The Book of Acts Overview
The Acts of the Apostles is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke who was a physician and travel companion of the apostle Paul. In the book of Acts, Luke begins by noting how “in the first book” (that is, the Gospel of Luke), he “dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach” (Acts 1:1). In other words, the Acts is about the continual act of Jesus Christ through his Apostles. The Acts is also known as the Acts of the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Christ. We see throughout the book of Acts that the promised Spirit is given to the disciples and empowers them to make disciples and plant churches. God establishes his church from Jerusalem to the “ends of the earth” through the Spirit-empowered disciples. Acts shows how the establishment of God’s Kingdom through the power of the Spirit cannot be stopped; the expansion and spreading of the gospel cannot be ceased. And people of all nations are invited to enter into God’s kingdom as they turn to Christ and put their trust in him.
The key to our reading of Acts is to recognize the “movement” of the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome, narrated in six parts and signaled by Luke’s little summary statements in 6:7; 9:31; 12:24; 16:5 and 19:20):
The gospel begins in Jerusalem (1:1-6:7): The first part tells the story of the spread of the good news about Jesus in Jerusalem by the apostles.
The gospel spreads to Judea and Samaria (6:8-9:31): The second part makes the first geographical expansion to neighboring Judea and Samaria (cf. 1:8), where Stephen and the Hellenists play the major role.
The gospel spreads to the Gentiles (9:32-12:24): The thirst part narrates the first expansion to the Gentiles (Cornelius) and the conversion of the key figure (Paul) in what is to be its still greater expansion. Peter as the main character ends in this part.
The gospel spreads to Asia (12:25-16:5): The fourth part narrates the expansion to Gentiles in Asia with Paul as the central figure. This part begins the second major section of the book.
The gospel spreads to Europe (16:6-19:20): The fifth part marks the jump of the gospel from Asia to Europe; the church is now steadily more Gentile than Jewish.
The gospel (and Paul) reaches Rome (19:21-28:31): The sixth and last part tells how Paul (the apostle to the Gentiles) finally got to Rome (then considered as “the end of the earth”) with the good news.
Here are the key themes of the book under the general category of ‘witness’ with Acts 1:8 as the thematic verse:
The witness is worldwide—Judea, Samaria, and ‘end of the earth,’ and is inclusive of all kinds of people: Jews, Gentiles, Samaritans, the physically handicapped, pagan mountain people, a prominent merchant woman, a jailor and his family, Greek philosophers, governors, and kings—are all invited into enter into God’s kingdom. No one is beyond the scope of God’s saving power.
The witness is guided by the providence of God, who preserves his witnesses for their testimony through all sorts of threats. In Acts, the gospel expands not through human strength, but through weakness, opposition, and persecution. Opposition and suffering do not thwart the spread of Jesus’ grace; rather they fuel it!
A key component of the witness is the resurrection of Jesus. For the Jews the resurrection demonstrated that Jesus was the promised Messiah. For the Gentiles it pointed to his role as judge and established their need to repent. The word, “resurrection,” occurs more times in the book of Acts (11 times) than in any other NT book. Christian witnesses continue the ministry that Christ “began” (1:1). This is reflected in many parallels between the experiences of the apostles and those of Jesus: miracles, journey to Jerusalem, trial and suffering, etc.
The power behind the witness is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is connected to Jesus and is ultimately responsible for every major turning point in the narrative. The Spirit is the key to Jesus’ earthly ministry in the Gospel of Luke (cf. Acts 10:38); now ‘the exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33). Christ, the great bearer of the Spirit, is also the great ‘baptizer’ in the Spirit so that others will receive the Spirit and thus bear witness to Christ.
Faithful witnesses must be prepared to suffer, even to die for their testimony to Christ. Effective witnesses demand the unity of the church. And witnesses must always maintain integrity before the world who has no evidence of any wrongdoing (cf. 18:12-15). Movement of the gospel and multiplication of the disciples goes hand in hand with the prayer of the church (1:14; 2:42; 4:23ff; and the increase of the word of God (6:7; 12:24; 19:20).
While divine providence and the powerful work of the Holy Spirit is the driving force of the gospel expansion, the witness to the gospel calls for response (repentance of one’s sins in the name of Christ for the forgiveness of sins). Most speeches in Acts end with some sort of invitation. E.g.) Paul to Agrippa II (cf. 26:27-29; 2:38). The gospel is accepted in joy by some and rejected in anger by others.
Faithful witness brings great results, affirming the victory of the Christian gospel. Because the gospel is the God’s thing, initiated by Him and expressing his faithfulness to Israel through Christ, and carried out by the power of the Holy Spirit, nothing can hinder it: neither the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem (chs. 3-5), nor unbelieving Jews, like Saul of Tarsus (8:1-3, nor the church in Jerusalem (11:1-18), nor secular leaders, like Herod (12:1-24), nor Judaizers within the church (15:1-35), nor religious or secular oppositions from Greeks (16:16-40; 19:23-41); not shipwrecks or snakes (chs. 27-28).
As we read the book of the Acts, may we be empowered by the Spirit to be witnesses of Christ who is with us to the end of the age, as we make disciples of all nations!
