Acts - What Does "Apostle" Mean

Last time we talked about what a disciple is. Today we're going to talk about what an apostle is. 

The book of Acts in the Bible is also called "The Acts of the Apostles" because it is about everything God did through the men He chose as apostles to continue the work He started of establishing His kingdom.

They did this by spreading the good news of Jesus throughout the world, and bringing people out from the kingdom of the devil and into the kingdom of God.

Because of their faithful obedience to God and the empowering of the Holy Spirit, the apostles grew the church from 120 believers in Jerusalem after Jesus went to heaven, to about 500,000 throughout the world by the end of the first century, according to one estimate. Today there are nearly 3 billion Christians worldwide, proving that the kingdom of God is in fact like yeast working through the entire batch of dough.

So, what is an "apostle"?

The word "Apostle" in the Bible was translated from the Greek word apostolos which means, "a delegate or messenger; one sent with special orders".

Jesus Himself is actually called "the Apostle" in Hebrews 3:1. Jesus was sent with a message and with special orders from God the Father. His message was, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is near" because His special orders were to turn His people to God the Father and provide the way for them to enter His eternal kingdom which Jesus would begin to establish while He was here.

Jesus spent an entire night praying, at which time God gave Him the names of twelve men out of thousands, to disciple to continue the work He had begun.

The Twelve  were given special orders by Jesus to go and make disciples of all nations, and to go and be His witnesses to all the world by sharing the message of the good news of Jesus, and what they witnessed in His life, death, resurrection and ascension.

The Twelve were God's messengers, personally trained and discipled by Jesus, to go and turn people to God. As we discussed last time, the twelve apostles were the few who Jesus poured deeply into because of their faithfulness to God.

Most of the men and women who followed Jesus during His ministry were not faithful to Him and they eventually stopped following Him.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John say that the many men and women who followed Jesus were His disciples and that many of them turned back and no longer followed Him because they did not believe.

They also say that the twelve men who Jesus chose and invited to follow Him, and who accepted His invitation, were His disciples. Matthew, Mark and Luke also use the term "apostle" for the Twelve in their gospels, however Luke seems to have used the term more frequently than what Matthew and Mark did.

Luke also describes the Twelve as apostles in Acts. He also said that Barnabas was an apostle. It is possible that when he is describing the apostles and elders at the Jerusalem Counsel, that he was referring to other apostles who were not the Twelve, however, he could have been referring to the Twelve.

In Acts, Luke typically described the believers and the people the apostles were pouring deeply into "disciples".

The apostle John does not use the term "apostle" when describing the Twelve in the Gospel of John. He does not even refer to himself as an apostle in his letters that he wrote which include, 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John. He introduces himself as, "The Elder" in 2 John and 3 John.

However, it is believed by many Biblical scholars that the apostle John also wrote the book of Revelation, where the word "apostle" is used three times:

The first time John uses the word "apostle" in Revelation, he is quoting Jesus speaking about liars who call themselves apostles in the church of Ephesus .The second time John is quoting an angel who is calling out to the apostles and prophets to rejoice because God has avenged them, when judgement came or comes upon Babylon. And the third time, John is recording what he saw in his vision of the New Jerusalem, which will stand on the foundation of the twelve apostles.

In the books of 1 and 2 Peter which were written by Peter, who was invited by Jesus to be His disciple while he was fishing, Peter describes himself as "an apostle of Jesus Christ". 

So we see by the New Testament writers that the twelve disciples were called apostles. This includes Matthias who the remaining eleven apostles appointed to replace Judas as an apostle, after killing himself.

One of the requirements that the man who was to replace Judas's position as an apostle had to meet, was that he had to have accompanied them the entire time Jesus was with them, from the baptism of John, to the resurrection of Jesus, so he could be a witness of His resurrection as the eleven were. 

As we've already seen, there were also others besides the Twelve who were called apostles.

Saul who was also called Paul saw Jesus as he traveled to Damascus to persecute the Christians. After his encounter, he became an apostle of Jesus and introduces himself as being "appointed an apostle of Jesus" in many of the letters that he wrote to the church, which comprise most of the New Testament. 

Barnabas who helped take the name of Jesus to other parts of the world, and who traveled with Paul on many of his missions, was called an apostle.

James, Jesus's brother was also called an apostle.

When Jesus appeared to over 500 people after His resurrection, after being seen by the Twelve, He was seen by James and then to all the apostles. Because Jesus had already shown Himself to the Twelve, "all the apostles" indicates there were other members of Christ's body who were apostles.

As I already mentioned, the Jerusalem Counsel who resolved disputes which arose within the newly established church, and that Luke documents in Acts,  consisted of apostles and elders, who he may or may not have been referring to as the Twelve.

The apostle Paul frequently describes himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ in the many letters that he wrote to the churches, but he also writes that apostles are important members of Christ's body, the church.

In 1 Corinthians 12:27-31, Paul wrote to the Church of Corinth, telling them that they are individual members of the Christ's body, and that God has given them different gifts and has appointed them to different positions in the church, with the first being apostles. 

