Claude T. Stauffer :: The Spirit Acts – Introduction

The Spirit Acts

Introduction

It’s true that the Book of Acts contains a historical account of the birthing of the Church and its early ministry in the world. Acts provides the wonderful account of the impact and influence of the early Spirit-filled disciples on those around them. We see mass conversions, strength in times of persecution, and even persecutors repent and come to faith in Jesus. We see incredible healings, church divisions healed, and the spread of the gospel first in Jerusalem to the Jews, then to the Gentiles in Judea and Samaria and to the furthest parts of the world. All of those things are wonderful to learn about in this incredible book, but if we are not careful, we will miss the entire point of Acts.

The main point of the Book of Acts is that The Spirit Acts. All the history and activity found in this incredible book are the incidental products of the actions and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. If we merely focus on the history and happenings of Acts, we will miss out on learning better the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.

In “The Spirit Acts”, we will indeed look at all the incidental history of the early Church and her congregations, but we will hopefully not get so lost in the incidentals that we forget the work of the Spirit in the process. The Holy Spirit is often seen as the silent partner of the Triune Godhead. We know the Father and His Son Jesus, but do we know the Third Person, the Holy Spirit? Part of the Spirit’s anonymity is Self-inflicted. Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as “the Helper” and in particular One who would “testify of Me” (John 15:26). One of the prime works and responsibilities of the Holy Spirit is to bear witness to Jesus. We know what we know of Jesus because the Holy Spirit has revealed Him to us in His word the Bible and in life. The Holy Spirit is satisfied to remain in the background while He promotes Jesus front and center. In the Old Testament we have the revelation of the Father. In the Gospels we have the revelation of Jesus. In Acts we have the revelation of the Holy Spirit. This is not to divide up the Trinity into modes. Indeed, we find the Members of the Trinity at work throughout the Bible, regardless of Testaments. But there are emphases.

In the Book of Acts we see the transition of Jesus from earth to heaven and then the Holy Spirit from heaven to earth. “Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33). The Book of Acts gives us a historical and practical revelation of what happens when the Holy Spirit acts. It’s an exciting account. But what should really excite us is that what we see of the Spirit acting in Acts is only the beginning.

At Pentecost Peter was inspired to say, “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39). The Book of Acts shows us the acts of the Spirit from Jerusalem to Rome. But Peter’s words are not only geographical, but they are also historical and unlimited by time. We, you and me, are included in the “afar off” of his words. The promise of the Holy Spirit is for us today, and if the Lord tarries, for Christians in the Church age and beyond. So what we see of the Spirit’s actions in Acts provides a blueprint and principles for us today. The Holy Spirit is still acting to save souls, make disciples, equip with spiritual gifts, and fulfill the Great Commission. The Holy Spirit is acting in our lives. The Holy Spirit is still building the Church.

The problem with the Church of our times is that much of it has forgotten the acts of the Holy Spirit. The problem with many Christians is that they have forgotten the acts of the Holy Spirit. The Church and Christians are anemic and unimpactful when ministry is attempted without the Holy Spirit. That doesn’t necessarily stop the work of the Spirit because He works in spite of us at times. But we as followers of Jesus and the Church could be so much more if we would simply take Jesus at His word and wait in our own Jerusalem for the Promise of the Father, which is the baptism with the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit acts, He brings fire and power. That is what we need. If the Church and Christians are to be all they need to be to do all God calls us to do, we need the acts of the Holy Spirit. We need to pray, “Holy Spirit, please come and act!”

If we are ever to effectively infiltrate and influence this world for the glory of God, we need the Holy Spirit to act in us and upon us. We need to be spiritually regenerated and born again by the Holy Spirit. We need to be sanctified, set apart for God’s use, empowered for service by the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit to act. We need to stop relying on ourselves and clever ministry tactics. We need to seek out and depend on the Spirit to act.

“The Spirit Acts” is a book that will consider how we can invite the Holy Spirit to act in and through us. This is a book on how to get started with the Spirit. This is a book that looks at the example of those first Christians in the first Church and sees a model for the Church and Christians today. We need to get back to basics, back to fundamentals, back to our Spirit-given foundation. We need the Spirit to act. This is a book which is a call for the Spirit to act.

The Book of Acts is a companion volume to the Gospel of Luke. Acts is the historical account of the birth of the church. It contains the history of what happened after the resurrection of Jesus and His ascension. It bears witness to what happens to the followers of Jesus when they are baptized with the Holy Spirit.

