The Acts of the Apostles 1-7

Answers

2009

Luke, a doctor and traveling companion of Paul, wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, addressing them to Theophilus of whom little is known.  In his gospel, Luke cites as his reason for writing, “I have decided to write a careful summary for you, to reassure you of the truth of all you were taught (Luke 1:1-5).”  Acts continues that record, noting what Jesus accomplished through the early church.  Beginning with Jesus’ ascension into heaven, through the birth of the church on the Day of Pentecost, to Paul’s preaching at Rome, Acts records the spread of the gospel and the growth of the church.  Acts emphasizes that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed Israel’s long-awaited Messiah, shows the gospel is offered to all men, and stresses the work of the Holy Spirit.  Acts documents the transition from the ministry of Jesus to the ministry of the apostles; from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant; from Israel as God’s witness nation to the church (made up of Jews & Gentiles) as God’s witness people.  It is a bridge not only between the life of Christ and the Christ-life taught in the Epistles, but it is also a transitional link between Judaism and Christianity, between Law and Grace, and it takes up where the gospels left off.

Chapter 1 – The Holy Spirit Promised

In the last verses of Luke’s Gospel, he had told Theophilus that immediately prior to His Ascension, the Lord Jesus had promised His disciples that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Luke 24: 48-53).  It is important to note that in his Gospel, Luke wrote of the things Jesus began to do and teach.  In Acts, he carries on the record by writing of the things that Jesus continued to do and teach through the Holy Spirit after His Ascension.

1. Who was the source and power of Jesus’ earthly ministry (v.2), also (Matt.4: 1; Mark 1:12; Luke 3:22)?  (A) The Holy Spirit was and is the source of what Jesus taught.  He continues to be our teacher now.
2. To emphasize once again the sovereign will of God, to whom did Jesus give His last commands (V.2)?  (A) To the apostles whom He had chosen (John 15:16).
3. Jesus continued to teach the apostles for 40 days after His Resurrection.  Now He commands them not to leave hostile Jerusalem but to wait for the Promise of the Father?  What does the Father promise?  How will they receive the Promise?  (A) Throughout His ministry, Jesus had promised that the Father would send them His Spirit.  They would receive the Spirit by being baptized with Him.  This is not water baptism.  Rather, it is spiritual baptism in which all believers are baptized with the HS at the moment of salvation (1Cor. 12:13; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 6:19.
4. When the HS comes upon the apostles, what “power” would they receive (v.8)?  (A) They already had experienced the Spirit’s saving, guiding, teaching, and miracle-working power.  They would soon receive His indwelling power to be witnesses to the world about the truth of the Lord Jesus.  He would always live in them, as He does with believers today.
5. What does v.11 tell us?  (A) In the same way that Jesus rose from Mt. Olivet in a cloud into heaven, so would He return to the same Mt. Olivet to set up His earthly kingdom at His Second Coming.

Chapter 2 – The Coming of the Holy Spirit

Pentecost means “fiftieth” and occurs about 50 days after the Passover.  On Pentecost, an offering of “firstfruits” was offered.  The Holy Spirit came on this day as the firstfruits of the believer’s inheritance (Eph.1: 11,14).  Those gathered into the church then were also the firstfruits of the full harvest of all believers to come afterward.