Paul said in his letter to the church of Ephesus that God gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.

The purpose that he gives for providing these gifts and appointing men with these gifts is for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ - Ephesians 4:12‭-‬13.

Anyone who calls themselves an apostle but this is not their purpose, is a false apostle, who Jesus and Paul warn of.

Listen to what Paul says about false apostles in 2 Corinthians 11:13‭-‬15:

"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works."

As we have already seen, Jesus said to the church of Ephesus in Revelation, that He is pleased with them for "testing those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars". 

So, to recap, an apostle is someone who is sent on a special mission to give a specific message. Both Jesus and the Twelve fit this description.

Also, when the writer of Hebrews said that Jesus is the Apostle, He said that Jesus was appointed by God and that He was faithful to God during His mission here on earth.

The apostle Paul said that he was also "appointed by God to be an apostle". The apostle Peter does not say that he was "appointed by God" in his books, 1 and 2 Peter, but we know that he was chosen by God and invited by Jesus to be His disciple, which ultimately led to him becoming an apostle.

The Twelve were also faithful to finish the mission Jesus had given them, by sharing the message of their witness of His life, death, resurrection and ascension. They were chosen by God to be Jesus's disciples after Jesus spent the night praying about it.

As we saw in the account of Matthias, a requirement to become one of the Twelve apostles was that he had to have been a witness of Jesus's life, death, resurrection and ascension. 

The Twelve apostles went to the nations,  beginning with their own community, making disciples wherever they went, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded them. 

The apostles went to different places and made disciples. Disciples in these places would gather together in their homes, which we would call a house church.

We also see that the apostles taught the new believers doctrine, and they fellowshipped and ate with them. Many signs and wonders were performed through the apostles, and there was fear of God among the believers and the people who lived among them.

Their duties also included equipping the saints for the work of ministry and for the edifying of the body of Christ, to help all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. 

Besides the Twelve, apostles of the early church seem to have been men who were appointed by God for all of the same reasons that Jesus and the Twelve were. 

Apostle is a gift given to some members of Christ's body for use within Christ's church, for the growth of God's kingdom., and from what we see from the Twelve is that an apostle is very similar to what Christians call a missionary today, although the term "missionary" is not in the Bible. One element that seems to be key regarding what a Biblical apostle is, is that they take the gospel into areas where Christ is not known, just as the apostles of the early church did.

While worshipping the Lord and fasting at the church of Antioch, the Holy Spirit said,

“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off." - Acts 13:2‭-‬3

Paul and Barnabas were sent to the island of Cyprus and into the region of Galatia, places where Jesus was not yet known. While Paul was explaining that he was a minister to the Gentiles in his letter to the church of Rome, he said:

"So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.” But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain."

This was the case for many of the apostles. According to tradition, several of the apostles took the gospel to various parts of the world:

• James the son of Zebedee - to Spain

• Philip - to what is today France and Hierapolis in western Turkey

• Matthew - to Ethiopia

• James the son of Alphaeus - to Syria

• Peter - to Babylon and Rome

• Paul - to Syria, Cilicia, Galatia, Pamphylia, Asia, Macedonia, Achaia, Cyprus, Rome and possibly Spain, Arabia, and the British Isles.

• Matthias - to Sebastopol

• Andrew - to Scythia (southern Russia), Ephesus, Patras

• Judas Thaddeus - possibly India, and Armenia

• Batholomew Nathanael - possibly India, and Armenia

• Thomas - to Babylon, Persia, India, Portugal

• Simon the Zealot - to Northern Africa, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Spain, Britain, Carthage, Alexandria, Persia

The New Testament

The New Testament was written by the Twelve apostles or men who were very close to them.

• Matthew - written by the apostle Matthew, a disciple of Jesus

• Mark -  written by "John" Mark, who traveled with the apostles Paul and Barnabas as they shared the gospel and made disciples. Mark is also called the "gospel of Peter" by some, because according to early church fathers, Mark was the apostle Peter's interpreter, and wrote what Peter had told him about Jesus.

• Luke, Acts - written by Luke who traveled with the apostle Paul as he shared the gospel and made disciples.

• John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Revelation - written by the apostle John, a disciple of Jesus

• Romans, Galatians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon and possibly Hebrews - written by the apostle Paul

• James - written by James the brother of Jesus and the leader of the Jerusalem Counsel

• 1 Peter, 2 Peter - written by the apostle Peter, a disciple of Jesus

• Jude - written by either the apostle Judas the son of James, or Judas the brother of Jesus

Acts - What Does "Disciple" Mean?

 When I first became a Christian, I wondered, "what is a disciple, and what is an apostle?". 

I wondered why in some places of the Bible, the twelve men who Jesus chose to follow Him were called disciples, and in other places they were called apostles.

So, before we proceed any further, since we are studying the book of "Acts", also known as "The Acts of the Apostles", I think it is necessary to define what a "disciple" is and what an "apostle" is. 

