As
we begin our Acts adventure, there are some things to watch for- How do we see
Jesus in Acts? Watch for Jesus in Acts; how much is He the focus?
Notice
who God uses in this book (periodic biographies of characters from Acts)How did His disciples see the Great Commission? The gospels end with and Acts begins with the great commission (see Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8)
The
foundation for our Acts Adventure, what we must always keep before us as we
journey through this book is-The author’s intent; what did Luke intend by what
he wrote? What was he trying to communicate? What was the Spirit communicating?
Why
did Luke write what he wrote the way he wrote it? What was he trying to tell
his first readers? It cannot mean to me what it did not mean to them. So we
want to be clear about what Luke is saying by understanding why he’s saying it;
what’s his purpose, his intent? That’s what gives everything else
meaning/understanding.
Luke’s
intent in Acts is to describe the continual forward movement of God’s story
(His Kingdom, His church); from its Jewish setting and roots, based in
Jerusalem with Peter as the lead figure to a primarily Gentile church touching
the entire world, with Paul as the lead figure and Rome as the goal (entire
world can be reached from Rome)
The
key to understanding Acts is Luke’s interest in the movement of the Gospel (the
fulfillment of the Great Commission) orchestrated by the Holy Spirit; Luke sees
a global agenda (from Jerusalem to the ends of the world). The
gospel moving from its Jerusalem based, Jewish beginnings to becoming a global
Gentile dominant phenomenon.
Key
purpose- movement from commission to mission by the leading and empowering of
the Holy Spirit
The
fulfillment of God’s plan, entrusted to the disciples by Jesus, is completely
dependent on the Holy Spirit not the disciple’s strength.
“…any statement of purpose that does not
include the Gentile mission and the Holy Spirit’s role in that mission will
surely have missed the point of the book.” (Acts) How to Read the Bible for all it’s Worth
Acts
shows us how the disciples went about fulfilling Jesus’ instructions; what they
saw the great commission to be. “But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 In
preparation for the fulfilling of God’s plan, Jesus gave them very specific
instructions. And these are important to understanding Acts
“wait for the promised Holy Spirit” the Holy Spirit is crucial, essential to the ongoing, fulfillment of what Jesus started; so wait for the promised Spirit
“you will receive power” to complete your
assignment (the Great Commission) you will need the Holy Spirit’s power
“you will be my witnesses”- tell what Jesus
did and taught
“And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in…”- would not be able without the Spirit
They
would be His witnesses from here to the entire world only after the Holy Spirit
came on them- not before.This
is the next step of completing what Jesus started; they were empowered by His
Spirit to finish what Jesus began to do and to teach.
We
clearly see God’s agenda: First, that his apostles would finish what
Jesus began to do and teach on earth. Second, the apostles’ focus would be
a global agenda. And third, the assurance of their success wouldn’t
depend on their strength, but on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the
certainty of Jesus’ return.
If
there’s one thing we see in Acts, it’s the indispensible necessity of the Holy
Spirit throughout.
Acts reveals for us
God’s intent for His church; the triumphant, joyful, forward-moving expansion
of the gospel- empowered by the Holy Spirit and resulting in changed lives and
changed communities.
