Daniel P Warner

NT Church History

Power of the Holy Spirit

Burning Bush Blogs

Equipping Men with Biblical Knowledge and Leadership Skills

Category: Personal Study

Thread: New to the Bible – Bible Structure

Post Topic: NT Church History (Acts)

Post in Thread: #8

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Scripture: Acts; Acts 1:8

Key Verse:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Acts 1:8

Note on this post

This post fits within a continuing series meant for readers who are less familiar with Scripture. Unlike most Burning Bush blogs, this series is designed to explore the organizational structure of the Bible more than a particular topic. The same introductory overview is included in each post in case someone jumps into the middle of the series.

Books of the Bible – Overview

Imagine two bookshelves – one with 39 books, and one with 27 books. The shelves have dividers between groups of books. Each group belongs to its own genre. There’s a group of historical fiction, a group of thrillers, a group of how-to books, biographies, etc.

Now imagine that the top shelf is the Old Testament and the bottom shelf is the New Testament. The genres, or categories, of each testament, is what we’re going to discuss.

NT Church History

The Acts of the Apostles has its own category on the bookshelf: Church History. It details the origins of the church and the spread of the gospel throughout the world following Jesus’ ascension into heaven.

Observations

The First Days

  • Before Jesus ascended, he made a promise and a command:
    • Promise – the Holy Spirit will come upon the believers to give them courage and power
    • Command – to spread the gospel to all corners of the world. For Jews, this meant taking the good news to the Gentiles, which was a new way of thinking.
  • Jesus’ followers gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem, praying.
  • Seven weeks after the resurrection, on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the believers (Acts 2:1-3)
  • They boldly preached the gospel in Jerusalem, with the Spirit enabling them to speak the languages of those listening

Preaching and Persecution

  • The apostles continued preaching throughout Judea and Samaria and converting many to the faith
  • Churches formed all over Judea, Samaria, and Galilee.
  • One of the converts, Stephen, preaching in Jerusalem, became the first martyr, dying of stoning to death
  • Stephen’s primary accuser – a devout Pharisee named Saul
  • Saul continued to ravage the church, dragging Christians from house to house into prison.
  • King Herod Agrippa made James the brother of John the first apostle to be martyred (with the sword) and had Peter arrested.

Saul’s conversion; Missionary Journeys

  • Saul was on the way to Damascus to round up more believers, when Jesus appeared as a blinding light.
  • Saul was converted right there, and God changed his name to Paul.
  • After a time in exile and training by the saints, Paul joined the ranks of the apostles.
  • Acts chronicles missionary journeys by Paul and other believers.
  • New churches were planted all over Europe and Asia.
  • Eventually Paul, under arrest by the empire, made it all the way to Rome, where it appears he was released after two years of house arrest.
  • Note – sometime after Acts ends, Paul is again arrested and eventually put to death by Nero.

Interpretation

Setting – From Jerusalem to Damascus to Asia Minor (Turkey) to Greece to Rome – the book continually expands, reflecting the hyperbolic growth of the church despite the persecution.

Genre – Historical narrative.

Author – Luke, who also wrote the gospel of Luke. Luke was a Gentile physician who accompanied Paul on some of his missionary journeys.

Takeaways

  • The early church suffered great persecution, yet grew throughout the known world.
  • The advance of the church to the ends of the earth is demonstrated to be at the core of God’s plan for humanity
  • The Holy Sprit was and still is the catalyst for the power and sustainability of the gospel
  • A defense of the faith is given in speeches and teachings of the apostles throughout the book, showing Christianity to be the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham through his descendants, the Jews

Correlation

  • Matthew 28:17-20 – Known as The Great Commission, Jesus instructs his followers to preach the gospel to all ends of the earth.
  • 2 Timothy 3:10-12 – Paul describes his persecutions to his pupil Timothy.

Application

Generic Applications
  • We can trust the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit to strengthen us during times of difficulty.
  • Not everyone was a missionary in Acts. Nor are all of us called to that purpose. But we are commanded to spread the good news when the opportunity arises.
Personalize it
  • Has God set me in this place at this time for a reason? I pray for wisdom from the Holy Spirit to recognize opportunities to humbly share my faith.

Bible study methodology adapted from Searching the Scriptures with permission from Tyndale House:

Swindoll, Charles, Searching the Scriptures. Tyndale House Publishers, 2016.