Before His ascension, Jesus promised the disciples that they will be His witnesses from in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and the uttermost ends of the world. He assured them that this will take place after they have received the gift of the Holy Spirit who is to be the helper. This assurance and promise offers an ideal structure of the book of Acts. When we go through the book of Acts from chapter one to the seventh, we see the word is being spread throughout Jerusalem. Going further, from chapter to 12 of the same book we see the gospel being spread in all Judea and Samaria. Form Acts 13 to !8, we have the evidence of the gospel been spread to the uttermost ends of the world. ( Woodard, 2015).
When we proceed to the second chapter, we see the promise of the Holy Spirit fulfilled. Upon the reception of the Holy Spirit from the upper room the disciples are heard speaking in new tongues. Apostle Peter boldly proclaims the gospel with a tune of 3,000 converts been witnessed to. This gave birth to the church of Christ which acted as a big milestone for the spreading of the gospel. The preaching of Apostle Peter saw thousands of Jews from all over the land of Mediterranean become followers and believers of Jesus Christ. After receiving the Gospel, the new converts went ahead to the city proclaiming the gospel by preparing their Jewish allies and community for the response of the Gospel.
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Giving reference to the video clip of Fowler, he categorically clarifies that Luke uses the book of Acts to give a record of the history of the spreading of the Gospel. Fowler points the theme of sovereignty of God as the main theme of this book. Going further, also brings out the Kingdom of God as another theme in the book of Acts. We see the church having a series of sharp opposition from within and even without whoever the force of God is supreme over all these. This places the church in a place of growth. This theme is seen to be dominating the book from the beginning to the end. God is portrayed as Sovereign in all things. The book of Acts just like any other in the Bible, it shows the sovereign rule of the Almighty God. Luke shows God as a Sovereign being who has will and power to save mankind by appointing them to eternal life. He does this by giving faith, grace and a heart of repentance.
The operation of the mission of the church from its conception to the growth is under the control of God. as the gospel is being taken from Jerusalem, Judea, to all the ends of the world, the sovereign power of God through salvation is shown. Its clear that without the purpose of the sovereign God the church cannot grow, neither can the gospel of salvation spread. The great sovereignty of God is very crucial for every single action of the early apostles and the church also. Throughout the Acts of the apostles, the power of God is seen. This goes beyond the extreme of persecutions, sinfulness of a person and even the hopelessness of situations.
It is beyond doubt that this is the strongest theme in the book of Acts. We see the book start by bringing the aspect of the kingdom of God. Throughout the book, the aspect of the growth of the Kingdom of God is brought out even to the end of the book. It shows the spreading of the gospel from the town of Jerusalem, all throughout to the gentiles who are spread all over.
The Kingdom of God revolves around the work of salvation. Luke takes us throughout the acts of apostles showing the way God could use man (the apostles) to change fellow men. The story of the expansion of the apostolic mission by the early church is seen as part of the kingdoms agenda. Everything happens in between the conception, expansion and demonstration of the kingdom.
In chapter 28 of the book of the acts, we see a convergence of the theme of the sovereignty of od and also the theme of the Kingdom of God. the chapter starts with Paul receiving a hospitable welcome from the natives of Malta. At some point a snake rolls around his arm. By Sovereign power of God, He does n to swell. God protected Him from the death so that the agenda of spreading the gospel cannot be cut short. Going further, the power of God to heal is demonstrated when the father of Publius who was sick and was in dysentery was totally healed. Amidst all the persecution the theme of the kingdom of God is demonstrated when Paul is taken before Caesar. Paul keeps on persuading people to God. some believe, others reject. Paul clearly shows that due to the love of God, the gospel of salvation had been extended to the gentiles. It is clear that Paul is deeply disappointed in the Jews who refuse the gospel yet God had given them the first priority. He rebukes them openly. ( Heil, 2018).
In His evangelistic speeches, Paul preaches to the both gentiles and Jews. Paul packages his speech differently in the two sets of believers. While preaching to the Jews he quotes several scriptures from the old testament. He could even try to fit in the shoe of the Jews and the Pharisees by telling his history, how he was converted and how he received the call. On the other hand, while speaking to the gentiles, Paul doesn’t refer a lot to the scriptures. When the gospel is taken to the Jews, they rejected it. Paul shows a disprove of the same and points the love of God even to the gentiles. After the Jews rejected the Gospel, Paul had to proceed to the gentiles who would glad receive him and the gospel. Throughout we see a pattern of Jews who are disobedient and unreceptive to the gospel. ( Wright, 2016).
References
Heil, John Paul. Luke-Acts: Foundations for Christian Worship . Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2018.
Woodard, Chris A. Guiding the First Baptist Church of Boulougne to adopt anunengaged, unreached people group in South Asia . Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2015.
Wright, Nicholas Thomas. The Paul Debate: Critical Questions for Understanding the Apostle . SPCK, 2016.
