Word of Salvation – July 2025

 

Acts: The Ongoing Work Of Jesus Christ

 

Sermon by Rev. John Westendorp on Acts 1:1-3

Scripture Readings: Luke 24:36-53, Acts 1:1-11

 

Singing:        BoW.485       Lord You give the Great Commission
BoW.098a     Unto God our Saviour
BoW.334       There is under heaven no name
BoW.326       Crown Him with many crowns

 

Theme: Acts: The gospel of a risen Christ is foundational for the church’s Kingdom agenda in the world.

 

Introd:            People often say that we need to get back to the way things were in the book of Acts.

They do that for various reasons.
Some feel that our worship services get too routine and boring.
(And being boring seems to be the worst sin anyone can commit these days.)
So we’re told that we need to go back to these exciting days pictured in Acts.

Or a congregation becomes divided over some issue or other.
Before too long it all goes pear-shaped and the church falls apart.
Then some will say that we need to get back to Acts when the church was wonderfully united.

Of course it’s true that wonderful things do happen in the book of Acts.
It does have much to teach us.  It is inspiring.
Here is a church that is growing in leaps and bounds.

But people who want to take us back to Acts really need to study that book a little more closely.
Because it shows us that, like all churches, the early church too was an imperfect church.
If you doubt that think of that disaster of Ananias and Sapphira.
Or the fact that Paul and Barnabas argued so sharply that they parted company.

And if people really want to go back to Acts then they should start with themselves.
Because Acts also shows us a committed church, prepared to be persecuted.
Stephen is put to death and so is James.  And at the end of it Paul is in prison.
You want us to go back to Acts…?
Okay!  But then begin with the kind of commitment that arouses persecution.

Acts won’t give us a model for a perfect church but it will have many lessons to teach us.

 

A]        THE FOUNDATION FOR ACTS: LUKE’S GOSPEL.

1. When we read the first sentence of the book of Acts we realise right away who the author is.

“In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach…”

That “former book” is one the four gospels – also addressed to that same man Theophilus.
Listen how Luke’s gospel begins:
“It seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you most excellent Theophilus.”

So the same man wrote both the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts.  Both written to Theophilus.

So who is this man Luke who wrote these words?
What are his qualifications?  Why should you listen to him and take note of his writings?
Well Luke was a doctor.  And he was a companion of the apostle Paul… one of his co-workers.
Paul refers to him 3 times in his letters and calls him “Our dear friend Luke, the doctor.” (Col.4¹⁴)

IOW this man has very good credentials.
He is an educated man and a careful scholar – as we would expect from a doctor.
Turn back to Luke 1 and notice that he is a man who examines the data with clinical precision.
Let me show you that in two ways from his gospel.
First from Luke 1:3
“Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning…”
Luke is a careful historian who can be trusted.  He’s done his homework.

That comes out even more clearly in <<< READ Luke 3:1,2 >>>
See how carefully he researches things.  There are no less than 7 verifiable reference points.

 

2. When it comes to that man Theophilus things are less clear. We’ve got no idea who he is.

Some even suggest that Theophilus is not a real name.
The name literally means “dear to God” – so there is a theory that Luke made up the name.
People who say that argue that this was a time of persecution so you were careful with names.
Theophilus (dear to God) is then a codeword that means Christians in general.

But in Luke the man has a title.  Luke there calls him: “Most excellent Theophilus”.
Or perhaps literally: “Your excellency, Theophilus”.  So he seems to be a man of rank.
It is even argued that the title “Excellency” is a familiar Roman title.
So that Dr Luke is writing to a high-up Roman official.
If that’s the case then we have two Bible books written by a Gentile to a Gentile.
(Dr. Luke is the only non-Jewish writer in the N.T.)

It seems then that Luke is writing both the gospel and Acts for a purpose.
The purpose of convincing this person Theophilus.
If you like: Luke is arguing the case for Christianity to this man.

All of this is very helpful for us.  How reliable is your Bible?  How trustworthy are the gospels?
You may recall Dan Brown in the Da Vinci Code.  He argued against the Bible’s authenticity.
He wanted to replace the N.T. with later, questionable books from Christian (Gnostic) sects.
Books like “The Gospel according to Thomas”.

Other people totally dismiss the N.T. writers… claiming that they had an agenda.
They were not recording history objectively and fairly… what they were writing was propaganda.
And here is Luke’s propaganda to convince this man Theophilus.

But when we see the meticulous care that Dr Luke took, we are encouraged.

When we realise that he worked with Paul and therefore knew all the apostles our doubt is removed.

These writings are reliable… they are trustworthy… so people like Dan Brown can go jump in the lake.

 

3. We are further encouraged by Luke’s thoroughness when we realise that Acts is a sequel.

Hollywood loves sequels.  They make a movie, Batman.  And hey presto, along comes Batman II.

