Book of Acts: Features of the Church Upon reading the longest book in the New Testament, one soon discovers the book of Acts is a narrative of great historical value, while acquainting the reader with the key characters within the story. It highlights their critical acts that are crucial to understanding the beginnings of the early church (Wenham and Walton, 2011). When examining the historical facts of leadership, geography, language and culture, mission, ministry and evangelism in Acts and then analyzing those facts and their relation to the kerygma the church is sending to the world, will influence how the reader interprets the book of Acts.
Historical Facts on Acts
Leadership
The book of Acts gives little detail in regards to the governance
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As Luke began the second volume of his Luke-Acts works, he summarizes to Theophilus the work and teaching that Jesus began and how, through the Holy Spirit, the apostles would receive instructions to carry on his ministry (Acts 1:1-2). In his final meal with the eleven before being taken up to heaven, Jesus spoke these words, “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NIV). Having received authority, the eleven chose Matthias to replace Judas, completing the twelve (Acts 1:26). Initially, the twelve apostles assumed sole leadership responsibilities in the early church, including oversight of the finances as is noted in Acts 4:37 and 5:2 (Shaw, 2013). The number of believers increased greatly, to the point that “the Hellenistic Jews among them complained (…) their widows were being overlooked” (6:1). Realizing the necessity to delegate duties, the Twelve had the disciples choose seven men “full of the Spirit and wisdom” (6:3) to carry out the administrative tasks and the care ministry (Shaw, 2013) while the Twelve focused on “prayer and the ministry of the word” (6:4). Of …show more content…
Once again, looking at Jesus’ final message to his apostles prior to his departure to heaven, he calls them to be his “witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (1:8). Earlier in verse 4, he commands them to stay in Jerusalem, and wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit, hinting that they had more to do. Expansion of the church in Acts had its beginnings in Jerusalem, on the day of Pentecost. With so many Jews present from every nation (2:5), the coming of the Holy Spirit caused an uproar providing the perfect opportunity for Peter to begin preaching to the crowd, converting about three thousand new believers (2:41). The church continued to grow in Jerusalem as the apostles proclaimed the message in the “temple courts and from house to house” [5:42] (Wenham and Walton, 2011). The next significant movement of the church was in Judea and Samaria, in the Syria-Palestine region (Wenham & Walton, 2011). The impetus for this was the martyrdom of Stephen, one of the seven, (his killing was approved by Saul), when on that day the church in Jerusalem was persecuted and forced to scatter throughout Judea and Samaria (8:7). Philip, another one of the seven, preached to those scattered in Samaria (8:4-8) and also traveled south along the coast and is credited with the conversion of the first gentile, the Ethiopian official [8:26-40] (Shaw, 2013). Finally, Jesus’
Jerusalem or Zion, is where the church of Jesus Christ got their stard. But in apostolic time a different city came to overshadow Jerusalem in some respects. The city of Antioch, capital of the Roman province of Syria.
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...
The book of Acts is known as 'the birth of the church'. Acts recounts the story of
Jesus chose to have 12 disciples because the number twelve was significant to Jews, and representative of the 12 tribes of Israel that Jews are descendants of. Although the Apostles did not all belong to a different tribe, the fact that there were 12 showed that there was an Apostle to represent each of the tribes. The Apostles all led very different lives before being called up by Jesus. Their names were: "Simon (Jesus gave him the name Peter); James and his brother John, sons of Zebedee (Jesus gave them the name Boanerges, which means Men of Thunder); Andrew; Philip; Barthol... ... middle of paper ... ...
... The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha Revised Standard Version.(1977). New York: Oxford University Press, 1977. Nyberg, Nancy.(November 1997). Personal Interview and survey with Pastor of 1st Congregational Church of Dundee. Poole, W. Michael, D.Min., Th.D.(November 1997). Personal Interview and survey with pastor of Calvary Church of God. Strong, James.(1996). The New STRONG'S Complete Dictionary of Bible Words. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers. Tierney, Michael J.(November 1997). Personal Interview and survey with Priest from Saint Margaret Mary Catholic Parish. Unger, Merrill F.(1967). Unger's Bible handbook. Chicago: Moody Press. Weizsacker, H.I(1958). The Apostolic Age. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications. White, R.E.O.(1960). The Biblical Doctrine of Initiation: A Theology of Baptism and Evangelism. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Apostle Paul was a man who dedicated himself to the evangelism, church planting, and disciple making. This author will examine the biblical answers of relationship evangelism for contemporary churches through the research on Paul’s ministry revealed in Acts.
There are very interesting theories about Jesus as a leader of a Jewish political movement who crowned himself (not in the literal sense) as Jewish King in the fullest sense of that word. The twelve apostles are, in that case, the representatives of the twelve Jewish tribes (they were very often militantly depicted, especially in earlier depictions). However, those are just hypothesis without much tangible proof. Regarding religion, the Jews of that age were much divided. So it is no wonder that even the few followers that Jesus had, divided in two groups, messianic one and Christian one. The former believed that Jesus is a political messiah sent to rebuild the Kingdom of Israel, and the latter followed St. Saul/Paul who preached that Jesus was a son of God and that, in order to achieve salvation, all that people needed to do was believe in him. Nevertheless, Christianity was what prevailed in the end and had conquered the world (or Europe at least), and Wilson claims that it happened because Titus had brutally quenched the Jewish rebellion in 70 AD, by killing off most of Jewish sects. The Christians survived precisely because they were not accepted in Jewish community (Paul/Saul when journeying through the Mediterranean and spreading Christianity, is not at all spreading Christian religion for
Jenkins, Phillips. The Lost History of Christianity. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2008. Print. Phillips, Jonathan.
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.
Wenham, David and Steve Walton. (i) Exploring the New Testament: A Guide to the Gospels and Acts. 2nd ed. 1 vols. Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2011. Print.
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.
The known world was impacted by the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which was done by the first century church with great passion. These early followers of Christ set the world on fire, by relaying the Good news of Jesus Christ, first to the nation of Israel then to the gentile world. The Bible tells us that the Apostle Peter was commissioned to bring the announcement of Christ’s death and resurrection to his Jewish brethren, whereas, the Apostle Paul was chosen by Christ to bring the Gospel message of salvation to the gentile world. The early works of the church are recorded in a series of letters that have become known as the scriptures of the New Testament.
. The 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).
The focus of this paper will be geared towards assessing barriers impeding access to Palliative care. The three barriers that will be taken into consideration include; lack or ineffective communication regarding Palliative care by providers when providing care to individuals diagnosed with chronic and incurable diseases and poor prognosis. Misconceptions and misunderstanding pertaining to Palliative care is the second barrier that will be addressed. Finally, the cultural effect impeding access to palliative care will be addressed. The nurses’ role in ensuring that patients who can benefit from Palliative care gain access to it earlier on in the disease process when it may be more beneficial.
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.