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From The Book of Acts Chapter 1 John Baugh August, 2009 Acts - Chapter 1 (New American
Standard Bible) Introduction 1The first
account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,
2until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had
by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. 3To these He
also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs,
appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things
concerning the 6So when
they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at
this time You are restoring the kingdom to 8but you
will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be
My witnesses both in The Ascension 9And after
He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a
cloud received Him out of their sight. 10And as they were
gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white
clothing stood beside them. 11They also said, "Men of The Upper Room 12Then they
returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem,
a Sabbath day's journey away. 13When they had entered the city,
they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and
John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James
the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. 14These
all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with
the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. 15At this
time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one
hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said, 16"Brethren,
the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the
mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested
Jesus. 17"For he was counted among us and received his
share in this ministry." 18(Now this
man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong,
he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. 19And
it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own
language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20"For
it is written in the book of Psalms,
and, 21"Therefore
it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the
Lord Jesus went in and out among us-- 22beginning with the baptism
of John until the day that He was taken up from us--one of these must become
a witness with us of His resurrection." 23So they put
forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and
Matthias. 24And they prayed and said, "You, Lord, who
know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen
25to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas
turned aside to go to his own place." 26And they
drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the
eleven apostles. (All scripture quoted is NASV) Acts:
Chapter 1 Some
scholars say that Acts is the second volume of a continued story. In their
minds, Luke write the first volume as the story of the eternal life of Jesus
(What Jesus began to do and teach) and Acts as the continuation of that
account, as the story of the Christian Church (Christ's Church), led and
empowered by the Holy Spirit and documenting the actions of the followers of
Jesus, the Christ as they work to fulfill his Great Commission. The
simple fact is that the life and work of Christ's church carries Jesus on to
the world (continues his work) after the completion of the work his father
gave him to do here on earth and his ascension back to his place with the
Father. The
work of the church in Christ's physical absence is empowered and strengthened
by the Holy Spirit - the one Jesus called the Comforter. In fact that still
occurs today, with the power and strength provided by the Holy Spirit coming
to those who are about doing the work that Jesus gave us to do. "Remember,
I am with you always, even to the end of
the age" (Matthew 28:20) Christ's
message and all of his actions while here in the physical were about His
Father's Kingdom and that is what the power and provision of the Holy Spirit
continues in today. This is the thought in Jesus' instructions on how we
ought to pray: "Your
kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven" We
pray for the Kingdom of the Father to come here. What is his kingdom? It is
that his will be done here on earth just as it is in heaven. In
the mind of Christ, Power would be needed for this to be accomplished, and so
he promised the coming of the Holy Spirit to those who were about doing his
work. No one should think that the Holy Spirit only came at Pentecost.
Scripture contains many references to God's spirit working within and through
His people. The
power Jesus knew those working in Acts would need most, would be the power of
Witness, as he indicated in his command Acts 1:8. The Greek word for witness
is Martus which is the same word
used for Martyr. Jesus knew that witnesses for his kingdom must be ready and
prepared to witness, even in the worst of conditions, when doing so might
cost them everything. That was why he gave them (And us) the power of the
Holy Spirit. When
the time was right, Jesus left. As Luke records in the Ascension, both in the
Gospel of Luke, and then again in Acts. Jesus
had appeared to the disciples for a period of forty days. He could not stay
forever, and there needed to be a distinct cut off point n his post
resurrection presence, and so from the mount of Olives, he left in a way that
brought great Joy to the disciples. The
joy in his leaving is the knowledge in his return. Judas: As
he left, the disciples knew that he needed to be replaced and so, from those
who: 1 - Knew Jesus from the beginning - they did not
know about Jesus, they knew him. This is the mark of a faithful (blessed)
Christian, even today. More than knowing about Jesus, we know Him. 2 - Followed him to the end. Those who were
qualified to be considered as Apostles knew Jesus until the end of his
physical presence. We hope to know him until the end of our physical
presence. A
successor was selected. Key events in Chapter 1
of Acts: 1-
(Acts 1: 1-2) - The Reason Luke wrote Acts - Written to Theophilus - - This is the second account - what was the
first? (Luke 1: 1-4) - The first account was about all that Jesus
began to do and teach. Following this thought, what would the second account
be about? - Who was Theophilus? 2
- (Acts 1: 3-5) - The resurrected Jesus was with them for 40 days
from resurrection until ascension. - Jesus asks the apostles to remain in John Baptized with water, but I will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit 4
- (Acts 1:6-7) - The Apostles ask when the kingdom will be
restored and Jesus answers It is not for you to know. 5 - (Acts 1:8) -
Promise of the Holy spirit, -
The Great Commission , which is also recorded in Matthew 28:18-20 Mark16:15-16 Luke 24:17 John 20:21 They will receive Power, from the Holy Spirit to
witness for Jesus in 6
- (Acts 1:9-11) - The ascension of Jesus Christ - After Great Commission - They saw him rise. (Verse 12 says from Mt
Olivet) - "Why do you watch? As he left you, so will
he come, again." 7
- (Acts 1:12-14) - Apostles return to the Upper Room - Apostles are listed (11 total because Judas is
now gone) This is the last time a list is given. - They continually devoted themselves to prayer,
along with the women, Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers. 8
- (Acts 1:15-26) - Peter's speech to those in the Upper Room - Verse 15-20 Judas's death - Verse 21-26 Selection of Matthias - Selected from those who were with Jesus from
the beginning - Potential replacements proposed were Joseph,
known as Justus, and Matthias. - They prayed and then cast lots to select
Matthias. Copyright © 2009, by ToBeLikeHim Ministries Return to Main
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