As a second volume to lukes gospel, it joins what jesus began to do and to teach 1. Interpreting the book of acts presents the fruit of the authors thirtyyear reflection on the lukan corpus. Interpretation, history, and theology is a mustread on acts for advanced bible college and seminary students as well as advanced lay students of the bible. This book is in the guides to new testament exegesis series, edited by scot mcknight for baker book house. General resources for the book of acts check the scripture index for links and study resources pertaining to specific pericopes. The book commences with an inscription to one theophilus, who was probably a man of birth and station. Since speeches constitute over 30% of the text, the interpreter must be adept at handling discourses as well as narrative. Acts of the apostles, the fifth book in the new testament and the second treatise by the author of the third gospel, traditionally known as luke. Sir william ramsay, after making a critical study of lukes writings, declared that luke was the greatest historian, ancient or modern. And it proposes to show the continuation of all that jesus began both to do and teach. Written in a readable style, with more detailed interaction with scholarly discussion found in the various excursuses, this commentary draws on the best new insights from a number of disciplines. Acts records the apostles being christs witnesses in jerusalem, judea, samaria, and the surrounding world. The holy spirit in the book of acts preaching source. 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.
It brings an understanding of what the text says into dialogue with the critical questions and problems of contemporary life and faith. Reading acts some thoughts on the book of acts and. Lesson 1 investigates the author, historical setting, and the theological background of. The interpretation of the acts of the apostles book, 1944.
The beautiful, amazing, powerful, weak, dysfunctional church a chapterbychapter bible study of the book of acts 2 acts the beautiful, amazing, powerful. In other words, are the facts in acts for the church today. A visual interpretation of the book of acts of the apostle from the bible. Acts of the apostles definition and meaning bible dictionary. Acts tells us how the christian movement came into beginning. A better title would be the acts or the workings of the holy spirit, because he is the real main character of the book. This commentary on acts is a part of the interpretation series for teaching and preaching. Staggs commentary focuses on lukes purposes in writing acts. Interpreting the book of acts logos bible software. He bases his commentary on the idea that the purpose of acts was not to make christianity acceptable to the roman state but rather to preserve the integrity of the church against the onslaught of classical culture. The book is hardback with a dust jacket, a rare thing in publishing today. 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. Commentary on the book of acts of the apostles by matthew henry.
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. Commentary on the book of acts of the apostles by matthew. The acts of the apostles is a unique and therefore crucial book of the new testament. Mar 10, 2012 a descriptive and prescriptive view of acts. I used the word advanced not just because padilla himself refers to this book as an advanced introduction hence it might be too difficult without some prior. The fact that the vast majority of the references to the holy spirit in the book of acts are found in the first half of the book has raised a question mark after the contention that the concept of the holy spirit determines the structure of acts. Luke is the writer, as he states in his introduction v. Understanding the book of acts in the bible learn religions. Besides linking the gospel narratives on the one hand and the apostolic letters on the.
Jun 12, 2017 lesson 1 investigates the author, historical setting, and the theological background of the book of acts. A solid theological exposition of the book of acts. Acts has been called a transitional book because it serves as a. Lewis and there is some similarity to the first part of lewiss mere christianity. In this introduction to the book of acts, we will need to discuss several important features of acts, including the speeches, the purpose of acts, the structure of the book as a whole, its major themes, and some important dimensions. The book of acts also describes the work of the two apostles peter and paul. While nowhere asextensive asthe foakesjackson and lake massive fivevolume work, this book introduces the essential issues for exegetical study of the book of acts. The book of acts is the account of the working of a sovereign god through his spirit, by means of men, and in spite of them, to accomplish that of which men would never have conceived and in ways. Based on the idea that the purpose of acts was not to make christianity acceptable to the roman state, but rather to preserve the integrity of the church and protect it from the onslaughts of classical culture, this astute commentary combines the latest findings in lukan scholarship with the pastoral, educational, and theological concerns of the local church. 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. In the latter portion of acts, luke recorded three rejections of the jews to pauls overtures of salvation. I read interpreting the book of acts for my book of acts class with dr. Here is a summary and overview of the book of acts. The importance of the book of acts liberty university.
It alone presents an extensive picture of early church life and history. Acts and historical narrative, at luther seminarys bible tutor. The emphasis of the book is the fulfillment of the great commission. Book of acts versebyverse bible study and indepth commentary of the acts of the apostles in plain english for everyone to understand. In acts interpretation, willimon takes the approach that the narrative of the early christian church in acts is not a closed tale, but one that is openended and plays out in the contemporary church each and every day. Interpretation revives the neglected art of expository writing that explains the books of. Book of acts overview insight for living ministries. Christians who read the book of acts are inspired by the explosive expansion of the early church. A bible commentary for teaching and preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the bible in the. Watch our overview video on the book of acts, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. And i might add that these texts do not have an obvious interpretation. Thousands of people were coming to christ, people were being miraculously healed, supernatural gifts like speaking in tongues were heard, and believers preached. The presence and working of the holy spirit is the dominating mark of the book of acts.
