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The Acts Of The Apostles
Book Introduction - Acts
Read
first chapter of Acts
WRITER: In the Acts of the Apostles Luke continues
the account of Christianity begun in the Gospel which bears
his name. In the "former treatise" he tells what Jesus "began
both to do and teach"; in the Acts, what Jesus continued to do
and teach through His Holy Spirit sent down.
DATE: The Acts concludes with the account of Paul's
earliest ministry in Rome, A.D. 65, and appears to have been
written at or near that time.
THEME: This book records the ascension and promised
return of the Lord Jesus, the descent of the Holy Spirit at
Pentecost, Peter's use of the keys, opening the kingdom
(considered as the sphere of profession, as in Mat. 13) to the
Jews at Pentecost, and to the Gentiles in the house of
Cornelius; the beginning of the Christian church and the
conversion and ministry of Paul.
The Holy Spirit fills the scene. As the presence of the
Son, exalting and revealing the Father, is the great fact of
the Gospels, so the presence of the Spirit, exalting and
revealing the Son, is the great fact of the Acts.
Acts is in two chief parts: In the first section (1-
9:43) Peter is the prominent personage, Jerusalem is the
center, and the ministry is to Jews. Already in covenant
relations with Jehovah, they had sinned in rejecting Jesus as
the Christ. The preaching, therefore, was directed to that
point, and repentance (i.e. "a changed mind") was demanded.
The apparent failure of the Old Testament promises concerning
the Davidic kingdom was explained by the promise that the
kingdom would be set up at the return of Christ (Acts
2:25-31; Acts
15:14-16). This ministry to Israel fulfilled Luke
19:12-14. In the persecutions of the apostles and finally
in the martyrdom of Stephen, the Jews sent after the king the
message, "We will not have this man to reign over us." In the
second division (
10:1-; 28:31)
Paul is prominent, a new center is established at Antioch, and
the ministry is chiefly to Gentiles who, as "strangers from
the covenants of promise" ( 2:12),
had but to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" to be saved.
Chapters 11,12, and 15 of this section are transitional,
establishing finally the distinction, doctrinally, between law
and grace. Galatians should be read in this connection.
The events recorded in The Acts cover a period of 32 years.
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Acts 1:4 And, being assembled
together with them, commanded them that they should not depart
from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which,
saith he, ye have heard of me.
being assembled Or,
eating with them.
ye have heard Or, heard
from me.
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Acts
1:6 When
they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying,
Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to
Israel?
again the kingdom to
Israel
Forty days the risen Lord had been instructing the
apostles "of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God,"
doubtless, according to His custom Luke
24:27,32,44,45 teaching them out of the Scriptures. One
point was left untouched, viz., the time when He would
restore the kingdom to Israel; hence the apostles' question.
The answer was according to His repeated teaching; the time
was God's secret. ; Matthew
24:36,42,44; 25:13;
1 Thessalonians
5:1.
restore (See Scofield
"Matthew 3:2")
.
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Acts
1:11 Which
also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into
heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into
heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go
into heaven.
come
The two Advents--Summary:
(1) The O.T. foreview of the coming Messiah is in two
aspects--that of rejection and suffering (as e.g. in Is 53),
and that of earthly glory and power (as e.g. In Is 11 Jer 23
Eze 37). Often these two aspects blend in one passage (e.g.
Ps 2). The prophets themselves were perplexed by this
seeming contradiction 1 Peter
1:10,11. It was solved by partial fulfilment. In due
time the Messiah, born of a virgin according to Isaiah,
appeared among men and began His ministry by announcing the
predicted kingdom as "at hand."
(See Scofield "Matthew 4:17")
. The rejection of King and kingdom followed.
(2) Thereupon the rejected King announced His approaching
crucifixion, resurrection, departure, and return (Mat. 24.,
25). Matthew
12:38-40; 16:1-4,21,27;
Luke
12:35-46; 17:20-36
; 18:31-34;
19:12-27.
(3) He uttered predictions concerning the course of
events between His departure and return Matthew
13:1-50; 16:18;
24:4-26
(4) This promised return of Christ becomes a prominent
theme in the Acts, Epistles, and Revelation.
Taken together, the N.T. teachings concerning the return
of Jesus Christ may be summarized as follows:
(1) That return is an event, not a process, and is
personal and corporeal Matthew
23:39; 24:30;
25:31;
Mark
14:62; Luke
17:24; John
14:3; Acts
1:11; Philippians
3:20,21; 1 Thessalonians
4:14-17.
(2) His coming has a threefold relation: to the church,
to Israel, to the nations.
