The Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles domain tests the early church's expansion from Jerusalem to Rome, with the Holy Spirit as the driving force. You must know the order of events, key speeches, conversions, the Jerusalem Council and Paul's journeys, and be able to explain how the gospel reached the Gentiles.
Movement of the book
- Acts 1:8 gives the outline: Jerusalem (1–7), Judea and Samaria (8–12), ends of the earth (13–28).
- Pentecost (2): the Spirit enables speaking in languages; Peter quotes Joel 2; about 3,000 are baptised.
- Key markers: Matthias chosen (1:26); Stephen martyred (7); Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch (8); Saul's conversion (9); Cornelius (10–11); Jerusalem Council (15); Paul's three journeys; arrest, voyage, shipwreck and Rome (21–28).
Core controversies and decisions
- Cornelius: Peter's vision of the sheet teaches that God shows no partiality; Gentiles receive the Spirit before circumcision.
- Jerusalem Council: circumcision is not required; Gentiles must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, blood, strangled meat and sexual immorality (15:29).
- Paul's Areopagus speech (17:22–31) uses an "unknown god" and Greek poets to proclaim the Creator and resurrection.
Worked example
Question: How does Acts 15 show the church resolving conflict? Reasoning: Judean teachers insist Gentile converts be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas dispute with them; the church sends a delegation to Jerusalem. Peter recalls Cornelius; James cites Scripture; the council writes a letter with the four abstentions. The reasoning earns marks by showing the process (dispute, debate, testimony, Scripture, decision, letter) and the outcome: Gentile inclusion without circumcision, and unity.
Traps
- Confusing Peter's and Paul's roles.
- Getting the order of Paul's journeys wrong.
- Adding circumcision to the Council's requirements.
- Ending Acts with Paul's death; it ends with his Roman house arrest (28:30–31).
- Treating the Spirit as background rather than the power for witness.