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XI. Conclusion
Acts was written by a great historian, composed by a personal friend and disciple of Paul, a writer who set himself to record the facts as they occurred, a strong partisan, indeed, but raised above partiality by his perfect confidence that he had only to describe the facts as they occurred, in order to make the truth of Christianity and the honor of Paul apparent.
Luke’s style is dense and he expects a great deal from the reader. He does not attempt to sketch the surroundings and set the whole scene like a picture before the reader; he states the bare facts that seem to him important, and leaves the reader to imagine the situation. However, there are many cases in which, to catch his meaning properly, you must imagine yourself standing with Paul on the deck of the ship, or before the Roman official; and unless you reproduce the scene in imagination, you miss the sense.
Luke was deficient in the sense for time; and hence his chronology is bad. It is always hard to recreate the remote past; knowledge, imagination, and, above all, sympathy and love are all needed. Luke had studied the sequence of events carefully. He observes it in his arrangement minutely. However, he relies on evidence of the third party for some of the narrative and some from the subject’s past from the subject himself. This sometimes creates a vague and somewhat boring read. Notwithstanding, there is the movement of the scriptures that carries one on to the scene and one feels the presence of the Holy Spirit guiding and leading as the writer lays out history.
Acts is “The Acts of the Holy Spirit.” The Gospel of Luke concentrates upon the ministry of Jesus in the “days of His flesh,” and Acts continues that ministry through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit appears more than fifty times in Acts. He is the moving force in the expansion of the Church. He baptizes, in-fills, and leads believers in their daily lives and witness for the Lord Jesus. Most if not all the references to the Holy Spirit in Acts are given here. The Holy Spirit leads these many time obscure men, with distinction and purpose.
Some of the apostles were comparatively obscure, and this cannot be denied; but even the obscurest of them may have been most useful as witnesses for Him with whom they had companied from the beginning. It does not take a great man to make a good witness, and to be witnesses of Christian facts was the main business of the apostles. That even the humblest of them rendered important service in that capacity we need not doubt, though nothing is said of them in the apostolic annals. It was not to be expected that a history so fragmentary and so brief as that given by Luke should mention any but the principal actors, especially when we reflect how few of the characters that appear on the stage at any particular crisis in human affairs are prominently noticed even in histories which go elaborately into detail. The purpose of history is served by recording the words and deeds of the representative men, and many are allowed to drop into oblivion that did nobly in their day. The less distinguished members of the apostolic band are entitled to the benefit of this reflection.
Far from regretting that all were not Peters and Johns, it is rather a matter to be thankful for, that there were diversities of gifts among the first preachers of the Gospel. As a rule, it is not good when all are leaders. Obscure men are needed as well as eminent men; for human nature is one-sided, and little men have their peculiar virtues and gifts, and can do some things better than their more notable companions.
The New Testament defines the Church in terms of the fulfillment of Old Testament hopes and patterns through a relationship to all three Persons of the Godhead, brought about by the intervening ministry of Jesus Christ. The Church is seen as the family and flock of God, His Israel; the Body and Bride of Christ; and the temple of the Holy Spirit. Paul through Acts projects the church into the modern era. He and many of his companions establish the church’s mission, destiny and purpose. Without a full understanding of Acts, the student will only receive a partial understanding of the rest of the New Testament.
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RESOURCE MATERIALS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS CITED
Acts in Action, Lindsey, Gordon, Dallas, Texas: Christ for the Nations, 1987.
Acts, Kistemaker, Simon, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1990.
Alexander, T. D., & Rosner, B. S. (2001). New Dictionary of Biblical Theology (electronic ed.). Downers
Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Boice, J. M. (1997). Acts : An Expositional Commentary (21). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.
Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible Commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed.) (Ac 1:6–11). Leicester,
England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.
Cox, S. L., & Easley, K. H. (2007). Holman Christian Standard Bible: Harmony of the Gospels (226).
Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
Fee, G. D., & Stuart, D. K. (2002). How to Read the Bible Book by Book. Grand Rapids, Mich.:
Zondervan.
Jensen, I. L. (1981). Jensen's Survey of the New Testament. Chicago: Moody Press.
Harpers Bible Dictionary, Achtemeier, Paul J., General Editor, San Francisco, California: Harper and Row
Publisher, 1985.
Holy Bible, Amplified Expanded Edition, KJV, Zondervan Corporation and Lockman Foundation, 1987.