(a) To the church the descent of the Lord into the air to
raise the sleeping and change the living saints is set forth
as a constant expectation and hope Matthew
24:36,44,48-51; 25:13;
1 Corinthians
15:51,52; Philippians
3:20; 1 Thessalonians
1:10; 4:14-17;
1 Timothy
6:14; Titus
2:13; Revelation
22:20.
(b) To Israel, the return of the Lord is predicted to
accomplish the yet unfulfilled prophecies of her national
regathering, conversion, and establishment in peace and
power under the Davidic Covenant Acts
15:14-17 with Zechariah
14:1-9.
See "Kingdom (O.T.)" 2 Samuel
7:8-17.
(See Scofield "Zechariah 13:8")
Luke
1:31-33
(See Scofield "1 Corinthians 15:24")
(c) To the Gentile nations the return of Christ is
predicted to bring the destruction of the present political
world-system Daniel
2:34,35. (See Scofield "Revelation 19:11")
, the judgment of Matthew
25:31-46 followed by world-wide Gentile conversion and
participation in the blessings of the kingdom ; Isaiah
2:2-4; 11:10;
60:3;
Zechariah
8:3,20,23; 14:16-21.
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Acts
1:12 Then
returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet,
which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.
journey
About 4854 feet.
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Acts
1:13 And
when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where
abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and
Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus,
and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
Zelotes
The Zealot.
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Acts
1:20 For
it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be
desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let
another take.
bishoprick
(Greek - naos [nao/v] , overseership). See
"elders" (See Scofield "Titus 1:5")
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Acts
1:25 That
he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which
Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own
place.
transgression
Sin. (See Scofield "Romans 3:23")
.
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Acts 1:1, The former treatise have I made
I.e., The Gospel According To Luke
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Acts 1:1, treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began
Luke 1:3.
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Acts 1:2, the day in which he was taken up
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Acts 1:3, To whom also he shewed himself alive
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Acts 1:4, And being assembled together with them
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Acts 1:4, Father, which saith he ye have heard of me
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Acts 1:5, ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost
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Acts 1:6b, at this time restore again the kingdom
Matthew 3:2.
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Acts 1:6b, restore again the kingdom to Israel
(Verses 6, 7)
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Acts 1:7, said unto them, It is not for you to know
Matthew 24:36
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Acts 1:8b, and ye shall be witnesses unto me
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Acts 1:9, while they beheld, he was taken up
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Acts 1:10a, And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven
Or, as they were looking.
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Acts 1:10b, looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up
2 Corinthians 12:2.
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Acts 1:11
into heaven, shall so come in like manner
The two Advents -- Summary:
(1) The Old Testament fore-view of the coming Messiah is in two aspects?that of rejection and suffering (as, e.g. in Isaiah 53), and that of earthly glory and power (as, e.g. in Isaiah 11; Jer:23; Ezekiel 37). Often these two aspects blend in one passage (e.g. Psalms 2). The prophets themselves were perplexed by this seeming contradiction (1 Peter 1:10-11). It was solved by partial fulfilment. In due time the Messiah, born of a virgin according to Isaiah, appeared among men and began His ministry by announcing the predicted kingdom as "at hand" (Matthew 4:17; Ref. Note Page 998_3). The rejection of King and kingdom followed.
Thereupon the rejected King announced His approaching crucifixion, resurrection, departure, and return (Luke 12:35-46; Luke 17:20-36; Luke 18:31-34; Luke 19:12-27; Matthew 24; Matthew 25; [Ref. Luke 12:35-46; Luke 17:20-36; Luke 18:31-34; Luke 19:12-27.]Matthew 12:38-40; Matthew 16:1-4, 21, 27;.).
(3) He uttered predictions concerning the course of events between His departure and return (Matthew 13:1-50; 16:18; 24:4-26).
(4) This , promised return of Christ becomes a prominent theme in the Acts, Epistles, and Revelation.
Taken together, the New Testament teachings concerning the return of Jesus Christ may be summarized as follows:
(1) That return is an event, not a process, and is personal and corporeal (Matthew 23:39; 24:30; 25:31; Mark 14:62; Luke 17:24; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17; Philippians 3:20, 21; ).
(2) His coming has a threefold relation: to the church, to Israel, to the nations.
(a) To the church the descent of the Lord into the air to raise the sleeping and change the living saints is set forth as a constant expectation and hope (Matt. 24:36, 44, 48-51; Matt. 25:13; 1 Cor. 15:51, 52; Phil. 3:20; 1 Thes. 1:10; 4:14-17; 1 Timothy 6:14; Titus 2:13; Revelation 22:20).