1. On Pentecost, all (the apostles and 120 disciples) were gathered together in prayer when the Holy Spirit descended on them in the form of tongues of fire.  Discuss what v. four means to you.  (A) All of the believers were at that time filled with the Spirit.  In contrast to the baptism of the Spirit, which is a one-time act by which God places believers into His body (1Cor. 12:13), the filling is a repeated reality of Spirit-controlled behavior that God commands believers to maintain (Eph 5:18).  He indwells us permanently the moment we are saved, but to be filled with the Spirit we must study the word, spend time in prayer and meditation, and live in obedience to the Lord.  It is not an automatic guarantee.
2. What does the crowd hear from the believers who have been Spirit filled?  (A)  They hear them speaking in known languages, each hearing his own native tongue as the Spirit empowers the believers to witness about Jesus  These were not ecstatic utterances, but known languages. 
3. What was this miracle a sign of?  (A) That from then on God’s people would come from all nations, and marked the transition from Israel to the church.
4. The prophecy of Joel 2 in vs. 17-21 may be confusing.  Does it mean that everyone will receive the Spirit at the end time?  (A) NO!  All of the wonders and signs prophesied would occur during the Tribulation period.  The Lord will then appear on the earth to judge His enemies and to establish His kingdom on earth.  Only believers are left to live in the kingdom with Him for the thousand years.
5. Another verse that stirs up controversy in the church is 2:38.  What does Peter tell the crowd to do?  (A) First, he tells them to repent and then to be baptized, and now the controversy, for the forgiveness of sins.  He tells them to repent, to change their minds and purpose and turn from sin to God.  It would not make sense to baptize anyone if they had not already been saved.  First things first!  Baptism does not produce forgiveness and cleansing from sin (1Peter 3:20,21).  Genuine repentance brings from God the forgiveness of sins; because of that, the new believer was to be baptized.  Baptism was to be an act of obedience, therefore thought of in the same context as salvation. 
6. What one word is conspicuously absent in vs.43-47?  (A) The word “I.”  There is no I in team, rather the word “all” is the word most prominent.  These were a people called and set apart by God to build His church.  They worshipped with one another daily and shared everything with one another.  We too are called!

Chapter 3 – Peter Heals

As Peter and John went to the Temple to pray, they encountered a lame man begging at the gate of the Temple.  Peter responds in an unusual way to his pleas.

1. Peter, full of the HS, orders the man to “Look at us” (v.4).  What happens?  (A) Rather than receive money, the man receives legs!  Notice the exaggerated actions of the man after receiving his gift – he entered the temple walking, leaping and praising God (v.8).  When God blesses us, we must give Him praise and let the world know that He is alive and working in us.
2. Peter uses the opportunity to preach to the assembled Jews about the Messiah whom they had crucified.  What does he do?  (A) He takes no credit for the healing, but says that, “The name of Jesus has healed this man (v.16)…faith in His name has caused this healing…”  It is all in Jesus’ name!
3. Verse 17 should speak to each of us.  Remember back to when you too were not saved and you rejected the Messiah.  What does Peter say?  (A)  “Friend’s, I realize that what you did to Jesus was done in ignorance, and the same can be said of your leaders.”  He is gracious rather than condemnatory and instead of pointing fingers and blame, he encourages them to repent so that their sins could be cleansed.  We too lived in ignorance, worthy of condemnation in our sin.  By grace, we are saved!
4. God is ever true to His promises.  Peter reminds them of their special place in God’s heart (v.20-26).  (A) Peter’s sermon was given to the people of Israel and their future repentance (at this time, they did not repent; rather, they rejected the Messiah!) during the Tribulation period.  They are restored to prominence as God’s chosen people.  These verses speak of God’s coming kingdom (refers to the 2^nd Coming of Christ and His Millennial Reign) rather than the church.  He reminds them of the covenant with Moses and the covenant with Abraham to bless all the families of his seed.  God has now sent the Messiah first to Israel as promised.

Chapter Four – Peter and John Arrested

The first persecution of the church was about to begin.  It was to come from the chief priest, the captain of the Temple guard, and the Sadducees.

