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Introduction to Acts - Part 1

The book of Acts - sometimes called the Acts of the Apostles - was written by Luke, who was a Gentile
believer. He is the only Gentile whose writings are found in the Bible; all other writers were Jews.

The apostle Paul called Luke Athe beloved physician@ (Col 4:14), and from that title, as well as the medical
details of his writings, we can tell that Luke was in fact a trained doctor. That training gave him an eye for
detail and a logical mind, which is reflected in his writings.

Luke became a close companion of Paul, accompanying him on two of his missionary journeys, and was
therefore an eyewitness to many of the events he describes in Acts. And through his travels with Paul,
Luke had contact with other disciples of Jesus who were eyewitnesses to the events he describes, whose
testimonies would become part of Luke=s writings (Lk 1:2).

The book of Acts is actually the second volume of a two volume set written by Luke; the first is the gospel
that bears his name. It was customary in a two-volume work to summarize the theme or the end of the first
volume in the beginning of the second.

Luke=s gospel concludes with the appearances of Jesus to His disciples after His resurrection, and then a
mention of His ascension into heaven; the book of Acts begins with a recap of those appearances, and then
gives further details concerning Jesus= bodily ascension.

Most of Acts describes the events that took place after the return of Jesus to heaven. In fact, this book
provides a historical bridge between the events of all four gospels, and the letters to the churches - the
church epistles. Acts gives the history of the founding of many of those local assemblies, to which the
letters of Paul, in particular, are directed. Luke wrote the book around 64 AD or perhaps a bit later, shortly
after the events had unfolded in history.

It was common for a significant writing project to have a wealthy patron as its sponsor. Books would often
open with a dedication to the sponsoring patron. We see that this was true for Luke=s double record, as he
cites the Amost excellent Theophilus@ in the first sentence of his gospel, as well as in the first sentence of
the book of Acts.

AMost excellent@ is a title given to members of the equestrian order, a high class in Roman society. Luke
wrote his accounts to Theophilus with a specific purpose in mind. Turn to the gospel of Luke, chapter 1.

[Luke 1:1-4] Luke=s specific purpose in writing was to give an orderly account of key events in the life of
Jesus and His ministry; and, in the book of Acts, of the ministry of the church; so that Theophilus could be
certain of the things of which he had been taught. We can conclude from this that Theophilus had been
instructed in the faith of Jesus Christ, had become a learner of Jesus, and was by this time a believer
himself.

But Luke was not writing his accounts just for the sake of Theophilus. Luke=s wider purpose was to make
known the facts concerning the faith to the greater audience of the world. This was most likely the purpose
of Theophilus, as well, in sponsoring the work. Interestingly, the name Theophilus means Alover of God@.

As a fellow lover of the Lord Jesus Christ with Luke, Theophilus had decided to produce this work - he, to
finance it; Luke, to research it and write it; with the intent of having it published - reproduced - for more
widespread distribution. We can determine this because Luke=s gospel is within 3 percent of the length of
the book of Acts, both fitting the standard size of scrolls for publication.
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Within this bit of background to the book of Acts, we are given a little insight into the content of the book
itself. As believers, Luke and Theophilus were each members of the Body of Christ, the true church. Each
was indwelt by the Holy Spirit, by whom they could know the mind of Jesus, the Head of the Body.

These two members of Christ=s Body were co-operating with their Head, and with each other, each doing
their unique part, based on the abilities and circumstances with which God had graced them. They were
doing so for the furtherance of the gospel, in fulfillment of the continuing ministry of Jesus - to reconcile
men to God - which He continues to accomplish through the many members of His Body on earth. And, on
a larger scale, that is what is seen in the book of Acts.

Now, the book of Acts is commonly regarded as a history of the church, but it can only be considered so in a
selective way. Many important transactions are omitted. There is no account of the church at Jerusalem,
after the conversion of Paul; Paul=s journey into Arabia is omitted (Gal 1:17).

