Acts Chapter 1 – The Promise, the Power, and the Preparation
Acts Chapter 1 begins the powerful account of the early church. Written by Luke as a continuation of his Gospel, this chapter bridges Christ’s resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus commissions His disciples, ascends into heaven, and prepares them for a worldwide mission fueled by divine power.
Transition, Promise, and Expectation
✔ Jesus continues teaching after His resurrection.
✔ The apostles are promised power from the Holy Spirit.
✔ They are called to be witnesses to the ends of the earth.
✔ Christ ascends visibly to heaven.
✔ The disciples pray and prepare for what is to come.
📖 Acts 1:8 – “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me… unto the uttermost part of the earth.“
🔎 The church’s mission begins with power from above—not strategy from men.
Acts Chapter 1 - Overview
Acts 1:1–5 – The Continuing Work of Christ
📖 Acts 1:1–2 – “The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach… until the day in which he was taken up.“
🔹 Luke’s Gospel recorded what Jesus began.
🔹 Acts records what He continues to do—through His Spirit-empowered church.
📖 Acts 1:4–5 – “Wait for the promise of the Father… ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.“
🔎 The Spirit’s coming was not optional—it was essential. Their mission could not begin without Him.
➡️ Ministry begins by receiving—not striving.
Acts 1:6–11 – The Ascension and the Mission
📖 Acts 1:6 – “Wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?”
🔎 The disciples were still expecting a national kingdom. Jesus points them to a spiritual, global one.
📖 Acts 1:8 – “Ye shall receive power… and ye shall be witnesses unto me.“
🔎 The Spirit doesn’t make us spectators. He turns us into witnesses—with a purpose that spans the globe.
📖 Acts 1:9–11 – “While they beheld, he was taken up… This same Jesus… shall so come in like manner.“
🔎 Jesus ascended visibly—and He will return the same way. The church lives in the tension of “already sent” and “not yet returned.”
➡️ Our mission is rooted in His departure—and fueled by His promised return.
Acts 1:12–26 – Prayer, Unity, and Preparation
📖 Acts 1:14 – “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication… with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus.“
🔎 Before Pentecost, there was prayer. Unity and expectancy filled the upper room. God moves where there is harmony and hunger.
📖 Acts 1:16–20 – Peter rises to interpret Scripture about Judas. His fall was foretold. God’s plan never fails.
🔎 Peter’s use of the Psalms (Psalm 69 and 109) reveals that even betrayal had a place within God’s sovereign design. This moment not only affirms the authority of Scripture but also the need for the church to remain grounded in it when discerning leadership and purpose. Judas’s replacement by Matthias signified that the mission of the Twelve would continue unbroken—God’s work is never halted by human failure.
📖 Acts 1:24–26 – They pray and cast lots—and Matthias is chosen to replace Judas among the Twelve.
🔎 God honors preparation. While they waited for power, they stayed in position.
➡️ The Spirit moves through prepared people—not passive ones.
Acts Chapter 1 - Deeper Study
Overview: From Resurrection to Commission
🔹 Timeframe: Forty days after the resurrection.
🔹 Setting: From Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives to the upper room.
🔹 Theme: Jesus prepares His followers for the coming of the Spirit and the launch of their mission.
🔹 Connection to Future Events: Prepares for Acts 2—Pentecost and the birth of the church.
Waiting in Faith, Walking in Power
Before the church could act, they had to wait. But this waiting wasn’t inactivity—it was preparation. Jesus told them to remain in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. They didn’t know exactly when the Spirit would come, but they trusted that He would. So they waited with expectation, unity, and constant prayer.
The church was not born through action alone—it was born through obedience in the waiting room of heaven. God often does His greatest work in us during seasons of stillness, shaping our hearts for the greater work to come.
🔹 Obedience is tested in seasons of waiting.
🔹 Power is given for a purpose—not for prestige.
🔹 Unity and prayer are the soil where revival begins.
➡️ Christ ascended—but He didn’t abandon. His Spirit was on the way.
Key Takeaways
🔑 The mission begins with the Holy Spirit.
🔑 Witnessing starts at home and moves outward.
🔑 Jesus ascended—but will return.
🔑 Preparation involves prayer and unity.
🔑 God uses faithful people to fulfill His plan.
Prophetic Patterns & Dual Fulfillment
🔮 Joel 2:28 – I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.
🔮 Psalm 41:9 – He who eats with me lifted up his heel.
🔮 Daniel 7:13 – One like the Son of Man came with the clouds.
🔮 Zechariah 14:4 – His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives.
Historical & Cultural Context
📜 Theophilus was a likely Roman official or Gentile believer.
📜 Casting lots was a common Jewish method of decision-making before Pentecost.
📜 The early believers stayed near Jerusalem, awaiting the promise.
📜 The Mount of Olives was often a place of revelation and retreat for Jesus.
💡 Final Reflection: Are You Waiting—and Ready?
📌 Are you trying to act before receiving power?
📌 Are you part of a praying, unified body of believers?
📌 Are you witnessing where you are—and ready for where He’ll send you?
📖 Acts 1:8 – “Ye shall receive power… and ye shall be witnesses unto me…“
🔥 Don’t rush the mission—wait for the power. When it comes, go boldly and proclaim Christ to the ends of the earth.
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
Act 1:1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
Act 1:2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
Act 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
Act 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
Act 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
The Ascension
Act 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
Act 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Act 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Act 1:10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
Act 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas
Act 1:12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey.
Act 1:13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
Act 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
Act 1:15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)
Act 1:16 Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.
Act 1:17 For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.
Act 1:18 Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
Act 1:19 And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.
Act 1:20 For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.
Act 1:21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
Act 1:22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
Act 1:23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
Act 1:24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
Act 1:25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
Act 1:26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
Date Written
Around 62-64 AD
Written By
Luke
Verses
26