The Acts of the Apostles

Lesson #29

Acts 1 – 28

      Jesus promised His apostles that after His return to Heaven, the Holy Spirit would come to guide them. He encouraged them to be faithful and urged them to avoid feeling troubled. The Holy Spirit would teach them and remind them of all things Jesus had said to them. In this way, the apostles were prepared to go into the world and preach the gospel. John 14. The Holy Spirit came with power and rested on the twelve men who were Jesus’ special ambassadors on earth. Those men revealed the new law of Christ as they went about preaching. They taught the people about the church that Jesus had established. The Holy Spirit enabled those men to perform miracles which caused their listeners to believe the facts they were revealing to them about this new law and new church.

     Miracles lasted while they were needed to confirm the apostles’ words. Now, we have the written word and the testimony of those who witnessed the miracles. We accept God’s word by faith. We no longer have the miracles of the apostles’ time. Science and medicine often provide marvelous recoveries from such terrible health problems as cancer and heart conditions. Miracles, however, did not require doctors and hospitals. The ears of people were instantly replaced; sight was instantly restored; lame people instantly walked; and dead people came forth from the grave.

     The book of Acts tells of many miracles that the apostles did. Sometimes the apostles placed their hands on other people so that they, too, could receive the Holy Spirit. Then those people could perform certain signs to cause others to believe also. In this manner, the new will of Jesus spread and was confirmed. Many continued to be added to His church.

     For centuries the Jews had been God’s special people. The prophets had preached that when the savior comes to the world, His gospel would be to all mankind. In fulfillment of that prophecy, God sent a vision to the apostle Peter to assure him that the new gospel was to be preached to the gentiles. The first gentile convert was Cornelius, who lived in Caesarea. To show acceptance of the gentiles, the Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius and those who were listening with him. Cornelius and his household were baptized.

     After Jesus returned to Heaven, He appeared and spoke to Paul who was traveling on the road to Damascus. Paul was going there to persecute Christians. Jesus told Paul to go into Damascus and wait to be told what to do. After three days God sent Ananias, who was a preacher, to teach Paul about Jesus and the Lord’s mission for Paul. Then Ananias told Paul he should be baptized and wash away his sins. Acts 9 and Acts 22. Jesus’ appointment of His apostles ended with his assignment to Paul. The scriptures teach that apostles had been with Jesus and were witnesses of His resurrection. Acts 1:21 and 22.  The revelation of Jesus speaking to Paul on the road to Damascus ensured that Paul met that requirement.

     Paul became an ardent worker for the Lord. He and other men traveled many miles going into distant cities where they taught and baptized men and women. The final chapters of Acts record Paul’s journey to Rome to stand trial before Caesar. The reason for the trial was Paul’s boldness in preaching the word of God. Even though Paul was shackled in chains, he continued to preach to others. He wrote most of the letters to the new Christians telling them of God's blessings and what God expected of them. Those letters form part of the epistles of the New Testament. There are 21 epistles, and they are the books Romans through Jude.