Holy Bible, Dake's Annotated Reference Bible, KJV, Finis Jennings Dake, Lawrenceville, Georgia: Dake
Bible Sales, Incorporated, 1985.
Holy Bible, Full Life Study Bible, NIV, Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan Corporation, 1992
Holy Bible, KJV, Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publisher, 1989.
Holy Bible, The Criswell Study Bible, KJV, W.A. Criswell, Ph.D., Nashville, Camden, Thomas Nelson
Publishers, 1979.
Holy Bible, The ESV Study Bible. Crossway Bibles, Wheaton, IL: 2008.
Holy Bible, The Message Bible, Eugene H. Peterson, Colorado Springs, Colorado: Nave Press, 1995.
Holy Bible, Thompson Chain Reference, Frank Charles Thompson D.D., Ph.D., Indianapolis, Indiana,
B.B. Kirkbride Bible Company,
Negev, A. (1996). The Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land (3rd ed.). New York: Prentice Hall
Press.
New Testament Survey, Merrell C. Tenney, Wm. B. Erdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids,
Michigan, 1985
Pervo, R. I., & Attridge, H. W. (2009). Acts : A Commentary on the Book of Acts. Minneapolis: Fortress
Press.
Preacher’s Outline and Sermon Bible, Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 1997
Richards, L. (1998). Every Miracle in the Bible (246–268). Nashville: T. Nelson.
Robert W. Funk, e., Robert W. Funk, e., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1978). Vol. 11: Semeia. Semeia
11. Semeia (70–71). Missoula, MT: Society of Biblical Literature.
Soanes, C., & Stevenson, A. (2004). Concise Oxford English Dictionary (11th ed.). Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Strong's Concordance, James Strong, L.L.D., S.T.D. Nelson Publishers, 1995.
The Biblical Illustrator, Joseph S. Exell, M.A., Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. 1964- (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.)
(electronic ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Tyndale Handbook of Bible Charts and Maps, Neil S. Wilson and Linda K. Taylor, Tyndale House
Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois, 2001.
Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, W.E. Vines, Merrill F. Unger,
William White, 1985.
Webster's Dictionary of the American Language, College Edition, Cleveland and New York: World
Publishing Company, 1960.
Wong, J. (2010). Opening Up Acts. Leominster: Day One Publications.
Wood, G. O. (2006). Acts: The Holy Spirit at Work in Believers: An Independent-study Textbook (Second
Edition.) (21). Springfield, MO: Global University.
Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's New
Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Nashville: T. Nelson.
Course Work Recognition
COURSE RESEARCHED AND DEVELOPED: West, Katherine, B.Th.
Thompson, Verda L., Th.D. 1996
REVISED/EDITED BY: West, Katherine, B.Th.
Geisler, Karen, A.Th. 1997
REVISED/EDITED BY: Price, Roger, Th.D. 1998
REVISED/EDITED BY: Oakley, Elizabeth, D. Div. 2004
EXPANDED/EDITED BY: Neal, Charles A., Th.D. 2005
EDITED BY: Oakley, Elizabeth, Th.D., D.D. 2005
REVISED/EDITED BY: Price, Roger, Th.D. D.R.E., Ph.D., D.D.
Thompson, Verda, Ph.D., D.R.E., D.C.C., Th.D., D.Div.
EXPANDED/EDITED BY: Wootten, Charles A., Th.D., D.Div.
Price, Roger K., Ph.D., D.R.E., Th.D., D.Div., October, 2011
MSBT PASTORAL ADVISORS: Braswell, Dick, Th.D.
Burden, Wendell, D.Div.
Chapman, Del, Th.D.
Hall, Leo, D. Div., D. Min.
AMT-MSBT BOARD MEMBERS & STAFF:
Baldock, Michael, Th. D. Price, Roger, Ph.D., D.R.E., Th.D., D.Div.
Brown, Eddy, D.Div. Sansfacon, Mario, A.Min.
Burden, Wendell, Th.D. Sansfacon, Teresa, B.Min., D.Div.
Carr, Mary, D. Min., D. Div. Shepard, Sally D.Min., D.Div.
Craig, David, D.Div. Thompson, Verda, Ph.D., D.R.E., D.C.C., Th.D., D.Div.
Cunningham, Kay, D.Div. Vance, David R., A.C.S.
Goneau, Dean, M.A. Wootten, Charles A., Th.D., D.Div.
Hall, Leo, D.Div., D.Min. Wootten, Margaret S. D.Div.
Kisner, Brian, D.Div.
THANK YOU