ACTS 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his
passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking
of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
ACTS 1:4 And, being assembled together with them,
commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the
promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
ACTS 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye
shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Too often we forget that Jesus did not rise from the
dead and then quickly go back to heaven. He shewed Himself alive for 40
days. And verse 3 tells us that during this 40 days Jesus was speaking to
them about the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Jesus was busy
training these men. He had worked with them and trained them for about 3
1/2 years before the crucifixion. And now after the resurrection He spends
another 40 days. You should be seeing the precident that Jesus set of how
His workers need to be trained. There needs to be a period of time where a
man gets prepared for the ministry. He needs to spend time learning and
time walking with Jesus first. But good training is not enough to do the
work of God. Even after all the training Jesus still tells them to wait.
There is still something that they lack. Jesus tells them to wait until
the Holy Ghost comes.
ACTS 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
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the
earth.
Knowledge is not enough. We need the power of the
Holy Ghost to do the work of God. Too many try to serve God in the flesh
and not in the leadership of the Holy Ghost. Now notice what this power is
for. In verse 8 you shall receive power, and ye shall be witnesses unto
Jesus. The power of the Holy Ghost is for witnessing and not for the crazy
stuff you see on T.V. (flopping on the floor, jabbering, ect). It is
the Holy Ghost that brings the necessary conviction to the hearts of men.
We need to be witnesses for Jesus and we need the power of the Holy Ghost to be
effective. Knowledge is important but knowledge alone will not cut it.
Thought On This Chapter
ACTS 1:24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which
knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
Man looks on the outward, but God sees the heart.
"for [the LORD seeth] not as man seeth; for man looketh
on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart."
In fact the Lord knows the hearts of all men. He
knows the hearts of the lost and He knows the hearts of the redeemed. He
knows my heart and He knows your heart. He knows them in the morning and
in the evening. He knew your heart yesterday, He knows it today, and He
will know it tomorrow. That is just a simple truth. We have an all
knowing God.
What surprises me is all the people who act like God
does not know the heart. They might go to church to put on a show on
Sunday, but the rest of the week they live like the devil. Who do they
think they are fooling? They might fool men, but they can't fool the one
who really matters. You can't fool God Period. So the wise thing to
do is to never try. Be honest and transparent with God. Confess all
to Him in prayer. He already knows anyway.
ACTS 1:1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
ACTS 1:2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
ACTS 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
ACTS 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
ACTS 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
ACTS 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
ACTS 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
ACTS 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 Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
ACTS 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
ACTS 1:10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
ACTS 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
ACTS 1:12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.
ACTS 1:13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
ACTS 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
ACTS 1:15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)
ACTS 1:16 Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.
ACTS 1:17 For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.
ACTS 1:18 Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
ACTS 1:19 And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.
ACTS 1:20 For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.
ACTS 1:21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
ACTS 1:22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
ACTS 1:23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
ACTS 1:24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
ACTS 1:25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
ACTS 1:26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
General Information About the Book of Acts.
The book of Acts is the only history book in the New
Testament. It records the events after the ascension of Jesus back to
Heaven.
The book of Acts records what Jesus continued to do and
to teach after His ascension through His Church.
The key word is witness.
The key verse is Acts 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 Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost
part of the earth.
The theme of the book is the power of God for
witnessing.
The book of Acts sets forth God's plan for witnessing
to the lost. This book shows us how the church is to go about reaching the
world for Christ.
ACTS 1:21 Wherefore of these men which
have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among
us,
ACTS 1:22 Beginning from the baptism of
John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to
be a witness with us of his resurrection.
In these verses you have one of the qualifications of
being an apostle. The context of these verses is that they are choosing a
new apostle to replace Judas.
Listed in these two verses are several qualifications
to be an apostle:
A person must have companied with them all the time
that the Lord Jesus went in and out among them.
A person must have begun from the baptism of John.
A person must have continued until the day that Jesus
was taken up from them.
A person must have witnessed the Resurrection of Jesus.
No one today meets any of these qualifications.
In fact no one has met them since the original apostles all died. To meet
these requirements a person would have to be almost 2,000 years old.
Anyone who teaches that there are still apostles are
teaching against the word of God.
