Bible Study: The Message and Structure of Acts

The Message and Structure of Acts
 
            The book of Acts may very well be one of the most famous books of the New Testament. It certainly has a reputation of being the center of focus from which many denominations within the evangelical church find their differences of opinion with one another.  What we can certainly agree upon regarding the book of Acts is its importance to the New Testament church of today. Because the book of Acts contains rich church history, ministry, and its spiritual principles it is very important that we understand what God is communicating to us through His Word. In this work we will examine the theological normativity of the events within Acts, examine its structure and how this relates to the massage of the book, and explain the major hermeneutical issues within the book, followed by how its principles can be applied to the church today.  
 
The Theological Normativity of The Events Within The Book of Acts
 
            The first order of business when trying to read, understand, and apply the reading of Acts is to consider the level of normativity and descriptive principles within the text.[1] This is where many denominations find that their view of the accounts within the book of Acts seperates them from the others. Normativity in definition is self-explanatory in meaning, how normal is the event or circumstance described in the text compared to the church today? Descriptive text is different in that it describes events in their circumstances and details, although not necessarily meaning to be copied. For example, Moses assaulted an Egyptian when we found the man beating on one of his fellow Israelites, but the fact that Scripture records the event does not necessarily mean that the author approves of Moses’ actions.
            The problem with normativity is its existence is dependent upon the reader. Your normal may not be my normal and so forth. In my denomination, occasional services are much like the events explained at Pentecost (Acts 2), while during others there may be an occasional “amen” with hands raised. This may not be very normative in your denomination or church. Does this mean that either one of us are wrong, there is no evidence in the Bible that seems proves that it is. In a text written by William Klein, he observes this issue by saying, “As they do with the Gospels, many interpreters of Acts succumb to false dichotomies between theology and history.”[2] What we often look for as with the Gospels is a direct command by Jesus or an apostle of some kind, however much of Acts lacks these direct commands. What we do know regarding the normativity and descriptive nature of the book is that as Klein warns, “Nevertheless, one must proceed much more catiously when direct commands are absent.”[3] It is obvious through research that we as individual believers must rely upon the conviction of the Holy Spirit to guide us through the New Testament Scripture as J. Scott Duval and J. Daniel seem to point out in their text that normative principles really depend upon the church today, which seems to be rather unreliable at best as we sway with the winds of the world in opinon.[4] Both authors are sure to point out that, “We encourage you to let the overall story of Acts set the boundaries for what is normative in individal passages.”[5] An article authored by Carl Holladay mentions, “Acts still remains a vlauable resource for shaping the church’s understanding of mission. A lot depends, of course, on how we read Acts.”[6]
 
Acts: A Narrative In Action
 
    Even when we disagree regarding normativity and descriptive properties of the Acts accounts, what we can agree upon is its structure and genre. Just by observing any research paper on the book of Acts, one of the first points made is how it certainly a narrative. William Klein and Craig Blomberg point out that, “As might be expected, Acts—the second volume of Luke’s two-part work—bears a strong resemblance to the Gospel genre.”[7] They go on to state, “a narrative of interrelated events from a given place and time, chosen to communicate theological truths—best characterizes Acts.”[8] J.Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays are a little more straightfoward when they state, “Like the Gospels, Acts is a narrative.”[9] Carl Holladay leaves no room for error by saying, “No one denies that Acts is a narrative.”[10] Joshua Jipp points out in his article that, “narratives construct and project possible worlds.”[11] This is not to say that Acts focuses on an imaginary world, but rather speaks of what was and could be if the church were in line one-hundred percent with the will of God.
Because we can classify Acts as a narrative, we can now focus on interpreting it and finding its structure. Klein and Blomberg divide up the book of Acts into two main sections regarding the focus of the mission and six sub-categories between the two. It is as follows:

