WEEK 3: Acts 1-10
THE CHURCH | Axioms 4 and 10
The book of Acts describes the beginning of the Christian church. When Jesus left, he gave his followers a mission: to help people pursue God. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, the message of Jesus spread quickly, and the early church exploded in growth.
WEEK 4: Acts 11-15, Galatians 1-6
JEWS AND GENTILES | Axiom 3
The church started off as a Jewish movement but quickly included Gentiles (non-Jews). The church leaders grappled with an important question: Did Gentiles have to accept the Jewish religion to become Christians? Traditionally, Gentile converts to Judaism were required to be circumcised. Was this still necessary now that Jesus had come? These chapters explain the shocking answer that changed the church forever.
Weeks 3-4 | Questions for Discussion
1. List all the ways we see the Holy Spirit at work in the early church. Do you think the Holy Spirit works the same way today?
2. Why do you think the early church grew so quickly?
3. The apostle Paul wrote Galatians to combat the dangerous teaching of the “Judaizers” – men who taught that Gentiles had to follow all of the Jewish rules to become Christians. How did Paul respond to that teaching?
COMMENTARY
The Book of Acts
The Book of Acts chronicles the establishment and growth of the Christian church. In it we see how God takes ordinary men and uses them for extraordinary purposes.
Acts 1:1-2
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. Acts was written by Luke. Luke also wrote the Gospel of Luke. Both Luke and Acts are addressed to Luke’s friend Theophilus. Luke’s accounts are based on eyewitness testimony.
Acts 3:19
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” This is an important verse that we use in Alpine 101. It describes an element of saving faith called repentance. Repentance is not a series of religious or good works to please God, it is a change in your heart and will toward God. It recognizes that you were going in the wrong direction away from God, but now you have turned in faith toward God. Then, after experiencing repentance, your life will begin to change and good works will be the inevitable outcome.
Miracles in the Bible
It’s one thing to read about the amazing miracles of Christ in the book of John. He’s God, so of course he’ll perform signs and wonders! But now we’ll start seeing his disciples performing miracles as they start spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. On the one hand, we need to recognize that this was a special time in the history of Christianity. God does some pretty amazing things in the first few chapters of Acts. Through miracles God validated his followers, showing the world that God was with them. The result was exponential growth in the early church. God can still perform miracles today, and He does in many places around the world. In our church we should be open and expectant to see God work, but we shouldn’t get discouraged if it doesn’t always look as exciting as the Book of Acts. Our task is to be faithful to God in all things, sharing our faith with others with or without miraculous signs. When and how God decides to show His power is His prerogative.
Acts 5:41-42
The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. How interesting that the apostles “rejoiced” because of their persecution. I wonder how many American Christians would have this reaction? Also note that they disobeyed the order to not teach about Jesus. Their concern was to obey God first, not men.
Acts 6:7
So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. Remember that Christianity was still largely Jewish at this time, and here we see that many Jewish priests believed in the good news about Jesus.
Acts 7
Here Stephen – a “nobody” in the eyes of the Jewish leaders – lectures the leaders on Old Testament history. It’s a good little review for you if you don’t know much about the OT.
Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 is the longest recorded in Acts. It breaks the theological ground for Paul’s understanding of the gospel’s relationship to the Old Testament. It answers the two charges made against him, showing that (1) God has spoken outside the Temple and (2) Jews have always rejected God’s message, men, and now they have rejected the Messiah! from freebiblecommentary.com
Acts 8:1
Notice that “Saul” was present for Stephen’s speech and his stoning. Later Saul becomes a follower of Christ and changes his name to “Paul” – the author of many NT books. Also notice that the great persecution caused the believers to be “scattered” all over. These Christians brought the gospel wherever they went. This is a perfect example of how God can use tragedy for his own purposes.
Acts 8:15
Notice the role of the Holy Spirit in Acts. The Bible teaches that we receive the Spirit when we put our faith in Christ. But there is debate today about whether you can later get an additional “dose” of the Holy Spirit. Don’t try to answer this debate the first time you read through the NT. But pay attention to the role of the Spirit in the early church.
Acts 9:26
“When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.” Immediately upon his conversion to Christ, Paul’s desire was to be joined to other believers. This shows us the importance of being connected in intentional relationships with other Christians, especially in the local church. The other Disciples were understandably skeptical initially because Paul (previously Saul) had been persecuting them not that long ago.
Acts 10:19-20
“the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” This shows us that when we seek after God, as Cornelius did, God will reveal Himself to us. God does not want to hide Himself from us, He takes joy in revealing Himself to us so that we might know Him. God went to great lengths to show the Truth of the Gospel with Cornelius.
Acts 11:3
This issue of table fellowship was very important to Jewish people. This may be the very issue behind the food laws of Lev. 11. Jews were not to share any social event with Canaanites. Eating in the ancient Near East was a kind of covenant of fellowship.Jesus had been accused of a similar breach of tradition in Matt. 9:11; 11:19; Luke 5:30; 15:2. Peter struggled with this issue in his ministry (cf. Gal. 2:12). This was such a sensitive issue for these first believers. It is so hard to rethink traditions, culture, and personal preferences, but the gospel demands that we do (cf. I Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:23-29; Col. 3:11). (FBC)
Acts 11:9
Remember that at first Christianity came to the Jews. It’s hard for us to understand today how big of a deal it was to Jews for God to accept the non-Jews. Peter’s vision was pretty foundational for the Jewish Christians. 11:9 sums it up: ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’
Acts 11:19-20
Notice the hesitation to share the gospel with non-Jews. Eventually they figure it out: this message is for everyone!
