The book of Acts (and particularly chapter 2) has been coined, “The Hub of the Bible.” It is truly a book that we need to know and love, for within its exciting pages we learn about (1) how to become a Christian and (2) the power of the gospel. In the third place, we need to study this book to learn about the establishment of the church of Christ.
The church! What a beautiful and central theme in the Bible (and especially of the book of Acts)! The church was not some kind of afterthought or “Plan B” or parentheses that God put in place when the Jews rejected Christ! The church IS THE (not just “part of” it…the church IS THE) “eternal purpose” of God’s “manifold wisdom” (Eph. 3:10-11). And we get to see it established, growing and flourishing in the book of Acts.
One thousand years before Christ walked this earth, God promised David that He would “establish his kingdom…forever” (2 Sam. 7:12- 16). Daniel used the word “forever” to describe the “kingdom” that God would “set up” and which would “never be destroyed” (Dan. 2:44). That kingdom (i.e., “house” of the Lord) would be established in “Jerusalem” and “all nations” would be part of it (Isa. 2:2-3). When one finishes reading the Old Testament, he has great anticipation.
The New Testament begins with announcements that “the kingdom” is “at hand” (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 10:7; Luke 10:9), and Jesus Himself promises to “build” His “church” and give “the keys” to this long-awaited “kingdom” (Matt. 16:18-19). Jesus taught for three years about His church/kingdom and even spent His last days on this earth “speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). When one finishes the gospel accounts, he has great anticipation.
With great power and enthusiasm, the church was established in Acts 2 with the coming of the Holy Spirit (2:1-4), the preaching of the gospel (2:5-36) and the baptism of about 3,000 souls into the Lord’s church (2:37-47). Only upon the baptism of these penitent believers were these individuals “added” by the Lord to His “church” (2:41, 47), for they were “all baptized into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13).
As the gospel spread and individuals were “baptized into Christ” (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27), each of those souls was “added” to His church, spreading the borders of the kingdom (throughout the book of Acts). As “the number of the disciples was multiplying” in the book (6:1), so also (since it is one and the same) were “the churches…multiplied” (9:31). They taught the same gospel, believed the same gospel, obeyed the same gospel, and all became part of the same church!
Truly the book of Acts is the “hub of the Bible”!
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