Acts:
The Expansion of the Church
Estimated reading time: 22 minutes
Introduction
Acts 1:1-3 APNT
I wrote the former book, oh Theophilus, concerning all those [things] that our Lord Jesus Christ began to do and to teach,
until that day in which he was taken up, after he had commanded the apostles, those whom he had chosen by the Holy Spirit,
those to whom he also showed himself alive after he had suffered with many signs for forty days, while he was seen by them and spoke about the kingdom of God.
As we begin our study on The Book of Acts, it is important to know that we are coming in on the very end of the Gospel period, which ends with the resurrection appearances. The writer is talking about the forty days after the resurrection when Jesus Christ appeared to different groups of people.
The author of Acts is Luke, and we know that because he says, “I wrote the former book,” and addresses it to this title of Theophilus, which could be a person’s name. It also simply means “Beloved of God.” If Theophilus is an actual person, then he is specifically writing both the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts to this person, Theophilus. However, it is important that his name means “Beloved of God,” therefore, he is actually writing it to a much broader audience than just one individual.
In the first chapter of Luke, you can see what he is talking about.
Luke 1: 1-4 APNT
Because many have wanted to write the accounts of the works of which we are persuaded,
according to what they delivered to us, those who were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word at the first.
it seemed [good] to me also, because I had carefully attended to all of them, that I should write down everything in order for you noble Theophilus,
that you should know the truth of the words by which you were taught.
The first thing that we see, and the first person we encounter, is this man named Theophilus. Another aspect that we will be examining in this study; whenever we meet someone new and read their name for the first time, we will then look at a broad view of where they appear throughout the Word. Mostly it will be in the church epistles and other places in the Book of Acts. These are the only two places in the Word this man, Theophilus, appears. I have come to believe that he was an actual person. The reason I have come to this belief is because of this section in the beginning of Luke. Luke states that he learned about Jesus Christ and the beginning of the way the gospel was preached in the Book of Acts from the “eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word at the first,” We know from reading and learning before that Peter was present on the day of Pentecost, and as were the rest of the apostles. That is what he is talking about; he learned about the gospel from the first apostles. Also, he is saying to Theophilus, I am writing this down so “that you would know the truth of the words by which you were taught.” Somewhere along the line this man, Theophilus, had heard the gospel and believed.
The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts was written to give an overview of what Jesus Christ did and also what continued to happen in the Book of Acts. So that they also would know the truth of what he was taught. He is saying it to Theophilus, but he could be saying it to us today also! So “that you would know the truth of the words by which you were taught.” That is the purpose of the Book of Luke and the Book of Acts. That is pretty exciting! We will go back to Acts now.
Now we know that the author of Acts is this man named Luke. We want to know a little bit about him, because we are going to run into him quite a bit in the Book of Acts. We are not going to do every single verse that has to do with him; but I want to give you a broad overview of who Luke is
This is at the very end of Paul’s life; and Luke has actually been with him off and on through the whole time up until this point. This is what he calls Luke in Colossians 4:14. Paul is in Rome and Luke is with him.
Colossians 4:14 APNT
Luke, our beloved physician, greets you and Demas.
He says, “Luke, our beloved physician greets you and Demas.” Right there, he identifies Luke as a physician. There have been many different studies. One of the most classic books about the Book of Acts is a commentary by F.F. Bruce titled, The Acts of the Apostles. It isone of the standard commentaries on the entire book. I will be using this as a reference. I also found a really old one, from approximately 1870. It is really great also.
We know that Luke is a physician. What that means in that culture is not clear exactly what he did as a physician, but to be called that, he was definitely a healer. He probably was familiar with whatever the common Roman and Greek practices were of the time. We are also fairly sure that he was a Gentile and a Greek because his name is Lucas. Although there are other people who had their names changed, like Peter, whose name was changed from Simon to Peter. There were other people also; but it is fairly certain that Luke was a Gentile, and he spoke Greek. He probably also spoke Aramaic.
