Day 318 Reading Schedule: Acts 6~9

Acts 6: Appointment of Deacons

[Overview]

This chapter records the internal movements of the Jerusalem church in preparation for the coming persecution. In order to firmly establish the church, which was growing stronger in the midst of persecution, in grace and truth, and to devote all efforts to missionary work, the organization and system within the church were established. The deepening tension between Judaism and Christianity erupted into Jewish persecution of Christianity, but this became an opportunity for the gospel to expand not only to Jews but also to Gentiles. As a result, the Diaspora Jews who were scattered in Gentile regions converted, and the early church experienced a great revival because of them. However, due to the influx of these people, a new conflict situation arose between Jewish Christians and Greek Christians, and in order to resolve this problem, the organization and system within the church were reestablished. The content of this text was written against this background. First, the first half introduces the selection of the 'seven deacons' to perform various duties centered on the twelve apostles (verses 1-7), and the second half introduces the activities of Stephen, one of the deacons (verses 8-15).

Acts 7: Stephen's Sermon and Martyrdom

[Summary]

This chapter deals with Stephen's sermon and martyrdom. Stephen's sermon, which exposed the spiritual ignorance of the Jews and urged them to believe in Jesus Christ, provoked the wrath of the orthodox Jews, which led to Stephen's martyrdom and the intensification of the persecution of Christians in Jerusalem. However, this persecution by the Jews became the impetus for the Christian church to spread everywhere. The early church was born through the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, and it continued to experience a history of revival through the Word, but there were still shortcomings in the church in Jerusalem when it came to carrying out God's providence of salvation. This refers to the passive attitude of the church in Jerusalem, which was unable to actively preach the gospel to the cities around Jerusalem and was confined to its own territory to carry out missionary work. This limitation was overcome through the martyrdom of Stephen. The first half consists of Stephen’s sermon, the teachings of Abraham (verses 1-7), Joseph’s teachings (verses 8-16), Moses’ teachings (verses 17-36), Israel’s worship of idols (verses 37-43), Israel’s resistance to the Holy Spirit (verses 44-53), and Stephen’s martyrdom (verses 54-60). 

Acts 8: The Gospel Spreading in the Scattered Church

[Summary]

This chapter clearly highlights God’s redemptive providence in scattering the church in Jerusalem through persecution and having the scattered disciples carry out missionary work abroad. The persecution of the church in Jerusalem was motivated by the Jewish leaders’ desire to protect their religious vested interests, but in a macroscopic sense, it was God’s scourge on the church’s attitude at the time, which did not carry out God’s command to “preach the gospel to the ends of the earth.” This chapter is composed of Saul persecuting the church (verses 1-3), Philip’s preaching of the gospel (verses 4-8), Simon being baptized (verses 9-13), the two apostles’ visit to Samaria (verses 14-25), and Philip’s meeting with the Ethiopian eunuch (verses 26-40). 

Acts 9: Paul’s conversion

[Overview]

This chapter records Saul’s conversion and Peter’s ministry. The significance of Saul’s conversion is highlighted in that the content from this chapter to the end of this book and the existence of Paul’s letters, which make up about a third of the New Testament, are based on the conversion event in this chapter. So if there is a theme that is highlighted throughout the entire chapter, it is the 'expansion of the gospel'. The ministry activities of Saul and Peter, who converted to Christianity, resulted in the expansion of the Christian church as a whole. This chapter is composed of Saul on the road to Damascus (verses 1-9), Ananias' laying on of hands (verses 10-19), Saul preaching in Damascus (verses 20-25), Saul preaching in Jerusalem (verses 26-31), Aeneas' healing (verses 32-35), and Tabitha's resurrection (verses 36-43).