Acts gives no account of the foundation or the propagation of the church at Rome; and perhaps most
significantly, it omits to record the labors of most of the apostles, confining its narrative chiefly to the
ministry of Peter and then to Paul.

What we come to understand is that the book of Acts is not so much a history as a story. In fact, it is a
chapter of a story - the story of redemption.

Now, it is hard to plunge into a chapter in the middle of the book, without reading what came before, isnt
it? So as a preparation for the book of Acts, we=re going to start at the beginning of God=s story of
redemption, so that we can see how Acts fits into the story.

How does the story begin? It starts with, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Gen
1:1). God - a plurality in the Hebrew - speaking of three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - in their
unity as One God - created the heavens and the earth.

But before the beginning; before God created - before time, in eternity past - God had already made a plan -
an agreement, among the three Persons of the Godhead - God made a covenant, with Himself. Within the
counsels of the eternal Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit purposed to bring forth a creation - mankind -
that would be in the image of God; according to His likeness, as sons of God.

The account in Genesis tells us of how God began to accomplish this, which well look at in just a moment;
but it doesnt tell us why God chose to do it. This was revealed to the apostle Paul, and he shared it with
the Body of Christ, including the churches of Asia.

Turn to Ephesians chapter 1. Well begin in verse 3, where Paul begins to describe the blessings which the
Father has bestowed upon those who have believed into Christ - they are the us in this passage; members
of the Body of Christ, the church.

[Ephesians 1:3-6]

v. 3-4 He - the Father - chose us in Christ - when? Before the foundation of the world; thats eternity past.
The Father foreknows all who will believe into His Son, and has chosen them ahead of time.
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And then Paul lists the purpose for which the Father did this - that we believers should be holy - set apart to
God, for His Divine purposes; and that we should be without blame - that is, perfectly righteous - and that
we should be before Him. - that is, in the Fathers presence.

That means in the realm of heaven, and eternity - and that we should ever and always be there, before Him
in love, which is the atmosphere of heaven; sharing in the perfect, selfless love of God that has always
existed between the members of the Godhead - and is now extended to us. We can see from this that Gods
purpose in creating involved the desire to share His love, with others.

Paul continues with how God accomplished His purpose.

v. 5-6 So the Father created a destiny ahead of time for those men who would believe into Christ - that is,
He predestined them to be adopted as His sons, right into His family, partaking of all the rights and
privileges of a born son - what an honor!

Thats the good pleasure of the Fathers will - His purpose for His creation of mankind, which is
accomplished solely through Gods grace, accepting us - into His family! - in His Beloved Son. Thats our
eternal destiny, that He has in store for us. And through this gracious and loving plan for mankind - to
become His sons - God is seen in His glory.

In the end, God will have an entire kingdom of ever-living sons - in heaven, and on earth - one kingdom, in
two realms. But God only needed one man, to begin His plan.

Turn now to Genesis chapter 1, where we read of God initiating this creation. First God had brought the
heavens and the earth into existence. For six days, He had formed and filled His creation, designing a
suitable environment for His final created being: mankind.

[Genesis 1:26-27] This was just the beginning of having men in the image of God, as His sons, who will
have dominion over the earth, ruling under God. The second chapter provides details of just how God
created man.

[Genesis 2:7] The creation of mankind was unique from all other aspects of Gods creative work.
Everything else was spoken into existence, by the word of God - He spoke, and it was so. But man, who
was to be in the image and likeness of God, was created quite differently. Did God simply speak man into
being? No.

The LORD God formed the man of the dust of the ground the name of God, Jehovah, is used here, giving
the sense that He personally formed that body, shaping the dust into His first man.

And then the LORD God breathed into the mans nostrils the breath of life the LORD imparted His own
breath into the man again, a personal and intimate interaction, of the Creator with His unique creation,
man.

So just what did God breathe into the man? God breathed in personal being - soul and spirit. This spirit is
not the Holy Spirit, but the spirit of man, his innermost being (Job 27:3, Prov 20:27).

