Acts - Introduction(2)

Paul obviously plays a big role in Acts, being the dominant character from Chapter 9 onwards. The book culminates with Paul reaching Rome.

Even more important than the role of Peter and Paul, the two most prominent human “actors” in the drama, is the Holy Spirit. Acts has been justifiably called the Acts of the Holy Spirit. The church was not really started until the Holy Spirit came upon the believers at Pentecost. People did normal things like preaching and teaching, organising the church, going on missions, suffering for the sake of Christ, but all this was empowered by the Holy Spirit, and accompanied by actions of the Holy Spirit. There were miraculous interventions in setting people free from prison. The primary quality of a leader was that they be filled with the Holy Spirit. “Ordinary” Christians were frequently filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. The mission of the church was Spirit led. We have already mentioned the birth of the church at Pentecost, the Spirit played a key role in spreading of the gospel to Samaria and then to the Gentiles. With the Samaritans the Spirit was withheld initially, and then released among them. With the first Gentile converts God gave Peter a vision to break through his cultural blockages, and then the Spirit came upon Cornelius and his companions demonstrating beyond doubt that God approved of them. The Spirit set Paul and Barnabas apart at Antioch to be sent out. At various points the Spirit guided or restrained Paul.

The key elements of the church were teaching, preaching, prophecy, mission and fellowship. It is sad that today so often it seems that churches either have good teaching or are prophetic. Acts knows nothing of such a church. A New Testament church has Bible based teaching and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, often through the gift of prophecy.

There is no agreement on when the book was written. Two possibilities are soon after AD63, ie soon after the last events recorded in Acts, or sometime after AD70. The arguments for the earlier date are the lack of any mention of the fall of Jerusalem, the final outcome of Paul’s trial and the martyrdom of Peter and Paul (probably about AD67). Those who favour the later date argue that Luke’s purpose is summed up in Acts 1:8 and as the gospel has reached Rome in chapter 28 his task is done. So the fall of Jerusalem and Peter and Paul’s death were not pertinent to the book.