01 Acts Chapter 1
Acts 1:1-5 Water & Spirit
Acts 1:1-5 WNT My former narrative, Theophilus, dealt with all that Jesus did and taught as a beginning, down to the day on which, (2) after giving instruction through the Holy Spirit to the Apostles whom He had chosen, He was taken up to Heaven. (3) He had also, after He suffered, shown Himself alive to them with many sure proofs, appearing to them at intervals during forty days, and speaking of the Kingdom of God. (4) And while in their company He charged them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promised gift. "This you have heard of," He said, "from me. (5) For John indeed baptized with water, but before many days have passed you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit." This is the beginning of Luke’s second book. The first was his gospel; the second is Acts, his account of the life and ministry of the apostles. His audience is one “Theophilus” which means “friend of God”, and is probably a general term of reference like “dear Christian reader”, but Theophilus may also have been the actual name of a Roman official. Luke connects Acts with Luke in the first two verses above.
“after giving instruction through the Holy Spirit to the Apostles whom He had chosen,” - This is the first mention of the Holy Spirit in Acts - and “first mentions” have a special and significant place in Scripture. This verse tells us that Jesus speaks through the Holy Spirit to His chosen ones and gives them commandments and instructions for the apostolic task. This becomes a theme throughout Acts as Jesus, speaking through the Spirit directs Peter, Stephen, Phillip, Ananias, Paul and Barnabas, the elders and prophets at Antioch and many others in the task of spreading the gospel.
“He was taken up to Heaven.” Today Jesus is in Heaven at the right-hand of the Father and will remain there until “all His enemies are made a footstool for His feet”. (Acts 2:35, Hebrews 1:13; Hebrews 10:13) Jesus ascension into Heaven was a spiritual mop-up operation after the cross, in which He went through the spiritual realms and dealt with any hostile spiritual powers there and “taking captivity captive” (Ephesians 4:8-13). With the cross, resurrection and ascension the pagan spiritual realm of taboos, curses and spells was dealt a mortal blow. Satan was stripped of his powers (Colossians 2:13-15) Christ became superior to all principalities and powers (Ephesians 1:19-21) and Christians, by grace, were also seated with Him in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6-7).
[For a full article on the ascension see: http://www.aibi.ph/aibi/ascension.htm]
“He had also, after He suffered, shown Himself alive to them with many sure proofs, appearing to them at intervals during forty days.” The forty days transition period is covered in a tantalizingly small number of verses in the gospels. Very little of Jesus’ teaching during this time is recorded though Luke says that He continued to teach them “about the Kingdom of God”. The main purpose of this time seems to have been to convince the early Christian community of His resurrection and to prepare them for service and witness. The phrase “many sure proofs” testifies to the fact that Jesus always appeared to a number of people at once, in ordinary circumstances such as fishing trips or walking along a road. This was not mass hypnotism, or personal delusion. It was inter-subjectively testable evidence confirmed by two or three eye-witnesses on each occasion.
“and speaking of the Kingdom of God.” The Kingdom of God is present where God reigns and produces righteousness, peace and joy through the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17) The Kingdom is not a nation, church or denomination but is Christ’s personal presence in the midst of a community of believers - even if it is only two or three persons. (Matthew 18:20). (The Kingdom of God is extensively discussed in a previous Eternity-DBS series on The Kingdom of Heaven which is available as an ebook from http://www.aibi.ph/kingdom/ )
“And while in their company He charged them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promised gift.” Throughout Scripture the Holy Spirit is called “the promise” (Acts 2:33, Galatians 3:14, Ephesians 1:13) and is God’s amazing gift of Himself to those that love Him. The Holy Spirit is the new wine of the New Covenant and is that which the prophet Joel foretold - a Spirit-filled community where even the least are able to have dreams, visions and prophecies and where salvation is freely available to all who call on God. (Acts 2:16-21)
"This you have heard of," He said, "from me. (5) For John indeed baptized with water, but before many days have passed you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit." Jesus is speaking of a new baptism for the apostles. They had all been baptized by John in the Jordan, and many, if not all, had themselves baptized disciples in Jesus’ name. (John 3:22-30) But this was not what Jesus was referring to when He spoke of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit baptism was something that was to be sent directly from God, not something that the disciples had done in the Judean countryside.
