Acts: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition (NBBC)
Overview
The book of Acts portrays the earliest followers of the risen and ascended Christ. Throughout its pages, from Pentecost onward, God is continually present in the lives of believers, empowering them as they declare through word and deed what God has done for the people of Israel-and ultimately for the rest of the world --through Christ.
In this NBBC, Richard Thompson skillfully delves into these ideas and teases out their implications for today. Maintaining on sound evidence that Acts follows the Gospel of Luke as a second volume, Thompson brings the Third Gospel into his examination of Acts, showing how the Lukan portrayal of Jesus is mirrored in the lives of the early believers. These features and many others give this commentary on Acts a richness that commends it to pastors, teachers, students, and laypeople as a valuable resource for study and instruction.
Key Features
- The Latest scholarship from notable experts in the Wesleyan tradition
- Comprehensive annotation covering background material, verse by verse exegesis, and practical application
- Clear verse-by-verse explanations offering contemporary Wesleyan understanding derived from the passage’s original language
Top Highlights
“Third (and related to the previous theme), the universality of salvation is affirmed as an essential characteristic of the people of God.” (Page 52)
“Most of Acts is narrated from a third-person perspective. But in chapter 16, that perspective changes to first person without warning: ‘After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them’ (v 10, emphasis added). This first-person narration continues through v 17 and then vanishes, only to reappear (and then disappear) again three more times (20:5–15; 21:1–18; 27:1–28:16).” (Page 43)
“Acts describes the role of the Spirit in terms of empowerment for ministry as witnesses. The promise of the Spirit is to enable the church to fulfill God’s purposes for God’s people. It is not for the fulfillment of personal goals or aspirations for the Christian life. Luke redirects our attention again and again to God alone, rather than to what God can do for us.” (Page 63)
“The Spirit is important here, because the promised Spirit baptism would establish continuity between Jesus and these apostles as well as enable them to serve as prophetic witnesses, as readers will soon see.” (Pages 59–60)
“Luke emphasizes the Spirit’s role that enabled this gathering of believers to serve as Jesus’ witnesses (Acts 1:8). That is, the Spirit did not come for the sake of the witnesses themselves but for the sake of their proclamation for others. The diverse crowd of bystanders came together not through a common language but as ‘the consequence of the generative activity of the Spirit’ (Green 2008, 213).” (Page 76)
- Title: Acts: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition
- Author: Richard P. Thompson
- Series: New Beacon Bible Commentary
- Publisher: Beacon Hill
- Print Publication Date: 2015
- Logos Release Date: 2017
- Pages: 429
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Bible. N.T. Acts › Commentaries
- ISBNs: 9780834132399, 0834132397
- Resource ID: LLS:NBBC65AC
- Resource Type: Bible Commentary
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-10-31T22:13:19Z