The Book of Acts is where we get God’s model for the church. By the end of the first century, we know that the church had already degenerated and drifted from God’s idea of the church because, when we look at the letters of Jesus to the seven churches of Revelation (received from Jesus toward the end of the first century through the apostle John), we see that five of the seven churches were corrupted. This means we certainly cannot go to the human tradition associated with the church for an accurate portrayal of what the church should be. Unfortunately, history reveals a great deal of corruption and unchristlike behavior in and by the church (e.g., the crusades, the inquisitions, political vice, immoralities by church leadership, monument building, monetary avarice, indulgences, and false extra and unbiblical doctrines, to name a few areas where the church strayed into sin). No, Acts is where we have to go if we are going to get God’s picture or model of what the church was first meant to be by Him.

The Book of Acts also speaks to us on an individual basis as it reveals the work of the Holy Spirit in and through the individual believer. We see the Holy Spirit bringing conviction to the unbeliever and leading them to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. We see the Holy Spirit empowering believers to serve the Lord. And we see the Holy Spirit refilling believers as they advance in their walk with the Lord.

The Book of Acts depicts Christianity as it was meant to be, an active and abundantly full, exciting world-changing work of the Holy Spirit in and through believers. Christianity is not the dull, boring walk-through so often seen in religious presentations. Christianity is what we find in Acts, the abundant life promised to us by Jesus (John 10:10). What Acts gives us proves to be “many infallible proofs” of the reality of Jesus and how God can and will change the lives of those who receive His gracious gift of eternal life through faith in Christ. The Book of Acts and what God reveals in it can change your life if you surrender to the Spirit and allow Him to apply it to your life. The well-known sports program Monday Night Football begins with a call to the watchers asking, “Are you ready for some football?” As we study the Book of Acts we need to ask, “Are you ready for some Action? Some Holy Spirit-empowered advancing of the Great Commission of Jesus action?” Are you ready? I hope so because God can change your life through the Book of Acts. We can summarize what Christianity was meant to be with the following:

The Spirit of God using the word of God to make people of God and change the people of God into Spirit-empowered, effective, edifying disciples of Jesus Christ.

Are you ready for that kind of action? Let’s get into Acts.

Recipients, Authorship, Date, and Purpose

• Acts 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.

The Book of Acts is the second of a two-volume work consisting of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. It is addressed to “Theophilus,” which is a name that means “friend of God.” Some have taken this to be a generic name used to address the work to all those who are friends of God by grace through faith in Jesus. Other commentators simply believe Luke addressed this two-volume set to prominent first-century Christians.

Who wrote Acts? The Book of Acts is a book inspired by the Holy Spirit whose human author is named Luke. Luke was a doctor (Colossians 4:14). He was a faithful companion and friend of Paul (2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 1:24). Luke was probably a Gentile as Paul made a distinction between Luke and the Jews (Colossians 4:10-14). Therefore, Luke is the only Gentile author in the New Testament. The body of the Gospel of Luke and Book of Acts make up 28 percent of the Greek New Testament. The opening verses of Acts link this book with the Gospel of Luke (Acts 1:1-3 connected to Luke 1:1-4). Lastly, the Book of Acts is unique in that it is the only historical sequel to the gospels.

How do we know Luke wrote this book? The Book of Acts is anonymous in that no name is given as an author of the book. Perhaps the human author is not named because he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write what the Spirit wanted to be written. Therefore, as with all the canonical Biblical books of the Bible, the Holy Spirit is the Author (Romans 15:5; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21.) But the evidence outside of the Bible points to Luke as the human author of Acts. The early Church Fathers said Luke was the author of Acts (Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Eusebius, and Origen). The evidence in the Bible also points to Luke as the author of Acts. We know that Luke was a physician, and interestingly, a great deal of medical terms are used in both the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts (Colossians 4:14). The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts are written in the same style, so if the Gospel was written by Luke, it is likely that Acts was too. Finally, it is clear that whoever did write the Book of Acts was a companion of Paul’s (see “we” in Acts 16:10-17; Acts 20:5-15; Acts 21:1-18; Acts 27:1-28:16) and we know that Luke was a companion of Paul (2 Timothy 4:11).

When Was Acts Written?

