THE WRITER

The Lord used the same man, Luke, to write both the book of Luke and the book of Acts. This is clear from a comparison of Luke 1:1-4 with Acts 1:1. The opening verses of these books point to a close connection between them, with Acts being essentially a continuation of the book of Luke.

The Lord prepared and used Luke as a man who was knowledgeable in medicine. He was a medical doctor, described by Paul as “Luke, the beloved physician” (Col. 4:14). He possessed a good understanding of medical matters, as is evident from the medical language in Acts as well as from how often he wrote about sickness and the sick. He mentions, for example, lameness (Acts 8:7), palsy (Acts 8:7; 9:33), blindness (Acts 13:11), diseases and evil spirits (Acts 19:12), and fevers and a bloody flux (Acts 28:8). Luke was obviously a well-educated man, as is also seen through his extensive vocabulary and literary style.

The book of Acts shows that Luke accompanied Paul on some of his missionary journeys. We learn this from the passages in which the pronoun “we” is used (Acts 16:10-17; 20:5 to 21:18; 27:1 to 28:16). Luke first accompanied Paul on his second missionary journey. Part way through that journey, however, he remained in Philippi. He joined Paul again when Paul returned to Philippi on his third missionary journey. He then accompanied Paul on his return to Jerusalem, as well as on his journey as a prisoner to Rome. We also know he remained with Paul during Paul’s imprisonments. Luke was obviously a beloved friend of Paul and a faithful fellow laborer in the cause of the gospel.

THE PURPOSE

Luke’s purpose in writing Acts was to complete the record of the “acts” of Christ that he had written in the book of Luke. He states that in the book of Luke he wrote concerning the things which Jesus “began” to do and teach (Acts 1:1). In Acts, therefore, he wrote concerning what Jesus continued to do and teach after His exaltation.

This makes the book of Acts an important and necessary complement to and continuation of the accounts of the work of Christ in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. A close relation exists therefore among all five books.

In light of this, the title that is commonly given to this book (“The Acts of the Apostles”) is not the most suitable. We recognize, of course, that this title is not part of the original text of Scripture and thus not inspired. But since we most often refer to the book by that title, we do well to note that a better title would be something along the lines of, “The Acts of the Risen Christ.” The book is not really about the works of the apostles, for not all the apostles are even mentioned, and only portions of their work are mentioned. What unifies everything in Acts is to understand that the book records what the exalted Christ did as He carried out His work through His Spirit and through the labors of the apostles.

CHARACTERISTICS

Acts is a history book, containing most of New Testament biblical history. However, it is not a history that follows a specific line. It is not a chronological history of New Testament events. Nor is it a history of persons, such as the apostles, for we are not given a complete account of what any one of them did. Instead, Acts is the history of a subject. And that subject is the gathering of the church. Acts 13:48 summarizes well the history recorded in this book, namely, that “as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.”

There are a number of main elements in the history of the gathering of the church. First, there is Pentecost and the pouring out of the Spirit. Second, there is the element of persecution, which strengthened the church and caused the gospel to spread. Third, there is the spread of the gospel itself, and that to the Gentiles. The latter certainly occupies a prominent place in this history.

Although the book is not a history of the apostles, the book does emphasize the work of a few of them. Peter is on the foreground, for example, when the book treats the spread of the gospel in Jerusalem (chapters 1-12). The work of a few of the other apostles is prominent when the gospel goes into Samaria (chapters 8-12). And Paul’s work is emphasized when the gospel goes to the Gentiles and to the ends of the earth (chapters 13-28).

As a New Testament history, Acts provides the historical background for many of the remaining books in the New Testament Scriptures. It specifically does so for ten of Paul’s epistles.1

PROMINENT POINTS2

The first of three significant points in Acts is the prominence of the work of the Holy Spirit. The powerful presence and work of the Spirit was what Christ had promised (John 14-16; Acts 1:4-8). Acts 2 records the fulfilment of that promise with the Spirit being poured out upon the disciples and the church. The Spirit then directed everything in the New Testament church. The work of missions was His work: He called men to be missionaries, He strengthened them for their labor, and He directed where they went (Acts 13:1-4; 16:6-10). The fruit of the preaching of the gospel was the Spirit’s work: He converted thousands on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:41), then many others from that point on as He gathered the church from all nations (Acts 13-21). The work of establishing churches as a result of missions was also His work, along with decisions that needed to be made for the benefit of all the churches (Acts 15:28). We do well to remind ourselves that we are no less dependent today on the powerful presence and work of the Spirit in all these same ways, and more.

