4.  The Blessed state of the church, 4:32-5 end There is great love and unity and God indorses their work by the destruction of Ananias and his wife and by the release of apostles from prison.

5.  The first deacons, 6:1-7.

6.  The first martyr 6:8-7 end.

II.  The church at work in Palestine, chs. 8-12.

1.  Witnesses scattered, 8:1-4.

2.  Philip witnesses in Samaria and Judea, 8:5-40.

3.  The Lord wins new witnesses, 9:1-11:18. (1) Saul. (2) Aeneas, etc. (3) Dorcas, Mary, etc. (4) Cornelius.

4.  Center of labor changed to Antioch, 11:19 end.

5.  The witnesses triumph over Herod’s persecution, ch. 12.

The Principle Events of this Period.  Many things which on the surface seem to be of little importance, contributed much toward shaping the destiny of the early church.  The following, however, should be remembered as the great outstanding events of the time. (1) The ascension with the incidents connected with it. (2) The Baptism of the Holy Ghost with the consequent sermon of Peter and its results. (3) The first persecution of the Apostles, with Peter’s sermon and the measures taken by the Sanhedrin to stop the movement. (4) The punishment of Ananias and his wife. (5) The appointment of the first deacons. (6) The martyrdom of Steven. (7) The work of Philip in Samaria and the conversion of the Eunuch. (8) The conversion of Saul of Tarshish. (9) The conversion of Cornelius with connected events. (10) The church’s acknowledgement of the validity of this work among the Gentiles, Acts 11:18. (11) The great work at Antioch. (12) The martyrdom of James and the death of Herod.

The Organization and Control of the Early Church.  Jesus had set up his church and left it his final commission.  Its organization was a matter of growth and was increased only as new conditions arose that made it necessary to the success and efficiency of their work.  They elected, at the suggestion of Peter, Matthias to take the place of Judas as one of their witnesses.  When conditions arose that threatened the success of their work, they elected deacons to assist the apostles in caring for the more temporal work of the church.  In it all it is clear that the church as a whole transacted the business.  The Apostles no doubt had a very good influence but did not assume to dictate to the church what did not “please the whole multitude” (Acts 6:5).  All responsibility was put upon the church as a democratic and self-governing body.

The Persecutions of the Church.  In the persecutions which Jesus suffered the Pharisees took the lead, but the opposition met by the early disciples was led by the Sadducees.  This was because of the doctrine of the resurrection, preached by the apostles.  The persecutions deepened and widened very rapidly. (1) They were given public hearing, commanded not to teach in Jesus’ name and after threatening were let go. (2) They were released without punishment