Well Luke thought of it before Hollywood did.  He put out Book One and then Book Two.

Book One is about what Jesus began to do and teach… from His birth to His Ascension.

His works and His words.  But Luke now writes a sequel: Book Two.
Luke wants Theophilus to know that Christianity doesn’t end with the Ascension.
The ascension may mark the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry…
But it begins the story of what Jesus continues to do through His church.

Some translations of the Bible label this book “The Acts of the Apostles”.
But it’s really the Acts of Jesus – as from heaven He now works through His church.
Luke is highlighting that the story of Jesus – the gospel – is foundational for the book of Acts.
So in these verses Luke is grounding the story of the church in the story of Jesus.

That is obvious when you read through Acts.  For example: There are two major sections in Acts.
The first features especially Peter, the second Paul, but the focus in both sections is Jesus.
So Acts is the story book of conversions to Christ.  It begins with 3000 on the day of Pentecost
By the time we get to the end of this book there are Churches all across Asia and into Europe.
But all those people embrace the Christian faith not because it has good morals.
They join the church not just because the church is such a caring community.
They are converted because of what Jesus did and taught.  His words and His works.

I once talked to a young lady who claimed to be a Christian simply because she was born in Oz.

Wrong.  You’re not a Christian either just because you go to church.  (car/garage analogy…?)

Acts shows us that being a Christian is accepting by faith what Jesus began to do and what He taught.

B]        THE INSTRUCTIONS THAT JESUS LEFT HIS CHURCH.

1. Luke goes on to show us that the days between Easter and the Ascension were very important.

During those forty days Jesus gave instructions to His church.

They were forty days of teaching in which the church received her marching orders.

In vs.2 Luke uses a very specific word here for instructions.
The words is variously translated as commandments (KJV) instructions (NRS) or orders (NAB).
But the word means ‘instruction geared to an outcome’.
IOW Jesus gave instructions to direct the church… towards what the outcome was to be.

That’s relevant for us today.
The church today – particularly in Western society – is rich in resources.
We have books and videos, teaching kits and Bible software to guide the church.
And at the click of a mouse you can download heaps of it from the internet.
And we thank God for all those rich resources to help us and the church.
But a question we always need to ask is: Is it faithful to the instructions Jesus gave His church?

There’s an advantage in having been in the ministry for nearly 50 years.
That is that I’ve forgotten far more “you beaut” programs and resources than I’ve remembered.
Some wonderful church growth strategies have been promoted over the years.
And seminars and conferences are run by the dozen – every year again.
But at the end of the day we’re left with the best resource of all: The instructions of Jesus.
And the book of Acts shows us how those instructions were applied… and how the church grew.

You may ask: Okay, but what were these instructions?
That early sect (the Gnostics) said Jesus gave special insights recorded in the Gnostic gospels.
No!  I believe Luke is still talking about the words and works of Jesus in his first book.
What Jesus began to do and to teach.
IOW The meaning of His death and resurrection were now spelled out.
And it was that gospel message that was to be communicated to the world.

 

2. I find it interesting that in these early verses of Acts you find many of Acts’ central themes.

In that sense these verses are like an overture.
Major musical works often begin with what we call an overture.
That overture introduces the musical themes that will be developed later in the work.

In the same way Luke now introduces, for example, the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
He’s going to elaborate on the person and work of the Spirit later.
Chapter 2 of Acts is that well-known chapter of the outpouring of God’s Spirit on the Church.

But here Luke tells us that Jesus gave instructions through the Holy Spirit.
This is the first mention of the work of the Holy Spirit in Acts.
But it definitely won’t be the last.  The Holy Spirit has a leading role to play in Acts.
He is mentioned more than 60 times.
Perhaps this book should be called: The Acts of the Holy Spirit.

But the Holy Spirit’s story doesn’t begin with Pentecost in chapter 2.
He has been there and involved all along.
He’s there in the gospels as Jesus gives instruction through the Holy Spirit.
He was there during those forty days between the resurrection and the ascension.

And He needs to be there.
Because it’s the Holy Spirit who open hearts to receive the teaching of Jesus.
And it’s the Holy Spirit who enables us to trust Jesus’ works and His words.

 

3. There are other introductory themes in this overture. Here too for the first time apostles are mentioned.

Those who received the instructions of Jesus through the Holy Spirit were the apostles.

Again Luke is building here on his first book: the Gospel of Luke.
Theophilus will know from his reading of the gospel that Jesus chose twelve special disciples.
They travelled around with Him and He sent them out.
Just as Israel was founded on the 12 sons of Jacob so the church is founded on the 12 apostles.

So not surprisingly the book of Acts shows the apostles and their associates as the main actors.
Several of them are mentioned by name.
In the first part of Acts, the apostle Peter is the key player.
In the second part of Acts, the apostle Paul is the key player.
And of course we know his story – he became an apostle later on the Damascus road.

