Lesson 1 - Part II
9. In Acts, salvation begins with Jerusalem and the Jews. In a sense it never leaves Jerusalem because the Jews are the people in whom God chose to bring salvation to the whole world. All that happens in Acts, however far the scene is from Jerusalem, it is still the work which was begun in and is connected with Jerusalem. (I'll say a little about this later in another lesson.)
10. The good news proclaimed in Acts only begins in Jerusalem, it moves to the uttermost part of the earth (1:8). At first it is preached only to Jews but before long it reaches into Samaria. Samaritans were especially disliked by most Jews (see John 4:9). But not only did Philip preach to them, the Jerusalem church sent two apostles there to give their blessing to the work (see Acts 8:4-17). Then the Word went to uncircumcised Gentiles (see 10:1—11:18). This created a crisis, but when Peter told his story and told how the Holy Spirit came on these Gentiles, the Jerusalem leaders praised God that he had given life even to "raw" Gentiles.
11. The stress in Acts that salvation is for all is shown in other ways. In Acts 2 we hear of people from all over the world, people with many different languages, being brought into joy of the gospel. We hear that the Spirit is for "all flesh" (young men, young women, old men and women, male and female servants—the kind of people so often ignored by society). In Acts 8 we meet up with a eunuch. In the OT, eunuchs were excluded from the congregation of Israel (Deut 23:1) but God sent Philip to offer him life and full fellowship with God and his people (see Isaiah 56:3-5). Widows and the needy find life in Christ and women are given a place of prominence in Acts. God is for ALL!
12. Finally, the central story of Acts is that the Church is God's instrument through which salvation is brought to the world! While God in Christ is the central character in the book of Acts, the Church is the community, marked out, guided and energized by the Holy Spirit, through which God extends his offer of life to mankind!
13. Whatever criticisms we may have of the church and whatever criticisms she brings on herself, in Acts she is God's instrument bringing life and salvation to the world! In Acts she is not elite, she is elect. She is elected unto life but she is also elected to responsibility.
14. Summarizing the central message then, we get this: God is at work in the person of Jesus Christ-and especially in his death, burial and resurrection—to bring life and salvation to all mankind through the People of God, the Church!
go to Part III