Disciples in the book of acts

Luke was the only gentile writer of the new testament colossians 4. The book of acts sheds light on the gift of the holy spirit, who empowers, guides, teaches, and serves as our counselor. In addition, the gospels and the book of acts refer to varying numbers of disciples that range between 70 and 120 to a growing multitude. As you can see from the chart below, the disciples are listed according to each section of scripture. Acts was written in greek, presumably by the evangelist luke, whose gospel concludes where acts begins, namely, with christs ascension into heaven. Acts of the apostles, the second part of the work that begins with the gospel according to luke, is the story of the early church after jesuss. Acts 1 new international version niv jesus taken up into heaven. It opens with a greeting to theophilus, who was also the intended recipient of lukes gospel. The acts of the apostles, the second volume of lukes twovolume work, continues lukes presentation of biblical history, describing how the salvation promised to israel in the old testament and accomplished by jesus has now under the guidance of. Remember, jesus christ revealed to his disciples that they would have the comforter, the holy spirit, after the lord returned to heaven john 14. Lukes preoccupation with the christian community as the spiritguided bearer of the word of salvation rules out of his book detailed histories of the activity of most.

Book of acts read, study bible verses online bible study tools. Here is a summary and overview of the book of acts. This post will exhaustively look at every example we see in the book of acts with a brief commentary on each. Introduction the story of the evangelization of ephesus does not begin in chapter 19, or even in chapter 18 of the book of acts. An ancient prologue to lukes gospel indicates that luke was first a follower of the apostles and then became close with paul. The book of acts tells the story of both the glorious and tumultuous early years of the church. In the first post of this series i highlighted the unity of lukeacts. Send word to james and to the brothers, he said, and he left for another place.

Jesus had shown himself alive by many proofs for 40 days. At a time when about 120 disciples had gathered together, peter got up and spoke to them. Peter heals a man born lame, using the name of jesus, bringing great glory to the father. The twelve disciples all met jesus during his days on earth, prior to the cross of calvary. Acts niv jesus taken up into heaven in my bible gateway. Here is a look at our fifth book in the new testament filtering through all the examples we see of the word faith. In light of the above passages, it is not surprising that some say the book of acts could be called, the acts of the holy spirit. Luke starts acts well in marking that jesus is the foundation,and that all the acts in this book are only because of jesus christ, what he has done, and what he has promised to do in the future.

A history of the early church gene taylor2an outline of the book i. He was a greek and the only gentile christian writer of the new testament. Luke wrote the acts of the apostles as the second of a twopart work. Gods spirit would empower the disciples as they executed their purpose of witnessing. The purpose of the book of acts is governed by the jews response to peter and paul. Doughty southside christian church january 2014 introduction. The descending of the holy spirit upon his disciples is called pentecost and we read about in the book of acts, chapter 2. It gives examples of how jesus promises came to fruition and how the disciples faced persecution and hardships head on. In the latter portion of acts, luke recorded three rejections of the jews to pauls overtures of salvation. While jesus attracted a large following, the term disciple is commonly used to refer specifically to the twelve apostles. Book of acts overview insight for living ministries.

Discipleship ministries book of acts sermon starters. There are, however, many miracles recorded in the book of acts. Acts records the apostles being christs witnesses in jerusalem, judea, samaria, and the surrounding world. The acts of the apostles, abbreviation acts, fifth book of the new testament, a valuable history of the early christian church. According to historical sources matthias lived til 80 a. However, let us examine the pattern of the disciples after yahushuas resurrection in the book of acts to determine what day that they attended sabbath services and what day they expected others to observe. Apostle vs disciple difference and comparison diffen. The first book i wrote, theophilus, concerned all that jesus began both to do and to teach. In acts, jesus promise that the disciples will be baptized with the holy spirit cf. Watch our overview video on the book of acts, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The difference in content occurs with thaddaeus and judas the son of james.

It started with the ministry of john the baptist, whose teaching had produced a number of converts, men and women who looked for the messiah, promised by the old testament prophets, who was his forerunner. He said, brothers, what the holy spirit predicted through. In acts, jesus sends the holy spirit to empower his disciples as they carry. Let us take a quick look at their evangelistic outreach. Actus apostolorum, often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament. He was an educated man, and we learn in colossians 4. The gospels are accounts of jesus works, and theyre also the accounts of his disciples, young christians, doing as their master did. It is an important book in understanding how we can be directed by the holy spirit and the role of jesus lessons in our lives.

But for those who read its words more purposefully, they will find blessing and encouragement, as they take in the powerful events that would begin to shape the church into the mighty organism that it is. The emphasis of the book is the fulfillment of the great commission. Luke even began to speak in the first person plural in the latter portion of acts. A commentary on the acts of the apostles by pastor galen l. Please watch this film to find out how the holy spirit worked amazing and incredible signs and wonders through the apostles in the name of the lord jesus christ. In this passage, luke is restating the great commission challenge jesus gave in luke 24. This summary of the book of acts provides information about the title. When the day of pentecost came, they were all together in one place. I emphasized that the two books seem to show us that the ministry of jesus is continued through his church. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. The acts of the apostles the acts of the apostles this was accomplished through the divinely chosen representatives acts 10.

Understanding the book of acts in the bible thoughtco. It describes persecutions and specific situations that we even face today as we evangelize and live our lives in christ. According to luke, the only gospel in which they appear, jesus appointed them and sent them out in pairs on a specific mission which is detailed in the. The first question that confronts one when examining luke and acts is whether they were written by the same person, as indicated in the prefaces.

Paul to the romans in the new testament of the bible. In this book we see the first mention of the dispensation of the holy spirit and jesus command to take his gospel to all the world. Acts was intended to be more than a brief history of the service rendered by the twelve disciples, much more than the principal events in the lifework of its four leading characters, peter, james, john, and paul. The book of acts also goes into principles of living. Acts 3 paul heals a man born lame, not using the name of jesus, the people think paul is a god and they bring flowers and sacrifices to him, and finally they stone. This commentary is based upon my personal devotional notes and reflections on the book of acts. The blue letter bible ministry and the blb institute hold to the historical, conservative christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of scripture. He was a companion of paul and reflected paul, who saw the risen christ. The most popular bible verses from acts found 1,007 verses acts 1. Through these first 11 verses in acts, luke lays the groundwork for the entire ministry of. We will keep a count of how many times the sabbath is observed.

Besides the book of acts, matthias isnt mentioned anywhere else in the bible. The importance of the book of acts and the apostles in the. Authorship of the book of acts is attributed to luke. It is filled with all the drama, thrills, adventure and suspense. What is the signature verse of acts, the one that defines the book. The accounts in the gospels and the book of acts put a huge emphasis on doing when it comes to making disciples. The acts of the apostles is the second book written by st. The book of acts is an important book for understanding the actions of the apostles, mostly paul and peter, after jesuss ascension into heaven. In christianity, the disciples were the students of jesus during his ministry. The acts of the apostles often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament.

The book begins with the ascension of jesus and goes on through pauls jail time in rome, which opens his ministry to the church at rome. The book of acts provides a bridge for the writings of the nt. The seventy disciples or seventytwo disciples known in the eastern christian traditions as the seventy apostles were early emissaries of jesus mentioned in the gospel of luke 10. Luke recorded three rejections by the jews to peter and the apostles associated with him to the message of repentance and proclamation of the kingdom. A survey of these miraculous works is worthy of our reflection. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow. As a second volume to lukes gospel, it joins what jesus began to do and to teach 1.