1. What was their problem?  (A)  The leaders resented the fact that the apostles were teaching the people; they felt that this was their sole privilege.  They were angered that Peter and John claimed, on the authority of Jesus, that there is a resurrection from the dead.  The Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection of the dead while others believed in a general resurrection at the end of the world.  This resurrection taught by the apostles taught that some would be raised while others (unbelievers) will remain in the grave until a later time.
2. Peter is a changed Man!  When questioned by whose authority they preached, what was Peter’s answer?  (A)  This is his third sermon in which he publicly confessed Christ.  This man, who once rejected Christ three times, now, filled with the Spirit, confesses Him without fear.  He answers the Jews, “Let me clearly state to you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed in the name and power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, the man you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead.”
3. Peter states the only way to salvation (v.12).  What is it?  (A) “There is salvation in no one else.  There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call to save them.”  There are only two religious paths: the broad way of works salvation leading to eternal death, and the narrow way of faith in Jesus, leading to eternal life.
4. When commanded to stop preaching in Jesus’ name, what do Peter and John answer?  (A) The same way we should answer when the world (friends, family, the job, etc.) demands that we stop talking about Jesus;  “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than Him?  We cannot stop telling the wonderful things we have seen and heard (vs.19, 20)!”  We must be bold witnesses.
5. They are released from jail and meet with the others.  They all finally understood what happened to Jesus: what did they say?  (A) Verses 27-29, they understood that all the leaders – Herod, Pilate, and the people of Israel were united against Jesus.  “In fact, everything they did occurred according to Your eternal will and plan.”  They were all filled with the Spirit and preached God’s message with boldness.  What freedom to know that God is, was, and will always be in charge.

Chapter Five – Lying to the Holy Spirit

The new believers lived a communal life, that is, they shared all they had with one another without any holding back.  But as always, Satan joins the fray and corrupts Ananias and Sapphiara his wife to cheat on their giving.

1. Was keeping back part of the proceeds of the sale of property a sin, and if it was, was it worthy of a death sentence?  (A) It was not a sin to keep part of the proceeds.  However, they had promised to give the full amount received to the Lord.  Their outward sin was lying about how much they were giving to the church, but the deeper, more devastating, sin was their spiritual hypocrisy based on selfishness.  The severity of the judgment was an act of God’s chastening hand on the early church.  It showed God’s displeasure at the onset of sin in the early church.
2. Did this sin affect the salvation of Ananias & Sapphiara?  (A) They were still saved if they had truly repented earlier.  All sin was forgiven at the cross and once you have confessed and repented (one time), your sins, all of them, have been forgiven.  Their fellowship with God, however, was lost.
3. Verse 11 tells us, “Great fear gripped the entire church.”  Could something like this happen today?  Should we fear God too?  (A) We must always fear God – He is holy and righteous and cannot abide with sin.  He loves us, but the consequences of sin are always present (not the condemnation of the sinner).  We can lie to the Holy Spirit as well as Ananias could. 
4. The apostles continued to do many signs and wonders among the people.  The sick were brought to be healed, demons were cast out, and all were healed.  Why did God allow these signs and wonders to take place?  What was their purpose?  (A) We can look to Hebrews 2:4b for a clarification, “It was passed on to us by those who heard Him (Jesus) speak, and God verified the message by signs and wonders and various miracles and by giving gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever He chose to do so.”  These gifts were the Father’s confirmation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The miracles authenticated the message of salvation preached by the apostles as the approved message of God through Jesus.  With the completion of the NT in written form, the need for such signs largely passed away.  Note that it said “all were healed” as compared to modern “faith healings” where only some are healed.  * Note –This is not to say that there are no more miracles or healings   taking place today.
5. Unfortunately, whenever a wonderful work of God is present, Satan tries to counter its effects.  How did the Jewish leaders react to the apostles?  (A0 V.17 tells us that they, “reacted with violent jealousy.”  They considered it a threat to their exclusive role as religious leaders.
6. An angel was sent to free the apostles from prison.  What message did he tell them to preach (v.20)?  (A) “Go to the Temple and give the people this message of life.”  “This message of life” is the salvation provided by Jesus to give abundant and eternal life to spiritually dead people.
7. True to their hypocrisy, the leaders condemned the Apostles for their teaching and said; “…you intend to blame us for His death (v.28).  Previously, when condemning Jesus to death, what did they say?  (A) Matt. 27:25, “His blood be upon us and on our children.”  Their hearts were hard and still are.