There are things that are not known about what he did. He got born again somewhere during the time the Word was first spoken to the Gentiles, either Antioch or in Troas. I believe it was in Troas. The reason for this is because one of the key things in the Book of Acts are what are called the “we” sections. There are sections in the Book of Acts where the dialogue changes from “you” and “he” and “they” to “we”. This indicates that Luke was there; and they are very specific sections. The first one is Acts 16:10. All of a sudden it starts saying “we”. Acts 16 is regarding Paul’s first missionary journey, and he is going through Galatia. He gets to the region of Troas in verse eight; “And after they had gone out from Mysia, they went down to the region [of] Troas.” Then, in verse nine we read, “And in a vision during the night there appeared to Paul, as it were, a certain Macedonian man, who was standing and begging him, saying, Come to Macedonia and help us. And after Paul had seen this vision, immediately we (it changes to we at this point) wanted to leave for Macedonia, because we understood that our Lord had called us to preach to them.” From that time through the record of Philippi, Luke is with Paul and whoever else was with him, which we’ll find out later. At this particular point, Luke joins Paul and travels with him to Philippi.
This is the overview. Paul does not stay in Philippi very long, but there is a massive outreach that happens in Philippi. Paul is probably only there maybe three weeks or a month at the most. He leaves Luke there, and we do not hear anything more about Luke, which is very likely about eight years, until Acts, chapter 20. What he does in Philippi is not spelled out in the Book of Acts. We can certainly conjecture that he was preaching the gospel, and teaching, and working with the people there, like Lydia and the jailer. That is really wonderful that he stayed there so long. Luke could be from Antioch, from Troas, or somewhere around Troas. We know for certain that he joins Paul and comes to be with him when he is in Troas. However that is much later. Luke could not have been an eyewitness. He was not an eyewitness of Pentecost. He was not there in the beginning when the church first moved in Jerusalem. Luke comes on the scene halfway through the Book of Acts. The part, I think that is really interesting is, God gave Luke, as Scripture says in Peter 1:21 “but holy men of God spake [as they were] moved by the Holy Ghost;” God gave him, Luke, who was not an eyewitness, all the words of the Gospel of Luke to write down the whole story of Jesus Christ’s birth, the different parables, and things that are very unique to the gospel of Luke were given to him by revelation.
We read about Luke in Acts 20. There is another period of time where he is not with Paul, but he reunites with him in Acts 21. Paul is on his way to Jerusalem. He comes back through Philippi again on his way to Jerusalem, that is when Luke joins him again. Luke stays with Paul when was in Jerusalem, and the entire time he was in captivity in Caesarea. Luke was also on the boat that was almost shipwrecked in Acts 27! If that boat had foundered on the way to Rome with Luke and Paul on it, we would not have the Gospel of Luke. We would not have the Book of Acts. We would not have Philippians, Colossians, probably
2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon: those books at least. We would not have Ephesians! We would not have those books had they perished in that shipwreck, because Luke was there too. You see how fun it is to go through even briefly and to get a whole scope of where he was, who he was, how he followed through Paul’s journeys. Luke is with him much of the time; we cannot look at it all. Look at 2 Timothy 4:11. This will give us a little glimpse into Luke’s heart. 2 Timothy is the very last book that Paul wrote chronologically, and it is after his first trial in Rome. He says to Timothy in chapter four, verses nine through thirteen:
2 Timothy 4:9-13 APNT
Be diligent to come to me quickly,
for Demas has left me and loved this world and gone to Thessalonica, Crescens or Crispus to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.
Only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring him with you, for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
And I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus.
And when you come, bring the book carrier that I left in Troas with Carpus and the books, especially the rolls of parchments.