Let's look first at what a disciple is:

According to dictionary, the definition of a disciple is a follower or student of a teacher, leader, or philosopher. 

This definition aligns with the Biblical definition. The Bible uses the word "disciple" as both a follower or student of Jesus or a Jewish rabbi, and as the twelve men whom Jesus chose to follow Him.

During the time that Jesus was on earth around Jerusalem which was largely a Jewish culture, young Jewish men who wanted to become a Jewish teacher would ask an existing teacher to disciple them.

These men had to meet certain qualifications in order to be selected, which probably included demonstrating devotion to Judaism and knowledge of the Jewish law and traditions. They also had to agree to totally submit to the teacher's authority of interpreting the Scriptures for his life.

Jesus was born to a Jewish mother and earthly father, so he grew up practicing Judaism, therefore He understood the Jewish method of making disciples and used a similar technique when He called His disciples to follow Him.

However, there are at least three notable differences regarding the method Jesus used and the method the Jewish teachers used: 

1) Jesus was not a Jewish teacher. He was raised Jewish and knew the Torah, but He did not go through the Jewish discipleship program and become a Jewish teacher. He was a carpenter by trade. 

2) Jesus invited His disciples to follow Him, they did not ask Him to disciple them like the Jewish model did. The men Jesus chose to disciple were men God the Father had instructed Him to choose. 

3) The men Jesus invited were not the typical candidate of becoming a Jewish teacher's disciple. These were ordinary working men who were not studying to have a career as a Jewish teacher. 

In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the Bible, we read that there were multitudes of people following Jesus at the peak of His ministry. Because these people were following Jesus, they were called, His disciples.

However, Jesus prayed throughout the night to seek God about who the men would be who would be willingly obedient to apply everything He taught them, and grow the Kingdom of God which was about to come.

Of all the people who were following Jesus, He chose only twelve to intimately teach and invest His time and knowledge in. This is a principal we call, "pouring deeply into the few".

Jesus was willing to pour deeply into the few because He knew that eleven of the twelve men He chose to follow Him would be faithful to continue His mission of establishing His Kingdom after He went back to heaven.

These men would witness Jesus's life, death, resurrection, and ascension so that they could tell others about it.

We do not know much about the twelve men Jesus called to follow Him, but we are given some information about some of them in the Bible.

What we do know is that they were ordinary, uneducated men who worked regular jobs. We also know that they were waiting and watching for the arrival of the Jewish Messiah, and that they recognized Jesus as being the Messiah when He arrived, unlike many other Jews who were there at the time.

Out of the twelve men whom Jesus invited to follow Him, there were three who He poured even more deeply into probably because they demonstrated faithfulness to Him and to God and because He knew they would become the leaders. These three were Peter, James and John. 

The principal of "pouring deeply into the few" like Jesus did with the twelve and with the three, is something we can apply when we are making disciples.

When we find people who are interested in hearing and learning about God and being obedient to Him, we should pour deeply into them by investing more time, energy and knowledge into them. We should not waste our time, knowledge or energy on people who are not interested in God or obeying Him.

Practically, a disciple of Jesus is someone who follows Jesus wherever He Leads and who submits to His Lordship and teachings.

They are humble and have a teachable spirit which gives them the ability to surrender their own opinions, beliefs and lives to Jesus.

We like to say that a disciple is someone who hears from God, obeys God from a heart of love and shares God with others. Many Christians have a lot of knowledge of God, but they are not obedient to Jesus's commands and they do not share Jesus with others. This causes us to be unbalanced, so we need to do all three in order to be balanced and grow in our relationship with God.

Acts 5:12-42

Acts 5:12-42

⬅️

❤️🙏

✔️

👁️ God's vision is for every person, every people, and every place to hear about Jesus.

⬆️

Review

Underground church's observations of Acts 1-5:42:

• N1: "You either believe in Jesus or you don't. There is no middle ground. You either have Him or you don't."

• A: "We have to apply this to our own lives. We cannot con God. We need to dedicate everything to Him."

• S: "Christ is about love. Love is the sign/mark of being a Christian. Like a king would seal his legal documents with his signet ring to confirm its authenticity, Jesus marks His people with a seal of love. Love confirms their authenticity of belonging to Him."

• N2: "Jesus commands us to love our neighbor. If a neighbor is a believer, we share life with them. Believer is living and sharing everything we have together (Acts 2, 5)."

• M: "Our work reminds me of when church was forming. They emotionally and financially supported each other."

• R: "Jesus's mission was to teach His disciples to make disciples to build His Kingdom. Now we are His disciples".

• J: "We can see that the church and the Kingdom has grown significantly since Jesus and the early church."

• M: "Statistics say that Christianity is the largest religion in the world."

Introduction

When Jesus met with His disciples after His resurrection in Luke 24:49, He instructed them to live in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came and empowered them.

In the passage that we are reading today, we'll see that even though they had been empowered by the Holy Spirit, they were still living in Jerusalem.

