The Church in Jerusalem

In case you were curious, here is a bit of church history regarding the earliest Christian community in Jerusalem:

The church began in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). The earliest Christians were Jewish and they continued to worship in the Temple; however, they also began to gather on the first day of the week (Sunday) to break bread and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The apostles Peter and John as well as James the brother of Jesus seem to have been the original pillars or leaders of the Jerusalem church (Galatians 2:9; Acts 15). Peter left Jerusalem after he was miraculously freed from imprisonment by Herod Agrripa I (ca. A.D. 43; James the brother of John was beheaded by Herod just prior to Peter's arrest). James the brother of Jesus was executed in A.D. 62 by the order of Ananus the high priest. Shortly after that, and in order to avoid the Jewish rebellion that broke out in A.D. 66 (the Jewish War ended in the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70), the leaders of the church decided to move to Pella in Perea, which was a city on the other side of the Jordan River. At this same time it is likely that John also departed Jerusalem to guide the church in Ephesus. As a result, the ancient Jewish church was increasingly isolated and the main leadership of the church at large had shifted to Gentile Christians.

Source

Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity, Volume One: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (Revised and Updated). New York: HarperOne, 2010.

Theological Themes in the Book of Acts

1. Mission

The book of Acts is about the mission of the church to bear witness to Jesus. This theme is highlighted at the outset of the book in verse 1:8. The main emphasis of the Christian witness was to proclaim the reality of the resurrection as confirming Jesus as God’s Messiah and to call all people to repent and place their faith in him as Lord. The spread of this message is the primary theme in Acts.

 

The “ends of the earth” are never reached in Acts (“ends of the earth” denotes the limits of civilization). The mission goal is still to be completed.

 

2. The Providence of God

“The story recorded in Acts is seen as standing in continuity with the mighty acts of God recorded in the Old Testament and with the ministry of Jesus” (I.H. Marshall, 23).

The events in Acts are viewed as being brought about “by the will and purpose of God” (I.H. Marshall, 24).

 

The entire “life of the church was regarded as taking place in fulfillment of Scripture [Old Testament prophecies]” (I.H. Marshall, 24).

 

The “life of the church was directed by God at crucial stages. Sometimes the Spirit directed the church what to do (e.g., 13:2; 15:28; 16:6). At other times angels spoke to Christian missionaries (5:19f.; 8:26; 27:23), or the messages were mediated by prophets (11:28; 20:11f.). On one occasion the Lord himself appeared to his servants (18:9; 23:11)” (I.H. Marshall, 24).

 

“the power of God was seen in signs and wonders which were performed by the name of Jesus (3:16; 14:3)” (I.H. Marshall, 24).

 

3. The Pattern of Christ

“Luke recognizes that, just as the way of Jesus took him through opposition culminating in judicial murder, so too the path of the Word of God is beset by opposition” (I.H. Marshall, 27).

 

The structure of Acts is largely divided up according to the careers of Peter (1-12) and Paul (13-28). There are parallels between the ministries of these two apostles as well as parallels with the life of Christ.

 

4. The Role of Holy Spirit

Luke stresses the importance of the Holy Spirit to the life of the church. Indeed, F.F. Bruce suggested that the book should be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit.

 

The church was born of the Spirit at Pentecost and the mission of the church is accomplished through the ongoing guidance and empowerment of the Spirit.

 

5. The Church as the True People of God

In the Book of Acts, Luke portrays Christians as the people of God or true Israel (the people of God are not identical with the historical, ethnic Jewish nation). God’s people are now the people of the Messiah – those who by faith have accepted Jesus as the Christ. Christians are described as “believers” and people of “the way.” Christians are in continuity with the people of the promises.

 

Luke also seems to have an apologetic purpose in depicting Christianity as the fulfillment of Judaism; namely, that “from a Roman point of view Christianity should be regarded as a legitimate development of Judaism, and should therefore receive the same privileged position as a tolerated religion within the Empire” (I.H. Marshall, 28).

 

6. Inclusive Gospel

Acts shows how the gospel was meant for Gentiles as well as Jews. Inclusion in the people of God is now open to both Jews and Gentiles on the basis of faith in Jesus as the Christ. Chapters 6-15 cover this significant theme of racial inclusiveness.

