Acts 1:9-14 describes the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven, and the return of the disciples to Jerusalem. The readings call us to reflect on the meaning of the ascension and on our relationship with the risen and ascended Lord. In addition, the ascension of Jesus is described in the passage of Luke 24:51, “-“While he was blessing them, he withdrew, from them and was carried up into heaven.” The Book of Acts is evidently a continuous of the Gospel of Luke, to be read in parallel. The content pertains to the deeds and the doctrines of the Lord Jesus Christ, ending with His ascension. Jesus Christ’ final words, Luke tells us, were orders to the apostles He had chosen. These orders were given, Luke includes, “by the Holy Spirit.”
The purpose then of Acts is to provide an account of that which Jesus continued to do through His church, by means of the Holy Spirit. What Jesus Christ began to do and to teach, the Holy Spirit would continue to do, through the church.
In these words, Jesus
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For example, Jesus Christ mentioned that the Holy Spirit would cause the apostles to be godly witnesses. This connection also echoes the Old Testament. On a number of occasions, the Spirit of God gave his people power to speak boldly and effectively on God's behalf. “But as for me, I am filled with power with the spirit of the Lord” (Micah 3:8). In this text, Micah expounds that the Spirit had emboldened him to speak the truth. So, when Jesus Christ told his apostles that he would immerse them with the Holy Spirit to empower them as his witnesses, he indicated that the Holy Spirit would act in them as he had acted through others in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit would also perform acts of power to validate the truth of the apostles' message, and he would give them words to speak to those who opposed them. And these illustrations of the Holy Spirit appear repeatedly in the book of
In the film “The Holy Ghost People,” right away we get individual accounts of what the “Holy Spirit” is to certain individuals. One woman says the Holy Ghost guides her and keeps her going. The people are very intense about their beliefs, which comes from the religion Pentecostalism, which has a hyper focus on personal experience with God and baptism with the Holy Spirit. We see them in their church, we hear the sermon, and see the ritualistic dances and the way the prayer overcomes them, and causes seizure like motions. We see and hear the prayers for the healing of one woman’s eyesight, and another woman’s back pain. One man, seemingly the pastor, says that “if God is not doing what they ask, people aren’t believing hard enough.” Later we get an account from a woman of how she was nursed back to health as a little girl brought her nutrients, and she believes it was
Acts describes the continued spread of the gospel to new peoples and land. God’s love is not for any one race or ethnic subgroup a love, but for all who will respond to the gospel call.
Jesus gave insight regarding these roles during His discussion with the disciples in John 14-16. From this, we learn that is was the role of the Holy Spirit to “guide [the apostles] into all truth” (John 16:13). It was by way of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that these men preached and taught the truth, and through that same inspiration that the writers of the New Testament penned the Scriptures (2 Peter 1:20, 21). The role of Jesus (the Word) is that the message that the Holy Spirit would “guide” the apostles in belonged to Him and would bring glory to Him. “‘He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you,’” (John 16:14). It was also in Jesus’ (the Word’s) name, or by His authority (cf. Matthew 28:18), that the Holy Spirit was to be sent. Finally, the Father’s role in New Testament revelation was to send the Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ name (John 14:26). It is also clear that the message which belonged to Jesus originated and came from the Father Himself (John 16:15). It was Deity that revealed His will in the form of the New Testament, and each Person had a specialized role in that
The Book of Acts ends with the words “this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; and they will listen”. This statement ends the book with a feeling of abrupt failure for the Jews and helps support the concept that Luke wrote Acts to record the downfall of Israel.
Historical Context The Book of Acts, or sometimes known as The Acts of the Apostles, was written between 62 and 70 A.D. To better understand the meaning behind Acts, one should look at the history and what led to the writing of this book. It was written as a second half of a two part series, with Luke being the first half. Without mentioning himself in either of his writings, it is believed that Luke, a traveling companion of Paul, as mentioned in Colossians 4:14, 2 Timothy 4:11, and Philemon verse 24 was the author of both Luke and Acts. We are told that Luke wrote or dedicated both works to Theophilus (meaning a friend of God). Back in the Gospel of Luke chapter 1, Theophilus is also referred to as “most excellent”, which in Greek is Kratistos, to show an expression of honor.