The soul is mans mind, emotions, will; his consciousness; his person; himself. It was in this way - by the
breathing in of soul and spirit into the body - that man became a living being literally, a soul of life; a soul
of spirit-life.
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Spirit and soul are the immaterial aspects of man; his inner man. Through his soul, man has awareness of
the world around him and can have knowledge of earthly realities. In his spirit, the very being of man,
man has awareness of God and can have understanding of spiritual realities (Job 32:8).

How can man have this understanding of spiritual realities? We know that God is spirit (John 4:24) He
is a Spirit Being of Deity. And we can see that God created man as a spirit being - a spirit being of
humanity. This enables man to commune with God spirit being to Spirit Being.

The creation of the first man was the initiation of Gods plan to have men in His image, after His likeness
sons of God, for His kingdom. But it was only the beginning.

God had breathed spirit-life into the soul of man a quality of life that is not subject to time. So what does
that mean? That the soul will live forever.

The NT bears witness to the continuance of the soul after death the story of Lazarus and the rich man as
told by Jesus is a good example (Luke 16:19-31).

But the body of man was formed of the dust of the ground; of the earth, earthy (1 Cor 15:47). Man is
housed in a clay vessel, that by its very substance, communicates the idea that it is temporary; designed for
life here on earth, and no more.

The question we must ask is, if God was purposing to have men in His image, after His likeness sons, for
His kingdom, forever why did He create the first man, the progenitor of the human race, in a temporary
clay vessel? The answer to this has to do with the heart of man, and the heart of God.

God is love; and Love cannot and will not force His purposes and desires upon the object of His love. So
God created man with a will, giving him the freedom to make choices so that man could freely choose, of
his own volition, whether he would become a son of God which is what God desires, and what God has
purposed, for man.

But in giving man freedom of choice, man now had the ability to do his own will instead of doing the will
of God. And what is that called having ones will over the will of God? Sin; an offense against mans
Creator, God.

God fully knew the heart of this creation of mankind that He had made. He knew that man would use the
freedom of choice given him as license to sin. The heart of man is lawless, because of its natural
inclination for self-love. So as created, man would always choose to have his own will, over the will of
God - he would choose to sin.

Sin would separate man from God. Because of sin, man could not be holy and without blame; before God,
in love. By this, we can see that sin lawlessness would not permit the fulfillment of Gods purpose for
man to become a son of God. Sin must be dealt with, before man would be fit for Gods presence, ready
to share in His love, forever. And for that reason, God did not create man in a forever-living body. Man
must first become righteous, before he can live forever with God.

But man would be incapable of making himself righteous; he would not have the means of ridding himself
of his own sin, nor the power to rule over the lawlessness in his own heart. It would take an act of God to
make man righteous.
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And God always knew that - and knew just what that act must be. Before God ever created the first man,
He planned to send a second Man - the Lord from heaven (1 Cor 15:47) - God the Son. Through this second
Man, Gods purpose for mankind would be realized - to become His righteous, ever-living sons.

God the Son would be born in a flesh and blood body, in which He would live a sinless life, as a man - a
life of perfect righteousness. Then the Son would offer Himself up to God as the sacrifice in the stead of
men - dying in their stead, as their Sin-Bearer - once, for all.

The death that would satisfy God concerning sin would also serve to release the Life which the Son brought
down from heaven - eternal life for the body. God the Son would be raised from the dead through this Life,
resurrected in a glorified body of spirit-life.

In this way - through the shedding of His perfect blood - the Son would ratify the covenant God made with
Himself, and bring many sons to glory (Heb 2:10, 9:15). This would be the way that mankind would be
redeemed from sin and death, to become Gods sons.

But for now, back to the beginning. The LORD God planted a beautiful garden home for the man, filled with
fruit trees. In the midst of the garden was the tree of Life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
These two trees were named by the LORD, for they were to serve as object lessons for mankind.

In order for man to see his need to become righteous, the LORD God gave mankind a specific command to
obey, which we read beginning in verse 16.

[Genesis 2:16-17] Mankind was given the freedom to eat of all trees except one - the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil. Eating of that tree would bring certain death to man - death to his body.