 

Stephen’s insight that God is not restricted to a dwelling made by hands (Acts 7).

Philip’s outreach to the Samaritans and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8).

Peter’s vision and outreach to Cornelius (Acts 10).

The outreach of the Antioch church to Gentiles (Acts 11:20).

Paul’s mission to the Gentiles (Acts 13:47).

The Jerusalem Council on the basis for Gentile inclusion (Acts 15). 

The gospel also crossed social, economic, and gender barriers. 

7. Faithful Witnesses

True disciples are faithful witnesses even unto death (Stephen and later Paul and Peter). In fact, the Greek word for witness – martyr – came to have this connotation in the later church.

 

Again, like Jesus, the faithful witness should expect suffering and rejection. Numeric success – significant numbers of people converting – may or may not accompany faithful witness.

 

8. The Life and Organization of the Church

I.H. Marshall says, “Luke is concerned to offer a picture of the life and worship of the church no doubt as a pattern to provide guidance for the church in his own time” (32).

 

As noted earlier, Luke gives summary statements on the life of the church and the spread of the gospel. He stresses the importance of being open to the Spirit’s guidance in fulfilling the mission. He mentions elders in local churches, as well as prophets, teachers, and missionaries. Within Luke’s travel accounts we can find the principle of team work, since most of the missionaries went out in groups of two or more (For instance, on numerous occasions Paul engaged in team evangelism. In Acts 15:35 we read, “Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.”  And in Troas at least eight believers accompanied Paul [Acts 20:4 says, “He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia” and of course, Luke]). We can also discern from his examples of various sermons the way in which the core gospel message (kerygma) was contextualized for different people.

 

9. How to Relate to the World

Luke is aware of the harsh realities of living in this world. He gives a realistic picture of how to relate to the political situation of the first century. Christians, despite their innocence (e.g., Paul did not break any Roman law), still might become victims of injustice. 

 

John B. Polhill suggests the following realistic political agenda based on Paul’s example:

“give no grounds for charges against you, use what legal rights you have, be willing to suffer for your faith, and bear your witness where you can” (71).

 

10. Triumph of the Gospel

Despite opposition, the Word of God triumphs and continues to spread to the ends of the earth.

 

This is not triumphalism, but realism:

Acts depicts the triumphant progress of the Word of God, not the triumph of the witnesses. The witnesses faced persecution and even death, but when they faithfully followed the Spirit’s direction, the word of God flourished.

 

Sources

Bruce, F. F. The Book of the Acts (NICNT). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.

 

Marshall, I. Howard. The Acts of the Apostles (TNTC). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980 (Reprinted 1984).

 

Polhill, John B. Acts (NAC). Nashville: Broadman, 2001.

Literary Features in the Book of Acts

1. Old Testament Narrative Style 

Luke writes in the style of the Greek Old Testament (LXX – Septuagint). He viewed his writing as recording sacred history. “He believed that the events which he was recording were the fulfillment of the prophecies contained in the Scriptures and that consequently they were the same kind of divinely wrought events as were already recorded in the Scriptures” (I.H. Marshall, 18).

 

2. Speeches

Most of the theological content of the book of Acts is conveyed through the sermons and speeches it recounts. These speeches comprise nearly 1/3 of the total text.

 

Most of these speeches take less than a few minutes to read out loud; however, it is unlikely that the comments of the speakers themselves were so brief. What Luke recorded were summaries of the things that were said. Luke did not intend them to be verbatim reports.

 

Luke provides his readers with a general sense of the messages. However, this does not mean that he simply invented the contents of these sermons and speeches. Luke’s approach seems to have been similar to Thucydides (Greek historian and Athenian general, c. 460- c. 395 B.C.):

 

“It was in all cases difficult to carry the speeches word-for-word in one’s memory, so my habit has been to make the speakers say what was in my opinion demanded of them by the various occasions, of course adhering as closely as possible to the general sense of what they really said” (History of the Peloponnesian War [recounts the 5^th C B.C. war between Sparta and Athens], 1.22.1 as cited in I.H. Marshall, 42).

