Now the second volume, acts, will detail jesus continuing work through his apostles that he had chosen and the work of the holy spirit who would be. Book of acts overview insight for living ministries. The name jesus in ancient hebrew text yeshua in first century hebrew text. And the lord said unto him, arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. The significance of acts as a historical account of christian origins cannot be overestimated.
If you want to know what the book of acts is about, it is acts 1. In order to ascertain the purpose of the book of acts, we must start with the realization that acts is the. Outline studies in the book of the acts of the apostles. There is no single chapter that does not exhibit gods power and wisdom in operation. Its narrative supplies a bridge connecting the life and ministry of jesus to the life of the church and the witness of the earliest believers. Luke, the author of the gospel of luke, was a doctor and gentile. Jesus rose again, he told his disciples to wait in jerusalem until they are endued with power from on high, power to be his witnesses unto the ends of the earth. It also may be divided around the expansion of the gospel in acts 1. The apostles had the holy spirit come upon them acts 2.
The book of acts is one of the most exciting and challenging of the new testament, filled as it is with the works of the early church, empowered by the holy spirit, the tongues of fire and rushing wind on the day of pentecost ch. Here is a summary and overview of the book of acts. The gospel is preached from jerusalem to all judea chapters 17 the gospel is preached in samaria chapter 8 the gospel is preached to the gentiles chapters 912 the gospel is preached to the ends of the earth chapters 28. Although the author does not name himself, evidence outside the scriptures and inferences from the book itself lead to the conclusion that the. These psalms are examples of those suffering affliction. In this video i share the outline to acts, the overall message, key lessons learned and the key events, people and places in the book of acts. The authors then provide a structural overview, a brief outline, and their clausal outline for the unit.
Acts date and purpose the book of acts is simply called. Rather, the focus is clearly on some of the acts or deeds of mostly peter the key figure in the first half and paul the key figure in the second. Carson and moo in an introduction to the new testament offer the following further breakdown of the book. The book of acts provides a detailed, orderly, eyewitness account of the birth and growth of the early church and the spread of the gospel immediately after the resurrection of jesus christ. The structure of the books of luke and acts are closely tied. T he book of acts in the bible, written around 6263 a. An outline of the book of acts acts divides into two major parts roughly following the lives of peter and paul chapters 112 and 28. Acts concerns the very vital period in christian history between the resurrection of jesus and the death of the apostle paul, the time when christian ideas and beliefs were. Romans is a book of doctrine, christian living and justification by faith alone chaps. The first volume, the gospel of luke, shows as luke says, all that jesus began to do and teach.
Besides linking the gospel narratives on the one hand and the apostolic letters on the. It is titled acts to emphasize that this book records the acts of. The book of acts in the bible, written around 6263 a. In this book we see the first mention of the dispensation of the holy spirit and jesus command to take his gospel to all the world. The book of acts provides a bridge for the writings of the nt. The following outline is intended to be used while studying the book. From there we see jesus ministry move from galilee 49, through samaria and judea 1019. One may divide the book as acts 112 peter and acts 28 paul. This title accurately reflects the contents of the book, which is a series of vignettes chronicling the lives of key apostles especially peter and paul in. Brief summary of acts the kjv bible scriptures the content of acts according to the kjv bible scriptures contains a short overview of the main subjects, people, events and ancient topics in the following summary of the kjv bible scriptures. Detailed outlines of each bible book may be viewed here. Of these, the first twelve report events between the time of jesus last meeting with his disciples and the beginning of pauls work as a christian missionary.
These were possibly sung on pilgrims on the way to jerusalem to observe the feasts. Before jesus was taken into heaven where he was enthroned to share gods rule over the world, he instructed his followers to be a witness for him. Purpose of the book as indicated previously, the original purpose of both the gospel and acts may have been to assist. Our story starts off where the gospel of luke left offjesus is back now that hes resurrected, jesus decides to hang out and chat with his disciples whom luke calls apostles for forty days. The main issues revolve around whether he is a man perhaps a greek official for whom lukeacts is an apologetic for the gospel or a kind of generic. Christ is the object of philemons love and faith vs. Provides an overview of acts and two outlines for the book of acts as well as an index for bff acts articles, powerpoints and audiovideo podcasts. People from many nations were beside themselves with wonder at hearing gods amazing acts in their own languages. Preparation for the coming of the spirit, chapter 1 1. The life of the early church is recorded and preserved for us in the book of acts and the epistles. The book of acts tells how the multiethnic, international. The date of acts and the reasons for the book ending here are the most compelling reasons to see this work as in some sense a trial brief for paul.
From the empowering by the holy spirit in chapter 2, the early church made a great impact on all it encountered, the apostles peter and john playing a. While there are some areas of great detail of the acts of the apostles, many times you must use cross references to the gospels of matthew, mark, luke and john as well as some other epistles in the new testament to get the full picture of what was. The title of the book of acts comes from the greek word praxis, a word often used in early christian literature to describe the great deeds of the apostles or other significant believers. In the summary below, i present the official name of the biblical chapter with its common name in parenthesis. Paul begins by warning of the consequences of unbelief in chapter 1. The author of each book where known is included along with a brief summary of the biblical books intent, content, and key characters. Author two lines of argument lead to the conclusion that luke, the friend, fellow missionary, and physician of paul wrote this book, under the.
Acts is the only biblical book that chronicles the history of the church immediately after jesuss ascension. As i said, the book revolves around the apostles, peter and paul. From the empowering by the holy spirit in chapter 2, the early church made a great impact on all it encountered, the apostles peter and john playing a major role in this early work. It will help to keep the whole of the book before you as you work your way through each section. Although many faithful servants were used to preach and teach the gospel of jesus christ, saul, also called paul, was the most influential. Apr 09, 2011 the structure of the books of luke and acts are closely tied. These psalms have lines which start with certain letters that follow a pattern in hebrew.