Troas was a major center for the outreach of the Word. I love verse eleven, it says, “Only Luke is with me.” We know why Demas left; he “loved this world.” Perhaps Crescens (Crispus) and Titus went, with Paul’s blessing, to do other work in Galatia and Dalmatia. There may have been others that perhaps left to go do their own thing. We do not know for sure. One thing we do know for certain, Luke stayed with Paul. Does this not truly show Luke’s heart? He stayed committed to Paul through the last part of Paul’s journeys of being a captive, going through the trials, and everything Paul endured during that period of time. He must have been a great comfort to him!
Another question this brings up in reading this is in what time frame in the Gospel of Luke would the Book of Acts have been written? One of the possibilities is that it was written while Paul was in prison: during the two years in Rome. At that time they would have been preparing the defense Paul would present to the emperor when he stood before him in Rome. There is a reason for this line of thought. It is because much of the gospels, even the Gospel of Luke, as well as Acts, are like sequels to show the historical development of what happened with Jesus Christ. They reveal where he was born, what he did. Then they go into the first description of how the Gospel was preached, who believed it, where they lived, and many different details about it. There are many references in the Book of Acts about a government official who was very favorable to Christianity. You can see, if you look at it like that, there was probably a defense aspect as to why Luke especially wrote Acts.
The other purpose of Acts, and how Luke puts it all together; it is biographical in nature. We see that the majority of the Book of Acts is about Peter and Paul. The first twelve chapters are about Peter and the second twelve to fourteen chapters are basically about Paul and all of Paul’s companions. Then we have Titus, Silas, Crispus, Epaphras, and other people that are companions of Paul that come into the scene later. In the very beginning of Acts, it is mostly Peter and the apostles. There is very little about the other apostles, mostly Peter. Then in Acts 12, it changes to be about Paul.
It is really as if I were going to write a biography; I said, “Okay, I want to write a biography about my best friend”. I would then ask her about all the details of her life or perhaps I already know many details. Then in order to write about her life, I want to write about the specific incidents that I think are important that really show and highlight who she is. I would want to write about what she did, what she is all about, and how she thinks.
That is how the Book of Acts is written. It has conversations in it. It has dialogue. It is like a biography. When we see that, then we can also see that is the reason it does not follow a “program,” a “formula.” This is what a church should do…one, two, three, four, five….! It is telling a story of real people who are living and walking and learning how to walk by the Holy Spirit and live their lives like that. It is an example of real people who are preaching the gospel and walking by the Spirit. You could call the “Book of Acts”; it is actually called “Acts of the Apostles”. You could also call it “Acts of the Holy Spirit” or “Acts of the Spirit” or “Acts of the Apostles Walking By the Spirit”, because that is what it is really about! It is highlighting these people’s lives because they are walking by the Spirit. Because all these great things happened, and churches were established all over the known world at that time through what these people did. That is another reason I think looking at the people’s lives is going to be really exciting because we are going to start to see things in their lives that, first of all, we recognize in our own. But also because they are real people. They had real problems. Acts is not necessarily a nice, pleasant history lesson where everything is favorable and positive. There are many things that happened that were unpleasant, even devastating. It will be very enlightening to look at them from that point of view.
Now we need to go back to Acts, chapter one again, because there is also another purpose for the Book of Acts, which is along these same lines.
Acts 1:1 ANPT
I wrote the former book (which is the Gospel of Luke), O Theophilus, concerning all those [things] that our Lord Jesus Christ began to do and to teach, until that day in which he was taken up, after he had commanded the apostles, those whom he had chosen by the Holy Spirit,
Luke is about what Jesus Christ began to do and teach. It implies that Acts is continuing to tell the story of what he continues to do and to teach, although, by way of the Spirit this time.
Since Luke ends with the ascension; we need to go to the book of Luke. It also says in those verses is that he gave specific commandments to his apostles before he ascended. We need to read what those commandments are, because that is the ending, and we are going to be starting the beginning. Before we can actually get to the ascension, which begins in verse four, we need to know what he commanded his disciples beforehand. In Luke 24:43 we see Jesus with the eleven. “He took and ate it before them. He had a bite of fish, and a comb of honey.” (Luke 24:43 APNT) He was with them, eating fish and honeycomb with them. Luke 24 continues:
Luke 24:44-45 APNT
And he said to them, “These are the words that I spoke to you while I was with you, that it was necessary that everything be fulfilled that was written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms about me.”
Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.
Luke tells a story about the two men on the road to Emmaus; their hearts were burning within them because he opened to them the Scriptures about himself: ‘that prophecy was about me’, and ‘that prophecy was about me’, and ‘this was about me also.’ He does that with the apostles as well. He sits down with them, and tells them about the Scriptures, and about the prophecies, and how they were fulfilled. If you remember, the apostles had a hard time even believing the resurrection. At this time, they were still behind closed doors. They were afraid. They had questions. However, by the time they get close to the end of the forty days, they are beginning to understand. I believe after this point, when he sits down with them, and opens to them the Scriptures: they finally get it!
Luke 24:46-48 APNT
And he said to them, “So it is written and so it was right that the Messiah should suffer and rise from the dead after three days
and that repentance will be preached through his name for the forgiveness of sins in all the nations and [that] the beginning will be from Jerusalem.
And you are a witness of these [things]”
Jesus Christ is telling them, even before the ascension, the main thing they will be talking about is the resurrection and repentance. It will begin in Jerusalem and go from there, resulting in spreading to all the nations, and you will be witnesses of this. If you know the beginning of the Book of Acts, you hear it already. “You shall be witnesses unto me. Both in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Samaria and in the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) It was a pattern. Jesus Christ is the one who told them this is how it was going to happen. Then verse 49 continues and he says, “And I (in Aramaic the “I”, is actually emphasized), will send to you the promise of my Father. But remain in the city, Jerusalem, until you be clothed with power from on high.”
You are going to be clothed with something. He is telling them; you are going to be clothed with this promise of the Father. How did they know what the promise of the Father was? He told them before.
John 20:20-23 APNT
He said this and showed them his hands and his side and the disciples rejoiced that they had seen our Lord.
And Jesus said to them again, “Peace [be] with you. As my Father has sent me, I also send you.”
And when he had said these [things], he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
If you forgive sins of anyone, they will be forgiven him, and if you retain [the sins] of anyone, they will be retained.”
He is telling them about how to receive the Spirit: the gift of the Holy Spirit. He is also beginning to tell them about their authority. Now we need to go to Matthew because this section does not say exactly when he said these things. It is probably the second time that he appears to all the apostles. This recorded in Matthew 28.
Matthew 28:18-19 APNT
Jesus came near [and] spoke with them and said to them, “All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth. And as my Father sent me, I send you.
Go, therefore, disciple all nations, and baptize them in the name [of] the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Some texts omit “baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”).
And teach them to keep all that I commanded you. And behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world.” Amen.
We are beginning to see there were many commandments Jesus gave the apostles. Not just breathe in, but they were going to have authority. They were going to be able to free people from their sins. They were going to witness, starting in Jerusalem, and then the gospel is going to go throughout the whole world. This must have been almost beyond their comprehension to have him begin to explain this to them. Now you see why I think that if he was really opening the Scriptures to them about the prophecies, then he would have actually gone back to Luke, chapter three, because of “the promise of the Father” and why it is called “the promise”. It is called the promise of the Father because the entire time he was with them he was teaching them that there would be the Spirit come. In his prayer right before the crucifixion, he told the disciples there would be a Comforter that would come; and this Comforter was going to be the Spirit. This is an even earlier time that, during the baptism, John the Baptist declares what was going to happen.
Luke 3:15-17 APNT
And as the nation was thinking about John and all were considering in their heart that perhaps he was the Messiah,
John answered and said to them, “Behold, I baptize you with water, but one who is greater than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to unloose: he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
he who holds a winnowing fan in his hand and has cleaned his threshing floors. And he will gather the wheat into his granaries and he will burn the chaff with a fire that will not go out.
