Acts #44

Acts narrates the birth and early growth of the church, from the Holy Spirit’s outpouring at Pentecost in Jerusalem to the gospel’s spread across the Roman world, carried first by Peter and then by Paul on his missionary journeys.

Read Acts in the King James Version →

Author and Date

The book is anonymous, but tradition attributes it to Luke, the physician and companion of Paul, who also wrote the third Gospel of which Acts is the sequel (Acts 1:1). Passages written in the first person plural (“we”) suggest the author traveled with Paul (Acts 16:10). Many scholars date it to the early 60s AD, since it ends with Paul still under house arrest in Rome; many others propose c. AD 80-90. The date is debated.

Background and Audience

Acts is addressed, like Luke’s Gospel, to Theophilus (Acts 1:1), and it carries the story from the ascension of Jesus through about three decades of church history. It shows how a movement that began among Jews in Jerusalem came to include Samaritans and Gentiles.

Outline

• Acts 1:1-2:47: The ascension, the choice of Matthias, and the Spirit’s coming at Pentecost
• Acts 3:1-7:60: The church in Jerusalem: healings, preaching, opposition, and the martyrdom of Stephen
• Acts 8:1-9:31: Persecution scatters believers to Samaria and Judea; Philip; Saul’s conversion
• Acts 9:32-12:25: Peter and Cornelius, the Gentile church at Antioch, and Herod’s persecution
• Acts 13:1-15:35: Paul and Barnabas’s first journey and the Jerusalem Council
• Acts 15:36-18:22: Paul’s second journey, including Philippi, Athens, and Corinth
• Acts 18:23-21:16: Paul’s third journey, centered on Ephesus
• Acts 21:17-26:32: Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem and his defense before Roman authorities
• Acts 27:1-28:31: The voyage and shipwreck, and Paul preaching in Rome

Key Themes

• The Holy Spirit’s power: The Spirit empowers, guides, and gathers the church.
• Witness: The good news moves outward in the pattern of Acts 1:8.
• Inclusion of the Gentiles: The church wrestles with and affirms Gentile inclusion.
• Perseverance under opposition: The gospel advances despite persecution and imprisonment.

Key Verses

• Acts 1:8 — Jesus promises power from the Holy Spirit and sends the disciples as witnesses from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth
• Acts 2:1-4 — the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, with speech in other languages
• Acts 2:42 — the early church’s devotion to teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer
• Acts 4:12 — Peter’s claim before the council that salvation is found in Jesus alone
• Acts 11:26 — the disciples are first called Christians at Antioch
• Acts 28:30-31 — the closing scene of Paul preaching openly in Rome

How It Fits the Bible

Acts follows John and links the Gospels to the letters. It continues the story begun in Luke, and it provides the historical setting for Paul’s letters, beginning with Romans.