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AUGUST, 1946
BOOK OF THE MONTH
THE
JOHN A. HUBBARD, D. D, preparing the way for salvation. The Gospels give the record of the deal ings of God, the Son, working out salvation through His d e a t h and resurrection. The A c t s tells of the working of God the Holy Spirit, apply ing the salvation provided by the Father and wrought out by the Son Because of the great prominence of the Person and work of the Holy Spirit Acts has been sometimes called “The Acts of the Holy Spirit.” The key verse is 1:8: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jeru salem, and in all J u d a e a , and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Student should memo rize this verse.) We believe the key word for the book is “witnesses.” We suggest the following outline based upon the key verse: I. Ch. 1—Preparation for Witnessing II. Chs. 2-7 —Bearing Witness unto Christ in Power in Jerusalem. III. Chs. 8-12—Bearing Witness unto Christ in Power in Judea and Samaria IV. Chs. 13-28—Bearing W i t n e s s unto Christ in Power to the Uttermost Parts of the Earth. Subdivisions for this section: 1. Paul’s First Missionary Journey Chs. 13, 14. Note: 15:1-35 records the first church council, result of the First Journey 2. Paul’s Second Missionary Journey Chs. 15:36-18:22. 3. Paul’s Third Missionary Journey Chs. 18:23-21:16. 4. Paul’s Arrest (at Jerusalem), Ini prisonment (at Caesarea) and Wit ness-bearing (at Rome), Chs. 21:17 28:31. Thus we have a record of witnessin from Jerusalem, capital city of th Jews, to Rome, capital city of th Gentiles.
THE BOOK OF ACTS T HIS month we shall make a book is of great significance, it is very much neglected. Many Biola students have declared that before making a study of this book, they paid very little attention to it because they thought it was “ dry and uninteresting, just a lot of names of people and places.” However, after a s t u d y of Acts, their opinion was decidedly changed, for they found it to be of great interest and help. Something of its greatness may be discovered by a consideration of its relationship to the other books of the New Testament. Consider first its relation to the Gospels. Note the words of Acts 1:1, 2: “The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the a p o s t l e s whom he had chosen.” It is generally agreed that the “former treatise” here mentioned is the Gospel of Luke, since both it and Acts were adressed to the same person—Theophilus (Luke 1:1- 4). Because of this, some have referred to Acts as “The Second Book of Luke.” The Gospels record what “Jesus be gan to do and teach” up to the time of His ascension. The Book of Acts records what Jesus continued to do and teach after His ascension, work ing and teaching by the Holy Spirit through the apostles and others. The Gospels record various prom ises made by the Lord Jesus to the disciples while He was yet with them. In Acts, we have the record of the ful fillment of some of these promises, as, for example, the establishment of the Church (Matt. 16:15-18). The promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit is found in Luke 24:49 and in John 14:16, 17, 26; 16:7-15. The ful fillment of this promise is recorded in
Acts 2. In Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15 we are told that the Gospel was to be spread into all the world, which Iof course included preaching it to the Gentiles. The f u l f i l l m e n t of this declaration is found in Acts 10. Consider the relation of Acts to the Epistles. This connection is also very close. Acts may be considered a bridge between the Gospels and the Epistles. Thirteen of the twenty-one Epistles (not including Hebrews) were written by Paul, for the knowledge of whose life we are largely dependent upon the Book of Acts. It has been stated that we can estimate the importance of anything by considering what would result from its being taken from us. Apply this to the Book of Acts at this point. Go from the Gospels to Romans 1:1, and read “Paul . . . an apostle.” But Paul is not named among the apostles of the Gospels. When and how did he become one? The answer is in Acts alone. Then, too, we are dependent upon the Acts for our knowledge of the founding of some of the churches to which the Epistles were sent by Paul. This information clarifies many refer ences in the Epistles. What is the design or aim of the Book of Acts? In this connection the following quotation from Dr. W. J. Moorhead is very helpful: “The Acts may be read as the history of the . establishment of the Church of God in the world through h u m a n in strumentality, particularly through the two chosen and gifted men, Peter and Paul. Acts is the inspired record of the advent, mission and operations of the Holy Spirit in the world. This is an essential feature of the book, and it may be read as having for its chief, if not its whole aim, the history of the presence and power of the Spirit for the gathering of the Church, the body of Christ.” The Old Testament gives the record of the dealings of God the Father in
brief study of one of the most important books of the Bible, the Acts of the Apostles. While this
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