Since no mention is made of the destruction of Jerusalem, it is very likely that the Book of Acts was written before this historic event that occurred in 70 A.D. (It would be inconceivable for such an important event in the history of Israel to not be mentioned if this book were written after the destruction of Jerusalem.) Luke’s theme of the gospel being preached to Gentiles after the rejection of Jesus by the Jews would have made the mention of the destruction of Jerusalem very pertinent. Therefore, it is likely that Acts was indeed written before 70 A.D.

No mention is made of the death of the apostle Paul, and tradition dates Paul’s death around 66-68 A.D. No mention is made of the great fire of Rome and the persecution of Christians by Nero who used Christians as a scapegoat for his dastardly deed of setting the great city on fire. We can accurately date the burning of Rome by Nero to 64 A.D., and therefore, since there is no mention of this important event in history, we can date Acts prior to 64 A.D. Conservative Biblical scholars date the writing of the Book of Acts to around 60-62A.D. This means the Book of Acts was written within thirty years of the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.

You might think that thirty years is a long time to pass before something was written about the acts of the Spirit in the church, but really, if you think about it, it isn’t that long a time at all.

Most of us who are middle aged can think back and remember with great definition historical events that are 30 years or even more years old. Can you remember the day John F. Kennedy was shot? Can you remember when the Beatles came to America? Can you remember the astronauts landing on the Moon? Can you remember Vietnam and some of its pivotal battles? Can you remember the demonstrations against Vietnam? The hippie movement?

Can you remember personal events like what happened to you in High School, your first date, your first job, and your first car? Can you remember the birth of your first child? Can you remember the death of someone dear?

When we think about it and how we are able to remember past events with great detail, thirty years really isn’t that long of a time to recollect and put together a history of something like Luke did. And not only that, but remember, Luke had the aid of the Holy Spirit who inspired him.

While liberal scholarship has tried to discredit the historical accuracy of Acts, much of the historical detail Luke included in this book has been verified by the historian William Ramsey. The student who is interested in the subject of the reliability of Acts would do well to look into Ramsey’s “St. Paul – The Traveler and Roman Citizen”.

The Purpose of Acts

“The former account,” refers to the Gospel of Luke where Luke says he sought to compile a work that contained “all that Jesus began to do and to teach.” Luke is likely using the adjective “all,” as a hyperbole since what we have in the gospels are probably the most important things in Jesus’ ministry and not every single solitary act of Jesus.

Why was the Book of Acts written, what is its purpose? The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts seem to have been written to show historically some of the “many infallible proofs” concerning the life and ministry of Jesus as revealed by the Spirit, “so that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed” (Acts 1:3; Luke 1:4).

The Bible contains the revelation of God about Who He is, what He is like, and what His plan is for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11-14; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 10:7). God has given us His word to give us hope (Romans 15:4). God has given us His word so that when we read it, study it, and surrender to the Spirit to have Him apply it to our lives, we can grow and mature spiritually (Colossians 2:6-7; Colossians 3:16). The faith of believers is built up by the Spirit applying the word of God to their lives and hearts (Romans 10:17). The only way we can really know ourselves and find peace and purpose in life is by the Holy Spirit using the word of God in our lives (1 Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 4:12-16). The Book of Acts accomplishes this work in us by letting us see what the Spirit can and will do in those who are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus and who present themselves as living sacrifices to God for the Spirit to use (Romans 12:1-2; Romans 8:14-17).

The purpose of the Book of Acts can be summarized as follows:

1. To provide a historical account of how the early church proceeded to fulfill the Great Commission – Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:1-3
2. To provide “infallible proofs” or an apologetic source for the early church especially as it relates to Judaism – Acts 1:3
3. Most importantly, Acts presents the work of the Holy Spirit in and through the disciples of Jesus Christ – Acts 1:8; Acts 4:8; Acts 5:3; Acts 10:19; Acts 13:2, 9-11; Acts 15:28; Acts 16:6-10

The Book of Acts and Me

The Book of Acts is an exciting book of the Bible to study because it gives us a firsthand account of how powerfully the Spirit can work in and through people.

When we study this book, we might be tempted to think, “That is awesome and incredible, but that could never happen to me, or God would never do that through me.” When we look at the Book of Acts we need to understand that what we have are only the highlights of what happened in that early church. A lot more probably happened during the birth of the early church.

The Spirit only gives us a taste of what He wants to do through people in the account of Acts. The actions revealed by the Spirit through Luke in the Book of Acts are the most important and most notable actions of the Spirit in and through people, but they are not likely the only things that happened in the early church. What the Spirit does in and through people in the Book of Acts, He wants to do in and through you. Are you ready for some action? Are you ready for the Spirit of Acts? Why not pause a moment and prayerfully surrender yourself to the Lord Jesus afresh? Let this study in Acts and the Spirit of Acts change your life and the lives of others through you. May the Spirit bring it to pass in your life!

