gone, there would be nothing to replace it the last recorded fact about jesus in the gospel of matthew is the resurrection. Nine of these book are letters to local churches like the ones in galatia. This reading guide was written by newspring staff and volunteers to guide you through the book of acts in 28 days. This versebyverse bible study and commentary of the acts of the apostles the book of acts or simply acts is indepth but uses plain language that everyone can understand, as well as a format that will engage you. The book of james a detailed commentary basic training bible ministries page 2 introduction to james background of the book the epistle of james is one of the general epistles, including 1 and 2 peter, 1, 2 and 3 john, and jude. If the book was just before or after pauls release, then it was likely written around 63 a. Joseph a alexander acts commentary 1857, 1866 over pages. Imagine what it would be like if the book of acts wasnt in the bible.
Introduction to the book of acts study resources blue letter bible. The book focuses primarily on the acts of two apostles, peter and paul. Most can be obtained from a good religious bookstore. The temple in this book called acts was the third temple. The book of acts, also called acts of the apostles, does not specifically identify its author. 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. Commentary on the book of acts bible study lessons. Apostles preaching to jews and gentiles, or, the acts. Jesus had shown himself alive by many proofs for 40 days. You pick up your bible and see the ministry of jesus ending in the gospel of john. Bruce also wrote a larger 580 pages and more scholarly commentary on acts as part of the new international commentary on the new testament nicnt series. The genre of the book of acts is narrative history with several sermons. Authorship of actsluke is the author of the book acts.
This would indicate it was matthew, mark, luke, or john. As mentioned in the origin of the bible, the book of acts is actually a letter written to theophilus by luke, the doctor who accompanied paul on his latter missionary journeys and used his medical training to carefully record what paul and the other apostles said and did as inspired by god. In luke,heisaddressedasmostexcellent,whichwasatypeof. Workbook on the book of acts church of christ in zion. Book of hebrews explained go to hebrews index title.
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