It isn't until chapter 8 when Saul and the Jews begin persecuting the church that the disciples leave Jerusalem and are scattered to different places. 

The scattering of the disciples is how the gospel spread, the church grew and God's kingdom began to overtake the world. This is also how these things happen today.

The apostles and probably their disciples met at a part of the temple in Jerusalem called Solomon's Collonade.

God performed many signs and wonders through the apostles, such as healing people, casting out demons, and giving sight to the blind.

The people who witnessed these things highly esteemed them, and believers were increasingly added to the Lord.

Because of the miracles that God was performing through the apostles, and because of events such as Ananias and Sapphira that we studied last time, many of the people in and around Jerusalem feared God, which caused them to have deep reverence and respect for Him and the apostles, and caused them to believe in Jesus.

Now the Jewish high priest and the members of the Saducees were jealous, so they had the apostles arrested and imprisoned. 

But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the door of their jail cell and brought them out.

He instructed them to go stand in the temple courts and "speak to the people all the words of this life" (verse 20).

They went to the temple courts and started teaching the people, just as the Lord instructed them.

When the high priest and his associates realized that the apostles were not in the jail cell, and that the door was locked and secured with prison guards, they were puzzled and wondered what the outcome would be.

Then someone came and reported that the apostles were in the temple courts teaching the people.

The temple guards went and bought them before the Sanhedrin to question them.

They said, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!” (verse 28).

But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him" (verse 5:29‭-‬32).

When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to kill them.

However, a Pharisee named Gamaliel warned them to leave the apostles alone and to let them go because if the apostles' purpose for teaching about Jesus is of men, it will fail, but if it's from God, they will not be able to stop them because they will be fighting against God.

Gamaliel's speech persuaded the Sanhedrin, but before letting them go, they had the apostles flogged and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus.

However, the apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering shame for Jesus. 

Day after day they continued going to the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

I'm going to read the lyrics of a hymn that reminds me of the apostles' lives and their faithfulness and devotion to obey God rather than men:

Wherever He Leads I'll Go

"Take up thy cross and follow me",

I heard my Master say

"I gave my life to ransom thee

Surrender your all today"

Wherever He leads, I'll go

Wherever He leads, I'll go

I'll follow my Christ who loves me so

Wherever He leads, I'll go

He drew me closer to His side

I sought His will to know

And in that will, I now abide

Wherever He leads, I'll go

Wherever He leads, I'll go

Wherever He leads, I'll go

I'll follow my Christ who loves me so

Wherever He leads, I'll go

Wherever He leads, I'll go

Wherever He leads, I'll go

I'll follow my Christ who loves me so

Wherever He leads, I'll go

Wherever He leads, I'll go

📕 Acts 5:12-42

 👍

👎

👤⬆️

👥➡️

• R: "Obey God more than man."

• M: "Verse 31 is interesting, it says a lot about God and Jesus."

"Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins."

Acts 5:31 NKJV

• N: "God used Gamaliel to help the apostles in releasing them from prison."

• S: "Verse 41 reminds me of John 15:18-19 - there are those who are of this world, and those who are of Jesus - those who oppose and reject Jesus verses those who are for Jesus and who follow Him."

"So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name."

Acts 5:41

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."

John 15:18‭-‬19 

🙏

Acts 5:1-11

Acts 5:1-11

⬅️

❤️🙏

✔️

⬆️

Review

Acts 4:32-37 describes how the first church that was ever established operated by everyone sharing what they had and giving to those in need. 

Acts 4:34-35 says,

"Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need."

The church lived this way because Jesus commanded them to. In John 13:34-35, Jesus said:

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 13:34-35

Jesus said this to his disciples during the Last Supper on the night he was arrested, therefore the command was given to his disciples who are the church.

Many people seem to think these verses say that Jesus is commanding his disciples to love everyone, but he is actually commanding his disciples to love one another.

When the disciples love one another, the promised result would be that all would know that they are his disciples. 

Their love for one another would identify them as belonging to Jesus. Love is the mark of a Christian.

Different places in the Bible say that those who belong to Jesus are sealed by being given the Holy Spirit, and that God's name is written on their foreheads. 

The word "seal" in the English language has two meanings:

1) a device or substance that is used to join two things together so as to prevent them from coming apart or to prevent anything from passing between them.

2)  a piece of wax, lead, or other material with an individual design stamped into it, attached to a document to show that it has come from the person who claims to have issued it.

Many Christians believe that being sealed with the Holy Spirit means that we will never be separated from God after we trust and believe the gospel, like the first definition would describe.

But what if the writer of these passages intended for " being sealed" to mean the second definition, which would mean that a disciple of Jesus is marked with His symbol of authenticity, and that symbol of authenticity is love?

During the middle ages, kings would use signet rings to stamp legal documents and it's unique markings would confirm the authenticity of any document. The signet ring was the seal of the king.