1. The Christian Mission to Jews (1:1-12:24)

1. The Church in Jerusalem (1:1-6:7)
2. The Church in Judea, Samaria, and Galilee (6:8-9:31)
3. Further Advances in Palestine and Syria (9:32-12:24)

1. The Christian Mission to Gentiles (12:25-28:31)

1. First Missionary Jouney of Paul and the Jerusalem Council (12:25-16:5)
2. Wide Outreach Trough Pauls’s Two Other Missionary Journeys (16:6-19:20)
3. To Jerusalem and Then to Rome (19:21-28:31)[12]

This breakdown of the structure allows us to see the intended outcome and theme of the whole book of Acts, as Carl Holladay points out by saying, “The church begins with a clear sense of mission that enables it to grow and expand in its formative decades.”[13] It is by the structure and syle of the Acts narrative that we can see how and at what speed the church grew, which was certainly fast and aggressive.
 
The Hermeneutical Issues of Acts and How Its Principles Can Be Applied To The Church Today
            As we have stated previously, the major hermeneutical issues of Acts is not whether the events of the book actually took place, but rather how descriptive or normative the details should be. There are many ways of viewing these dilemmas, but as Klein and Blomberg mention, “narrative often teaches more indirectly than didactic literature without becoming any less normative.”[14] It is for this reason that we should look at certain details in Acts and determine through conviction and spiritual maturity whether it is normative for our situation or not. While I do not ever intend to see someone drop dead from lying about their giving or pick up a snake to prove their fate in God’s will, I consider every detail in Acts to be necessary for my growth and understanding. As the text by Klein states, “We wish to put it even more strongly: 2 Tim 3:16 provides the grounds to assume students can learn some kind of lesson from every passage, even in narrative literature.”[15] Every line of Scripture is to be treated with the utmost sincerety and authority as the Word of God is inerrant.
            Knowing how much in common that Acts has with the Gospel of Luke and that they share an apostle as an author gives it even more authority. Duball and Hays mention that, “Originally these two volumes even circulated among the churches as a single work, but in the second century the gospel of Luke joined the other three gospels and Acts began to circulate on its own.”[16] Carl Holladay mentions in his article that, “At the simplest level, Acts was written in order to continue the Gospel of Luke.”[17] Because we know the similarities of the Gospel of Luke and Acts, we can now find the meaning and purpose of the writing of Acts. Acts focuses on the post-resurrection early church and its development. Acts, just as the Gospels written before it shares many principles such as Jason Ripley points out, “Functionally speaking, the apostles embody the person of Jesus in proclomation and healing throughout the narrative of Acts.”[18]
            Even though Acts can be explained as a continuation of the Gospel of Luke and that the Gospels focus more on the imitation and example of Christ, the Acts account seems to have some additional priorities. Duvall and Hays believe that, “This is biblical historhy at its finest, painted in broad strokes to assure Christians that they are part of God’s grand plan.”[19] They also state that, “Perhaps we should thing of Acts as a kind of comprehensive discipleship manual, designed to reinforce the Christian faith for new believers.”[20] Others such as Joshua Jipp focus on other areas as he mentions, “The sujbect of Luke-Acts is the living God as revealed in Jesus Christ and, as Acts would have us affirm, within his church.”[21] F.F. Bruce seems to describe the main theme of Acts to be the empowering of the new church by the Holy Spirit.[22] Due to the account of Acts we are once again assured of the spiritual authority and divinity of the Holy spirit as Everett Ferguson mentions, “The experience of the coming of the Holy Spirit, recorded in Acts 2, launched the church as a distinct entity on a mission of proclaiming Jesus as both Lord and Christ.”[23] This arrival and empowering by the Holy Spirit dominates the theme of the Acts accounts. It brings attention to how the early church launched and how it will end with additional outpouring such as in Acts 2:17. Acts continues to shape how we view missions and the role of the Spirit within the trinity as F.F. Bruce mentions, “The coming of the Spirit, then, was essential for effective witness bearing,” just as it is today.[24]
 
