Acts 1

I. A New Book (1:1-2)

The "former treatise" referred to is the Gospel of Luke (see ) in which Luke told the story of what Jesus began to do and teach while He was on earth. Acts picks up the account by telling what He continued to do and teach through the church on earth.

The Gospel of Luke tells of Christ's ministry on earth in a physical body, while Acts tells of His ministry from heaven through His spiritual body, the church. For example, in 1:24 the believers ask the ascended Christ to show them which man to elect as apostle. In 2:47 it is the Lord who adds believers to the assembly. In 13:1-3, it is Christ through His Spirit who sends out the first missionaries; and in 14:27, Paul and Barnabas relate what God did through them. Every Christian needs to move out of Luke's Gospel into Acts.

Knowing about the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ is enough for salvation but not for Spirit-empowered service. We must identify ourselves with Him as our ascended Lord and allow Him to work through us in the world. The church is not simply an organization engaged in religious work; it is a divine organism, the body of Christ on earth, through which His life and power must operate. He died for the lost world; we must live to bring that world to Christ.

II. A New Experience (1:3-8)

Christ ministered to the apostles during the forty days He was on earth after His resurrection. should be read in connection with these verses. In both places, Christ instructed the apostles to remain in Jerusalem and wait for the coming of the Spirit. They were to begin their ministry in Jerusalem. This baptism of the Spirit had been announced by John the Baptist (; ; ; ).

Note that Christ said nothing about a baptism with fire, for the fire baptism refers to judgment. The coming of the Spirit would unite all the believers into one body, to be known as the church (see ). The Spirit would also give the believers power to witness to the lost. Finally, the Spirit would enable the believers to speak in tongues and perform other miraculous deeds to awaken the Jews. (See —the Jews require a sign.) There are actually two occurrences of this Spirit baptism in Acts; in chapter 2, when He baptized the Jews; and in chapter 10 (see 11:16) when He came upon the Gentile believers. According to , the body of Christ is composed of Jews and Gentiles, all baptized into this spiritual body. It is wrong to pray for a baptism of the Spirit; we may ask God to fill us () or empower us for special service (), but we should not pray for His baptism. Were the apostles correct in asking Christ about the kingdom (vv. 6-8)? Yes. In , Christ had promised to give the nation of Israel another opportunity to receive Him and the kingdom. In Christ promised that the apostles would sit on twelve thrones (see ). In , Christ stated that Israel would have another opportunity to be saved even after sinning against the Son, and He promised to give them a sign to encourage them. It was the sign of Jonah: death, burial, and resurrection. The apostles knew that their ministry would begin with Israel (see the introductory notes); now they wanted to know what Israel would do. Would the nation accept or reject their message? Christ had not told them whether it would or would not. If He had told the apostles that Israel would spurn this good news, they could not have given their people an honest offer; their ministry would have been false. What He did tell them was that they would be witnesses, starting in Jerusalem, and eventually reaching across the world.

III. A New Assurance (1:9-11)

Do not confuse the promise of v. 11 with that of the rapture of the church as given through Paul in . The angels here are promising that Christ will return to Mt. Olivet, visibly, and in glory. and give the same promise. Had Israel accepted the apostles' message, Christ would have returned to Mt. Olivet (see ) and established His kingdom. The Jewish missionaries would have spread His Gospel to the ends of the earth, and Israel would have been the center of blessing for all mankind as promised in and 65:19-23.

IV. A New Apostle (1:12-25)

Were the apostles correct in selecting this new man? Of course! There had to be twelve men to sit on the twelve promised thrones (; ) should Israel repent and receive the kingdom. Their decision was based on the Word of God ( and 69:25) and on continued prayer (vv. 14 and 24). The new choice, Matthias, was ratified by God since he, with the others, was filled with the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Note that Peter took charge of the meeting. This is perhaps another use of his "binding and loosing" powers given by Christ in . Heaven directed them in their decision and ratified their decision after it was made. Paul could not have been the twelfth apostle. For one thing, he did not meet the qualifications laid down in vv. 21-22; and furthermore, his special ministry had to do with the church, not the kingdom. Everything was now in readiness for the coming of the Spirit. It was now a matter of time, and as the believers waited for the Day of Pentecost to arrive, they spent their hours in prayer and fellowship in the Upper Room.

Wiersbe Expository Outlines - Wiersbe's Expository Outlines – Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament.