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Lessons on the Acts of the Apostles Lessons on the Acts of the Apostles John Hendershot Text copyright © 2013 John C. Hendershot All Rights Reserved Cover: Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Guido Reni, 1605. Public Domain. Dedication To our friends from the Becoming Closer class, for their constant encouragement and support. Table of Contents Waiting - Acts 1:1-7 The Ascension - Acts 1:9-11 Betrayal - Acts 1:15-26 Pentecost - and the Spirit - Acts 2:1-13 Peter's First Sermon - Acts 2:14-41 The Early Church - Acts 2:42-47 In the NAME of Jesus of Nazareth - Acts 3 Opposition from Authority - Acts 4:1-31 Ananias, Sapphira - and the Loving God - Acts 4:32 - 5:16 God’s Providence for God’s Purposes - Acts 5:17-42 Growing Strong Through Dispute - Acts 6:1-10 The Martyrdom of Stephen - Acts 6:8 – 7:60 Simon the Sorcerer - Acts 8:1-25 The Ethiopian Eunuch - Acts 8:26-40 The Road to Damascus - Acts 9:1-31 God's Timing - Acts 9:32-10:23 God Opens Doors - Acts 10:24-48 On Dispute - Acts 11:1-18 Encouragement - Acts 11:19-30 Get Out of Jail Free - Acts 12:1-19 The Glory of God - Acts 12:19-25 The Missionary - Acts 13:1-12 Evidence - Acts 13:13-52 The Perils of the Imitation of Christ - Acts 14 Testing God - Acts 15:1-31 On Failure - Acts 15:35 - 16:5 On Hospitality - Acts 16:6-15 The Midnight View - Acts 16:16-40 The Incarnation - Acts 17 The Tent Maker - Acts 18:1-17 A Model of Unity - Acts 18:18 - 19:10 The Name - Acts 19:11-20 Making a Buck - Acts 19:21-41 Preparation - Acts 20 New Testament Prophecy - Acts 21:1-16 The Primacy of God - Acts 21:17-22:30 Testimony - Acts 23 Two Years - Acts 24 God's Ways, Our Ways - Acts 25-26 Lesson in the Storm - Acts 27 A Happy Habit - Acts 28:1-15 Redemption - Acts 28:16-31 Waiting - Acts 1:1-7 The Acts of the Apostles is frequently quoted, but infrequently studied - perhaps on the ground that history is boring. It need not be so. Preliminaries The author of the book is undisputed: it is Luke, the physician, who wrote the Gospel which also bears his name. He is a historian, but one who acknowledges (clearly, here in verse 2) the power of the Holy Spirit in his writing. In this there is wisdom, for Luke clearly is not an eyewitness of the Resurrection. We know little enough about him, but it is most likely that he is a convert to Christianity taught by Paul. His method in both books is plain: he is a researcher. He gathers the words and evidence of others to produce his book. In one sense this is a terrible blow to the fundamentalist school of "automatic writing." This school holds that all the books of the Bible were written by the Holy Spirit - the nominal authors just held the pen while the Spirit moved their hands. If so, why the careful research? But in another sense Acts can be called the "history of the Holy Spirit." For as the Gospels were the biography of Christ, in a sense, Acts records what the Spirit did through the church. No book of the Bible expounds more clearly the work of the Holy Spirit. Doctrine There are three principles of doctrine - what we might call analytic principles - which are shown in Acts: Doctrine is best revealed in action. Many writers have taken bits and pieces of the Bible and constructed strange doctrines from them, assuring their hearers that this is the word of God. But in Acts, we see how the Apostles themselves "did it." We can be sure, therefore, that this is what they saw as the result of sound doctrine. Therefore, we can reason backwards from their actions to the doctrine behind it, carefully checking it with other Scriptures as we go. Doctrine occurs in time and space. Doctrine is not abstract; it is specific in application. Peter, for example, was shown that the Gospel was to be preached to the Gentiles - a point revealed in the Old Testament, by the way - and from that we can conclude that it should be preached to any and all who will hear it. So the principle remains the same; the application in our time may be quite different. Doctrine must result in action. If ever there is a lesson in Acts, this is it. Doctrine is not the idle speculation of Bible teachers and preachers; it is the word in action. I give you Thomas à Kempis' rule: for any doctrinal question, suppose you absolutely knew the answer. Would it make any difference in your conduct? If not, you don't have a doctrinal question. Let us therefore begin - by waiting. Waiting for God In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 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." (Act 1:1-8 NIV) St. John Chrysostom put it this way: "It cannot be that a man should enjoy the benefit of grace except he watch." Somehow, intrinsically bound in the lives of the great saints, is the idea that waiting for the Lord is a requirement of the Christian life. It is so here. Wait for "the promise." The word used here is unique in the New Testament: perimeno. It comes from the Greek words "peri" (from which we get our word "perimeter") and meno, which means "a place." In other words, the word "wait" used here means "stay in place." Other words used frequently mean things like "to expect fully" or "to stand still." In all these senses there is the idea of being in one spot, waiting calmly. For this, we have no patience at all. Neither did the disciples. The impatience of the disciples The question they ask displays their impatience: is now the time when you will restore the kingdom? We may see in the question some of the aspects of waiting: Note that the disciples ask this question together. They already know the answer; Christ has told them that even he does not know. But now, by force of numbers perhaps, they hope to pressure out of the teacher the answer they long for. He tells them it is not for them to know. That carries with it two implications: There are certain things which are beyond us in this mortal life. We are not capable to know some things. - nor are we allowed!1. There are also certain things which it is not good for us to know. If we all knew what suffering was coming, how many of us could face it? The human mind sometimes goes through ordeals which are best faced one day at a time. Note too the substitution Christ makes: instead of the answer they desire, he tells them they will receive power. It is the teacher's duty to determine the curriculum; he must teach what is needful for his students, not just what they want to tickle their ears and soothe their curiosity. The Disciples Wait There is a curious example here: Christ tells the men to return to Jerusalem from Galilee - and wait. This brings us some questions: Why the wait - at all? Why not just send the Holy Spirit immediately? After all, there was the Ascension right in front of their eyes? 1 See II Corinthians 12:4 First, that they might build an expectation. They needed time to focus their minds on the gift the Father was about to give them. We even tell our children that Christmas is coming; what effect does this have on them? Next, by his absence Christ would increase the welcome they would give to the next person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. This is not just an emotional thing; rather, it rightly emphasizes the equality the Spirit has with the Father and the Son. Such an expectation in common builds a bond of unity - and they would have great need of that unity. Why in Jerusalem? Why were they commanded to stay in one place - and in particular that one most dangerous of places? So that they might learn the reason for courage. God would care for them even in that most hostile environment. By keeping together, they would strengthen each other in the faith. Christianity is not a solo flight. By doing this together, they started giving us an example as well.
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