In this lesson we introduce the elements of the Book of Acts, it's author, and the eyewitness accounts of the beginnings of the church.
In the beginning of the record, Luke writes as a third party, referring to the believers and the activity of the early church as "they". However, beginning in chapter 16, he changes the wording to "us", and begins reporting in the first person, as a companion of Paul.
The Book of Acts is the second installment of the writings of Luke. The Gospel of Luke is a record of what Jesus did in the flesh. The Book of Acts is what Jesus did in HIs spiritual body, namely, the Body of Believers. He wrote both books to Theopholus, who evidently was an important person in the early church.
The Holy Spirit is discussed nearly sixty times in the Book of Acts. It is safe to say that without the work of the Holy Spirit, the events of the Book of Acts would have never occurred. Indeed, if the Holy Spirit was not at work in the early church, there would not have been anything for Luke to record. As such, the Book of the "Acts of the Apostles" may have been better entitled, "The Book of the Acts of the Holy Spirit". |