He basically prophesies about Jesus Christ’s ministry on earth: he will send the Spirit, he will gather all the people that will believe in him, and eventually he will return, and burn up all the chaff. He gives an amazing description of what Jesus Christ’s life was going to be. One of the key things was, “he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” “Fire”, meaning it will be either the fire of acceptance, if you believe it, or it will be a fire of judgment, if you do not believe it. We can now read the Gospel of Mark that contains some
commandments. This may be one of the same times, or it could even possibly have been a different one.
Mark 16:14-17 APNT
And finally he appeared to the eleven while they were eating. And he reproved the lack of their faith and the hardness of their heart, since they had not believed those who had seen that he had risen.
And he said to them, “Go to all the world and preach my gospel in all of creation.
Whoever believes and is baptized (with the spirit) will live, and whoever does not believe is condemned.
And these signs will follow those who believe. In my name they will cast out demons and they will speak with new tongues.
He had already told them they were going to speak with new tongues. Then later, he tells them, “Breathe”, this is how they would learn how to speak with new tongues. He gave them specific instructions about how to receive the Spirit. The next thing he says, in verse 18, is the part I think is so interesting in this section.
Mark 16:18 APNT
And they will capture snakes, and if they should drink a deadly poison, it will harm not them and they will place their hands on the sick and they will be made whole.
The word “snakes” is not the normal word for a physical snake or a viper. It is from the Aramaic word “to show”, and could be translated “pretenders”. It could be referring to the devil and his spirits, but it basically means “they will capture pretenders”: the ones who are showing off, thinking they are almighty, full of authority and power, but they will not be. He is telling the disciples; you are going to capture them. “If you should drink a deadly poison,” poison is a figure of speech for “words”; words that are poison. If deadly words are directed at them, they will not harm them!
He is basically telling them they are going to walk with power! That is the same thingas, “You shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you.” You shall receive power! He did not speak in generalities about power. He was really specific. You are going to do signs! You are going to capture snakes! If people speak words against you, they are going to fall to the ground! There are going to be many and varied wonderful signs! You are going to speak in tongues! You are going to place your hands on the sick and they will be made whole! We are getting this preview of whole Book of Acts. They went, as they were commanded, and they did all of these things! Mark 16 ends with verses nineteen and twenty:
Mark 16: 19-20 APNT
“And Jesus our Lord, after speaking with them, went up to heaven and sat on the right hand of God.
And they went out and preached in every place and our Lord was helping them and establishing their words by the signs that they were doing.”
This is also a little preview of the book of Acts. You can go back and read those first three verses in Acts to put all of this together.
Acts 1:1-3 APNT
“I wrote the former book, O Theophilus, concerning all those things that our Lord Jesus Christ began to do and to teach (Now he is going to tell us about what he is continuing to do and to teach.)
until that day in which he was taken up, (He is talking about the ascension) after he had commanded the apostles, those whom he had chosen by the Holy Spirit,
those to whom he also showed himself alive after he had suffered with many signs for forty day, while he was seen by them and spoke about the kingdom of God.”
All these things that we have read about were all the descriptions of what the kingdom of God was going to continue to be in the Book of Acts. I read a really interesting point about the Book of Acts.
“Another prominent theme of the book of Acts can be easily traced throughout all the books. It’s the story of the church: how it began, what it was, of whom it consisted, its organization, its mission, its work, its worship, its growth, its development. And from all this history, (the history of the people) we can learn what the church was in the beginning under the guidance of the apostles, as God designed it and as Christ built it. And therefore, how it can be built today.”
It can be built the same way today. In the beginning, it was all that Jesus Christ began to do and to teach. He is continuing today to do the same things by way of the spirit, by way of people following his commands. Preach the gospel! Heal the sick! Cast out demons! We will see from this very point of the ascension; the apostles are completely transformed. They finally said yes! This is what we are going to do! We finally get it. We are going to do this!
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