Acts Bible Study Resources — Wednesday in the Word

Everything you need to kick start your study of the Book of Acts: maps, charts, key words, history, background, outlines, and links to help you study.

Jump to: Background; Maps; Key Words; Encyclopedias; Commentaries; Articles; GotQuestions Next

Basics

Author: Luke, the physician
Who was Luke?
Date written: c 62 AD (many arguing for 75-85 AD)
Time period of events: 30-62 AD. The book begins in the year of Christ’s death/resurrection and ends with Paul’s imprisonment in Rome.
Genre: historical narrative
Audience: Believers
Chapters 1-12 – main character is Peter. Chapters 13-28 – Main character is Paul.

Purpose:

Many have been proposed, including:

Evangelistic: to awaken faith (especially through the speeches recorded)
Political: to show Roman citizens that Christianity should be tolerated; Luke shows many Roman officials refusing to stand in the way of the new movement
Edification of believers: seeks the confirmation of what they have been taught (Luke 1:1-4)
Defense of Paul: Luke intended to defend Paul against rumors and false charges about his authenticity
Reconciliation between Jewish and Gentile believers by showing Peter and Paul in agreement over the basics of the faith
Historical-theological: to explain the movement of the church from Jerusalem-based, Judiasm-oriented to worldwide, Gentile-dominated.

Simple Outline

Chapters 1-12: Peter and the beginnings of the church in Palestine; 1:1-9:31 – Judea, Galilee and Samaria; 9:32-12:25 – as far as Phoenicia, Cyrus and Antioch.
Chapters 13-28: Paul and the expansion of the church from Antioch to Rome; 13:1-15:35 – throughout Phyrgia and Galatia; 15:36-21:16 – over to Macedonia; 21:17028:31 – to Rome.

Structure

6 sections marked by summary statements

1:1-6-7 – The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith. – Acts 6:7
6:8-9:31 – So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. – Acts 9:31
9:31-12:24 – But the word of God increased and multiplied. – Acts 12:24
12:25-16:5 – So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. – Acts 16:5
16:6-19:20 – So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. – Acts 19:20
19:21-28:31 – He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. – Acts 28:30-31

Themes

The Holy Spirit‘s power guides the church’s growth (Acts 1:8; Acts 4:8; Acts 8:28; Acts 8:39; Acts 10:19; Acts 13:2; Acts 15:28; Acts 16:6; Acts 20:22).
5 separate accounts of an outpouring of the Holy Spirits (Acts 2:1-4; Acts4:28-31; Acts 8:15-17; Acts 10:44; Acts 19:6).
Leading characters are each “filled with the Holy Spirit” (e.g. Acts 2:4; Acts 4:8; Acts 6:3; Acts 7:55; Acts 11:24; Acts 13:9; Acts 13:52).
Prayer (e.g. Acts 1:14; Acts 2:42; Acts 4:23-31; Acts 6:4; Acts 7:59; Acts 9:40; Acts 10:9; Acts 10:30; Acts 12:12; Acts 13:3; Acts 14:23; Acts 16:16; Acts 16:25; Acts 20:36; Acts 21:5).
Joy (e.g. Acts 8:8; Acts 13:52; Acts 14:17; Acts15:3; Acts 16:34).
Suffering and persecution to advance the church (e.g. Acts 4:7; Acts 5:18; Acts 5:40-41; Acts 8:1; Acts 8:3; Acts 9:16; Acts 9:23; Acts 12:1-2; Acts 13:50; Acts 14:5; Acts 14:19; Acts 14:22; Acts 16:22-23; Acts 17:5; Acts 18:12; Acts 20:3; Acts 20:23; Acts 21:30; Acts 23:12; Acts 28:20).

