Bible Studies Year 10 – Acts 1–12

1. How many books did Luke write? What are they? 

Luke wrote two books: 

  • The Gospel of Luke 

  • The Acts of the Apostles 

 

2. To whom was the Book of Acts written? Why was it written? 

To Theophilus, to explain how Jesus continued His work through the apostles and the Holy Spirit after His ascension (Acts 1:1). 

 

3. What are the three main divisions of the Book of Acts? 

  • Ch. 1–7: The gospel in Jerusalem 

  • Ch. 8–12: The gospel in Judea and Samaria 

  • Ch. 13–28: The gospel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). 

 

4. What was the ‘Feast of Weeks’/‘Feast of Harvest’ in the Old Testament? 

A joyful celebration held 50 days after Passover, giving thanks to God for the first fruits of the harvest and remembering His deliverance from Egypt (Deut. 16:9–12). 

 

5. What were the signs accompanying the ‘first’ Pentecost (Acts 2)? 

  • Wind: Presence and power of the Holy Spirit 

  • Tongues of fire: Purifying presence of God 

  • Languages: The gospel was for all nations 

 

6. How do the events of Pentecost in Acts 2 link with the Old Testament Feast of Weeks? 

Pentecost fulfilled the OT Feast by being a spiritual harvest—3,000 people were saved. Jesus, the first fruits, had risen, and now the Holy Spirit empowered the Church to bring in the full harvest of believers. 

 

7. What were the characteristics of the Early New Testament Church? 

  • Devoted to teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer 

  • Generosity, unity, daily worship, and boldness in preaching (Acts 2:42–47; 4:32–35) 

 

8. How do these characteristics compare with the FRCA today? 

Similarities: Teaching, prayer, fellowship, mission, church discipline 

Differences: Formal structure, no signs and wonders, different frequency of sacraments like Lord’s Supper. 

 

9. How did the persecution of believers develop in Acts 1–10? 

  • Acts 2–3: Church Favor and growth 

  • Acts 4–5: Apostles arrested and flogged 

  • Acts 6–7: Stephen falsely accused and stoned 

  • Acts 8: Saul leads widespread persecution 

 

10. Provide some background on Saul’s early life. 

  • Born in Tarsus, Roman citizen, trained under Gamaliel 

  • A strict Pharisee 

  • Zealous persecutor of Christians before his conversion (Acts 9:1–2) 

 

11. How did Saul’s life change on the road to Damascus? 

  • Encountered Jesus in a vision 

  • Blinded, then healed by Ananias 

  • Baptized and became a bold preacher for Christ (Acts 9:3–22) 

 

12. How did Paul further Christ’s Kingdom and link to Acts 1:8? 

Paul fulfilled Acts 1:8 by taking the gospel to Gentiles across the Roman Empire, founding churches and writing epistles. He preached in Jerusalem, Judea, and to the ends of the earth (Rome). 

 

13. Why was the gospel ‘for the Jews first’ and then the Gentiles? 

Because salvation was promised through the Jewish people (Romans 1:16), but always intended to reach all nations. 

 

14. Do Jews receive salvation differently than Gentiles? 

No. Both are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8–9; Galatians 3:28). 

 

15. Do Jewish Christians have any privileges that Gentile Christians don’t? 

No. In Christ, there is no distinction—all are equal members of God’s family (Ephesians 2:14–22). 

 

16. What do we know about Cornelius (Acts 10)? 

  • Roman centurion, devout and God-fearing 

  • Gave to the poor, prayed regularly 

  • First Gentile convert to receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:1–2) 

 

17. What was the vision Peter saw in Acts 10? What did it mean? 

  • A sheet with clean and unclean animals 

  • God told Peter not to call anything unclean that He has made clean 

  • Meaning: Gentiles are accepted by God and can receive the gospel 

 

18. What happened to Cornelius and his household when the Apostle Peter preached the gospel message to them? (Acts 10) 

  • While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit came upon all who heard 

  • They spoke in tongues and praised God 

  • Peter then commanded them to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ 

  • This showed that Gentiles were fully included in God’s people (Acts 10:44–48) 

 

19. Why was it significant (very important and striking) that Cornelius and his household received the gift of the Holy Spirit as Peter preached to them? 

  • It proved that Gentiles could receive the Holy Spirit without becoming Jews first 

  • The event mirrored Pentecost, showing God was at work in the same way 

  • Peter said, “God gave them the same gift as He gave us” (Acts 11:17) 

  • This was a turning point for the early Church: the gospel was truly for all nations 

 

20. What do we mean when we talk about the ‘redemptive historical’ approach to reading the Bible? 

  • It sees the whole Bible as one story of God’s plan to save His people 

  • Jesus Christ is the centre of this story—from Genesis to Revelation 

  • The Old Testament is full of types, shadows, and promises 

  • The New Testament shows their fulfilment in Christ 

  • It reminds us that every part of Scripture points to God’s work of redemption 

 

21. How is this evident from comparing the first 12 chapters of the book of Acts with the Old Testament? 

  • Pentecost (Acts 2) fulfilled the Feast of Weeks—from a harvest of grain to a harvest of souls 

  • Jesus is shown to be the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy (e.g. Joel, Psalms) 

  • The apostles preach that Jesus is the promised Messiah foretold in the OT 

  • God’s salvation moves from Jews to Gentiles—fulfilling the promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed 

  • The story in Acts continues the unfolding of God’s redemptive plan seen throughout Scripture