Sermon Tone Analysis

*IN THE BEGINNING*

Acts 1:1-8

acts 1.doc

* *

 

  \\ I.      *Opener*

A.     Introduction

Today we are going to start a new book of the Bible, the book of Acts.

You will find it in the New Testament.

It is the fifth book, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John , Acts.

If you get to 1 Corinthians you have gone too far.

I called it: “In The Beginning” because in it we will see a lot of first for the church.

The Book of Acts is a bridge from the gospel’s to the church, from Jerusalem to Rome, from Jew to Gentile.

Imagine what it would be like if the Book of Acts were missing.

You would pick up your Bible and see the ministry of Jesus ending in the Gospel of John; next you would read about a guy named Paul writing to followers of Jesus in Rome.

Who was Paul?

How did the gospel get from Jerusalem to Rome?

The Book of Acts answers these questions.

"A great New Testament scholar has said that the title of /Acts/ might be, 'How they brought the Good News from Jerusalem to Rome.'" (Barclay)

 

1.

Author - Luke

The book has been attributed to a man named Luke.

a.     Gentile

By every indication, Luke was a Gentile.

Colossians 4:10-11 and 4:14 show that he wasn't Jewish, because he is not included in the group /who are of the circumcision/.

Col 4:10-11

/10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus.

These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me./

/Col// 4:14 14 Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet yo/u.

This makes Luke unique in that he is the only New Testament writer who was a Gentile.

God gave this lone Gentile writer a great privilege.

Because Luke wrote more of the New Testament than any other human writer did.

b.

The Beloved Physcian

Paul calls Luke “the beloved physician”

 

\\ 2.     Purpose

Why in the world did Luke write the book of Acts?

First it is the second volume of a two volume set.The purpose for the book acts can be seen from the prefix from the book of Luke.

It was common in that time for a two volume book for the prefix from first volume to apply to the second volume.

We can find the prefix in Luke 1

Lk 1:1-4

1 /Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed/.

1.     Luke’s Purpose in Luke

a.

To document Jesus Life and ministry from the beginning till in an orderly account.

b.

Sources eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word.

C.     Written to Theophilus to verify the truthfulness of what he’s already been told.

And then in Acts he picks up where he left off.

Ac 1:1-3

1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

D.

So we see that Acts is a continuation of the book of Luke showing the things that Jesus did through his apostles

a.     History

It is a historical book.

William Ramsay, a noted archaeologist and Bible scholar, proved that the historical record of Acts is remarkably accurate regarding the specific practices, laws and customs of the period it claims to record.

It is definitely the work of contemporary eyewitnesses.

It gives us a first hand account of the beginnings of the church, where and how it all started for the first 30 years.

b.

Apologetic

There are some who think that the two volumes of Luke and Acts which are a legal brief for lawyers who would have been studying Paul’s case in Rome.

In that case they are not only historical books but they give an explanation for the faith.

c.      Holy Spirit 

A key to the book of Acts is seeing the Holy Spirit work through the church.

3.

Outline

Acts 1:8 is the key to the book of Acts. 

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

It is outlines the book and unlocks the

∙         the gospel went from Jerusalem (chaps.

1–7)

∙         to Judea and Samaria (chaps.

8–9) and then

∙         to the ends of the earth (chaps.

10–28).

The book of Acts describes a transition from ministry to Jews to ministry to the Gentiles and explains how the gospel got from Jerusalem to Rome.

| *THE BOOK OF ACTS IN OVERVIEW* |

| “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

|

| *Chapters* | *Acts 1–7* | *Acts 8–12* | *Acts 13–28* |

| Spread of the Church | The church in Jerusalem | The church in all Judea and Samaria | The church to all the earth |

| Time | 2 years \\ (a.d.

33–35) | 13 years \\ (a.d.

35–48) | 14 years \\ (a.d.

48–62) |

| People Addressed | Jews | Samaritans | Gentiles |

| Key Person | Peter | Philip | Paul |

 

 

II.

Study

 

Ac 1:1-11

1 /The former account I made, O Theophilus/,

A.     Why Theophilus

1.     *Theophilus *may have been Luke’s patron who financed the writing of Luke and Acts.

At any rate he was a believer in Christ.

These two books would confirm and instruct Theophilus, as well as the church of Christ, in the faith[1]

2.     Most Excellent Theophilus

In Luke Theophilus was addressed with the title* /most excellent/*/./

It could be that Theophilus is a high ranking official in the Roman government and Luke is writing a legal brief about the Christian movement.

3.     Theophilus is a personification for a lover of God

 

1 /The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach/,

∙         We must remember that Acts does not give us a full history of the church during this period.

For example, the churches in Galilee and Samaria are barely mentioned (Acts 9:31), and the establishing of a strong church in Egypt during this time isn't mentioned at all.

∙         Acts takes us up to about 60 or 61 A.D., with Paul in Rome waiting to appear before Caesar Nero.

This same Nero began his infamous persecutions of Christians in 64 A.D.  So Acts covers the first 30 years of the church.

∙         Notice that the Lord’s ministry was one of both /doing/ and /teaching/.

It was not doctrine without duty, or creed without

2 /until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 //to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God/.

We talked about this some last week the reality of the resurrection of Jesus.