Is that because the fruit was poisonous? No; all of the trees had good fruit on them (2:9). Death would not
come from poisonous fruit, but from poisonous thinking, on the part of man.

The trees were to be Gods teaching tools, for mankind. Knowledge here from the Hebrew refers to
experiential knowledge; knowledge gained through the senses. For a man to take and eat of that tree
represents man living by the knowledge he gains, through his senses; attempting to reason out for himself
what is good and what is evil - instead of living by revelation; by every word the proceeds from the mouth
of the LORD.

Such a way of life, lived independently of God, with man judging what is good and evil for himself, is
lethal for man - and rebellion against his Creator. And for this reason, transgression of Gods command
would bring the consequence of death to mankind - the manifestation of mans separation from God, due to
sin.

Transgression of the command would demonstrate to man that he is not righteous; and the penalty of death
would drive home to him his need to become righteous, and receive eternal life for his body.

Having given the command to the man, the LORD God proceeded to make a helper comparable to him. The
man and the woman had been a single creative act of the LORD; male and female, He created them (1:27).

Then the LORD fashioned the woman from the mans own body - bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh - giving
each one their own identity, and their own role within the relationship of marriage. Through their union,
they would be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth - bringing forth after their own kind - mankind.

But before the man and the woman began to reproduce, the creation of mankind had to be made aware of
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their need for God - for His righteousness for their beings, and for His Life for their bodies. So having
created an ideal living environment for His creation of mankind, and having given the man a single
command to obey, the LORD God now tested His creation, in their obedience to live by His word.

The test was in fact administered by an enemy of God, who was seeking to gain entrance into the garden -
and was permitted by God, at this time. He came in the form of a serpent - the form of one of the created
beings that God had made. In the NT, this serpent in the garden of Eden - the serpent of old - is identified
as the devil; Satan (Rm 16:20, 2 Cor 11:3, 14; Rev 12:9, 20:2).

Satan was an angel of the order of the cherubim. The cherubim are the guardians of the throne of God,
protectors of His holiness and righteousness. Instead of guarding the throne of God, Satan had coveted it,
aspiring in his heart to be like the Most High God - El Elyon, the Possessor of heaven and earth (Is 14:12-
14, Ez 28:12-15).

Satan recognized an opportunity in the garden to grab hold of what God had created, through the command
that was given to mankind. Disobedience to the command would bring sin and then death to mankind -
generating a means by which Satan could then exert his influence, over the creation of men, in their
separation from God (Eph 2:2), and their will for themselves.

Well continue with the account in Genesis 3.

[Genesis 3:1-15, 21]

v. 1-3 We can see that this serpent is not like any that were familiar with, in our day. It was more cunning
than any beast of the field, meaning crafty, or shrewd. This is not the quality of an ordinary serpent. This
serpent talks, and understands, and reasons, which describes personal beings of the highest order.

Later on in the account, we will also learn that the serpent was, at this time, upright (3:14). Here is Satan,
an immaterial angelic being, who came into the garden in the guise of a material, earthly being, described
as the serpent.

The Hebrew word serpent comes from a root which means to hiss. In the NT, the apostle Paul spoke of
Satan as a deceiver, who transforms himself - meaning he changes his outward appearance - into an angel,
or messenger, of light (2 Cor 11:14).

Satan presented himself as a messenger, who came to enlighten mankind as to a better way to live. It was,
of course, a deception; it was the way of death. Here is the serpent, hissing his poisonous lies.

The serpent spoke to the woman, as the more receptive, sensitive member of human kind. He poses a
question; one which he knew misrepresented what the LORD God had said to the man; one which begged
correction.

And the woman corrected it. By doing so, it is clear that the command had been communicated to her, as
well as the man; but it is also clear that the woman had been thinking about that command - for some of her
thinking was included in her answer.

The LORD God had said not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; the woman introduces the
idea of fruit, the part that one would take, and eat. The LORD God clearly named the tree, which represented
the lesson to be learned; this was lost on the woman, who merely indicates the trees location.