While there is a close relationship between water baptism and Spirit baptism but there is also a clear difference that is pointed out by Jesus: “For John indeed baptized with water, but…” - the “but” is important, it denotes another kind of baptism. Both baptisms are immersions, one in water, the other in the presence and person of God. Ideally they should occur together as they did at Jesus’ baptism. However for the apostles they were some years apart, and this may also have been the case for some Ephesian disciples. (Acts 19:1-41; Acts 1:1-26; Acts 2:1-47; Acts 3:1-26; Acts 4:1-37; Acts 5:1-42; Acts 6:1-15; Acts 7:1-60) The baptism in the Holy Spirit opens up heavenly realities to ordinary Christians just as the heavens were opened for Jesus. It results in an overwhelming perception of the glory of God, which may be expressed by such gifts as prophecy or tongues. I am aware that some of you may hold to a conservative evangelical theology, which sees the baptism of the Holy Spirit at conversion. John Stott puts this view well in his small book “The Baptism and Fullness of the Holy Spirit”. I personally held that same view for many years but have become convinced of the charismatic interpretation as a better explanation of the Scriptures.
Without the baptism in the Holy Spirit Christianity is just another first-century philosophy - dependent on reason and argumentation. The fact that God anoints us with Himself is very radical. It means that true Christians will be an entirely new order of humanity with a new degree of holiness, wisdom, power and love that far outstrips Judaism, Buddhism or the New Age.
Jesus said that we are to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:24) and among other things this means that we are to be Spirit-directed, bible-believing Christians. We need both heavenly truth and heavenly anointing. Let us summarize today’s points: Jesus speaks to His chosen ones through the Holy Spirit, giving them instructions and commandments about their calling and empowering them through the baptism in the promised Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:6-11 Jesus Ascends Into Heaven
Acts 1:6-11 MKJV Then, indeed, these coming together, they asked Him, saying, Lord, do You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? (7) And He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in His own authority. (8) But you shall receive power, the Holy Spirit coming upon you. And you shall be witnesses to Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (9) And saying these things, as they watched, He was taken up. And a cloud received Him out of their sight. (10) And while they were looking intently into the heaven, He having gone, even behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them, (11) who also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into the heaven? This same Jesus who is taken up from you into Heaven, will come in the way you have seen Him going into Heaven. The Galileans gather with Jesus and He ascends into Heaven out of their sight. These few verses contain important information about the Holy Spirit, and about the Return of the Lord.
Jesus will return, at a time known only to the Father, and in the same manner that He left - personally, bodily, visibly and on a cloud:
Matthew 24:30 MKJV And then the sign of the Son of Man shall appear in the heavens. And then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of the heaven with power and great glory.
Matthew 26:64 MKJV Jesus said to him, You said it. I tell you more. From this time you shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of the heavens. This rules out Jesus arrival “spiritually” e.g. at Pentecost, or as a “influence” or as a reincarnation. When Jesus returns it will not be as a baby, it will be physical, glorious and from above. The timing of His Return is a mystery and the answer is not granted even to the apostles: “And He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in His own authority.” If the apostles were not permitted this knowledge it is safe to assume that no preacher today has a handle on the date of the return of the Lord. The timing of God’s events is in God’s power alone. The return of the Lord and the return of the kingdom to Israel was not for the apostles to be concerned about - but the empowerment with the Holy Spirit and the spread of the gospel was their concern and so Jesus directs their attention to this instead.
“But you shall receive power, the Holy Spirit coming upon you. And you shall be witnesses to Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The function of the Holy Spirit coming upon them was that they would receive power and this power would enable them to be witnesses to Jesus. The Holy Spirit has two main modes of relationship to Christians - “within”, and “upon”. The Holy Spirit within a person produces wisdom, skill, love, joy, peace and sanctification. The Holy Spirit upon a person produces might, power, boldness, victory and various gifts such as healing and prophecy. The Holy Spirit of course was within Jesus from the moment of conception, but only came upon Him at His baptism. Here are just a few examples:
UPON - Power, Might, Unusual Works And Mighty Miracles
Numbers 11:25 MKJV And Jehovah came down in a cloud and spoke to him, and took of the spirit on him and gave it to the seventy elders. And it happened when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they never did so again.
Judges 3:10 MKJV And the spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and he judged Israel and went out to war. And Jehovah delivered Chushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia, into his hand. And his hand prevailed against Chushan-rishathaim.
Mark 1:10-12 MKJV And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him. (11) And there came a voice from Heaven, saying, You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (12) And immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.
WITHIN - Character, Wisdom, Revelation, Fruit of the Spirit, Sanctification, Maturity.
Exodus 31:2-5 MKJV Behold, I, I have called by name Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. (3) And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all workmanship, (4) to devise designs; to work in gold, and in silver, and in bronze, (5) and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all workmanship.
Psalms 51:10 MKJV Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Ezekiel 11:19-20 MKJV And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. And I will remove the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh, (20) so that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances, and do them. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God.