Chapter 6 – Seven Chosen to Serve

At this time, there may have been as many as 20,000 people counted among the new believers.  This included the local Hebrews and those from the Diaspora (the scattered Jews around the world), most of who spoke Greek and had assumed many of the characteristics of the Greek culture.  This made them wary of the Hebrews and jealousies arose, the Greeks claiming that their widows were being slighted during the food distribution.

1.     What was the main concern for the 12 Apostles?  (A) That these daily and extensive chores were taking them away from the all-important role as church leaders, teachers and preachers.

2.     Their solution was to pick seven men from among the disciples to serve the people.  What were their criteria?  (A) The men must be well-respected (Reputable) and full of the Holy Spirit (Spiritual) and wisdom (Practical)(v.3).

3.     What would this free the Apostles to do?  (A) V.4 – “We can spend our time in prayer and in teaching the Word.”  Note the order – prayer first.  We should do the same.

4.     Stephen was among the seven chosen to serve.  He was a man full of wisdom and of the Holy Spirit – just the kind of person you would want to serve the church.  He was the first man other than the apostles who performed miracles among the people.  He joined in religious debate in the synagogue and was so powerful in the wisdom he displayed through the Holy Spirit, that the Jews could not “stand against him (v.10).”  What they proceeded to do sounds all too familiar.  (A) They called false witnesses against him and lied about what he was preaching and accused him of blaspheming Moses and God.  They claimed he said that Jesus was going to destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to them.  Jesus said that the temple would be destroyed, but not by Him.  He came to fulfill the Law, not to do away with it.

Chapter 7 – Stephen Addresses the Council

Stephen answers his accusers, but does not set up a legal defense against the accusations.  Instead, he set forth Israel’s past history and God’s past workings in order to prove the validity of the new Christian faith.  His defense runs along three lines of thought:

1)     There is progress and change in God’s program.

a)     The promise to Abraham (vv.2-8) – the Lord sovereignly called him from the entire human race and gave him 12 grandsons who eventually became the twelve tribes of Israel.

b)     Joseph’s journey (vv.9-16) - God was with Joseph and delivered him from out of all his troubles and gave him favor and wisdom.  All of the patriarchs (the brothers of Joseph) were saved when God used Joseph to deliver them.

c)     Israel’s deliverance under Moses (vv.17-43) – Stephen continues the story of Israel’s deliverance from bondage in Egypt by Moses.  During Israel’s exodus from Egypt, God again revealed Himself as the “I AM” and established The Law through the Ten Commandments.  He spoke of the rejection of the Law by the fathers of the nation and how God turned His back on them and gave them up to their sin and rebellion.

d)     The building of the Tabernacle (vv.44-46) – To counter the false charge that he blasphemed the temple, Stephen told of its history and beginnings as a Tabernacle to show his respect for it.

e)     The building of the Temple (vv.47-50) – Stephen’s point is that God does not live in temples –He is greater than any temple and thus, the Jewish leaders were guilty of blaspheming by confining God to it.

2)     The blessings of God are not limited to Israel and the Temple area.

a)     Israel’s patriarchs were blessed outside of the land.  He gives examples of how Abraham, Joseph, and Moses were blessed in foreign nations.

b)     The Law itself was given in a foreign nation (v.38).

c)     The Tabernacle was built in the desert (v.44).

d)     The Most High God does not live in temples made with hands (v.48, 49).  Heaven is His throne and the earth His footstool.

3)     Israel itself in its past always-resisted God’s plans for them (vv.51-53).  He calls them a stubborn people and heathen at heart, forever resisting the Holy Spirit, killing the prophets and worshipping idols.  Their stubbornness caused them to miss the point of the Temple.  They believed it was God’s dwelling place on earth; rather, it was to be a place of worship and prayer.  When they killed the prophets, they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom they had now become the betrayers and murderers (v.52).

That was all that the people could take.  At the moment when they were about to stone Stephen, he looked up into Heaven and through the Holy Spirit, saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.  They dragged him out of the city and stoned him and as they do, he mirrors his Savior; “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.  And he fell to his knees shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin.”  And with that he died (vv.57-60).”