From the Ascension to The Church at Antioch.
Acts Chs. 1-12.
The Book of Acts. The book of Acts is the only purely historical book
of the New Testament. It is as a continuation of the gospel of Luke.
It follows the fortunes of the infant church and gives us all the
light we have in regard to its further organization and development,
but it does not claim to be a complete history of the work of the
early church. As a history it is as remarkable for what it omits as
for what it narrates. The central theme is the triumph and progress of
the gospel in spite of all the opposition and persecution which its
advocates met. The chief purpose seems to be to show the progress of
Christianity among the Gentiles and only so much of the work among the
Jews is given as will authenticate the other. The whole book falls
into three sections: (1) The church at work in Jerusalem, chs. 1-7.
(2) The church at work in Palestine, chs, 8-12. (3) The church at work
among the Gentiles, chs. 13-28.
The material of the period which we are now to study includes the
first two points and should be read in connection with the following
outline:
I. _The church at work in Jerusalem, chs_. 1-7.
1. Preparation for witnessing, 1:1-2:4. Under this there is given: (1)
Christ's last instructions and ascension and (2) The church in the
upper room including the election of Matthias and the coming of the
Holy Spirit.
2. The first witnessing. Here are given 2:5-47: (1) The first
witnessing, (2) the first message, (3) the first fruit of the
witnessing.
3. The first persecution 3:1-4:31. Here we have the first persecution
and the occasion for it.
4. The Blessed state of the church, 4:32-5 end There is great love
and unity and God indorses their work by the destruction of Ananias
and his wife and by the release of apostles from prison.
5. The first deacons, 6:1-7.
6. The first martyr 6:8-7 end.
II. The church at work in Palestine, chs. 8-12.
1. Witnesses scattered, 8:1-4.
2. Philip witnesses in Samaria and Judea, 8:5-40.
3. The Lord wins new witnesses, 9:1-11:18. (1) Saul. (2) Aeneas, etc.
(3) Dorcas, Mary, etc. (4) Cornelius.
4. Center of labor changed to Antioch, 11:19 end.
5. The witnesses triumph over Herod's persecution, ch. 12.
The Principle Events of this Period. Many things which on the surface
seem to be of little importance, contributed much toward shaping the
destiny of the early church. The following, however, should be
remembered as the great outstanding events of the time. (1) The
ascension with the incidents connected with it. (2) The Baptism of the
Holy Ghost with the consequent sermon of Peter and its results. (3)
The first persecution of the Apostles, with Peter's sermon and the
measures taken by the Sanhedrin to stop the movement. (4) The
punishment of Ananias and his wife. (5) The appointment of the first
deacons. (6) The martyrdom of Steven. (7) The work of Philip in
Samaria and the conversion of the Eunuch. (8) The conversion of Saul
of Tarshish. (9) The conversion of Cornelius with connected events.
(10) The church's acknowledgement of the validity of this work among
the Gentiles, Acts 11:18. (11) The great work at Antioch. (12) The
martyrdom of James and the death of Herod.
The Organization and Control of the Early Church. Jesus had set up his
church and left it his final commission. Its organization was a matter
of growth and was increased only as new conditions arose that made it
necessary to the success and efficiency of their work. They elected,
at the suggestion of Peter, Matthias to take the place of Judas as one
of their witnesses. When conditions arose that threatened the success
of their work, they elected deacons to assist the apostles in caring
for the more temporal work of the church. In it all it is clear that
the church as a whole transacted the business. The Apostles no doubt
had a very good influence but did not assume to dictate to the church
what did not "please the whole multitude" (Acts 6:5). All
responsibility was put upon the church as a democratic and
self-governing body.
The Persecutions of the Church. In the persecutions which Jesus
suffered the Pharisees took the lead, but the opposition met by the
early disciples was led by the Sadducees. This was because of the
doctrine of the resurrection, preached by the apostles. The
persecutions deepened and widened very rapidly. (1) They were given
public hearing, commanded not to teach in Jesus' name and after
threatening were let go. (2) They were released without punishment
only by the appeal of Gamaliel, a doctor of the law. (3) On account of
the universal aspect of Christianity, preached by Steven, the
Pharisees joined the Sadducees in opposing the Christians and their
joint persecution led to the death of Steven and the scattering of the
disciples from Jerusalem, 6:8-8:3. (4) The Romans who for the most
part had been indifferent to the movement also joined the Sanhedrin in
the attempt to suppress the brethren. Accordingly Herod Agrippa,
hoping to gain the good will of the Jews, seized the apostle James and
put him to death and seeing that this made him popular seized Peter
and would have destroyed him but for divine intervention.
In spite of all this persecution these early Christians made wonderful
progress. They were unmoved in their purpose to establish their faith.
They went everywhere preaching the gospel of the kingdom. They openly
declared that they would not refrain from preaching what they
conceived to be their duty to God. They boldly threw their doctrine
into the teeth of their antagonists. Such courage was something new in
the history of the Jews. They even "rejoiced that they were counted
worthy to suffer dishonor for his name."
Their Growth and Influence. The courage already mentioned could not
fail to bear fruit. The second chapter tells of three thousand, added
to them in one day and then of others day by day. In chapter five it
is said a multitude of believers both men and women added to them.
Chapter six says that "the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem
exceedingly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the
faith." The priests were for the moat part Sadducees and the fact that
many of these who had been active in arresting the disciples now came
to accept their teaching is highly significant touching the matters of
their success.
Extension of the Gospel to the Gentiles. One of the most interesting
topics for study found in the records of this period is the way in
which Christians gradually extended into the borders of the Gentiles.
Many questions were raised that had to be solved-questions that had
not been before raised among the followers of Jesus. (1) Philip went
into Samaria and many of these half-bred Jews believed. Here he was
following the steps of Jesus who had also met with success and
introduced his teachings before going outside to those in no wise akin
to the Jews. (2) Peter and John were sent to Samaria and not only
approved the work of Philip but bestowed upon these Samaritans the
Holy Spirit and themselves preached to many Samaritan villages. (3)
Peter made a tour of certain Judean villages and came down to Joppa
where he lodged with a tanner and would, according to Jewish law, have
been unclean. This tends to show that he was coming to see that the
ceremonial distinctions of the Levites were not so binding. (4) Peter
preached to Cornelius a Gentile and he and his household received the
Holy Ghost and baptism and spake with tongues. (5) Having heard
Peter's explanation of his course the church glorified God and
acknowledged that God had granted repentance and life to the Gentiles.
(6) Paul the chosen vessel to bear the Gospel to the Gentiles was
saved. (7) The work spread to Antioch of Syria and Barnabas was sent
to investigate it and soon went to Cilicia and brought Paul to Antioch
and the two labored there a year, then made a visit to Jerusalem to
carry gifts to the poor and returned to Antioch bringing John Mark.
This period closes with them still at Antioch.
The Teachings of this Period. (1) Men can succeed in any right cause
in spite of opposition. (2) Popularity is not required to give one
success as a Christian work. (3) Small numbers are not a sign of
weakness and do not foretoken defeat. (4) The gospel truth,
courageously preached, can win its way into the hardest hearts. (3)
Consciousness of duty, divinely imposed is the most powerful stimulus
to action.
For Study and Discussion. (1) The Great Commission, ch. 1. (2) Peter's
sermon on the day of Pentecost. (3) Stephen's address of defense. (4)
The liberality of these Christians or their provision for the poor.
(5) The place of prayer in the work of these disciples. (6) The
references to the Holy Spirit and his work. (7) The teachings of the
period concerning Jesus. (8) Concerning the resurrection. (9) All the
events, persecutions, teachings, etc., mentioned above.