The LORD God said nothing about touching the tree, but this was now in the womans thinking. And the
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LORD God indicated that disobedience would result in certain death - but the woman no longer views it as
certain - but merely a possibility - lest you die.

And nowhere in the womans thinking was the freedom that the LORD God had given to the man and the
woman, to freely eat of all the trees - except the one. Her focus was on the restriction.

None of this was lost on the cunning serpent! He immediately perceived the way to entice the woman to
eat of the forbidden tree - by reinforcing her doubt about that certainty of death.

v. 4-6 So the serpent hissed his lies into the womans open ear: God is not telling you the truth; you will
not surely die; in fact, Hes withholding something good from you; if you eat, you will be like Him; youll
know for yourself what is good, and what is evil. Notice that the serpent tempted the woman with the very
thing that he found so desirable, for himself: to be like God (Is 14:14).

The words of the serpent found their mark in the womans heart. Why? Because the woman did not believe
God at His word. His word was not in her heart; her own independent thinking was there, which was
openly vulnerable to the lies of the serpent.

And so the woman was beguiled by the serpent (2 Cor 11:3) into believing that she would not die, and that
by eating, she could know good and evil - just like God. Her selfish desire for knowledge was greater than
her desire for the LORD.

Remarkably, it would appear from the text that the womans husband was with her, during this dialogue
with the serpent. And the apostle Paul clarifies in the NT record that, unlike the woman, Adam was not
deceived (1 Tim 2:14).

By this, we know that Adam took the LORD God at His word - that if they ate of the forbidden tree, they
would surely die. Yet Adam did not stop his wife from eating; and when his wife gave him the fruit to eat,
Adam did just as she did, and ate. Why?

Adams reasoning is less certain, but when the LORD later relates the consequences of Adams sin, He makes
it clear that it was because Adam heeded the voice of his wife (3:17), instead of that of the LORD. Even
facing the certainty of death, Adams selfish desire for his wife was greater than his desire for the LORD.

Well, there was one thing the serpent said, that was true: they had their eyes opened.

v. 7 Clearly the beginning of this verse is not intended to be taken literally. The man and the woman
werent blind before; they didnt literally just have their eyes opened. This is an expression which refers to
the fact that they now understand.

What do they now understand? That they are naked. Now, if this referred to literal nudity, the implication
is that the naked body is not good, that it is shameful, because they are covering themselves up. But didnt
God create them without clothing? Yes.

This mystery is cleared up by the apostle Paul, who shows that nakedness is a metaphor for a soul that does
not have an eternal body in which to live (2 Cor 5:1-4). The earthly body is temporary. By Adams
transgression, sin had now come into the world, and death through sin. The death of the earthly body will
result in its dissolution, which will leave the soul unclothed; naked.

The man and the woman know that this is true for them now; even though they still have their bodies of
flesh, having disobeyed the LORD, death has now entered those bodies, and will eventually leave their souls
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naked; unfit for the presence of God.

Now understanding their souls nakedness before the LORD, they made coverings of fig leaves - which
shows that they recognized their need to be covered with a body of Life - eternal life. In that these were
coverings for their loins, it may further show they understood that their seed would also need to be so
covered - that the seed of man was now corruptible seed; corrupted by sin and death.

v. 8-10 Remember that Adam is covered with fig leaves, yet he indicates here that he was naked. This
reinforces the point that literal nakedness of the body is not the issue - this is not about clothing for the
body, but clothing for the soul - with an ever-living body.

So the sin of the man and the woman has caused them to hide from the LORD God, and to fear Him. Sin
brings separation from God, in His holiness; a recognition of being unfit for His presence. But while mans
tendency is to hide from God, Gods love seeks him out.

Of course the omniscient LORD God knows where the man and the woman are! But they must be willing to
come to Him, in order for Him to act on their behalf. Also required is a confession of sin, which is what the
LORD seeks next.

v. 11-13 The LORD knows all - but He asks, for the sake of giving the man and the woman the opportunity
to confess their sin - and they do. They may be doing some finger-pointing here, but they both admit - they
ate.