The Holy Bible, New American Standard Version. La Habra, California: THE LOCKMAN FOUNDATION. 1984. Luke 10:17, Acts 4:32-35. , Acts 5:1-8, Acts 11:24, Romans 15:7
The Holy Spirit is for everyone. When the Holy Spirit came in Acts it fell on everyone who was in the room not just certain people. According to verse 17 the sign of the Holy Spirit is that you speak. When the Holy Spirit comes on falls on you the only response is to tell people about it. As the NT church today we should be cautious not to put limits on the Holy Spirit.
The book of Acts is known as 'the birth of the church'. Acts recounts the story of
In the Bible’s New Testaments the book of Acts is of Narrative genre and is also called the Acts of the Apostles. It is written by Luke who happens to be the author of Gospel of Luke. This book tells a story of first Christians. After the death of Jesus (as mention in “Matthew”) as he went to heaven the Christians waited in Jerusalem. After Holy Spirits were sent by God, the first Christians were given the power by them. And they end up telling the people about Jesus. It was the Christians who explained t...
A debated issue throughout the Christian world since the early church has been the issue of baptism of the Holy Spirit. Questions of when does a follower of Christ actually receive God’s Spirit have been in dispute and scrutinized with very different understandings of the scriptural references to this splendid transformation that takes places in the life of a Christian. In both the Old and New Testaments, The Holy Spirit is a constant person that works in and amongst God’s people. In Numbers 11:24-25, the Spirit of God is displayed when “the Spirit rested on them”, referring to the seventy elders that were appointed to aid Moses. 1 Samuel 16:13 states that the mysterious Spirit of God rushed upon David during his coronation as the King of Israel. In Joel 2:28, the Spirit is promised by the prophet. “And it shall come to pass, afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.” These are only a few of the references that appear in the Old Testament to the Spirit of God, but there is a very active present of the Spirit of God. John Stott writes, “In the Old Testament days, although all believers were indeed regenerate, the Holy Spirit came upon special people for special ministries at special times.” The differences in the Old and New Testament inner workings of the Spirit seems to be for temporary appointment in the Old Testament and permanent indwelling in the New Testament.
The Book of Acts was written to provide a history of the early church. Acts emphasis the importance of the day of Pentecost and being empowered to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ. Acts sheds light on the ministry gift of the Holy Spirit, which empowers, guides, teaches, and serves as our Counselor. When reading the Book of Acts many of the readers will be enlightened and encouraged by the many miracles that were being performed during this time by the disciples Peter, John, and Paul. The Book of Acts emphasizes the importance of obedience to God’s Word and the transformation that occurs as a result of knowing Christ. There are also many references to those that rejected the truth that the disciples preached about in Jesus Christ. Power, greed, and many other vices of the devil or evidenced in the book of Acts. Acts 1:8 serves as a good summary of the Book of Acts. Acts records the apostles being Christ's witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the rest of the surrounding world.
Biblical witness centers on the Spirits activity of “binding believers to Christ, incorporation them into the church as the body of Christ and equipping the church for mission.” Despite the best effort of the Church to be the hands and feet of Christ it is reassuring to know that the Spirit is still present and working in the hearts of people outside of the church’s work. Without the work of the Spirit in the hearts of believers and throughout the word, humanity would not know the love of God. The Holy Spirit gives liberates and brings new life it unites, encourages and brings hope to a world pledged by darkness.
Campbell, William. Sanger. “The ‘We’ Passages in the Acts of the Apostles: The Narrator as Narrative Character.” Journal of Theological Studies 59, no. 2 (2008): 755-757.
First major theme of the book of Acts is the work of the Holy Spirit in the apostles and the early church. Jesus appeared to his disciples and commanded them not to leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift, the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:3b-5) As they gathered together and prayed in one place, the Holy Spirit came to rest on each of them (2:1-3). The disciples who were filled with the Holy Spirit boldly proclaimed God’s word and performed miracles (2:14-42, 3:1-10). Throughout the book, the author focuses on how the Holy Spirt ministers the apostles and the believers in their lives and the community.
The biblical book of Acts is an interpretation of the early discoursing regarding Jesus Christ, the development of the ancient Christian people, and sharing the good news of the Christian message. When Jesus was raise from the dead he went to see his disciples to my understanding, respiring on the disciples and stating, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost” (John 20:22, NKJV). On the contrary even though the disciples had obtained the Holy Ghost after Jesus respired on them, my studies revealed that Jesus expressed to the disciples to pause for the satisfying or fulfillment of the Holy Ghost that was in Jerusalem.