Second, the book of Acts is of significant interest in the area of missions. It is the great missionary book of the New Testament, and of all Scripture. The book describes in detail the church’s mission work as prophesied by Christ Himself when He said (Acts 1:8), “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The book, therefore, provides valuable instruction concerning missions, including such things as the calling to suffer for the sake of the spread of the gospel, and the character of missionary preaching (as can be learned from some twenty-four addresses and/or sermons found in the book of Acts).

Third, Acts is of interest as regards the establishing of the New Testament church. As believers were saved by means of the preaching and the work of the Spirit, churches were organized and instituted. The book of Acts is therefore very helpful, and even authoritative, in the area of church polity. It contains fundamental truths regarding Reformed and biblical ecclesiology. This includes valuable instruction concerning the existence of the three special offices, the appointment of officebearers, the organization of churches, and the necessity of church federation.

CANONICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Acts occupies a unique place in the canon of Scripture because it informs us of the things Christ continued to do and teach after He ascended into heaven. While on earth, Christ began to do and teach things for and to His church. In Acts (and until He returns at the end of time), Christ continues to do and teach things for and to His church. He is busy gathering the church from all nations of the world. He is teaching the church all she needs to know and do. He is present with and in His church and accomplishing His work by the power of His Spirit.

The emphasis in Acts is on the continued work of Jesus Christ in the New Testament church (which ought also to be our focus in any study of or sermon on this book). Christ is King of His church. It is He who gathers, defends, and preserves her, who pours out His Spirit upon her, who rules her, and who protects her from her enemies. He teaches His church concerning mission work. He calls and sends missionaries, He directs them, and He prospers their labors. He controls the spread of the gospel and the growth of the church. He makes His disciples bold in the face of opposition and persecution. He guides His church to make good and right decisions. He is the Head of the church who determines the church’s structure.

The book of Acts highlights that Christ’s work is a catholic work. In the Old Testament, the church was Jewish, with only a few Gentiles being saved and gathered into her midst. This changed with the cross, as demonstrated by the superscription written in three languages. With Pentecost, the change was completed. We know that it took some time for the church to adjust to this, so that Christ even had to use persecution to drive the early church out of Jerusalem in order to bring the gospel to other nations. But in Acts the catholicity of the church is clearly seen. And the book demonstrates that “catholic” did not simply mean the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles, but rather that Gentiles did not need to become Jews to be saved. They were saved as Gentiles. Christ is a catholic Savior who saves a catholic church.

OUTLINE OF CONTENT3

Here follows a detailed outline of Acts.4

• Acts 1:1-11—Christ commissioning the apostles.
• Acts 1:12 to 2:47—Disciples equipped for their task.
• Acts 3:1 to 8:1—Development of the work in Jerusalem.
• Acts 8:1-40—Gospel to Judea, Samaria, and the surrounding country.
• Acts 9:1-31—Conversion and early ministry of Paul.
• Acts 9:31 to 11:30—Progress of the gospel to the Gentiles.
• Acts 12—Persecution by the civil government.
• Acts 13, 14—First missionary journey.
• Acts 15:1-35—The Jerusalem council.
• Acts 15:36 to 18:22—Second missionary journey.
• Acts 18:23 to 21:16—Third missionary journey.
• Acts 21:17 to 23:30—Arrest and trial of Paul in Jerusalem.
• Acts 23:31 to 26:32—Imprisonment of Paul in Caesarea.
• Acts 27:1 to 28:15—Paul’s journey to Rome.
• Acts 28:16-31—Paul’s imprisonment in Rome.

A much briefer division of the book is the following.5

• Acts 1:1 to 12:25—The Establishment of the church from Jerusalem.
• Acts 13:1 to 28:31—The Establishment of the church from Antioch

1 Those ten books are Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon.
2 For a more detailed list of the characteristics of and prominent points in the book of Acts, see Henry C. Thiessen, Introduction to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1954), 187-188.
3 For a more detailed outline of the contents of Acts, see Herman Hoeksema, New Testament Introduction (syllabus published by the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary), 12-13.
4 Thiessen, Introduction to the New Testament, 187.
5 Louis Berkhof, New Testament Introduction (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1915), 117-118.

You can access the Spanish version of this article, translated by Jorge Carbajal, by clicking the following link. HECHOS: LO QUE CRISTO CONTINUÓ HACIENDO Y ENSEÑANDO