READING THE BOOK OF ACTS: INTRODUCTION & CHAPTER 1
BOOK SUMMARY The book of Acts is generally summarized by Acts 1:8. The scripture describes the commission given to the disciples with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." The book also describes the rapid growth and persecution of the church. CONTEXT FOR ACTS, CHAPTER 1 Acts, Chapter 1 is the second letter of Luke written for Theophilus. The chapter describes the transition that happens between Jesus' ministry and the disciples' commission to spread the Gospel in Jerusalem and throughout all of Judea and Samaria and eventually throughout the entire world. In John, Chapter 20 the disciples experienced an infilling of Holy Spirit when Jesus breathed on them and told them to "...receive the Holy Spirit." Over the course of 40 days, Jesus appeared to over five hundred people (1Corinthians 15: