Here is a teaching on chapter 1 of the book of Acts. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added into that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.
First I just want to say a quick prayer.... Lord I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. Please give us knowledge and understanding to know exactly what it is that we're reading and how to implement it in our daily lives. Please open up our eyes to see the truth of your words and that we take those truths, we implement them, and we spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to others. Lord please lead, guide, and direct us through every aspect of our lives. I love you with my whole heart. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Acts Chapter 1:
1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote all that Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy spirit."
6 So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
I'm going to stop right there and discuss these verses with guys here. First I just want to point out in verse 1 that the former book that he's talking about here is the book of Luke. Luke wrote this book of Acts and also the book of Luke for Theophilus. I'm just going to go into the book of Luke real quick at chapter 1 verses 1-4 and they say: "Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught." So Luke wrote these books for Theophilus to try and lead him to faith in Christ Jesus. Luke wrote all of these things so that Theophilus would have a clear understanding about what he needed to know about Jesus.
Now, what it says in verse 2, we saw in chapter 20 of the book of John where Jesus says "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." So at that moment is when it's clear that Jesus' disciples are changing from disciples into apostles once Jesus goes back to heaven. A disciple is "A student or someone that learns from a teacher." So whenever Jesus was there his disciples were learning from him, following him, and he was their teacher. Now that he went back to heaven he sent them as messengers or apostles to spread the gospel and the teachings of Jesus Christ and to be witnesses and testify about him.
So in verse 4 Jesus didn't want his disciples to leave because he wanted them to wait for the Holy Spirit, which was worth waiting for. His apostles would need the Holy Spirit to guide them, show them truth, and help them through their journey of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then in verses 7-8, the apostles didn't need to know exactly what would happen but only that it would and that they would be his witnesses. Jesus is in complete control. He was in complete control all throughout the book of John through his arrest, through his crucifixion, his resurrection, and all of that, and he's still in complete control today. He's always in complete control and it's not up to us to know exactly when he does something or what's going to happen. We just have to trust and believe that Jesus in complete control, that he's got us, and we just have to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that's what he's telling his apostles here.
Now in verse 9, we see this happening in Luke chapter 24 verses 50-53 so I'm just going to put these verses here: "When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God." So what we see happening in those verses here is what Luke says in verse 9 of chapter 1 of the book of Acts. Then in verses 10-11 what these men dressed in white, or apparently these were angels, what they were talking about here is whenever Jesus comes back to take all his people back with him. So they were telling them that Jesus would come back for them and in the same way he went into heaven he would come back.
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
15 In those days Peter stood among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus-- 17 he was one of our number and shared in this ministry." 18 (With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20 "For," said Peter, "it is written in the book of Psalms, " 'May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,' and, " 'May another take his place of leadership.' 21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection."
23 So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
Alright, so those are all the verses of chapter 1 of the book of Acts but I'm going to discuss these verses with you guys here. So once they saw Jesus go back into heaven then they returned to Jerusalem, they went in the upper room, they prayed, and worshiped God. We see in verse 13 all of the people that were in that upstairs room worshiping God and praying continually. So they had just witnessed something so amazing and then these two angels came down and told them that Jesus would be coming back the same way that he went. They were just so full of joy and they spent their time worshiping and praying.
Then in verses 15-17, we saw in chapter 13 of our Bible study on the book of John about the scripture being fulfilled and Jesus predicting the betrayal of Judas. In verse 20 there's 2 different scriptures that they're pertaining to here. So the first one is Psalm 69:25 and then the second one is Psalm 109:8. Then we see in verses 21-26 that the apostles needed to choose another person to be a witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, to spread the gospel with them, and testify about Jesus Christ. It had to be someone that was there the whole time from John's baptism to when Jesus was taken up before their eyes. So they had two men that they were going to choose between and they prayed about it and then they cast lots. Okay, I just want to point out that this just goes to show that any time that we need to make a decision in our lives it's so important for us to pray. God already knows everything. He knows our hearts. He knows what's going to happen. He's the almighty and whenever we pray we can just ask him to show us the decision that he wants us to make. That way we can always make decisions that are based on what God wants us to do and what God has planned for us instead of just making decisions for ourselves and for our own life. This life is not ours and this world is just our temporary home. We have to always make sure that we are first seeking Christ, praying, and making sure that we maintain that close relationship with Christ and with God the Father. Then here where it says that they cast lots, what they were doing was basically rolling dice or drawing straws for an answer. They first prayed and they asked God to show them and then they rolled the dice or drew the straws, or however they did to cast a lot to pick Matthias, which is who the lot fell to. So Matthias ended up being added to the 11 apostles.
Acts Ch 1 Study Guide
In verse 1, what was the former book that he is referring to?
Why did Luke write these books for Theophilus?
When did Jesus’ disciples transition into apostles?
In verse 10, who were these two men dressed in white?
Why did the apostles need to choose someone to replace Judas?
What should we do before we make any decision?
What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible Study?
Next week we're going to go into chapter 2 of the book of Acts so make sure to stay tuned for that.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
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