LESSON 13

THE BOOK OF ACTS

ACTS AS THE PRACTICE OF THE CHURCH 


INTRODUCTION
 Throughout the centuries of Christian scholarship there has been considerable debate as to the meaning or form of the title of this great book.

The best Greek manuscripts have the title as Praxeis Apostolon, or in English Acts of Apostles, the problem with this title being that only two Apostles are prominent in the book!

Several variants of the title appear in the ancient Greek manuscripts of Acts, all mentioning Praxeis or Acts.

However, if we let Luke, the Author, explain the meaning of the Praxeis (Acts), it does seem as though he is describing how the Apostles carried out Jesus' commission to witness to him throughout the world (Acts 1:6-8).

This has been the approach we have taken in this study.

THE CHURCH IN ACTS
However, as we examined the early chapters of Acts we noticed life in the Jerusalem church being played out.  Then as we followed the Apostle Paul on his missionary journeys we noticed that he established congregations in many cities and returned to them to encourage and strengthen them. 

Acts does have a lot to say about life in the early Apostolic churches!

One thing we learn from Paul's preaching was that when people obeyed the Gospel message by believing in Jesus and by being baptized into Jesus they were formed into local churches or congregations.

Those who were being saved were being added to the disciples number, or we might say, to the church daily (Acts 2:47).

When Paul preached in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Corinth (as in all of the other places he preached and people responded in faith) congregations were established.
We refer to these three places because Paul later wrote letters to them as churches or congregations.

It is reasonable to conclude that saved Christians in Acts are found in local congregations!

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THESE CONGREGATIONS IN ACTS?
We are introduced to several important characteristics of the New Testament church in our study of Acts:

1.  Elders
Although not much is said in the Epistles of the New Testament regarding Elders (excepting where Paul and Peter address the elders directly, or where there are some problems relating to elders such as in 1 Timothy and Titus) we do learn some interesting and significant things about elders in Acts.

i. We find elders mentioned for the first time in Acts 11:30 in regard to the church in Antioch.
ii. Perhaps the reason we do not find elders mentioned in the Jerusalem church before Acts 15 is that in the early days of the church in Jerusalem the Apostles were the prominent leaders of the church in that city.
Normally, as we learn in Acts 6, the work of Apostles was not located in local congregations, but was intended to be global (see Acts 1:6-9).
iii. Paul and Barnabas and his other fellow workers saw the need to appoint elders in every local congregation ("city" in Acts since there was originally only one congregation per city.  There is no concept in the NT of elders or bishops serving over an area or more than one congregation.)
iv. Elders functioned in local congregations as local congregation leaders.
v. In Acts 20:17, 28 Paul referred to the elders of the church as bishops (overseers) and shepherds (those who shepherd or care for the flock).  In the NT the term pastor (shepherd) was used only in regard to elders, not ministers or preachers.  (A minister can be a pastor only if he is also an elder or bishop, and meets the qualities set for elders and bishops in the NT.)
vi. The ministry of the elder/bishop/shepherd is to care for, protect, be concerned for, and be a Christian role model and example to the congregation.  Elders teach and lead by example, not in a domineering and authoritarian manner (1 Pet 5:1-3).

2. Worship
Although very little is said in Acts about the church worshipping, there are several important dimensions of worship we learn from Acts.

i. Very early in the life of the church in Jerusalem we see the Christians gathering to worship (Acts 2:42).
Luke explains that the early disciples "devoted" (were devoting the grammar indicates a regular practice) themselves to four aspects of worship:
a.  the Apostles teaching (teaching and preaching)
b.  fellowship (shared company, care for one another)
c.  the breaking of bread (the Lord's Supper, Communion, or Eucharist)
d.  prayers 
ii In Acts 20:7 Paul and the disciples in Troas gathered together "on the first day of the week"  "to break bread" (the Lord's Supper), and Paul preached to them.
iii. Worship in Acts focused on:
a.  fellowship - sharing together
b.  breaking bread - the Lord's Supper
c.  preaching and teaching 
d.  prayers

3.  Benevolence
Benevolence, or taking care of one another in Acts was a prominent aspect of congregational life.  Perhaps this is what was meant by "fellowship."

i. Early signs of this can be seen in Acts 2:46 where Luke explains that the disciples ate common meals together, sharing their food "with glad and generous hearts".
ii. Luke informs us in Acts 4:32-37 that the disciples in Jerusalem were of one heart and sold their possessions and brought the money to the Apostles for distribution among the needy.
iii. In Acts 5 we learn of Ananias and Sapphira who lied about their benevolence and were struck dead because of this!
iv. Although Luke does not make a major point of this, on Paul's third missionary journey he collected money from the Gentile churches as a gift for the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem (see 1 Cor 16:1-4 and Rom15:25).
v. Benevolence (alms giving) and doing good for the needy was a major concern of Jesus and a sign of Messianic ministry (Matt 6:1, Lk 4:18-21).