Conclusion
   Regardless of how normalative or desicriptive we view the book of Acts, we can all stand to gain some spiritual insight as how the church began and its focus since its foundation, which is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we mentioned, its structure and how it relates to the message of the book are closely interwoven. The hermeneutical issues within the book as we discussed are difficult to balance, but possible with the conviction and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. As we move into the next age of the church, we know that Acts continues to be a necessary influence on our spiritual and ministerial development. We may not live in communities today, sharing our provisions and eating all of our meals together as brothers and sisters, but we do share a common bond. That common bond is that we are saved by the shed blood of Christ through faith and repentance. I pray that the book of Acts can be a source of Spritual enrichment for you as it has for me many times over. As Carl Holladay mentions in his article, “Acts still remains a valuable resource for shaping the church’s understanding of mission. A lot depends of course, on how we read Acts.”[25]
 


[1] Grand Canyon University, “New Testament Exegesis: Exegeting the Acts” (lecture 6, Biblical Hermeneutics, Grand Canyon University, 2016). https://lc.gcu.edu/learningPlatform/user/users.html

[2] William Klein et al. Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc., 2004) 419.
 

[3] Klein et al. Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. 424.
 

[4] J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays. Grasping God’s Word: A Hands On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012) 300-303.
 

[5] Duvall and Hays. Grasping God’s Word: A Hands On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible. 303.

[6] Carl R. Holladay. “Interpreting Acts,”  Interpretation 66, no. 3 (2012): 245-258, accessed July 18, 2017, ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost 
 

[7] Ibid. 418.
 

[8] Ibid. 418.
 

[9] Ibid. 293.
 

[10] Holladay. “Interpreting Acts,” 246.
 

[11] Jipp, Joshua W. "The beginnings of a theology of Luke-Acts: divine activity and human response." Journal Of Theological Interpretation 8, no. 1 (2014): 29, accessed July 18, 2017, ATLA Religion Database with ATLA Serials, EBSCOhost 
 

[12] Ibid. 420.
 

[13] Ibid. 245.
 

[14] Ibid. 424.
 

[15] Ibid. 424.
 

[16] Ibid. 292.
 

[17] Ibid. 248.
 

[18] Jason J. Ripley ,“Those things that Jesus had begun to do and teach”: narrative Christology and incarnational ecclesiology in Acts." Biblical Theology Bulletin 44, no. 2 (May 2014): 90, accessed July 18, 2017, ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost.
 

[19] Ibid. 295.
 

[20] Ibid. 295.
 

[21] Jipp, Joshua W. "The beginnings of a theology of Luke-Acts: divine activity and human response." 24. 
 

[22] F.F. Bruce,“Luke’s Presentation of the Spirit in Acts,” Criswell Theological Review (1990): 15-29, accessed July 13th, 2017, https://lcgrad3.gcu.edu/learningPlatform/externalLinks/externalLinks.html?operation=redirectToExternalLink&externalLink=https%3A%2F%2Flopes.idm.oclc.org%2Flogin%3Furl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebscohost.com%2Flogin.aspx%3Fdirect%3Dtrue%26db%3Drfh%26AN%3DATLA0000847623%26site%3Dehost-live%26scope%3Dsite 
 

[23] Everett Ferguson, Church History: From Christ to Pre-Reformation (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 34

[24] F.F. Bruce,“Luke’s Presentation of the Spirit in Acts,” Criswell Theological Review (1990): 15-29, accessed July 13th, 2017, https://lcgrad3.gcu.edu/learningPlatform/externalLinks/externalLinks.html?operation=redirectToExternalLink&externalLink=https%3A%2F%2Flopes.idm.oclc.org%2Flogin%3Furl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebscohost.com%2Flogin.aspx%3Fdirect%3Dtrue%26db%3Drfh%26AN%3DATLA0000847623%26site%3Dehost-live%26scope%3Dsite 
 

[25] Ibid. 258.