WITNESSES

ESVInasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

Luke 1:1–4 ESV

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

Theophilus = friend or lover of God

There is more to Jesus than what he said.And let's be honest, in our biblically illiterate culture, we don't know or flat out ignore most of what he said.Jesus was not just a speaker, a teacher, a philosopher.Jesus was a doer. And a major point of Acts is that what he did is called the Gospel.

We will only touch on it now, but we see a key teaching of these first verses of our book.

This is not just something that he did in his incarnation just for a season.

Jesus has taken on flesh … and rose in the flesh … and was taken up in the flesh.

… then Jesus is where ever up refers to.

In other words, as we saw so clearly in Hebrews.

Hebrews 8:1–2 ESV

Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.

Therefore, he shares in all the attributes of God.

He is all-powerful, he knows all things, sees all things. It is with confidence that we believe his promise when he says, “Behold, I am with you always ().”

But Luke wants us to clearly understand that Jesus, the incarnate and risen Son of God, ascended.

The testimony of Luke about this is found in his first book, the Gospel of Luke.

But the book of Acts is utterly incomprehensible without this one simple reality.

Jesus is ascended. Yes.

But Jesus is no less alive.

The book of Acts is the spread of the news of Jesus and his gospel.

Jesus is the King of the kingdom.

The presence of Jesus is the “at-handness” of the kingdom.

The extent of the kingdom is the extend of the rule of the King.

And the King has come!

R. C. Sproul:

Acts Luke’s Agenda

The theme of Acts is this: the church’s obedience to Christ’s commission and commandment to be His witnesses as the ascended King, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. If you wonder why the first-century church turned the world upside down and why we do not, it is because they preached the kingdom of God, and we do not.

Acts Luke’s Agenda

The theme of Acts is this: the church’s obedience to Christ’s commission and commandment to be His witnesses as the ascended King, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. If you wonder why the first-century church turned the world upside down and why we do not, it is because they preached the kingdom of God, and we do not.

R. C. Sproul:

The theme of Acts is this: the church’s obedience to Christ’s commission and commandment to be His witnesses as the ascended King, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. If you wonder why the first-century church turned the world upside down and why we do not, it is because they preached the kingdom of God, and we do not.

R. C. Sproul, Acts, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 22.

Acts Luke’s Agenda

The theme of Acts is this: the church’s obedience to Christ’s commission and commandment to be His witnesses as the ascended King, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. If you wonder why the first-century church turned the world upside down and why we do not, it is because they preached the kingdom of God, and we do not.

R. C. Sproul, Acts, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 22

Acts Luke’s Agenda

The theme of Acts is this: the church’s obedience to Christ’s commission and commandment to be His witnesses as the ascended King, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. If you wonder why the first-century church turned the world upside down and why we do not, it is because they preached the kingdom of God, and we do not.

John Calvin summarizes:

Acts: Crossway Classic Commentaries Verses 3–5

Christ spoke chiefly about the corruption of human nature, the tyranny of sin—whose slaves we are, the curse and judgment of eternal death—to which we are all bound, the receiving of salvation, the forgiveness of sins, self-denial, spiritual righteousness, the hope of eternal life, and so on. If we wish to be taught the Christian faith and understand it correctly, we must apply ourselves to these things.

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WITNESSES

Jesus: Risen (v1-3)

v1 - In the first book

v1 - all that Jesus began to do and teach

What cannot make Jesus simply a set of moral platitudes or morality tales.

v2 - he was taken up

Where is Jesus?

Let us remember that Jesus has taken on flesh.

Therefore, if the passage says that Jesus was taken up …

Jesus is God.

v3 - He presented himself alive

Jesus is alive!

v3 - the Kingdom of God

The kingdom of God is the chief topic of the whole of the book of Acts.

What does this have to do with the kingdom of God?

What is the content of the King’s teaching about his kingdom?

v4 - wait for the promise of the Father

Jesus: Redeemer (v4-5)

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Jesus: Reigning (v6-11)