Anchor My Faith

Acts 1:1–5 serves as the bridge between the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts, continuing Luke’s account of the work of Jesus Christ and showing how that work would advance through His followers. Luke addresses Theophilus and refers to his earlier Gospel, which recorded what Jesus “began to do and teach” before His ascension. Following His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His apostles over a period of forty days, giving them convincing proofs that He was alive and teaching them about the kingdom of God. Yet before the apostles could begin their mission, Jesus commanded them to remain in Jerusalem and wait for “the promise of the Father”—the coming of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist had baptized with water, but Jesus promised that His disciples would soon be baptized with the Holy Spirit. These verses establish an essential foundation for Acts: the risen Christ would continue His work through Spirit-empowered believers, demonstrating that the mission of the church would depend not merely upon human ability or determination, but upon the presence and power of God.

Scripture Text for Acts 1:1-5

1. To whom did Luke address the book of Acts, and what earlier work does he reference?

Answer: Luke addressed Acts to Theophilus, the same person to whom he addressed the Gospel of Luke. In Acts 1:1, Luke refers to his “first book,” meaning the Gospel of Luke, in which he recorded “all that Jesus began to do and teach.” This establishes Acts as a continuation of Luke’s Gospel. The Gospel focuses primarily on Jesus’ earthly ministry, while Acts describes the continuation of His work through the Holy Spirit and the apostles. The wording “began to do and teach” is significant because it suggests that Jesus’ work did not end with His ascension. He would continue His mission through His followers empowered by the Holy Spirit.

2. What period of Jesus’ ministry does Luke summarize in Acts 1:1–2?

Answer: Luke briefly summarizes Jesus’ earthly ministry from its beginning until the day He was taken up into heaven. This connects the conclusion of Luke’s Gospel with the beginning of Acts. Before His ascension, Jesus gave instructions to the apostles whom He had chosen. These instructions prepared them for the mission they would soon undertake. The apostles were not acting on their own initiative; they had been personally chosen, instructed, and commissioned by Christ. Their ministry in Acts therefore represents obedience to the mission Jesus entrusted to them.

3. What role did the Holy Spirit have in Jesus’ instructions to the apostles?

Answer: Acts 1:2 states that Jesus gave commands to the apostles “through the Holy Spirit.” This emphasizes the close relationship between the ministry of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit through whom Jesus instructed His apostles would soon empower those apostles for their mission. This prepares the reader for one of the major themes of Acts: the advancement of the gospel through Spirit-empowered witnesses. The church’s mission would not depend merely upon human wisdom, courage, organization, or ability, but upon the power and direction of God.

4. What evidence did Jesus provide that He was truly alive after His crucifixion?

Answer: Luke explains that after His suffering, Jesus “presented himself alive to them by many proofs” (Acts 1:3, ESV). During a period of forty days, Jesus repeatedly appeared to His disciples. His resurrection was therefore not presented to the apostles as a vague spiritual idea or a single fleeting experience. They encountered the risen Christ over an extended period. These appearances established the resurrection as the foundation of their witness. When the apostles later proclaimed that Jesus had risen from the dead, they were testifying to what they themselves had witnessed.

5. What did Jesus teach the apostles during the forty days after His resurrection?

Answer: During the forty days between His resurrection and ascension, Jesus spoke to the apostles “about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3, ESV). The kingdom of God had been central to Jesus’ teaching throughout His earthly ministry, and it remained central after His resurrection. He continued preparing the apostles to understand God’s redemptive purposes and their place within them. Their coming mission of proclaiming Christ was therefore part of God’s larger kingdom plan. Acts will show that this message would move outward from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and eventually toward the nations.

6. Why did Jesus command the apostles to remain in Jerusalem?

Answer: Jesus commanded the apostles not to leave Jerusalem but to “wait for the promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4, ESV). Although they had been taught by Jesus and had witnessed His resurrection, they were not yet prepared to begin their mission in their own strength. They needed the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. Their waiting teaches an important principle: divine calling requires divine empowerment. Jesus did not simply give His disciples a task and leave them to accomplish it by human ability. He promised to provide what they needed to fulfill His command.

7. What was “the promise of the Father” that the disciples were waiting to receive?

Answer: The promise was the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus reminded the disciples that they had already heard Him speak about this promise. The Old Testament had anticipated a time when God would pour out His Spirit upon His people, and Jesus had taught His disciples about the coming Helper. This promise would soon be dramatically fulfilled at Pentecost in Acts 2. The Holy Spirit would dwell within believers, empower the apostles to bear witness to Christ, guide the growing church, and enable the gospel to spread beyond Jerusalem.

8. What distinction does Jesus make between John’s baptism and the baptism with the Holy Spirit?

Answer: Jesus reminded the apostles, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:5, ESV). John’s baptism with water had been associated with repentance and preparation for the coming Messiah. The baptism with the Holy Spirit represented something greater: God would pour out His Spirit upon His people and empower them for the new stage of His redemptive work. Jesus’ words pointed directly toward Pentecost, when the disciples would receive the Holy Spirit and begin their public witness to the risen Christ.

9. Why are Acts 1:1–5 important for understanding the rest of the book of Acts?

Answer: These verses establish the foundation for everything that follows. Jesus is alive, the apostles are His chosen witnesses, the kingdom of God remains central, and the Holy Spirit will empower the mission. Acts is therefore not merely a history of the early church; it records the continuing work of the risen Christ through Spirit-empowered believers. The disciples are told to wait before they go because the mission belongs to God and must be accomplished through His power. This prepares directly for Acts 1:8, where Jesus declares that the disciples will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them and will become His witnesses to the ends of the earth.

10. What central truth should believers understand from Acts 1:1–5?

Answer: Acts 1:1–5 teaches that the mission of Christ continues through people empowered by the Holy Spirit. Jesus completed His earthly ministry, rose bodily from the dead, instructed His chosen apostles, and promised them the Holy Spirit before sending them into the world. The disciples were not expected to accomplish Christ’s mission through their own resources. They were called to depend upon God’s presence and power. This same truth reminds believers that Christian service begins not with confidence in human strength, but with dependence upon God and faithful obedience to Christ’s commands.