Read and study acts, including book summary, with the versebyverse bible commentary. Verse 1 luke referred to his gospel here as my first book. Chapterbychapter bible studies acts the beautiful, amazing, powerful, weak, dysfunctional church bible studies by kathleen dalton. Do we read acts as an interesting true story of how christianity began, a story that gives us our roots and our identity or is it still normative for today. In only three decades, a small group of frightened believers in jerusalem transformed. There are eleven chapters in acts that contain no reference to the spirit. The book of acts sheds light on the gift of the holy spirit, who empowers, guides, teaches, and serves as. Lesson 1 investigates the author, historical setting, and the theological background of the book of acts. Acts is the only biblical book that chronicles the history of the church immediately after jesuss ascension. In those two years, luke had plenty of time to research and write his gospel and the book of acts. The book of acts is an important book for understanding the actions of the apostles, mostly paul and peter, after jesuss ascension into heaven. The interpretation of the we passages as an earlier written source incorporated into acts by a later redactor whether luke the evangelist or not, acknowledges the apparent historicity of these texts whilst viewing them as distinct from the main work. Chapterbychapter bible studies acts kathleendalton. A history of the interpretation of the acts of the apostles.
Actus apostolorum, often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament. A bible commentary for teaching and preaching offers a full interpretation of the biblical text, combining historical scholarship and theological purpose. The book of acts, sometimes called the fifth gospel, is a continuation of the gospel of luke. Baur and the tubingen school the critics of the tubingen reconstruction radical descendants of the tubingen school german criticism at the end of the century nineteenth century british work on acts luke the historian. The title as we know it comes from the second century and only partially discloses the theme of. Acts tells the story of how his church began and how the message christ spread.
Literary purpose and structure, narrative theology, discourse analysis, cultural backgroundsall are exploited for insight. Luke recorded three rejections by the jews to peter and the apostles associated with him to the message of repentance and proclamation of the kingdom. The recipient of the book, theophilus, is the same person addressed in the first volume, the gospel of luke see introduction to luke. With a sure hand he guides the reader through numerous approaches to the text. The acts of the apostles often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth. We all need to answer biblically, in light of the context, what is the meaning of pentecost. Commentary on the book of acts bible study lessons. Study acts 7 using matthew henrys bible commentary concise to better understand scripture with full outline and verse meaning. Yet throughout, the author keeps in view the practical needs of the student. Acts is the second book in the history that luke wrote. I found since i use the internet i can have the scriptural text and the commentary close by.
As such, it provides us with a valuable account of how the church was able to grow and spread out from jerusalem into the rest of the roman empire. The book focuses primarily on the acts of two apostles, peter and paul. The diversity of material in the book of acts demands a variety of exegetical tools and strategies. Preface to new edition preface to first edition precritical study of the book of acts tendenzkritik. The disciplines of narrative criticism and narrative theology impact acts more than any other new testament book. Acts free bible commentary on the book of acts in easy english. This is the story of christianitys beginnings and how evangelism played. The interpretation bible studies leader helps the acts of the apostles the ibs leader helps are designed to facilitate group study by providing lesson plans for the ten units in each of the interpretation bible studies. 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. Biblical interpretation finding the normative in acts. Acts with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. R c h lenski luther regarded acts as a beautiful mirror in which one beholds the truth. Jan 02, 2020 the emphasis of the book is the fulfillment of the great commission. The title as we know it comes from the second century and only partially discloses the theme of the document.
The opening sentences of the acts are just an expansion and an explanation of the closing words of the gospel. Does the book of acts simply record the history of the early church. The book of acts sheds light on the gift of the holy spirit, who empowers, guides, teaches, and serves as our counselor. Ancient books were generally written on papyrus scrolls. A chapterbychapter bible study of the book of acts 6 acts 1 50 days 1. Like ben witheringtons previous commentary conflict and community in corinth, this commentary breaks fresh ground in providing a detailed social and rhetorical analysis of the book of acts. Or does it also provide a blueprint for the church today. As we begin this study of the book of acts, keep us ever mindful that the story. In acts 10, in the case of cornelius and his household, the holy spirit came on all of them while peter was still preaching. The fathers likewise admired the contents of the book, noting the great variety of subjects and the. This video explains the transitional book that is the book of acts, and how it starts with jews to jews, and slowly changes to gentiles, as the jewish nation as a.
This book is designed for personal devotional reading or as the center of a small group bible study. It reserves more space for actual study instead of printing the entire biblical text. It is an important book in understanding how we can be directed by the holy spirit and the role of jesus lessons in our lives. Acts or lukeacts is intended as a work of edification, meaning the empirical demonstration that virtue is superior to vice. Historian and theologian is for the previous generation. Let me summarize the importance of acts in three simple statements. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible. 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.
Mar 23, 2015 this video explains the transitional book that is the book of acts, and how it starts with jews to jews, and slowly changes to gentiles, as the jewish nation as a whole rejects jesus christ, and. A history of the interpretation of the acts of the. Study basics about bible books, people, dates, places, and content, and take webbased selftests. Metaphysical bible interpretation acts to revelation. Peter who is clearly in charge in choosing and ordaining a new apostle to replace judas when he gives an authoritative interpretation of psalm 69. The book of acts provides a bridge for the writings of the nt.