(b) To Israel, the return of the Lord is predicted to accomplish the yet unfulfilled prophecies of her national re-gathering, conversion, and establishment in peace and power under the Davidic Covenant (Acts 15:14-17 with Zechariah 14:1-9; [Ref. Acts 15:14-17; Zechariah 14:1-9.).
(c) To the Gentile nations the return of Christ is predicted to bring the destruction of the present political world-system (Daniel 2:34, 35; Revelation 19:11, note); the judgment of Matthew 25:31-46, followed by world-wide Gentile conversion and participation in the blessings of the kingdom (Isaiah 2:2-4; Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah 60:3; Zechariah 8:3, 20, 23; Zechariah 14:16-21).
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Acts 1:11b, this same Jesus, which is taken up from you
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Acts 1:11b, into heave, shall so come in like manner
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Acts 1:12b, Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey
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Acts 1:13, they went up into an upper room
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Acts 1:13, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James
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Acts 1:15, Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said
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Acts 1:16a, scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost
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Acts 1:16b, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David
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Acts 1:16b, David spake before concerning Judas
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Acts 1:17, and had obtained part of this ministry
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Ref. Acts 2:4, And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost
Ref. 1 Corinthians 6:19b, the temple of the Holy Ghost
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit, N.T. Summary
(see Malachi 2:15, Ref. note page 981_1):
(1) The Holy Spirit is revealed as a divine Person. This is expressly
declared (e.g. John 14. 16, 17, 26; John 15. 26; (Ref. John 14:16, 17, 14:26; John 15:26.)
John 16:7-15; Matthew 28:19), and everywhere implied.
(2) The revelation concerning Him is progressive:
(a) In the O.T. (see Malachi 2:15; Ref. Note Page 981_1.).
He comes upon whom He will, apparently without reference to conditions
in them.
(b) During His earth-life, Christ taught His disciples (Luke 11:13) that
they might receive the Spirit through prayer to the Father,
(c) At the close of
His ministry He promised that He would Himself pray the Father, and that in
answer to His prayer the Comforter would come to abide (John 14:16, 17).
(d) On
the evening of His resurrection He came to the disciples in the upper room, and
breathed on them saying, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost" (John 20:22),
but instructed
them to wait before beginning their ministry till the Spirit should come upon them
(Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8).
(e) On the day of Pentecost the Spirit came upon the
whole body of believers (Acts 2:1-4).
(f) After Pentecost, so long as the Gospel
was preached to Jews only, the Spirit was imparted to such as believed by the
laying on of hands (Acts 8:17; Acts 9:17, etc.).
(g) When Peter opened the door of the
kingdom to the Gentiles (Acts 10.), the Holy Spirit, without delay, or other
condition than faith, was given to those who believed (Acts 10. 44; Acts 11. 15-18).
This is
the permanent fact for the entire church-age. Every believer is born of the Spirit
(John 3:3, 6; 1 John 5:1),
indwelt by the Spirit, whose presence makes the believer's
body a temple (1 Cor. 6. 19; Rom. 8. 9-15; 1 John 2. 27; Gal. 4. 6; Ref. 1 Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:9-15; 1 John 2:27), and baptized by the
Spirit (1 Cor. 12. 12, 13; 1 John 2. 20, 27),
thus sealing him for God
(Eph. 1. 13; 4. 30).
(3) The N.T. distinguishes between having the Spirit, which is true of
all believers, and being filled with the Spirit, which is the believer's
privilege and duty
(cf. Acts 2. 4 with 4. 29-31; Eph. 1. 13, 14 with 5. 18) ?"One baptism,
many fillings."
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Acts 1:18, purchased a field with the reward of iniquity
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Acts 1:20, book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate
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Acts 1:20b, and his bishoprick let another take
Greek: episkopen, overseership.
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Acts 1:20b, and his bishoprick let another take
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Acts 1:22, same day that he was taken from us
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Acts 1:22b, must one be ordained to be a witness
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Acts 1:23a, And they appointed two
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Acts 1:24a, And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord
Bible Prayers (New Testament)
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Acts 1:25, That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship
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Acts 1:25b, which Judas by transgression fell
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Matthew 3:2
Kingdom of Heaven
(1) The phrase, kingdom of heaven (lit. of the heavens), is peculiar to Matthew and signifies the Messianic earth rule of Jesus Christ, the Son of David. It is called the kingdom of the heavens because it is the rule of the heavens over the earth (Matthew 6:10).