 

3. Episodes

Luke is an excellent story-teller. He records individual episodes that illustrate or are representative of longer periods of ministry. These episodes are snapshots that show the church fulfilling its mission of witnessing to the risen Christ. They are specific examples of routine ministry experiences or typical practices.

 

4. Miracle Stories

Like the Gospels, the Book of Acts contains stories of miracles. We find the apostles, through the power of the Holy Spirit, performing the same kinds of miracles as Jesus  – healings, exorcisms, and even raising the dead. These miracles spread the gospel, they promote the word of God, and they advance the kingdom of God. They also connect the ministry of the apostles and the early church with the ministry of Jesus.

 

5. Conversion Stories

From these particular cases of conversion we can piece together a general pattern or discern the essential elements of a genuine commitment to Christ: repentance, faith, water baptism, reception of the Holy Spirit. (e.g., the Samaritans and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8; Paul in Acts 9; Cornelius in Acts 10; Lydia and the jailer in Acts 16, etc.).

 

6. Travel Narratives (Travelogue)

These travel stories provide a significant amount of incidental details, which give the book historical credibility. They also depict the movement and progress of the gospel. They show how the mission expanded throughout the first-century Mediterranean world.

 

7. Summary Statements

Again, Acts includes six summary statements, which broadly describe the life and growth of the church (6:7; 9:31; 12:24; 16:5; 19:20; 28:31).

Sources

Bruce, F. F. The Book of the Acts(NICNT). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.

Marshall, I. Howard. The Acts of the Apostles (TNTC). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980 (Reprinted 1984).

Polhill, John B. Acts (NAC). Nashville: Broadman, 2001.

Chronology of Events in Acts

A.D. 30          Ascension and Pentecost (Acts 1-2)
A.D. 32/33     Conversion of Paul (Acts 9)
A.D. 35          Paul's First Jerusalem Visit (Acts 9:26-30; Gal. 1:18)
A.D. 44          Death of Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12)
A.D. 46          Famine in Judea and Paul's Second Jerusalem Visit (Acts 11:27-30)
A.D. 46-47     Paul's First Missionary Journey (Acts 13:4-14:26)
A.D. 49          Apostolic Council (Acts 15)
A.D. 49-51     Paul's Second Missionary Journey (Acts 15:36-18:22)
A.D. 51-52     Gallio Proconsul in Corinth (Acts 18:12)
A.D. 52-57     Paul's Third Missionary Journey (Acts 18:23-21:17)
A.D. 57-59     Paul's Return to Jerusalem, Arrest, and Imprisonment under Felix
A.D. 59          Accession of Festus (Acts 24:27)
A.D. 60-62     Paul's Two-Year Imprisonment Under House Arrest in Rome

Sources

Blomberg, Craig L. From Pentecost to Patmos: An Introduction to Acts Through Revelation. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2006.

Gundry, Robert H. A Survey of the New Testament, 6th ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012.

Structure of the Book of Acts

The Book of Acts can be divided up a few different ways. The following three seem to be most helpful:

First, Acts 1:8 provides a broad outline to the book in which chapters 1-7 correspond to the church’s witness in Jerusalem, chapters 8-12 correspond to the church’s wider witness in Judea and Samaria, and chapters 13-28 correspond to the church’s worldwide witness to the Gentiles.

Second, Acts can roughly be divided in half, chapters 1-12 covering the ministry of Peter and chapters 13-28 covering the ministry of Paul.

Third, Luke includes six summary statements, which describe the progress of the word of God, that divide the work into shorter segments (6:7; 9:31; 12:24; 16:5; 19:20; 28:31).

SGC Strategic Planning and Vision Rollout

On February 10th and 17th, Pastor Jeff Daley will be launching the new vision for Southern Gables Church that grew out of the recent strategic planning efforts of the elders and staff. Then, on March 17th, the elders will be visiting with the ACs to elaborate on the vision and to receive additional feedback. Please plan to attend these Sundays. The following is a summary of the preview that has been shared so far:

The Revised/Refreshed Mission Statement:
"The mission of Southern Gables Church is to build the community of Christ followers to reach our world, locally and globally, for Jesus Christ."

Five Strategic Planning Initiatives:
1. Prayer
2. Assimilation Strategy
3. Communication Strategy
4. Young Families and Singles Strategy
5. Technology Plan