1 Peter 1:10-12 MKJV About which salvation the prophets sought out and searched out, prophesying concerning the grace for you; (11) searching for what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ made clear within them, testifying beforehand of the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow. (12) To them it was revealed that not to themselves, but to us, they ministered the things which are now reported to you by those who have preached the gospel to you in the Holy Spirit sent from Heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
Samson had the Spirit UPON him to do mighty works but seemed to lack the wisdom and fruit of the Spirit within him. Joseph and Daniel were wise men who had the Spirit WITHIN them but did not do miracles or might works. The apostles had received the Spirit within them after the resurrection. (John 20:22) But Jesus told them to wait until the Holy Spirit had come upon them in power because their task would require a level of energy that only such an anointing could provide.
There are many good pastors and missionaries who lack power - and the need the Spirit to come “upon” them. Also there are some very flaky folk who see to have power without character and they need the Holy Spirit “within” them. We need both wisdom and power, character and competence, personal transformation and boldness in ministry. In short we need the Holy Spirit in both modes - within us, and upon us.
Acts 1:12-14 The Core Of The Church
Acts 1:12-14 MKJV Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount Of Olive Grove, which is a sabbath day’s journey from Jerusalem. (13) And when they had come in, they went up into an upper room, where Peter and James, and John and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alpheus and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James; (14) these all were continuing with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. The core group now consists of the 11 disciples, and the family of Jesus - Mary and the brothers of Jesus. Peter and James and John were the “big three”. Now many of these are related.
Jesus mother Mary had a “sister” also called Mary, who was married to someone known both as Clopas (John 19;25) and Alpheus (above) who is the father of James the Lesser and Matthew. That makes James the Lesser and Matthew both cousins of Jesus. Thomas seems to be a twin of Matthew, which would also make him a son of Alpheus and a cousin of Jesus as Matthew, Thomas and James are often mentioned together that would make sense. James and John were “sons of Zebedee” who was from Capernaum, as also was Peter and later Jesus made this city His home. Judas “the brother of James” is probably better “Judas son of James” - being James (Zebedee’s) son. Andrew and Peter were also brothers (Matthew 4:18; Matthew 10:2) and Philip seems to have been Andrew’s good friend as they always seem to be doing things together. Nathanael is led to Christ by Philip. As this gets very confusing very quickly I have attached a diagram with the relationships between various gospel characters to this email. The apostles were relatives, friends and neighbors of Jesus. Gradually Jesus brothers meshed in with this group and James the brother of Jesus became the head of the Jerusalem Church and the author of the epistle of James. James apparently was quite a strict ascetic and possibly a vegetarian. The angels not the “band of brothers” theme when they call them “men of Galilee” as they were all from the same region.
“The women” are probably their wives and sisters, Mary the mother of Jesus may now have become the gentle matriarch of this band of brothers, cousins and friends of Jesus.
Miracle of miracles - all these relatives, friends and families were “of one accord”. They had been through a great deal and were now united in prayer and supplication. The upper room may have belonged to John the apostle, some historians have it as the same upper room in which the Passover was eaten, yet others see it as the room of Mary, the mother of John Mark and friend of Peter, where many church meetings were held in Acts. Wherever the room was it was about to have two historic events occur - the selection of an apostle and the arrival of the Holy Ghost in power. A “Sabbath days walk” was about two thousand cubits or just under a mile. This is the most you are supposed to walk on a day of rest. In ancient times people could easily walk 20 miles in a day - one mile was a very short walk indeed! A twenty minute walk back to the Upper Room, time enough to discuss the goings on. Walking keeps the blood moving and helps the brain to think, much of the great conversations in Scripture are had while walking along with friends. This was also the style of the peripatetic philosophers of the day and I think of Plato.
Back to the life of the core group of the early church - “these all were continuing with one accord in prayer and supplication”. The core group of any church or spiritual organization has to be able to demonstrate continual spiritual unity in prayer and supplication. It is as we pray together that we stay together and our meetings should be soaked in prayer. The natural sibling rivalries and squabbles of the disciples were ironed out in intercession. The group is formed, and the philosophy and direction of the new movement is burned into the souls of those involved.