The phrase is derived from Daniel, where it is defined (Daniel 2:34-36, 44; 7:23-27) as the kingdom which "the God of heaven" will set up after the destruction by "the stone cut out without hands" of the Gentile world-system.
It is the kingdom covenanted to David's seed (2 Samuel 7:7-10, refs. note page 362_2.); described in the prophets (Zechariah 12:8; Ref. Note Page 976_1); and confirmed to Jesus the Christ, the Son of Mary, through the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:32, 33).
(2) The kingdom of heaven has three aspects in Matthew:
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See Acts 1:6, restore again the kingdom to Israel
Matthew 6:33
The Kingdom of God
The kingdom of God is to be distinguished from the kingdom of heaven
(Matthew 3:2, note) in five respects:
(1) The kingdom of God is universal, including all moral intelligences willingly
subject to the will of God, whether angels, the Church, or saints of past or future
dispensations (Luke 13:28, 29; Hebrews 12:22, 23);
while the kingdom of heaven is
Messianic, mediatorial, and Davidic, and has for its object the establishment of the
kingdom of God in the earth (Matthew 3:2, note;
1 Corinthians 15:24, 25).
(2) The kingdom of God is entered only by the new birth (John 3:3, 5-7);
the kingdom of heaven, during this age, is the sphere of a profession which may be
real or false (Matthew 13:3, note;
Matt. 25:l, 11, 12).
(3) Since the kingdom of heaven is the earthly sphere of the universal kingdom of
God, the two have almost all things in common. For this reason many parables and other
teachings are spoken of the kingdom of heaven in Matthew, and of the kingdom of God in
Mark and Luke.
It is the omissions which are significant. The parables of the wheat and tares,
and of the net (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, 47-50) are not spoken of the kingdom of God.
In that kingdom there are neither tares nor bad fish. But the parable of the leaven
(Matthew 13:33) is spoken of the kingdom of God also, for, alas, even the true
doctrines of the kingdom are leavened with the errors of which the Pharisees, Sadducees,
and the Herodians were the representatives. Matt. 13:33; (See Matthew 13:33, note.)
(4) The kingdom of God "comes not with outward show" (Luke 17:20), but is chiefly
that which is inward and spiritual (Romans 14:17); while the kingdom of heaven is
organic, and is to be manifested in glory on the earth. (See "Kingdom (O.T.),"
Zech. 12:8, note; (New Testament), Luke 1:31-33;
1 Corinthians 15:24, note; Matthew 17:2, note.)
(5) The kingdom of heaven merges into the kingdom of God when Christ, having "put
all enemies under His feet," "shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the
Father" (1 Corinthians 15:24-28). Cf. Matthew 3:2, note.
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Acts 1:6, at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel
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Acts 1:25, which Judas by transgression fell;
Romans 3:23, For all have sinned, and come short
Sin, Summary:
The literal meanings of the Heb. and Gr. words variously
rendered "sin," "sinner," etc., disclose the true nature of sin in its manifold
manifestations.
- Sin is transgression, an overstepping of the law, the divine boundary
between good and evil
(Psa. 51. 1; Luke 15. 29);
- iniquity, an act inherently wrong, whether expressly forbidden or not;
- error, a departure from right
(Psa. 51.9; Rom. 3. 23);
- missing the mark, a failure to ireet the divine standard; trespass, the intrusion
of self-will into the sphere of divine authority
(Eph. 2. 1);
- lawlessness, or spiritual anarchy
(1 Tim. 1. 9);
unbelief, or an insult to the divine veracity
(John 16. 9).
Sin originated with Satan (Isa. 14. 12-14)
Sin entered the world through Adam
(Rom. 5. 12)
Sin was, and is, universal, Christ alone excepted (Rom. 3. 23; I Pet. 2. 22)
Sin incurs the penalties of spiritual and physical death
(Gen. 2. 17; Gen. 3. 19; Ezek. 18. 4, Ezek. 13. 20; Rom. 6. 23);
Sin has no remedy but in the sacrificial death of Christ
(Heb. 9. 26; Acts 4. 12)
availed of by faith
(Acts 13. 38-39).
Sin may be summarized as threefold:
- An act, the violation of, or want of obedience to the revealed will of God;
- a state, absence of righteousness; a nature,
- enmity toward God.
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Bibliography
Information
Scofield, C. I. "Scofield
Reference Notes on Acts 1". "Scofield Reference Notes (1917
Edition)".
<http://www.studylight.org/com/srn/view.cgi?book=ac&chapter=001>.
1917.
|
