Acts

Why was this book written?

      The book of Acts was written to Theophilus to tell him about what had happened after Jesus' resurrection. It's a sequel to his gospel account of Luke. Chapter one gives the resurrection account and then goes into detail about all that happened after Jesus resurrected. Acts breaks down the barrier between the Jew and the Gentile when Peter says that the Holy Spirit will be poured out on to everyone (2:17). All of the events give the Christian faith legitimacy as the things that happened to Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies about the coming Messiah that would forever change Judaism (1:16, 3:18, 13:29-30). A lot of this book helped to bring clarity to their religion and to solidify it as a true religion. I think Luke was trying to defend their faith and to show that Jesus was in fact the Messiah that had come to earth to bring all people to himself.

What is the main idea of this book.

      The main idea of Acts is to show that Christianity is for the Jew and just as much for the Gentile. The gospel message is for all people and the message of Jesus is brought from Jerusalem to Rome and is commanded by Jesus to be brought to the ends of the earth (1:8). The Holy Spirit is a main theme in the book. The Holy Spirit filling signifies that God has come upon that person and the Holy Spirit fills both Jews and Gentiles (11:15). This gives more credit to the fact that Jesus died for all and that he is the savior to all people. The church explodes and expands through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit grants boldness (4:31) and gives the apostles power to do signs (2:43). The legitimacy of the apostles and followers of Jesus comes from the power of the Holy Spirit. The church expands, spiritual gifts are given, and the Holy Spirit falls on gentiles.