Jesus chose people who could be one. People of like temperament, from the same locality, often related to each other, with strong natural and spiritual ties who had been with Him for three years and suffered together with Him. Unity was the theme of His high priestly prayer in John 17:1-26, and unity was behind His choice of who He selected to lead His movement. Today it would look like nepotism to have so many relatives and friends and neighbors leading a movement, indeed it would be illegal to have so many relatives on a non-profit board! But this movement was going to suffer persecution - and they needed to be able to rely on each other from “the get go”. We need to build both spiritual and natural unity into our teams. Teams that are too diverse can crack under pressure. Unity is a key component in spiritual power and we need to consciously plan it into our organizations (without indulging in undue favoritism)
Acts 1:15-26 Judas Is Replaced
Acts 1:15-26 MKJV And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said, (the number of names together was about a hundred and twenty,) (16) Men, brothers, this Scripture must have been fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit by the mouth of David spoke before concerning Judas, who became guide to those who seized Jesus. (17) For he was numbered with us and had obtained part of this ministry. (18) Indeed, then, this one purchased a field with the reward of unrighteousness. And falling headlong, he burst apart in the middle, and all his bowels gushed out. (19) And it was known to all the dwellers at Jerusalem, so much so that that field is called in their own dialect, Akeldama, that is to say, Field of Blood. (20) For it is written in the Book of Psalms, "Let his estate become forsaken, and he not be living in it." And, "Let another take his overseership." (21) Therefore, it is right that one of these men who have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us, (22) beginning from the baptism of John to that same day that He was taken up from us, to become a witness with us of His resurrection. (23) And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. (24) And they prayed and said, You, Lord, knower of all hearts, show which one You chose from these two, (25) to take the share of this ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell, to go to his own place. (26) And they gave forth their lots. And the lot fell upon Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
There were 120 “names” in the Upper Room, a small to middle sized church, and it changed the world because a) it had high quality leadership b) the congregation was united in prayer and supplication and c) because the Holy Spirit fell upon it in power. No church is so small that it cannot be greatly used of God. The Haystack Prayer Meeting that began the Great Awakening was just four young men, small groups in prayer can change the world.
Peter recited the doom of Judas and the need for a replacement. This simple act shows that Peter was seeing Jesus in the Old Testament and applying the Scriptures to the current situation. This is something Peter does quite a few times, quoting both OT scriptures and the well-known sayings of Jesus at critical points in the life of the early Church. Acts 2:14-40; Acts 3:12-26; Acts 4:8-12; Acts 5:29-32; Acts 10:34-43; Acts 11:4-17; Acts 15:7-11
Scripture should be the basis of ALL church actions. Too many assemblies are organized around Robert’s Rules of Order or various forms of church constitution. There is enough in Scripture to guide us - especially when an anointed Christian leader applies it to our current situations.
Peter looked at the gap in the ranks, then at the appropriate Psalm and knew what to do. The gap must be filled with someone who was of their group right from the start and who had seen the resurrected Christ. Some commentators suggest that Peter was hasty and should have waited and that God had Paul in mind for Judas’s place. Yet even if Peter had waited to fill the gap the converted Paul could not have filled the twelfth spot, as he had not been with the band of brothers since “the baptism of John”.
J.B. Lightfoot maintained that there were “no more apostles” on the basis of these verses - because an apostle must be someone who has seen the risen Jesus. However on one hand Timothy, Titus, and Apollos are clearly apostles and since they lived outside Jerusalem probably never saw the risen Christ. And on the other hand “at least 500” saw Christ after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) - but few of them were named as apostles! Thus Peter was not setting forth qualifications for being an apostle but rather the qualifications for someone to replace Judas among the Twelve. The argument about modern apostleship is too long and complex for this bible study but you can read an article on the topic at: http://www.aibi.ph/aibi/apostle.htm
Matthias is selected by lot - the first and last time this procedure is used in the New Testament and it occurs before Pentecost. The use of the lot was neither gambling nor voting, rather it was a polite way to break a deadlocked decision, exactly equivalent to tossing a coin to decide who will bat first in a game of cricket. The word for lot is “klerous” which is also used for dice and implies chance in the outcome. Klerous is never used to imply a vote or show of hands. By the way, I have failed to find any place where majority voting is ever employed as a godly decision-making tool in the Bible, even though it was known in Greek culture, possibly because of the politicking and contention it is apt to arouse.
After Pentecost the personal voice of the Holy Spirit is the main source of guidance (e.g Acts 13:2; Acts 21:11). The choice was down to two, and rather than have a possibly divisive argument over personal qualities they “tossed a coin”. Prior to the use of the lot there were qualifications laid out, and considerable discussion. The use of the lot might be justified if there were two equal candidates for a senior pastor position and a deadlock had been reached. However, generally speaking, prayer, fasting, examination of the Scriptures and listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit should be the preferred methods of ecclesiastical decision-making.
“And the lot fell upon Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” Very little is known about Matthias and this has led to many early heretical gospels and sects using his name in vain. We need to be very careful when obscure bible characters are used to back up theological positions.