Acts 12:24
Contrast this with verse 23. God wins. His purposes cannot be thwarted.
Acts 13:16-41
Notice that Acts chronicles the beginnings of the early church. Pay particular attention to the message that the apostles preach. Here, Paul is preaching to Jews, so he sets up his “sermon” with Jewish history that they know. But in the end, it all comes back to Jesus (compare to Peter’s sermon in Acts 2). What can we learn from this today?
Acts 13:34-35
The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words: “‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’ So it is stated elsewhere: “‘You will not let your Holy One see decay.’” When Paul was sharing the Gospel with a Jewish audience, he loved to quote the Old Testament and show how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies about the Messiah. . Later when Paul shares with non-Jewish people, he rarely uses the Old Testament and uses concepts that would be familiar to them. This shows us the importance of understanding the mindset of people with whom we share the Gospel.
Acts 13:44-52
Here is a turning point in Paul’s mission. Many Jews reject his message. Notice what he does: he focuses on the Gentiles who are receptive to the message. Time is short, and the message must get out to those with a willingness to hear.
Acts 15
This chapter chronicles a very important meeting in the early church. There was a foundational question on the table: do Gentiles (non-Jews) have to become Jews first (that is, get circumcised) before they can become Christians? This isn’t a big deal to us today, but it was a huge question for the early church. The nature of salvation was at stake: are we truly saved by faith, or does God require a “work” first? Notice their answer.
Acts 15:19
They did not want to “make it difficult” for people to become Christians, yet look at what they told the Gentiles to do (v29). Notice, they weren’t saying they had to do these things to be saved. These were important for the unity of the church, which was made up of Gentiles and Jews. Look at the tone of the letter: “You would do well to avoid these things.” How does this translate into our culture today?
The Book of Galatians
We’re reading this letter here because it relates directly to the discussion in Acts 15. Paul writes this letter to the churches in the region of Galatia to help them to understand the radical truth of salvation by faith alone. Take special note of his attitude toward people who preach a different message (he’s referring to the Judaizers, psuedo-Christians who try to teach that you have to jump through the Jewish hoops to become a Christian).
Galatians 1:6-9
This is anything but a tactful lecture from the apostle Paul to the Galatians brought on by their willingness to follow another gospel. Paul makes it clear that by following any other gospel you would be guilty of deserting God. And even more severe would be the judgment on anyone who would willingly further a false gospel. The Galatians were being led to believe the work Christ did on the cross was inadequate for salvation and forgiveness of sin. They were being misled by false teachers who were requiring them to add the Law and thus cheapen grace. These false teachers said that salvation equals grace plus works. Paul taught that salvation equals grace plus nothing.
Galatians 3
Read this through several times to get the difference between relying on the law and relying on faith (which comes with a bonus: the Spirit). Notice: Paul isn’t saying the law is bad, just that it can’t accomplish what faith can. The law had its place and role, but now faith has come and “we are no longer under the supervision of the law”. Some people might have misunderstood the ramifications of this statement – that’s why Paul wrote Chapter 5.
Galatians 3:6
Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”Paul points out that even in the Old Testament belief, faith, is what mattered before God. Abraham wasn’t justified because he obeyed the law. He was justified through his faith. Christians today come to salvation in a similar way. We believe God and in the work of Jesus and this is credited to us as righteousness.
Galatians 4:4
God didn’t “call an audible” with all this “faith in Jesus” stuff. He had “set the time” even before he gave the law. Paul is expanding here on what he laid out in 3:15-22. The promise of the Spirit (through faith) has been in God’s plan all along, well before the law was ever given. This is important to understand, because it shows that “faith” has always been greater than the “law”.
Galatians 5:1
The Galatians had accepted Paul’s message of freedom through faith, and now were being tempted to revert back to a works-based religion. Paul is saying here, “Don’t do it! You’ve already moved forward in faith – don’t go backwards!”
Galatians 5:1
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Jesus came to set us free from the burden of religion and law. We do not have to carry the weight of trying to earn our salvation through following the Law, Christ did this for us. We should be weary of any teaching that tries to put a burden of law on our back again. Any teaching that says it is up to us to earn our salvation through obedience or works on any level is not from God.
Galatians 5:13-26
Here Paul balances his message. He knows people might get the wrong idea and think salvation through faith means we live lawless, self-indulgent lives. Paul’s point here is that we receive salvation by faith alone – and it comes with it the Holy Spirit living in our hearts. That Spirit now guides us to live lives that please God. So a genuine, maturing Christian in whom “Christ is formed” (4:19) walks by the Spirit, producing good fruit.
Galatians 5:16
“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” The way to overcome sin in our life is not through our own strength and power, it is by living according to the power of the Spirit of God. The more we seek the Spirit’s power through prayer, reading the Bible, worship and pursuing other spiritual disciplines, the more ability we will have to overcome sin. This does not mean that if we sin we don’t have the Spirit of God within us, it means that if we sin we are not living according to the power of God in our lives. As Christians, we are no longer slaves to sin, we aren’t compelled to sin, but it is easy for us to give into our sinful desires when we neglect the active pursuit of God.
