Since we just finished the Gospel of Luke and Acts is, you might say, the sequel to Luke. It seemed to me to be the next logical step for us here in the Pastor’s Class. We will start with a brief introduction and then get started in the text today.

Book of Acts Outline

I.    Preparation for Witness (1:1–2:13)

II.    The Witness in Jerusalem (2:14–5:42)

III.    The Witness beyond Jerusalem (6:1–12:25)

IV.    The Witness in Cyprus and Southern Galatia (13:1–14:28)

V.    The Jerusalem Council (15:1–35)

VI.    The Witness in Greece (15:36–18:22)

VII.    The Witness in Ephesus (18:23–21:16)

VIII.    The Arrest in Jerusalem (21:17–23:35)

IX.    The Witness in Caesarea (24:1–26:32)

X.    The Witness in Rome (27:1–28:31)

Key Themes

Acts tells of the witness of the early church to the truth of the gospel—a theme first introduced in 1:8:

I.    The witness is worldwide—Judea, Samaria, the “end of the earth” (1:8).

II.    The witness includes all kinds of people (chs. 2–5; 10:1–11:18; 14:8–18; 16:11–15, 25–34; 17:22–31).

III.    God guides the church’s witness (4:5–22; 23:12–22; 24:1–23; 27:21–26).

IV.    Faithful witnesses must be prepared to suffer and even die because of their testimony to Christ (5:41–42; 7:54–60).

V.    The Holy Spirit empowers the witness (1:8; 2:1–13; 8:17; 13:2–12; 19:6).

VI.    Effective witness demands unity in the church (2:42–47; 4:32–37; 5:12–14).

VII.    Jesus’ resurrection is a key part of the witness (1:22; 2:22–36; 17:30–31).

VIII.    Acceptance of the message depends both on human response and on God’s sovereign will (2:47; 11:18; 13:48).

IX.    The witness to the gospel calls for a response (26:27–29). It requires repenting of one’s sins in the name of Christ. This brings forgiveness of sins (e.g., 2:38).

X.    Witnesses must always maintain integrity before the world (18:12–15; 23:29; 25:18; 26:31–32).

XI.    Christian witnesses continue the ministry that Christ “began” (1:1).

XII.    Faithful witness can bring great results (4:4; 13:48–49; 17:4; 28:30–31).

Acts Lesson 1 Study Questions

1.    The former account I made: The former account is the Gospel of _____. At one time the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts were joined together as one _____ with two volumes.

2.    Theophilus: This man might have been a Christian wanting instruction. He might have been a _______ official being briefed by Luke about the history of the Christian movement. Or, the name could be symbolic, because the name Theophilus means “___________.”

3.    Of all that Jesus began both to do and teach: Notice that the former account concerned all that Jesus ______ both to do and teach. Luke’s Gospel describes only the beginning of Jesus’ work; Acts describes its ___________; and the work of Jesus continues to our present day.

4.    Significantly, Jesus did this through the Holy Spirit. This was the resurrected, glorified Lord Jesus Christ, risen with all __________ and sovereignty. Yet He still chose to not rely on His own resources (as it were), but relied on the power and the presence of the ___________ Holy Spirit.

5.    He commanded… the Promise of Father… baptized with the Holy Spirit: This is another example of how the fact of the ______ – that there is One God in Three Persons – is woven into the fabric of the New Testament. Here we see that He (______) told of the Promise of the _______, which is the coming of the ____________.

6.    You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit: The idea of being baptized is to be immersed or covered over in something; even as John baptized people in water, so these disciples would be “immersed” in the ___________.

7.    Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? This was a question asked many times before, but it had a special relevance now. They knew that Jesus had instituted the ____ _________ (Luke 22:20). They also knew that the restoration of the kingdom to Israel was part of the New Covenant (as seen in Jeremiah 23:1-8, Ezekiel 36:16-30, Ezekiel 37:21-28).

8.    It is not for you to know: Jesus warned the disciples against inquiring into aspects of the timing of God’s ________, because those things belong to ___ the Father alone (which the Father has put in His own authority).

9.    If we want to be _________, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The best training program for evangelism is of little effectiveness without the ________ of the Holy Spirit.

10.    In the uttermost parts of the earth, the Gentiles were seen by some Jews of that day as nothing better than fuel for the fires of _____. Yet God wanted a witness sent to all of these places, and the Holy Spirit would ________ them to do this work.