Acts Lesson 1 Introduction "Reading the Envelope"

WBS

Introduction to the Book of Acts 

 Lesson 1

With a flick of the fingers, friction occurs and a spark leaps from match to tinder. A small flame burns the edges and grows, fueled by wood and air. Heat builds, and soon the kindling is licked by orange-red tongues. Higher and wider it spreads, consuming the wood. The flame has become a fire. Nearly 2,000 years ago, a match was struck in Palestine. At first, just a few in that corner of the world were touched and warmed; but the fire spread beyond Jerusalem and Judaea out to the world and to all people. Acts provides an eyewitness account of the flame and fire—the birth and spread of the church. 

The name Acts is the word from which English derives the word Praxis, which indicates the point at which thought intersects with action, creating new reality. 

1. Who wrote the book of Acts? God is the Ultimate, Divine Author. Even though Scripture does not specifically say, it is believed that Luke is the human author of the book of Acts. He wrote both Luke and Acts. These two books go together and you can think of Acts as volume 2 and Luke volume one.

        Luke was: a physician who was familiar with the Septuagint ( the Greek version of the Old  

        Testament that was widely used by Jews in the Roman Empire during the time in which 

        this book was written).

2. When was it written? No one knows, however many scholars believe AD63-68 roughly.

3. To whom was it written? To Theophilus. This was a Greek name which means "Lover of God". We don't really know who he was for not a lot of information is given about him. It is written to us today. We too are "lovers of God".

4. In what style was it written? A historical narrative. Understanding the genre (style) of Acts matters because it helps to correctly interpret the book. Luke is not just writing any narrative history but a theological history. 

The Book of Luke tells of Jesus' death, birth and resurrection. Acts picks up this narrative of salvation history on the other side of the cross. 

Three narratives within the book of Acts:

1. Descriptives: describe the ins and outs of the life of the early church. Example: When the   

                           Apostles cast lots to see who the knew 12th Apostle will be. We don't do this 

                           today to choose our leaders in the church. And this was never done again by 

                           believers in the Bible. There was no pattern, this was not a normal thing that 

                           was done.

2. Instructive: contains info that may help readers deal with similar circumstances in their lives. 

3. Persciptive; included to teach doctrine. Things that are normative or normally happen--

                         patterns. Example: the infilling of the Holy Ghost with evidence of tongues, 

                         baptism in Jesus name. These were a pattern over and over again. 

This info for #4 was taken from Handbook on the Book of Acts by Robin Johnston

5. What are the central themes of the book? To ensure that the Church posses an accurate record of its birth and early years. Lukes purpose was to reader future believers (you and me) that the initial experience and actions of the apostles going forward were an accurate application of what Jesus taught. 

Taken from Handbook on the Book of Acts