The repentance of the man and the woman gives the LORD the ability to redeem them personally to Himself.
But no such redemption is possible for the serpent. As a member of the angelic creation, Satan had made
his one-time decision to rebel against the LORD God.

As the LORD God continues, He begins by indicating consequences that will result, because of the
transgression. First the LORD God addresses the serpent, and the one who took that form, to issue the
temptation to sin - Satan.

v. 14-15 So the serpent is cursed by the LORD God; the creature itself has come under Divine disfavor, as
the instrument that was used to bring sin and death, into the world. There is a literal casting down of the
serpent - from its upright form, to crawling on the ground - a posture of abject humiliation.

In verse 15, the LORD God extends His judgment to the one who took the serpents form, to accomplish his
purposes - Satan. The LORD God speaks the first prophecy recorded in Scripture, which foretells of Satans
demise - his head will be bruised, which in the Hebrew means, crushed. Would that be a fatal blow?
Certainly.

But who is this He who will crush the serpents head? The LORD calls Him here the Seed - the
womans Seed - He, so a singular, male member of the human race. Born of a woman, He will crush the
serpents head.

The idea is that He will crush Satan underfoot, for in their encounter, Satan will bruise the Seeds heel - and
that would not be a fatal blow, would it? That would just impair the Seeds ability to walk, for a time.
Clearly, the Seed of the woman is being prophesied to be the victor in this contest.

From our vantage point in history, we know that this Seed is the incorruptible Seed, Christ (1 Pet 1:23),
who would be born of a woman - the nation Israel (Gal 4:4).
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The Seed Christ would redeem Gods creation of mankind from sin through His sinless sacrifice; and He
would redeem them from death, through His resurrected Life. In this way, the LORD God would deal Satan
the fatal blow - and crush that thinking right out of his head, of being like the Most High God.

The bruise to the heel of the Seed refers to the cross - which would interrupt the walk of the Seed, on the
earth - but only for a time - until He returns to establish His Kingdom.

Notice that the LORD God says that it will be HE who will put enmity between the serpent and the woman -
the nation Israel - and between the serpents seed, and her Seed, Christ.

Enmity will be established between those whom the LORD will used to accomplish His purposes - Israel,
Christ - and those who are opposed to His purposes - Satan and his virtual seed (Mt 13:25, 38) - men in the
flesh, who buy into his thinking.

But Christs victory was assured. The apostle Paul referred to this prophecy of victory to encourage the
assemblies in Rome: And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly (Rm 16:20) - the
victory of Christ, through the members of His Body, the church.

As the LORD God continued, He addressed the woman and then the man with the consequences of their
transgression. His final words to the man in verse 19 confirmed the dissolution of the body, in death - a
consequence that would extend to all mankind.

What is not included in the account are some details - the LORD God telling them just who this Coming
Seed of the woman would be, and just how the Seed would redeem mankind from sin and death.

But the LORD God provided the man and the woman with a record of this good news - He had fixed the
story of His covenant for Eternal Life through the Seed Christ in the names and the placement of the stars,
when He created them on the fourth day (Gen 1:14, Is 40:26).

The redemption would be all Gods doing, through the Seed, Christ - but any man could enter into it, by
believing into Gods work on His behalf. And we know that the first man and woman chose to receive that
redemption, because of what is recorded in verse 21.

v. 21 Through the transgression, Adam and Eve discovered their need to become righteous. And through
the judgment of death, they came to understand that they were naked - in need of an ever-living body. They
turned to the only One who could provide this, for them - and discovered that it was always a part of His
plan. The Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8) - before the first man and woman
were ever created.

By faith, Adam and Eve received Gods provision - righteousness for their souls, and Life for their bodies.
They were now clothed by the LORD, and fit for His presence - Gods very first sons, out of His creation of
mankind.

Thats the first part of the story of redemption. Next time, well look at how God has been working
through time to obtain His sons.

Reading: Genesis 4-15

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