Genre: Understanding Narrative

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Section 1: Background

Background, Outlines & Timelines

Introductions

Acts Overview (Blue Letter Bible)
NIV: Introduction to Acts
ESV: Introduction to Acts
ESV: The Global Message of Acts
Ray Stedman: Overview of each Book
John MacArthur: Author, Date, Background
J Vernon McGee Notes on Acts
Charles Swindoll – Acts – View a list of Bible maps
James Van Dine: Analysis of Acts
David Malick (Bible.org): An Introduction To The Book Of Acts
David Malick: An Argument Of The Book Of Acts
Daniel Wallace: Acts: Introduction, Outline, and Argument
Bob Utley: Introduction to Acts

Timelines

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Section 2: Maps

Maps from Bible-History.com

Paul’s 1st Journey – Acts 13:4-14:28
Paul’s 2nd Journey – Acts 15:36-18:22
Paul’s 3rd Journey – Acts 18:23-21:26
Apostles’ Journeys
Paul’s 3 Journeys on 1 map
New Testament World
Israel in NT Times
Kingdom of Herod the Great
Herod’s Kingdom Divided
Christ’s Early Ministry
Nazareth
Galilee
New Testament Jerusalem
New Testament Cities – Once there click on specific area

Maps from Holman Bible Atlas

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Section 3: Key Words

Key Words in Acts

Occurrences are based on New American Standard Text. “4x/3v” means the word appears 4 times in 3 verses. “3x” means the word appears 3 times in 3 verses.

Lord (101x) – Strong’s G2962
Jesus (71x); Christ (26X)
Spirit (64x) – Strong’s G4151
word (39x) Strong’s G3056 in Act 2:41; Act 4:29; Act 4:31; Act 6:2; Act 6:4; Act 6:7; Act 7:14; Act 8:4; Act 8:14; Act 8:25; Act 10:36; Act 11:1; Act 11:16; Act 11:19; Act 12:24; Act 13:5; Act 13:7; Act 13:15; Act 13:44; Act 13:46; Act 13:48; Act 13:49; Act 14:3; Act 14:25; Act 15:7; Act 15:27; Act 15:35; Act 15:36; Act 16:6; Act 16:32; Act 17:11; Act 17:13; Act 18:5; Act 18:11; Act 19:10; Act 19:20; Act 20:32; Act 20:38; Act 28:25.
baptized (19X) – Strong’s G907 in Act 1:5; Act 2:38; Act 2:41; Act 8:12; Act 8:13; Act 8:16; Act 8:36; Act 8:38; Act 9:18; Act 10:47; Act 10:48; Act 11:16; Act 16:15; Act 16:33; Act 18:8; Act 19:3; Act 19:4; Act 19:5; Act 22:16; baptism (6x) – Strong’s G908 in Act 1:22; Act 10:37; Act 13:24; Act 18:25; Act 19:3; Act 19:4.
church (17x) Strong’s G1577 in Act 5:11; Act 8:1; Act 8:3; Act 9:31; Act 11:22; Act 11:26; Act 12:1; Act 12:5; Act 13:1; Act 14:23; Act 14:27; Act 15:3; Act 15:4; Act 15:22; Act 18:22; Act 20:17; Act 20:28.
faith (14X/13V) – Strong’s G4102 in Act 3:16; Act 6:5; Act 6:7; Act 11:24; Act 13:8; Act 14:9; Act 14:22; Act 14:27; Act 15:9; Act 16:5; Act 20:21; Act 24:24; Act 26:18.
believe (10x/9v) Strong’s 64100 in Act 8:37; Act 13:41; Act 15:7; Act 15:11; Act 16:31; Act 19:4; Act 26:27; Act 27:25; Act 28:24; believing (4x) Strong’s G4100 in Act 9:26; Act 11:17; Act 18:8; Act 24:14.
saved (12x) Strong’s G4982 in Act 2:21; Act 2:40; Act 2:47; Act 4:12; Act 11:14; Act 15:1; Act 15:11; Act 16:30; Act 16:31; Act 27:20; Act 27:31; Act 28:4.
witnesses (9x) – Strong’s G3144 in Act 1:8; Act 2:32; Act 3:15; Act 5:32; Act 6:13; Act 7:58; Act 10:39; Act 10:41; Act 13:31.
witness (7x) – Strong’s G3144 in Act 1:22; Act 22:15; Act 22:20; Act 26:16; Strong’s G3140 in Act 10:43; Act 23:11; Strong’s G267 in Act 14:17.