Luke recounts how peter and paul navigated oftenhostile environments to bring gods beautiful promise to cities large and small. The genre of the book of acts is narrative history with several sermons. Brief summary of acts the kjv bible scriptures the content of acts according to the kjv bible scriptures contains a short overview of the main subjects, people, events and ancient topics in the following summary. A brief synopsis the famous bible stories found in the scriptural text of the book of acts contained in this short summary of acts. This section introduces the principal character of the book and presents in a concise statement johns interpretation of him. Acts of the apostles executable outline study resources. In the body of the book bateman and peer break the epistles of john into units. Mostly, it is about jesus christ, who is mentioned 11 times in 25 verses. Luke wrote the book of acts and the gospel of luke and he dedicated his work to a man named theophilus as mentioned in the summary of the book of luke. An overview of the book of acts the life of the early church is recorded and preserved for us in. Jesus followers received the holy spirit on pentecost and became filled and equipped to spread the good news that would restore gods kingdom over the world. A history of the early church gene taylor2an outline of the book i. An overview of the book of acts, which provides an introduction to the apostles and gives a brief summary of the leaders, peter and paul, as well as the other apostles. As a second volume to lukes gospel, it joins what jesus began to do and to teach 1.
The book begins with the ascension of jesus and goes on through pauls jail time in rome, which opens his ministry to the church at rome. The importance of the book of acts the importance of this second of lukes twovolume work can. The holy spirit coming in power shows that this too is the day the kingdom is. There has been much debate as to the purpose of acts. The lord jesus christ at work by the holy spirit through the apostles in jerusalem, chapters 17 a. When the holy spirit overpowered the upper room with the sound like a roaring windstorm, history changed forever. They continued to preach, and the church at antioch. Luke was from antioch but traveled with paul all over southern europe and the middle east. This summary of the book of acts provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of acts. The book of acts gives us a history of the work of the early church and the holy spirit, within the theatre of the known world. The outline is based on the theme verse of the book of acts.
Luke was a companion of paul on his missionary journeys, and in many parts of the book of acts it says we did this or that acts 16. That is exactly what the acts of the apostles book is. Intro to acts biblica the international bible society. Nov 08, 2012 an overview of the book of acts, which provides an introduction to the apostles and gives a brief summary of the leaders, peter and paul, as well as the other apostles. The beginning verses of acts make it clear that acts is a sequel of the story started in luke and written to the same man named theophilus, generally a title ascribed to highranking roman officials. Actus apostolorum, often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament. Acts is book number 44 of the bible and number 5 of the new testament.
It is titled acts to emphasize that this book records the acts of the apostles through the work of the holy spirit. Commonly called the acts of the apostles, it is simply titled acts in some of the oldest manuscripts. An exegetical outline of the gospel of john preaching source. Acts of the apostles 4 imprisonment in rome are 6062 a. If the book was just before or after pauls release, then it was likely written around 63 a. This is the main idea for the unit, reminiscent of haddon robinsons big idea for preaching. The book of acts, which continues the narrative that luke began in his gospel, is especially important because it was the first written history of the christian church. The book is about bondage and love, forgiveness and joy. Jesus sends the holy spirit to empower his disciples as they carry the good news of his kingdom to the nations of the world.
The initial question regards the identity of theophilus, the one for whom the book is written. Rather, the focus is clearly on some of the acts or deeds of mostly peter the key figure in. All else in the book is rooted in and grows out of this prologue. The book of acts is a key part of gods plan to reach the whole world. It is a powerful book for personal praise and worship.
Synopsis of the book of acts from the bible jack wellman. Both books are most easily tied to the geography of the book. The book of acts tells about the beginning of the church. The book of psalms was known as the hymn book of israel. The book of acts is the only historical record of the birth and early days following christs establishing his church. The book of acts the acts of the holy spirit the bible teachers commentary an outline and map survey paul j. The book of acts is a vital link between the gospels and the epistles. Introduction to the book of acts acts study guide medium. Luke begins with a global perspective, dating the birth of jesus to the reign of the roman emperors in luke 2.
The acts of apostles gives us a unique insight into how the church began. Without this historical record, little would be known about the expansion of the church. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. Thus, we are going to outline this chapter, then discuss the major points of it, and concentrate on some often overlooked and wrongly taught things in this chapter. The personalized psalms, which is a separate part of this study, will enable you to use each psalm as a personal prayer, praise, or petition to god. Some have concluded that theophilus was the magistrate who heard pauls case in rome and that acts and luke was a legal brief in pauls defense isbe, theophilus 3. This is, in effect, an outline of the book of acts see plan and outline below. The book of acts gives the history of the christian church and the spread of the gospel of jesus christ, as well as the mounting opposition to it.
It might appropriately be called some of the acts of some of the apostles since it does not try to describe all of the acts of all the apostles. An overview of the book of acts the life of the early church is recorded and preserved for us in the book of acts and the epistles. Who doesnt like sequels to their favorite books or movies. Jesus had shown himself alive by many proofs for 40 days. To continue the story begun in the gospel of luke ac 1. The main issues revolve around whether he is a man perhaps a greek official for whom luke acts is an apologetic for the gospel or a kind of generic. To make the picture abundantly clear, god has given us a hand picked record of the activities of the early church. Summary the book of acts, which continues the narrative that luke began in his gospel, is especially important because it was the first written history of the c. In the acts of the apostles, luke continues the story of the risen jesus, and describes the challenges the apostles faced in spreading his message through the roman empire.