Like a signet ring, King Jesus places His seal and mark of authenticity on His disciples. This mark signifies to others that they belong to King Jesus.

What if the mark on the foreheads of followers of Jesus that is mentioned in the book of Revelation is not a literal mark, but is the same thing as the seal that is mentioned in 2 Corinthians and Ephesians, and is symbolic of love, because Jesus said in John 13:35 which we have already looked at, "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another"? 

Perhaps the mark on the forehead and the seal given to Christians is love. I can't say this is definitely what these terms mean, but I personally think it's a good possibility.

God is love and therefore love is very powerful and the disciples love for one another would be very powerful.

Their love for one another would demonstrate the power of God and would be a witness of God's love.

Their love for one another would draw many people living in the darkness to God.

Their love for one another would draw many people to God who have never been loved and who do not know love.

It was God's love that motivated the apostles and the early church to go and tell others about Jesus, which caused the church to grow throughout the world.

It was God's love that motivated the apostles and the early church to die for Jesus so that others might know Him.

It was God's love that motivated the apostles and the early church to gather together daily and to share their possessions with one another.

Introduction

Acts 5:1-11 tells the story of Ananias and Sapphira, who sold some land and lied about the amount they sold it for, and therefore they only gave a portion of the money from the sale to the church, and they kept the rest.

In verse 3 Peter said to Ananias: “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?"

It sounds like Ananias was a follower of Jesus, but something happened with him that allowed Satan to fill his heart. 

This is usually caused by sin. Even as believers, sin separates us from God because good and evil cannot co exist.

Ananias and his wife may have been trying to do something good, but the sin in their lives was recognized by Peter. God's seal and mark of love were no longer upon them.

Possibly to demonstrate that He was not going to allow anyone to lie and deceive Him because He is God, and because He wanted to demonstrate His power and authority through His people, the church, God struck both Ananias and Sapphira dead on the spot. 

Their death generated healthy fear of the Lord among the church and among everyone who heard the story of what God did to them. 

This fear of the Lord caused people to have deep reverence and respect for God, even among the people who were not following Jesus.

This kind of fear of the Lord is uncommon among Christians in the American church today, and therefore the church has become powerless causing unbelievers to mock God rather than fear Him. 

The church is a people set apart from the world by God who are marked by love. So because Satan had entered Ananias and Sapphira, and they lied to the Holy Spirit and therefore they had an unrepentant spirit, they were no longer a part of the people who were set apart for God, and they no longer were witnesses to His love.

Since Satan was in him, he had Satan's desires rather than God's, and this would fracture the church and cause division because Satan comes to steal and to kill and to destroy. He wants to kill and destroy the church.

God could not have this happen, so in order to put an immediate end to it and to demonstrate to others that this kind of behavior is unacceptable, He killed them. 

God's vision is for every person, every people, and every place to hear about Jesus, and Ananias and Sapphira and people like them within our churches today thwart His vision and give the impression to the world that God and the church are weak, powerless and irrelevant.

📕 Acts 5

 👍

👎

👤⬆️

👥➡️

🙏

Acts 4

⬅️

❤️

🙏

✔

⬆️

Review

The Deaths of the Apostles

• James the son of Zebedee - the first apostle killed. Killed by the sword by King Herod in Jerusalem about AD 44 - Acts 12:2

• Philip - crucified and stoned in Hierapolis in AD 54

• Matthew- beheaded in Ethiopia in AD 60

• James, son of Alphaeus - stoned in Jerusalem or Syria in AD 63

• Peter- crucified upside down in Rome in AD 69

• Andrew- crucified in Patras in AD 70

• Judas/ Thaddeus- executed with arrows or a javelin in Armenia in AD 70

• Bartholomew/ Nathanael- flaying and crucifixion (head down) in Armenia in AD 70

• Thomas- thrown into an oven and speared in India in AD 70

• Simon the Zealot- crucified upside down then sawn in-half in AD 74

•John- though not dying a martyrs death, his life displayed a martyrs qualities of great suffering and persecution. Tradition has it that John escaped being put to death on several occasions, such as the time that he was scheduled to be boiled to death in oil, but God intervened. He died quietly in Ephesus in AD 98.

•Judas Iscariot- committed suicide after betraying Jesus. 

• Matthias - stoned to death in Jerusalem in AD 70. 

• Paul - beheaded in Rome in AD 69.

Other Members of the Early Church

• John the Baptist - beheaded by King Herod in Jerusalem in about AD 30.

• Stephen - stoned to death in Jerusalem in AD 34 - Acts 6:8-7:60.

• Mark - dragged to death on the cobblestone streets of Alexandria in AD 64.

• Luke - hung in Greece in AD 93.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Acts is about everything Jesus continued to do through his apostles and the church to make Himself known to the world after he left to go be with the Father.

The twelve disciples were witnesses to Jesus's life, miracles, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension to heaven.

They were also witnesses to two messengers of God who told them that Jesus will return.

Jesus is with the Father in heaven.