So the specific task of the apostles was to communicate Christ’s words.
They were the ones Jesus instructed… and entrusted with those instructions.
They were the ones who personally received our Lord’s marching orders for the church.

Again that is wonderfully encouraging for us.
The Mormon faith rests on the work of a man called Joseph Smith who never met Jesus.
Islam rests on the work of Mohamed who never met Jesus
Christianity rests on the work of apostles who spent time with Jesus.
Men who were instructed by Him for those forty days between Easter and the ascension.

So the authority of the apostles lies behind the formation of the early church.
The gospels were written by them… or by men who acted under their authority.
(In the case of Luke, he worked in conjunction especially with Paul).
These apostles also wrote the various letters that make up the rest of the N.T.

Again, that gives us confidence that our faith has substance.  It is true.  It has a foundation.

The church is founded on the apostles who were especially chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

C]        THE CENTRALITY OF THE EXALTED CHRIST.

1. There was one very special task that these apostles had.

Jesus showed Himself to them as the One who had defeated death.
Jesus appeared to these men after Easter in various ways over those forty days.
IOW they served as eye-witnesses to the truth of the Easter story.

We live today in a world that in at least one sense is the same as the world of the book of Acts.
That is that people do not believe that a dead man can walk out of a grave.
Resurrections are not supposed to happen.
I have met people who love the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.
But they balk at the thought that on third day He arose again from the dead.
In our culture generally, dead is dead.
Strangely, many today are open to the idea of reincarnation… but not to resurrections.

And now Luke says here – right at the start of his second book:
That after his sufferings Jesus showed Himself to these men.
And he didn’t do that just once or twice but over and over again during those forty days.
The Apostle Paul gives us a comprehensive list of Christ’s appearances in 1Corinthians 15.
But even that list is not exhaustive.

Luke shows us that that the gospel of Jesus is central to the story of Acts.

But he also shows us that Jesus is central to the church as the risen and exalted Son of God.

 

2. Luke wants to leave Theophilus in no doubt about that.

The resurrection of Jesus is something on which you and I should never waver as Christians.

Because Luke adds that Jesus gave many convincing proofs that He was alive.

At this point Luke uses a word that is used nowhere else in the Bible.
This is the only place where it is used.
The word means a compelling sign, it means convincing proof.
It means something that leaves you with absolutely no doubt.

That’s important – because these disciples themselves did not at first believe that Jesus was risen.
They needed convincing.
Think of the apostle Thomas in the gospel of John.
He missed the first appearance of Jesus… and what was his reaction?
His reply to the news of the resurrection was:
Unless I put my finger in the nail marks and my hand in his side I will not believe.

So what did Jesus do?  He gave Thomas that convincing proof.
He removed all of Thomas’ doubts by inviting him to put his finger in the nail marks.
So that all that Thomas could then do was cry out: My Lord and my God!

Luke highlights that for us as believer the resurrection is not up for debate.
It’s one of the best attested facts in history.
Paul told the Corinthians that he could get them almost 500 witnesses.
The apostles were all eye-witnesses to the resurrection.
In verse 22 – when they seek a replacement for Judas, Peter states this as a requirement.
To be an apostle is to be a witness to resurrection of Christ.

So at the centre of Acts stands the risen, exalted Jesus.

And if there is any lesson we must learn from Acts it is precisely this:
That the very heart of our Christian living and our Christian witness is the risen Jesus.
We proclaim our faith in one who died for us on the cross but who rose again and who lives.

 

3. Luke concludes these three introductory verses on a seemingly different note.

He says that Jesus spoke to the apostles about the Kingdom of God.

By that he means the reign and the rule of God here on earth and in the hearts of men and women.

This is simply a big picture way of speaking about the gospel.
A big-picture way of speaking about the Christian church.
Wherever the church grows there the Kingdom of God is being advanced.
Whenever anyone turns to Jesus in faith they are entering the Kingdom of God.

It’s interesting that Jesus began His ministry by speaking about the Kingdom. He said: (Lk.4:43)

   “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”

What is even more interesting is that this Kingdom… this reign of God is the goal of Acts.
Luke begins with it here in verse 3 of chapter 1.
But Luke also ends with it in the last verse of the book: Paul preached the Kingdom of God,
So Acts ends as it begins – with a concern about the coming of God’s Kingdom.
If you want a one line summary of the book of Acts we could put it this way.
It is the story of God’s Kingdom expanding from Jerusalem to Rome.

In some ways the book of Acts seems incomplete… Luke ends with Paul in prison.
And we all want to know what happened to him after that, don’t we?
In a way it’s very appropriate that Luke deliberately ends with an unfinished story.
Because the truth is that we’re still writing that story of the growth of God’s Kingdom today.
You are writing it; we as a church are writing it… whenever we point others to the exalted Christ.