INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF ACTS
The book of Acts is a transition between the Law and the Church
The book of Acts forms a bridge between the Gospels and Paul\’s
Epistles. It tells a story of the birth and the growth of the Church.
The main theological emphasis of the Book of Acts is the Holy Spirit.
There are three major themes in the books of Acts.
1. Apologetic defending Christianity
2. Validating Paul\’s Apostleship .
3. Defending the inclusion of the Gentiles in the new kingdom
The author of the book of Acts and the Gospel of Saint Luke is believed to
be Luke. However Luke\’s name is not mentioned in either book. Nor does
Luke claim to be the author in any book of the New Testament.
The question is how did the Church fathers come to a conclusion that Luke is he author?
The first conclusion is that the writer of Acts had to be a traveling companion
of Paul because of the level of details Paul\’s events.
The Luke is mention by Apostle Paul in three of his epistles; Colossians 4:14,
2 Timothy 4:11 and Philemon 24. In Colossians 4:4, Luke is called a doctor by Paul ; \” Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings.\”
In the Gospel of Luke and in Acts in describing the conditions of those healed by Jesus and Paul, the writer use medical terms. These terms would have been common to a doctor, but not to other disciples. For example:
Luke 4:38, Peter wife\’s mother healed by Jesus of a high fever.
The writer used the term megalos for great and pureto for fever
both are medical terms.
In Luke 13:11-13, Jesus healed a woman who was bent over for 18 years.
The writer used the astheneias for infirmity and sugkuptousa for curvature of the spine.
In Acts the writer used the term ludropkos for dropsy and
kathepsen for fastened. Both terms are medical terms a doctor
of that time would use.
Luke is the only disciple that is called a doctor by Paul. Thus, the conclusion Luke was the writer Of the Gospel of Luke and Acts.
Both the Gospel of Luke and Acts was written to a man named Theophilus.
The name Theophilus means friend of God. No one knows who he was.
Some believe that Theophilus was a Jewish priest, or a Roman official.
Others believe as the name suggests, that the books were written to the disciples of Jesus.
Luke was one of the 12 that Jesus picked as disciples. True_____ or False_____
(answer Matthew 10:2, Mark 3:17, Luke 6:14)
Jesus ascended back in to heaven after His resurrection by the power of the
_______________ (Acts 1:2).
After His resurrection Jesus spent _______days on earth. (Acts 1:3)
John baptized with water, but Jesus baptized with the ___________________
What is the difference? Mark 2:10
Why did Jesus tell His disciple not to leave Jerusalem?
They were to wait for____________ which was the giving of the ______________
(John 14:26, Acts 1:8)
When we are obedient to Jesus, we act according to His power.
The Church receives it power from the ____________________ (Acts 1:8)
The jobs of the Holy Spirit is
1. To be your________________ _____________
2. To teach you ___________things
3. To bring to your_______________whatever____________
said and did. (John 14:26)
Your mission as a disciple is to be ____________ of Jesus Acts 1:8
You are to be ____________of Jesus to the ____________of the earth
What verse contains the last works Jesus spoke to his disciples
before He was taken back to heaven? ______________
The Church works best when everyone is on one ___________ and
in ___________and_______________. Acts 1:14
The word prayer in the text is the Greek word proseuche which means worship.
The word supplication is the Greek word deesis which means request,
When the Holy Ghost was given there were only men in the room.
True___________ or False_____________ Acts 1:14
How many disciples were in the room when the Holy Ghost was given
the first time? 12________, 120__________, 250___________ Acts 1:15
Judas was chosen to betray Jesus. True___________or False___________
Acts 1:18, Psalms 41:9
Could Judas have chosen not to betray Jesus? What do you think?
God uses evil to work for our good.
Peter taught his first lesson to the Church concerning the replacement of
___________ as a disciple.
The first business of the Church was the selection of____________ as
a replacement of the ___________ apostles Act 1:26
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
5510 West Sam Houston Park Way North
Houston, Texas 77041
