Why The Book of Acts is Confusing?
The basis for this little article is from the image from the book cover above.
Please read the above to understand what I write below.
Why is there confusion created by the book of Acts?
Because it is in stark contrast to the theology of tradition that makes grand proclamations that are in direct contradiction to the practice and commands demonstrated and given by the Apostles. Start with Acts and proceed.
Everything in the Epistles followed the actions, preaching, and travels explained in the book of Acts. Ephesians, the epistle was written after Paul went to Ephesus in Acts 19. However, most people who read Ephesians do not understand the context.
One follows the other. Paul examined their faith, their experience, and commanded them to be rebaptized in water in the Name of the Lord Jesus in Acts 19. He later wrote the letter to the church established by his missionary Journey.
That should be relevant to the basic understanding of this Epistle. However, it’s not a stretch to say most people never started with this baseline understanding.
Why? Because it will significantly influence how you read the book of Ephesians.
Acts gives direction, and the Epistles give explanations.
The confusion is not the book of Acts, but the fact that people have been told things that the book of Acts demonstrates to be erroneous. To fully understand the truth, oftentimes we have to grapple with the fact that what we have been taught was wrong.
When we recognize the error we thought was true, can we fully grasp the simplicity of the truth?
If we start from the very beginning, we can gain a better understanding of the middle of the story.
The book of Acts is the beginning of the New Testament Church. Everything in your Bible after the book of Acts follows what the Apostles did in obedient faithfulness to the three years of following Jesus’ ministry.
Luke wrote the Gospel with his name on it and the 2nd part of his letter is the book of Acts.
To understand Acts, you need to read the Gospels. To understand the Epistles, you need to read the book of Acts.