Our Thread

Pasa Graphe' Theopneustos Kai Ophelimos (Greek) is one of the most often-repeated passages from the Scriptures, ie, the Bible. The passage appears in the heading of our Facebook page. But what does it say to us in our various tongues? Well, for those of us who speak English, this passage is a bold testimony from the pen of one Paul, a first-century scholar from the Isrealite tribe of Benjamin. It is also a statement steeped in the thelogy of the Biblical narratives. So, Paul wrote to a young ethnic Jew named Timotheus: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable......"
At the time Paul wrote those words, there was not yet a codex known as the "New Testament." The scrolls of papyrus on which were written the Scriptures are what we call today the "Old Testament." In its immediate and limited interpretation, Paul is saying that the messages in the Old Testament are inspired by God. That being so, who is the man who would say that the record of the flood in Noah's day was simply an allegory, and not an historical account?

Acts

The Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke, who also wrote the Gospel that bears his name. All four Gospels take us up to the time of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, but not much farther. In the book of Acts, Luke continues the story.

The book of Acts can be divided into three sections:

The first has to do with the early days of the church in Jerusalem, ending with the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.
The second shows how the disciples carried the story of Jesus to other parts of Palestine.
And the third section tells how Paul took the gospel to the outer reaches of the Mediterranean world—all the way to Rome.

One of the important features in the book of Acts is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. From the Day of Pentecost onward, the Holy Spirit plays a prominent role in the life and work of the disciples.

The Acts of the Apostles may be a history book, but it’s much more than that. It’s an account of how God took a small band of initially dispirited men and turned them into enthusiastic leaders of a dynamic and growing movement, affecting the course of history, even to this day.