God sent the Holy Spirit to help the apostles and the church be witnesses of Jesus by telling everyone everything that Jesus did, to the ends of the earth.

The Holy Spirit came upon them like fire as they were gathered together, and only the apostles had the ability to see it.

The apostle Peter shared with them the things he saw Jesus do, and told them to turn from sin and to turn back to God.

Peter told them if they turned from sin and turned to God, and were baptized in the name of Jesus, they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Peter told them that this promise is to everyone the Lord calls.

About 3,000 people received Peter's word, were baptized, and were added as members of the body of Christ.

The church met together daily for teaching, fellowship, eating/communion, and prayer.

The Holy Spirit empowered the apostles to perform miracles and signs, so fear of the Lord came upon everyone who saw it.

All the believers were always together, and they used everything they had to advance the Kingdom of God.

They shared everything they had, and gave to anyone who had need.

The apostles and the church had favor with all the people, and the Lord saved people daily and the church grew.

The Holy Spirit allowed the apostles to perform miracles in order to demonstrate God's power in order to turn people to Himself.

Both the Jews and the Gentiles believed that God was only the God of Israel.

God performed miracles through the apostles to show that He was not only the God of Israel, but that He is the God of all who believe in His Son, Jesus. 

He healed a lame man because the man did not deny Jesus as the Jews did (Acts 3:12-16), showing that God is the God of anyone who believes that Jesus is His Son.

Background

If you recall in the Gospels, the Jews greatly opposed Jesus because they did not believe that He was the Messiah or that He was the Son of God, and He claimed to be both.

They believed Jesus was a false prophet who was leading Jews away from their Jewish faith, and it was threatening to them.

One reason they thought this was because they believed the Messiah was going to come as a political, military leader, sent by God to restore Israel and set them free from their Roman oppressors.

However, Jesus did not come as a political military leader to set Israel free from Rome, but as a King to set all people free from the bondage of sin so they can be forgiven and reconciled to God, and live as a part of His Kingdom.

The Jews also did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah because He was ministering not only to the Jews, but to everyone including the Gentiles.

Rome was the enemy of the Jews, and they believed the Messiah was going to use physical force, or war, to defeat Rome.

After Rome was defeated, the Messiah would reign as king over a restored kingdom of Israel. This restored kingdom of Israel would be compromised of all the Jews of the Babylonian exile. 

Because of this, they believed the Messiah was for Israel alone, not also for the Gentiles. So they did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah because He was healing, performing miracles and offering forgiveness to all people, including their enemies, such as Roman soldiers, Samaritans, and Gentiles of all sorts.

The Jews did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God because they believed they alone were God's people, yet Jesus ministered to all people, not only the Jews.

Because they believed they alone were God's people, Jews thought they were better than Gentiles, and they looked down upon them as "filthy sinners" and treated them badly.

However, Jesus ate with sinners and many of His healings and miracles were for Gentiles.

Jesus's claim that He was the Messiah and the Son of God irritated the Jews, and hatred towards Him escalated to the point where they wanted to kill Him. They rejected His claims, and therefore they rejected Him as their King.

They killed the Son of God thinking they would put an end to Him and His message, but what they did not realize is that killing Jesus was part of God's plan of salvation for all people, and that no matter what they did to Jesus, the Gospel would not be stopped.

Introduction

Acts 4

Like Jesus, many of the Jews opposed the apostles because they taught about Jesus and were healing in His name.

Verse 2 says the Jewish leaders were "greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead".

Many of the Jews rejected Jesus as their King, including the Sadducees who were a Jewish sect that did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, and therefore they did not believe that Jesus was raised from the dead.

The Jews arrested Jesus's apostles, Peter and John, and threatened them not to teach or speak about Jesus. This was the beginning of the persecution against the church.

However, the apostles did not stop sharing about Jesus and the church continued to grow.

🙏

📕 Acts 4

 👍

👎

👤⬆️

👥➡️

🙏

Acts 3

⬅️

❤️

🙏

✔

⬆️

Review

Acts is about everything Jesus continued to do through his apostles and the church to make Himself known to the world after he left to go be with the Father.

The twelve disciples were witnesses to Jesus's life, miracles, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension to heaven.

They were also witnesses to two messengers of God who told them that Jesus will return.

Jesus is with the Father in heaven.

God sent the Holy Spirit to help the apostles and the church be witnesses of Jesus by telling everyone everything that Jesus did, to the ends of the earth.

The Holy Spirit came upon them like fire as they were gathered together, and only the apostles had the ability to see it.

The apostle Peter shared with them the things he saw Jesus do, and told them to turn from sin and to turn back to God.

Peter told them if they turned from sin and turned to God, and were baptized in the name of Jesus, they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Peter told them that this promise is to everyone the Lord calls.

About 3,000 people received Peter's word, were baptized, and were added as members of the body of Christ.

The church met together daily for teaching, fellowship, eating/communion, and prayer.

The Holy Spirit empowered the apostles to perform miracles and signs, so fear of the Lord came upon everyone who saw it.

