If God wants to get a message across to men he doesn’t simply send someone to announce it, like He used to do back in the Old Testament days; his final way of driving it home is to dress the message in flesh and blood. He takes a life and aims it in a certain direction and, by the manifestation of his own life through the blood and flesh of a human being; he makes clear what he has to say. That’s the strategy of the book of Acts. It’s the record of incarnation; men and women, possessed by Jesus Christ, owned by him, and manifesting his life. That’s the secret of authentic Christianity. Anytime you find a Christianity that isn’t doing that, it’s a false Christianity. No matter how much it may adapt the garb and language of Christianity, if it’s not displaying the activity of human beings possessed and indwelt by the life of Jesus Christ, it’s not authentic Christianity. That’s the true power of the church, as we’re going to see in this book.
The book of Acts is an unfinished book. The book abruptly closes with an account of Paul in the city of Rome, living in his own hired house. It just ends there as though you might turn over the next page and begin the next adventure. This book is Volume 2, and you and I are writing Volume 35 now. It may well be the last volume in the series, at least I hope so.
I believe that among the many things we see in these early verses, we find that the Holy Spirit’s ministry in Acts—a dominant theme in this book—is linked to His ministry through the person of our Lord. Let me put that another way: the same Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus, as He gave the Great Commission, is the One who will empower the apostles (and us, the church) to carry out this command. The ministry of the Holy Spirit doesn’t begin in Acts, it continues in Acts. Its beginning is found in the Gospels. My point here is that Luke links the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of our Lord in the Gospels, to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church in Acts.
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The Book of Acts: Chapter 1 (pt 6 of 45)
If God wants to get a message across to men he doesn’t simply send someone to announce it, like He used to do back in the Old Testament days; his final way of driving it home is to dress the message in flesh and blood. He takes a life and aims it in a certain direction and, by the manifestation of his own life through the blood and flesh of a human being; he makes clear what he has to say. That’s the strategy of the book of Acts. It’s the record of incarnation; men and women, possessed by Jesus Christ, owned by him, and manifesting his life. That’s the secret of authentic Christianity. Anytime you find a Christianity that isn’t doing that, it’s a false Christianity. No matter how much it may adapt the garb and language of Christianity, if it’s not displaying the activity of human beings possessed and indwelt by the life of Jesus Christ, it’s not authentic Christianity. That’s the true power of the church, as we’re going to see in this book.
The book of Acts is an unfinished book. The book abruptly closes with an account of Paul in the city of Rome, living in his own hired house. It just ends there as though you might turn over the next page and begin the next adventure. This book is Volume 2, and you and I are writing Volume 35 now. It may well be the last volume in the series, at least I hope so.
I believe that among the many things we see in these early verses, we find that the Holy Spirit’s ministry in Acts—a dominant theme in this book—is linked to His ministry through the person of our Lord. Let me put that another way: the same Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus, as He gave the Great Commission, is the One who will empower the apostles (and us, the church) to carry out this command. The ministry of the Holy Spirit doesn’t begin in Acts, it continues in Acts. Its beginning is found in the Gospels. My point here is that Luke links the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of our Lord in the Gospels, to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church in Acts.
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Acts, Bible Commentaries, Bible Study
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The Book of Acts: Chapter 1 (pt 5 of 45)
“This Year We Will Win Together”