Acts 2: Bible Study, Commentary and Summary

Acts 2: Bible Study, Commentary and Summary May 25, 2016

Here is a Bible study, commentary, and summary of Acts chapter two.

Acts 2:1-4 “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

When the Day of Pentecost came, a prophecy was fulfilled that Joel had written about hundreds of years earlier, where he wrote “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit” (Joel 2:28) and that’s just what happened here, on the Day of Pentecost. They spoke in languages no one could understood except those who were nearby, as they said “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language” (Acts 2:7-8)?

Why did God’s Spirit prompt them to speak in languages that others would recognize?

Does this mean that they were speaking in an unknown tongue?

What did the “tongues of fire” represent?

What was this sound of “a might rushing wind” all about?

Acts 2:17 “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.”

Several men and women, not all of them apostles, did prophecy about things to come and this seems to fulfill what was written in Joel chapter two where it said “I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy” (Acts 2:18). What follows after this is the day of the Lord, where Peter says there will be “wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day” (Acts 2:19-20).

Do you think that the church thought the day of the Lord was imminent?

What do a blood moon and darkness have to do with the time just before the Lord’s appearance?

Is there some connection to these events in the Book of Revelation, specifically Revelation 6:12?

Is Isaiah 13:10, which says, “For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light” related to this event on the Day of Pentecost where Peter seems to say the very same thing?

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Acts 2:23-24 “This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

The Apostle Peter, during his powerful sermon on the Day of Pentecost informs his listeners that this was part of the sovereign plan of God so that He would give His life as a ransom for many. He was killed, essentially, by outlaws and godless men who were jealous of His positon of authority and His teachings which were contrary to their manmade religion and traditions of men. The killed this God-Man but since the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23) and Jesus was sinless, the grave couldn’t hold Him for He had never sinned.

Why wasn’t it possible for the grave to hold Jesus?

How can such an evil act of men result in so much good for us today?

Was God aware of everything that would happen?

Acts 2:36-37 “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Had they known that Jesus was truly the Son of God, they may have never done what they did but that was part of God’s ordained plan from the beginning as it says that the Lamb of God was slain from before the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8). The audience was so convicted, as if cut to the heart that they asked Peter and the other apostles, “what shall we do?” Peter gives them the perfect answer; “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

Why did they ask, “What shall we do?”

Does this refer to repentance or just remorse for what they did or both?

How can the Lamb of God be said to be slain from before the earth existed?

Have you or anyone else you know ever ask, “What shall I do?”

Acts 2:42 “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

The way the church grew so rapidly contains four essentials and they are; being devoted to the apostle’s doctrine, the fellowship of the church, the breaking of bread (perhaps meaning communion), and praying. Today we can find the apostle’s teachings in the New Testament because Jesus reminded his disciples before leaving to make disciples of all nations but to teach them the very same things that He taught them. That includes the four gospels but much of the New Testament too. These four things are the key to church growth but it’s not man-centered but God-centered.

Why does Peter mention the importance of fellowship?

What do you think he meant by “breaking bread?

What does it mean to be “devoted…to the apostle’s doctrine or teaching?”

Acts 2:44-47 “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Here is the key to church growth. The followed or obeyed the apostle’s teachings, they frequently broke bread together, and they had all things in common, even their possessions they deemed as not their own. The result was that “the Lord added to their number day by day” of “those who were being saved.”

Was the first century church unique for that time?

Are we commanded to give away all of our possessions today?

What things did they all have in common?

Summary

The second chapter of the Book of Acts is better than any of the “church growth” material you find on the Internet today, because it’s biblically centered, it is Spirit-driven, and it is God-commanded. Note that it was God who added to the church. Never does it say that the apostles or disciples ever added to the church; not even one time does it say this. The Bible is clear that God gives the increase (1st Cor 3:7). We might plant the seed of the Word or water what someone else has planted, but only God gives the increase, therefore He receives all the glory; just as it should be.

Conclusion

It’s quite easy to create your own Bible studies using any chapter you want. Just write down the Scriptures, provide a summary, and then follow with a few open-ended questions. There is truth to the proverb, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (Prov 27:17). It’s a little difficult to sharpen iron with no one else there….iron sharpens iron and that’s great, because rust never sleeps.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.


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