4.  Mission
From the first chapter of Acts Luke explains that mission and preaching was a fundamental and defining aspect of Christianity and the church.

i. Jesus' commission to the Apostles in Acts 1:6-9 was an extension of his great commission in Matt 28:19, 20 ands Mk 16:15:16 to preach the Gospel and make disciples among all nations.
ii. The mission of the Apostles (and subsequently the whole church) was not to stay in Jerusalem, but to spread out through Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth.  This the Apostles did and Luke records this in Acts as one of the major purposes he had in writing Acts.
iii. Paul's three mission journeys demonstrate this world wide mission.
iv. The church in Antioch understood this to be their mission charge as well as that of the Apostle Paul's, for they sent Paul and Barnabas out on the first mission journey, and Paul returned to them as his mission base.
v. Jesus' had defined the mission of the disciple in Matt 10 as being the same as the mission of the Messiah!  The Messiah was sent to bring salvation to all men, both Jew and Gentile.  Disciples of Jesus (followers of Jesus and his teaching) have the same purpose and mission.  We see this demonstrated in Acts.
vi. In 2 Tim 2:1, 2 we see Paul handing his apostolic mission on to Timothy who was to pass this on to others:
"You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."

5.  Church Autonomy
As we follow the ministry of Paul in Acts we learn that the churches of the New Testament were completely autonomous.  By this we mean that the only authority they were under was that of Christ.  No one church dominated the others, and no one church had authority over the others.  The Jerusalem church had no authority over any other churches!

When Paul and Barnabas met with the Apostles, elders, and Jerusalem church, the elders of the Jerusalem church had no authority over the church in Antioch, or anywhere else.  The meeting was to solve a problem that originated in the Jerusalem church.  The Jerusalem church had no authority over the Apostle Paul (see Gal 1:11-2:10).  The resolution of the meeting with the Jerusalem church was a request that Gentile Christians respect the social and cultural sensitivities of the Jews, nothing more!

Each church or congregation in the New Testament functioned under the Lordship of Christ and his Word.  Elders and ministers (evangelists) taught the congregation the Word, and provided leadership for the local church.  In the NT, no singular church, synod, or diocese had authority over any other church.  Bishops of one church had authority to lead only that one church, and had no authority over any other church.

We learn from 1 Cor 5:1-13 that not even Paul had authority beyond his teaching over the church in Corinth!

Summary and Discussion:

1)  What do we learn about the church from Acts?  Who makes up the church?  How
     does one become a member of the church?  How does the church function?   Was
     there a dynamic relationship between the churches established by Paul and the
     churches in Antioch and Jerusalem?  What can we learn from the Jerusalem
     meeting and church autonomy?

2)  What role do elders play on the church?  Does it seem from acts and Paul's
     ministry that having elders was optional to church life?  What responsibility do
     elders, overseers (bishops), and shepherds (pastors) have toward the local church?

3)  How does or should benevolence function in the life of the church?  What does
     involvement in benevolence say about a church, or mean to the life of the church?
     How can we today become involved in benevolence?

4)  What is the mission of the church?  How does the church carry out its mission?
     What should be the core message of the churches mission?

5)  What do we learn from Acts, passages such as Acts 2:42, 20:7, et al, about the
     worship of the church?  What do we see the church doing in Acts and when do
     they do this, and what is the focus of their worship?  Discuss Acts 2:42 in some
     detail.  How important was prayer in the life of the church members in Acts?
     Locate some passages such as Acts 2:42, 4:24 ff., 16:25 that demonstrate the
     role of prayer in the life of the church, and the results of such prayer.

Final Summary and Discussion! 

1)  In your own words summarize what Acts is all about, why did Luke write it, how
     does it relate to the Gospel of Luke?

2)  What was Jesus' commission to the Apostles?

3)  To what were they to witness?

4)  What was the core of their witnessing or preaching?  Compare this to 1 Cor
     1:18-2:5.

5)  What did they tell people to do in response to their witnessing or preaching?

6)  What did the people do in response to those instructions, and why?