Acts 1:2

King James Version (KJV)

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:

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

After that he, through the Holy Ghost, etc. - This clause has been variously translated: the simple meaning seems to be this - that Christ communicated the Holy Spirit to his disciples, after his resurrection, as he had not done before. In Luke 24:45, it is said that he opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures; and in John 20:22, that he breathed on them, and said, receive ye the Holy Ghost. Previously to this, we may suppose that the disciples were only on particular occasions made partakers of the Holy Spirit; but from this time it is probable that they had a measure of this supernatural light and power constantly resident in them. By this they were not only able to proclaim the truth, but to discern the meaning of all the Old Testament Scriptures which referred to Christ; and to appoint whatever rites or ordinances were necessary for the establishment of his Church. There were many things which the apostles said, did, and decreed, for which they had no verbal instructions from our Lord, at least, none that are recorded in the Gospels; we may therefore conclude that these were suggested to them by that Holy Spirit which now became resident in them, and that it is to this that St. Luke refers in this verse, After that he, through the Holy Ghost, had given commandments unto the apostles.

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Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

Until the day - The 40th day after the resurrection, Acts 1:3. See Luke 24:51.

In which he was taken up - In which he ascended to heaven. He was taken up into a cloud, and is represented as having been borne or carried to heaven, Acts 1:9.

After that … - This passage has been variously rendered. The Syriac translates it, “After he had given commandment unto the apostles whom he had chosen by the Holy Spirit.” So also the Ethiopic version. Others have joined the words “through the Holy Spirit” to the phrase “was taken up,” making it mean that he was taken up by the Holy Spirit. But the most natural and correct translation seems to be what is in our King James Version.

Through the Holy Ghost - To understand this, it is necessary to call to mind the promise that Jesus made before his death, that after his departure, the Holy Spirit would descend to be a guide to his apostles. See John 16:7-11, and the notes on that place. It was to be his office to carry forward the work of redemption in applying it to the hearts of people. Whatever was done, therefore, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, was to be regarded as under the unique influence and direction of the Holy Spirit. Even the instructions of Jesus and his commission to the apostles, were to be regarded as coming within the department of the sacred Spirit, or within the province of his unique work. The instructions were given by divine authority, by infallible guidance, and as a part of the work which the Holy Spirit was sent down to accomplish. Under the direction and guidance of that Spirit the apostles were to go forth; by his aid they were to preach the gospel, to organize the church, to establish its order and its doctrines; and hence, the entire work was declared to be by his direction. Though in his larger and more mighty influences the Spirit did not descend until the day of Pentecost (Luke 24:49; compare John 20:22.

Had given commandments - Particularly the command to preach the gospel to all nations, Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15-19. It may be worthy of remark, that the word “commandments,” as a noun in the plural number, does not occur in the original. The single word which is translated, “had given commandments” is a participle, and means simply “having commanded.” There is no need, therefore, of supposing that there is reference here to any other command than to that great and glorious injunction to preach the gospel to every creature. That was a command of so much importance as to be worthy of a distinct record, as constituting the sum of all that the Saviour taught them after his resurrection.

The apostles - The eleven that remained after the treason and death of Judas.

Whom he had chosen - Matthew 10:1-4; Luke 6:12-16.

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

Our Lord told the disciples the work they were to do. The apostles met together at Jerusalem; Christ having ordered them not to depart thence, but to wait for the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. This would be a baptism by the Holy Ghost, giving them power to work miracles, and enlightening and sanctifying their souls. This confirms the Divine promise, and encourages us to depend upon it, that we have heard it from Christ; for in Him all the promises of God are yea and amen.

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

2. Until the day. That is, the 40th day after His resurrection (see v. 3).

Was taken up. The passive form of the verb, as used here and in vs. 9, 11 and Luke 24:51, implies that Jesus’ ascension was a manifestation of the Father’s power.

Through the Holy Ghost. This expression may be understood to mean either that the Holy Spirit was to guide the disciples into all truth (John 16:13), or that Jesus, both before and after His crucifixion, spoke as one possessed of the Holy Spirit. The latter must be intended, for everything pertaining to Christ’s life on earth was accomplished by the power of the Spirit: (a) His conception (Luke 1:35); (b) His baptism (ch. 3:21, 22); (c) His justification, that is, the manifestation of His righteous life (1 Tim. 3:16); (d) His guidance in His life of service (Luke 4:1; see on ch. 2:49); (e) His miracles (Matt 12:28); (f) His resurrection (1 Peter 3:18).

Had given commandments. Better, “having commanded,” with particular reference to the gospel commission by our Lord (see Matt. 28:18-20).