The Outline of the Book

When you study any book, but especially a book of the Bible, it’s a good idea to look it over a bit before you start to look at the particulars of it. The Bible encourages us to be workers who properly divide or study God’s word (2 Timothy 2:15). The Book of Acts has a built-in outline for the actions it contains. In the first chapter of Acts it states:

• Acts 1:8 – “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.”

This verse tells us of the work of the Spirit in the life of the believer. The Book of Acts is an account of the empowering work of the Holy Spirit in and through the life of the believer. The work of the Holy Spirit is to empower believers to be witnesses, to share the truth of God’s word about Jesus with those who haven’t heard it or who need to hear more about it. We see from Acts 1:8 that the Spirit is always seeking to reach out to others. The Book of Acts can be divided as follows:

• Acts 1:1-8:3 – The Work of the Spirit in Jerusalem
• Acts 8:4-12:24 – The Work of the Spirit in Judea and Samaria
• Acts 12:25-28:31 – The Work of the Spirit to the End of the Earth

As you begin this study, it is my prayer that the Spirit of Acts takes action in you and through you. God bless your study in this awesome Book of Acts.

The Ascension

• Acts 1:2a – “until the day in which He was taken up…”

In Acts 1:2a it says, “until the day in which He was taken up.” The connecting event between the Gospel of Luke and Acts is the Ascension of Jesus. The gospel leaves off with the ascension and the Book of Acts takes up after it. Facts about the Ascension are as follows:

• It was foretold in the Old Testament – Psalms 68:18; Ephesians 4:8-10
• It was announced by Jesus – John 20:17
• It occurred forty days after His resurrection – Luke 24:48-51; Acts 1:1-12
• Jesus ascended to enter heaven by His blood to work redemption – Hebrews 6:19-20; Hebrews 9:12, 24
• Jesus ascended to be crowned with glory and honor – Hebrews 2:9
• Jesus ascended and rules from David’s throne – Acts 2:9-36
• Jesus ascended and sits at the Father’s side – Ephesians 1:20; Hebrews 1:3
• Jesus ascended and now intercedes for the saints – Romans 8:34; Hebrew 7:25
• Jesus ascended and is now preparing a place for His people – John 14:2
• Jesus’ ascension is part of His being highly exalted – Acts 5:31; Philippians 2:9
• Jesus’ ascension testifies to His triumphant reign – 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Hebrews 10:12-13
• Now that He is ascended, He exercises His priestly ministry – Hebrews 4:14-16; Hebrews 8:1-2¹

I wonder how the disciples were feeling when Jesus ascended to heaven before their very eyes? Jesus, their Teacher, Provider, Miracle Worker, Master and Lord, the One who had revealed God to them in the greatest way, the One who was always there for them to lift them out of the stormy sea and answer all their questions, (no matter how many times it took Him to get through to them with the answers). Jesus, now He was really gone. He promised to come back from the dead and, He did that just as He said He would. But now He was gone again. The disciples must have felt a twinge of loneliness or and longing for Jesus to still be there for them. But He had made another promise, once He departed to go and prepare a place for them in heaven, that He would send another Helper, the Holy Spirit (John 14-16). Even though Jesus had always delivered on His word in the past, faith was still needed to get them from His departure at the ascension to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. There must have been a bit of emptiness in them for their departed Savior. And that gives us a sense of how we might feel when we seek the baptism with the Holy Spirit. How do you feel about Jesus? Are you longing for more of Him, for His presence to be closer to you? Do you feel like He’s “up there” and you’re down here? If you feel that way, perhaps He’s preparing you for your own personal baptism with the Holy Spirit.

The Book of Acts is commonly referred to as The Acts of the Apostles. While the Book of Acts does contain a historical account of selected actions of the early church and her apostles and disciples, the truth of the matter is that the early church, apostles, and disciples could have taken no effective action apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in and through them. This book is about The Spirit of Acts.

Since the Book of Acts is predominantly a book about the work or “acts” of the Holy Spirit, it would be wise for us to begin our study of the Book of Acts with an overview of what the Bible tells us about Who the Holy Spirit is and what the Holy Spirit does.

1 Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nelson’s Topical Bible index [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1995.