Acts Lesson 1: Jesus' Final Commission and the Advent of the Holy Spirit

Acts is one of the most exciting books in the New Testament. Luke chronicles the first three decades of early church history and the spread of the Gospel from Jerusalem to Rome. Acts is a valuable resource for the church since it is the bridge connecting the Gospels and the Epistles and our primary authority for the history of the establishment and growth of early Christianity. Various suggestions have been offered concerning the outline of Acts. Some follow a geographical outline based upon Acts 1:8: you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem (chapters 1-7), and in all Judea and Samaria (chapters 8-12), and to the end of the earth (chapters 13-28). Others follow a literary pattern and note the repetition of key summary statements (6:7; 9:31; 12:24; 16:5; 19:20) where Luke sums up a series of events by telling us how they led to the growth of the Word of God or of the Church. Still others outline Acts around the two prominent apostles found in the book: Peter (Acts 1-12) and Paul (Acts 13-28). Today’s lessons covers Acts 1-2.