Apostles. Gr. apostoloi, “those who are sent,” from apo, “off,” “away,” and stellÅÂ, “to send.” In classical Greek apostolos (pl., apostoloi) frequently was connected with the dispatching of a ship or a naval expedition, and it was also used for the commander of a squadron and for an ambassador. These two general applications, to things and to persons, carried over into Koine Greek. Thus an Egyptian papyrus from the 2d or 3d century a.d. speaks of the “account for the ship [apostolos] of Triadelphus” (J. H. Moulton and G. Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament, p. 70). The papyri also show that from the ship itself the meaning of the word was transferred to its cargo, for that also was “sent.” Not only was the cargo called apostolos, but also the documents that represented the ship and its cargo, so that the word might refer to an order for the dispatch of a vessel, a bill of lading, or even an export license. At the same time, in Koine as in classical Greek, apostolos might refer to a person, as Josephus uses it of ambassadors sent by the Jews to Rome (Antiquities xvii. 11. 1).

None of these usages, however, appear to shed light directly on the origin of the word “apostle” as it was employed in early Christianity. Paul is the first NT writer to use the word (1 Thess. 2:6), and for him it was, apparently, already a technical term designating a specific group of men performing with authority generally recognized functions in the church (see 1 Cor. 4:9; 9:1, 2). The fact that in this very earliest Christian literature such a specific meaning of the word already was taken for granted suggests that it probably had some earlier authoritative inauguration. Writing in Greek, years after Jesus’ death, Luke and John used the word apostolos (Luke 6:13; 11:49; John 13:16 [“he that is sent”]). The office of apostle in the early church apparently stems from Jesus’ ordination and commission of the twelve disciples.

In terming His disciples “apostles,” Jesus probably used the Aramaic word shelicha’, the equivalent of the Hebrew participle shaluach, “sent.” These words appear to have had a technical use among the Jews as well as among Christians. Rabbinical literature used the term shaluach (or, in another form, shaliach) of various authoritative messengers. Justin Martyr says (c. a.d. 146) that the Jews sent messengers throughout the world telling blasphemies against Christ (Dialogue With Trypho 17, 108). Eusebius, the 4th-century church historian, declares that writings already ancient in his day recorded that the Jewish priests and elders sent men all over the world to warn their people against Christianity. He goes on to call these Jews “apostles,” and says that in his own time they traveled throughout the Dispersion with encyclical letters (Commentaria in Isaiam xviii. 1, 2). Epiphanius (d. a.d. 403) records that these “apostles” consulted with leading Jews and traveled among the Jews outside Palestine, restoring peace to disorderly congregations and collecting tithes and first fruitsâ€”functions that have striking parallels with the apostolate of Paul (see Acts 11:27-30; Rom. 15:25-28; 1 Cor. 16:1; Epiphanius Against Heresies i. 2., Heresy xxx. 4, 11). The Theodosian Code (a.d. 438) remarks, “It is part of this worthless superstition that the Jews have chiefs of their synagogues, or elders, or persons whom they call apostles, who are appointed by the patriarch at a certain season to collect gold and silver” (Theodosian Code xvi. 8. 14; translation in Adolf Harnack, The Mission and Expansion of Christianity, vol. 1, p. 329).

Therefore, although it cannot be proved that the word apostolos was used in NT times of Jewish messengers to the Dispersion, the evidence suggests that it was, and that particular usage made of this word by the early Christian church was derived from a somewhat similar custom among the Jews.

Whom he had chosen. See Mark 3:13-19.

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Ellen G. White
The Acts of the Apostles, 593

More than eighteen centuries have passed since the apostles rested from their labors, but the history of their toils and sacrifices for Christ's sake is still among the most precious treasures of the church. This history, written under the direction of the Holy Spirit, was recorded in order that by it the followers of Christ in every age might be impelled to greater zeal and earnestness in the cause of the Saviour. AA 593.1

The commission that Christ gave to the disciples, they fulfilled. As these messengers of the cross went forth to proclaim the gospel, there was such a revelation of the glory of God as had never before been witnessed by mortal man. By the co-operation of the divine Spirit, the apostles did a work that shook the world. To every nation was the gospel carried in a single generation. AA 593.2

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Ellen G. White
SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6 (EGW), 1051

Book of Acts, Instruction for Today—The whole of the book of Acts should receive careful study. It is full of precious instruction; it records experiences in evangelistic work, the teachings of which we need in our work today. This is wonderful history; it deals with the highest education, which the students in our schools are to receive (Letter 100, 1909). 6BC 1051.1

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Cross References

the day