All the believers were always together, and they used everything they had to advance the Kingdom of God.

They shared everything they had, and gave to anyone who had need.

They had favor with all the people, and the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Introduction

 

The Holy Spirit allowed the apostles to perform miracles in order to demonstrate God's power in order to turn people to Himself.

Both the Jews and the Gentiles believed that God was only the God of Israel.

God also performed miracles through the apostles to show that He was not only the God of Israel, but that He is the God of all who believe in His Son, Jesus. 

He healed a lame man because the man did not deny Jesus as the Jews did (Acts 3:12-16), showing that God is the God of anyone who believes that Jesus is His Son.

🙏

 📕 Acts 3

👍

👎

👤⬆️

👥➡️

Acts 2

⬅️

❤️

🙏

✔

⬆️ 

Review

Acts is about everything Jesus continued to do through his apostles and the church to make Himself known to the world after he left to go be with the Father.

The twelve disciples were witnesses to Jesus's life, miracles, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension to heaven.

They were also witnesses to two messengers of God who told them that Jesus will return.

Jesus instructed his disciples to stay in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit had come upon them, so that they would be witnesses to Him, from their own community to the ends of the earth.

Jesus went to heaven to be with the Father.

God sent the Holy Spirit to help the apostles and the church be witnesses of Jesus by telling everyone everything that Jesus did, to the ends of the earth.

The eleven apostles appointed Matthias to replace Judas as an apostle.

There were only about 120 believers at that time.

Introduction

In Acts 2:1-4 the Holy Spirit came upon them as them as they were gathered together.

They began speaking in other languages, and the Jews who were there for Pentecost did not understand what was going on.

Some of them wondered what it meant, and others mocked them saying they were drunk!

The apostle Peter shared with them the things he saw Jesus do, and told them to turn from sin and to turn back to God.

Peter told them if they turned from sin and turned to God, and were baptized in the name of Jesus, they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Peter told them that this promise is to everyone the Lord calls.

About 3,000 people received Peter's word, were baptized, and were added as members of the body of Christ.

The church met together daily for teaching, fellowship, eating/communion, and prayer.

The Holy Spirit empowered the apostles to perform miracles and signs, so fear of the Lord came upon everyone who saw it.

All the believers were always together, and they used everything they had to advance the Kingdom of God.

They shared everything they had, and gave to anyone who had need.

They had favor with all the people, and the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

 

 Acts 2

Acts 1:12-26

⬅️

❤️

🙏

✔

⬆️

Review

Last time, we learned that Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke to document all that Jesus said and did while he was here on earth, and he wrote Acts to document everything Jesus continued to do through his apostles after he went to heaven. 

Acts also shows us how the church started and that the church is God's people.

We read in Acts that Jesus appeared to many people after he was resurrected, and he commanded the eleven disciples to stay in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came.

We also read that his eleven disciples saw Jesus go into heaven, and two of God's messengers told them that he will return.

Before the disciples saw Jesus after he rose from the dead, I imagine they were mourning his death and were not sure of what they were now going to do with their lives.

Most of them had left their jobs, their families, and their lifestyles to follow Jesus, and now he was dead.

They were probably wondering if they should return to their jobs, their families and their old lifestyles. 

Maybe they wondered why Jesus called them to follow him, and why he taught them everything he did. 

They were probably confused by all of it.

Then, seeing Jesus after his resurrection from the dead, they were probably super excited and their hope was restored!

Their mourning had turned to joy!

He appeared to them several times, proving to them that he was alive and that he had defeated death.

Can you imagine how excited and joyful they must have been?!!!

He showed himself to them so that they would be witnesses of his resurrection. They were already witnesses of his life and death.

He met with his eleven disciples on the mountain in Galilee, and commanded them to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that he commanded them.

He said to them, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

He also commanded them to wait in Jerusalem until they were baptized with the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit would empower them to go and be his witnesses throughout the world.

Jesus was already with them even though he was in heaven, but he was also going to send them the Holy Spirit, in order to help them make Jesus known throughout the world. 

Then, Jesus ascended to heaven, where he now sits at the right hand of God, in kingship over his Kingdom and his people.

As he was going up to heaven, his disciples were told by two messengers that Jesus will return.

Backtrack to share some important information about Jesus's ministry, and about the Holy Spirit:

The mission Jesus came down to earth for and that he passed on to his disciples, was to reconcile people back to God by seeking and saving that which was lost, so they could enter the Kingdom of God.

Jesus traveled from place to place, teaching, healing, casting out demons, and calling people to repent and believe in him.

While Jesus was alive on earth, many, many people came to hear him preach, to have demons cast out, and to be healed.

But he was in only one region on the entire planet, so his mission only reached a relatively small number of people.

Jesus was not everywhere, or with everyone.

If you remember before his death, Jesus promised his disciples that he would send them a "helper" because he was leaving to go and be with the Father.

