The Acts of the Apostles
II. Understanding Acts:
A. purpose:
I. Background Information:
A. Author:
1. He was not an eye witness to everything he
wrote about (Luke 1:2)
2. He was an eye witness to several events that he
recorded in Acts.
3. He was a physician, _____________, and
faithful companion of the Apostle Paul
(Col.4:14; Philem.24; 2nd Tim.4:11).
4. His two-volume work Luke/Acts makes up
roughly 25 % of the whole New Testament.
B. Book:
1. Acts is the second part of what was originally a
two-volume work (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1).
2. Acts gives us an inspired record of the 1st
century church, and provides a framework and
historical background for many of the New
Testament Epistles.
3. It gives us the ___________________ of all that
Jesus began to do and teach as He now conducts
His work as the Glorified Head of the Church
(1:1).
C. Audience: Acts is addressed to “Theophilus” specifically,
but a Gentile audience more generally (1:1).
1. The purpose of Acts is stated in the prologue of Luke’s
two-volume work (Luke 1:1-4). Luke wrote to
Theophilus in order that he might know the
_____________ of what he had been taught (Luke 1:14). Thus Acts is written to _____________ believers
in the Christian faith.
2. Historical: Luke wrote his two-volume work in order
to give an orderly account of certain key events in the
program of God. Luke traces.
3. Apologetic: Christianity was not a licensed religion,
and the gospel message and messengers often left a
commotion in their wake. Acts reveals that the problem
was not Christianity, but the common Jewish response
to Christianity.
4. Transitional: Luke/Acts traces the progression of
God’s activity from Jew to ____________ – from Israel
to the _____________, and this progression is shown to
be both orderly and sovereignly directed.
5. Biographical: Acts shows us what the Apostles did
and how their work relates to the bigger picture.
B. Transitional: The book of Acts serves as a transition
from the Old Covenant to the New and many aspects that come
as a result.
C. Genre: Historical Narrative
“…a story told for the purpose of conveying a message through
people and their problems and situations.”1
a. Luke recorded historical events and
arranged them in a way that presents the
message he wanted to convey. The
events transpire over a period of about
30 years.
b. Because Luke was selective in the events
he recorded we should resist the
temptation to overly idealize the early
church, and ask ourselves why certain
events were recorded.
III. Message of Acts: The glorified Christ is at work in
history to build His church as the gospel goes to all nations
through His apostles. This spread of the gospel is the work of
God and will continue triumphant in spite of the varied
resistance with which it is met.
IV. Theology and Application:
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D. Principles of interpretation:
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1. Acts is _______________, therefore Luke is not so
much telling believers what to do as he is telling
believers what others have done.
2. Acts is _______________, therefore we shouldn’t
automatically expect to see the events in Acts repeated
in our generation. On the other hand, we should not
conclude that Acts has nothing to say to this generation
of believers.
1
“Basic Bible Interpretation” by Roy Zuck, pg.128
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God knows when believers lack assurance and desires
to build their confidence in Him.
God Himself is active in salvation history to move His
program along. When we recognize His activity, how
should that impact our choices?
In this age, God’s focus is primarily on Gentiles (the
Nations). How does this impact the way we do
ministry?
The Glorified Christ is at work in history to accomplish
His purposes. You and I are right in the middle of that!
We must be faithful stewards of God’s word regardless
of the personal cost to us.
Christianity is often met with resistance. The word of
God will not be bound, but sometimes believers suffer
and even die for their faithfulness.