{"id":1951,"date":"2008-09-05T11:54:19","date_gmt":"2008-09-05T16:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/?p=82"},"modified":"2008-09-05T11:54:19","modified_gmt":"2008-09-05T16:54:19","slug":"the-acts-of-jesus-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/2008\/09\/05\/the-acts-of-jesus-christ\/","title":{"rendered":"The Acts of Jesus Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"

(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link<\/a>.)<\/small><\/p>\n

What is the main point, the central message of the book of Acts? <\/span><\/p>\n

This Sunday we begin a sermon series on this great book that chronicles events during the first thirty years of Christ\u2019s church. Most Bibles entitle this book \u201cThe Acts of the Apostles.\u201d That\u2019s not an accurate summary of the book, however (and that title was not assigned to the book until about 100 years after it was written). The eleven disciples who remain after the death of Judas are listed in Acts 1:13; of these, only three are mentioned again in the book: Peter, whose actions dominate most of the first twelve chapters; John, who accompanies Peter in the events recorded in chapters 3, 4, and 8; and James, whose death is recorded in chapter 12. The other eight do not appear again. The activities of Paul \u2013 the apostle \u201cabnormally born\u201d (1 Corinthians 15:8 NIV) \u2013 dominate chapters 13 through 28. <\/span><\/p>\n

Given that focus primarily on only two apostles, should we entitle this book \u201cThe Acts of Peter and Paul\u201d?<\/span><\/p>\n

No. The main purpose of the book is not to provide us with a history of the church, much less biographical accounts of Peter and Paul. <\/span><\/p>\n

What then is the central message of the book?<\/span><\/p>\n

The author, Luke the physician, the traveling companion of the Apostle Paul, gives us a significant clue in his opening words: <\/span><\/p>\n

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up.<\/p>\n

The \u201cfirst book\u201d is the Gospel of Luke. The book of Acts is the sequel to that Gospel. If the Gospel records what Jesus began <\/em>to do and teach during the entirety of his life on earth, what is the book of Acts about? It must concern what Jesus continued <\/em>to do after His ascension.<\/p>\n

Thus, Luke records Jesus\u2019 ascension both at the end of his Gospel, and at the beginning of Acts. In the Gospel, Jesus rose from the dead, proving the truth of all He taught while on earth, and displaying God\u2019s acceptance of His offering for sin; in Acts, Jesus commissions His disciples, promises them power to fulfill the commission, and ascends on high \u2013 from where He continues to act in and through His church.<\/p>\n

The book of Acts records the continuing acts of Jesus Christ, as the Holy Spirit empowers the Apostles and opens the eyes of those in Jerusalem, in Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.<\/p>\n

As Gresham Machen wrote,<\/p>\n

The real actor in the book of The Acts is the Holy Spirit. Read the book all together, or read it in great stretches, and you obtain an irresistible impression of the Spirit\u2019s power. Jews and Gentiles, rulers and kings, the sea and its tempests \u2013 all are powerless before the march of the gospel. Joyous, abundant, irresistible power \u2013 that is the keynote of the book. The triumphant progress of the Church of God! <\/span>(As quoted on p. 40 of Peter Jeffery, Stepping Stones, <\/em>Banner of Truth, 1991.)<\/p>\n

Consider a few incidents:<\/p>\n