The "helper" that he promised is the Holy Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit would be with each of them at all times, no matter where they were, and he could be with each of them at the same time.

The apostles could not carry out the mission Jesus started and then passed onto them without the help of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus started his mission of reconciling people back to God in Judea, Galilee and the surrounding areas, but God's plan is to use people to make Jesus known to the rest of the world.

So, Jesus called twelve disciples, whom he passed his mission onto, by teaching them to do the same things he was doing - to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, and call people to repent and believe in Jesus, so that those people could be reconciled back to God and enter the Kingdom of God.

Jesus's disciples saw his life by living their lives with him. The following are some of the things they were witnesses to:

They were taught important lessons by Jesus about the kingdom of God.

They saw how Jesus stood against opposition.

They saw Jesus turn water into wine, calm a storm and multiply bread and fish.

They saw Jesus cast out demons, heal the sick, heal the blind, heal the lame, heal lepers, and raise the dead.

They saw Jesus love and care for the outcasts.

They saw Jesus suffer by being ridiculed, humiliated, beaten, and tortured.

They saw how Jesus responded to the suffering.

They saw Jesus die by being crucified on a cross.

They heard Jesus ask the Father to forgive the men who were killing him.

They saw Jesus forgive a criminal who was dying beside him on a cross.

They understood that they should live their lives like Jesus lived his.

They saw Jesus after he rose from the dead.

They saw Jesus ascend to heaven.

They saw two messengers who told them that Jesus will return.

These are the things they were witnesses to, and these are the things they would tell others about after Jesus commanded them to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, all of Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

After they were baptized by the Holy Spirit after Jesus's death, the disciples, who then were called apostles, began traveling from place to place to tell the people living in those places what they saw Jesus do, and calling them to repent and believe in him.

Many of the people they told did repent and believe, and they also became disciples of Jesus.

The apostles baptized the new believers with both water and the Holy Spirit, and they taught them everything they knew about Jesus and what he commanded them to do.

The Holy Spirit then helped the new disciples go and make more disciples. 

This is how the good news of Jesus began to spread throughout the world and how the church started.

This is also how the good news of Jesus continues to spread throughout the world today, and how the kingdom of God grows. 

An important sidenote:

Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one in the Father.

God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each God. Each of them have different functions and work together in unity to accomplish God's purposes.

Introduction Acts 1:12-26

Acts 1:12-26 is about how Jesus's disciples re-grouped after his death in order to obey the commandment he gave them after his resurrection, to go and make disciples of all nations with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:12-26 is also about the formation of the church. 

When we read we will see that the eleven disciples returned to the place they were staying in Jerusalem after meeting with Jesus on the Mount of Olives, where they saw him go to heaven.

The eleven disciples, along with the women, and Jesus's mother and brothers, all gathered together constantly for prayer.

There were about 120 believers at that time.

Through reading the Scriptures, Peter thought it was necessary to replace Judas, who shared in their ministry, but betrayed Jesus and killed himself.

The man they chose to replace Judas was required to have been with them the entire time Jesus was among them, beginning with John's baptism to the time Jesus was taken up to heaven.

This man would become a witness with the others of Jesus's resurrection, and an apostle. 

They proposed two men, Barsabbas and Matthias, and praying, they asked God which one should take Judas's place as an apostle.

Then they cast lots, and Matthias was chosen and added as an apostle.

🙏

📕 Acts 1:12-26

👍 What do you like about the passage?

👎 What is challenging or difficult about the passage?

👤⬆️ What does the passage teach about God?

👥⬅️ What does the passage teach about people?

Acts 1:1-11

⬅️

❤️

🙏

✔

⬆️

Introduction

Acts and the Gospel of Luke were written by the same author.

The author's name is Luke.

Luke conducted his own investigation about Jesus and recorded his findings which became the Gospel of Luke.

Luke traveled with the apostle Paul sometimes as he shared the good news of Jesus, making disciples and planting churches.

The Gospel of Luke is about all that Jesus began to do and teach.

Acts is about all that Jesus continued to do and teach through his apostles and the first Christians after he went to heaven.

Acts teaches us how and why God sent the Holy Spirit.

Acts also teaches us how the church began and how the good news of Jesus began to spread throughout the world.

Important sidenote:

Many Americans think the church is a building where Christians go to worship and learn about God. 

This church is not a building.

The church is God's people.

Jesus and his disciples were the church.

The apostle Paul and the disciples he made were the church.

All of you and I are the church.

A person does not have to go to a specific building to worship and learn about God.

A person can worship and learn about God in a house, or under a tree, or wherever it is safe. 

Questions: Why do you think Luke thought it was important to document all that Jesus did?

Why did he think it was important to document how the Holy Spirit came? 

Why did he think it was important to document how the church started, and how the good news of Jesus spread throughout the world?

🙏

📕 Read Acts 1:1-11

👍 What do you like about the passage?

👎 What do you think is challenging or difficult about the passage?

👤⬆️ What does the passage teach us about God?

👥⬅️ What does the passage teach us about people?