6 Panels and 5 Markers for Church Expansion in Acts

Max Strange

9/17/2010

The six panels found within Acts and the five markers help develop Luke’s intention and give us a model for the church’s establishment expansion for today. Below is an annotated list of the six panels “books” within Acts. They are accompanied by five transitional markers that signal a major panel change and Luke’s advancement of the book.

Panel #1: Establishment of the Church in Jerusalem (1:1-6:7)

1. The establishment of the kingdom would not be an Israel-centered endeavor but a local launch from Jerusalem to a global encompassing extension to the ends of the earth (1:8; 2:1-13; 39).

2. The foundational twelve Apostles were solidified as the witnesses of Jesus life, death, and resurrection and commissioned to pass the gospel deposit to the churches (1:1-26).

3. The leaders knew well the Word of God (2:14-36; 3:11-26; 4:5-14).

4. The leaders took a unified stance on the truth…the eleven apostles stood with Peter as he delivered his Pentecost sermon (2:14).

5. The church was devoted to corporate gathering that consisted of apostolic teaching, fellowship, prayers, and meals (2:42-47)
6. When the Word of God increased (spread), God added new believers to the Jerusalem church (2:47; 4:4; 5:14; 6:1,7).
7. The leaders appointed men as deacon-like qualified servants to free the Apostles to continue the preaching ministry and maximize the Word ministry (6:1-7).
8. The unity and sincerity of the church was threatened by the display of religious activity without inner integrity (5:1-11).
9. The early church in Jerusalem was temple centered (2:46; 3:11; 5:12).
10. The leaders of the church were bold witnesses (4:5-31; 5:17:-42)
11. The leader’s witness was centered on the person and work of Jesus (2:22-36; 3:12-26 ; 4:8-12; 5:17-32, 42)
Marker 1: “And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied great in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priest became obedient to the faith.” Acts 6:7

II. Panel #2Keys to the Establishment of the Church in Judea and Samaria (6:8-9:31)
1. The leaders/subordinate leaders had a deep knowledge of the Old Testament and understood how to build upon it to explain the gospel (7:1-51; 8:35).
2. The leaders had a Christocentric witness (8:5, 12, 35, 40).
3. God-ordained persecution and suffering due to gospel witness promoted Word expansion by preaching (8:1, 4-5, 12).
4. There was a leadership connection between the Jerusalem church and Samaria (8:14-15).
5. The leaders at Jerusalem (the Apostles) were supportive and sensitive to God’s unfolding plan as they heard the Gospel going out to Gentile lands (8:1-25).
6. The leaders exercised their authority to protect the church from false leadership (8:9-24).
7. Subordinate leadership (Philip), took initiative, yet did not resent or buck their superiors (8:5-25).
8. God directed the movement of His gospel southward towards Ethiopia (8:26).
9. Acts 1:8 continues to unfold.
Marker 2 “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.” Acts 9:31

Panel #3 Keys to the Establishment of the Church in Antioch (9:32-12:24)
1. The church begins to shed its false view of separatism (10:9-22, 28; 11:1-3, 18-21)
2. God works in people’s hearts prior to salvation (Cornelius-10:1-8, 24-48).
3. God worked through aggressive evangelism by those who had a right view of God’s purposes to draw many Gentiles to Himself (10:34; 11:19-24).
4. The Holy Spirit is poured out upon the Gentiles in Cornelius home (10:45; 11:1, 17-18).
5. Baptism is commanded immediately after salvation (10:46-48).
6. Jerusalem church leaders sent Barnabas to Antioch in response to Hellenist’s Gentile’s responding positively to the Gospel (11:19).
7. God chooses the new Christian capitol called Antioch (11:25-26).
8. The teachers worked hard to preach and teach (11:23-26).
9. Barnabas worked diligently in the basic follow-up of these new Christians at Antioch (11:21-24).
10. Barnabas and Saul met with the whole group and taught them intensively for one year (11:25-26).
11. The Antioch church was involved in inter-dependence with the Judean elders to meet the needs of the Christians (11:29-30).
12. Violent persecution continues (12:2).
13. When the Word increased the kingdom increased (12:24-25).
Marker #3 “But the word of God increased and multiplied.” Acts 12:24.

Panel #4 Keys to the Establishment of the Church in Asia Minor: (12:25-16:5)
1. Under the Spirit’s direction, Antioch commissioned their best men, Barnabas and Saul. They sent their best men by laying their hands on them, an Old Testament sign that meant a transfer of authority (13:1-3).
2. The men who sere sent left a maturing, living local church (13:1-3).
3. Barnabas and Paul were sent to: (13:1-14:28)

     a. Proclaim the gospel

     b. Gather into a local community of believers

     c. Strengthen those who believed

     d. Appoint elders (14:23)

4. After the expansion work, the men went back to home-base Antioch to report and ready themselves to head back to do kingdom work (14:16-28).
5. Early church leaders of apostle and elders guarded the Gospel. Antioch sent representatives (15:2-3) and met at the Jerusalem council to protect sola gratia and sola Christus.
6. The mission team of Paul and Barnabas continued to return to Antioch, give report, and make vital mission decisions within the Christian capitol (15:35-41).
7. Leaders were committed to training faithful men to help and carry on the Apostolic deposit and the work of finding new Christian communities (15:37-39; 16:3; 2 Tim. 2:2).
Marker 4: “So the churches were strengthened in the faith and they increased in numbers daily.” Acts 16:5

Panel #5 Keys to the establishment of the Church in the Aegean Area: (16:6-19:20)
1. Under the Holy Spirit’s direction, Paul worked aggressively in seeking new areas in which to take the gospel (16:6-7; Matt. 28:19-20).
2. Paul had a ministry strategy that was flexible and malleable to the Spirit’s direction and open Gospel portals. I.e. Conversion of Lydia and Philippian jailer (16:6-40).
3. Paul skillfully contextualized the gospel to the worldview of his hearers (17:1-34).
     a. Paul knew the gospel and its connections to the Old Testament.
     b. Paul went where he knew he would gain a hearing and piggy-backed off the existing Jewish synagogue structures (17:2; 19).
     c. Paul boldly explained, reasoned, and proved the Christ from the Old Testament Scriptures with a gospel/kingdom centered message (17:2-4, 17; 19: 8).
     d. Paul reasoned in public venues to gain a hearing (17:17; 19:9).
     e. Paul found common presuppositions with his audience-common starting point (17:22-23).
     f. Paul corrected the worldview of his hearers (17:24-31).
4. God is the author of salvation and opens hearts as He determines (16:14).
5. Gospel work had three responses: some mocked, some wanted to hear more, and some believed (17:32-34).
6. Paul was terrified but trusted God in the midst of it (18:5-9; 2 Cor. 7:5).
7. Paul was occupied with the Word ministry (18:5).
8. Paul was able to do full-time ministry due to the financial giving of believers.
9. Paul established the churches by years of dedicated teaching (18:11; 19:10).
10. Paul and his team were careful to correct any who did not teach the way of God with accuracy (18:24-19:10).

Marker 5: “So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.” Acts 19:20.

Panel 6: Paul’s Completed work and the Gospel Westward Bound (19:21-28:end)

1. Paul revisited his congregations to further establish them (20:1-12).

2. Paul gave elder qualifications that he himself modeled (20:17-38).

3. Paul spent much of his time developing leadership (20:31).

4. Paul charged the elders to shepherd the flock and rely on God and His Word (20:28, 32).

5. Paul understood the role of authorities (spiritual, governmental, antagonistic) in God’s workings and used them as tools of God (Rom. 13:1-6; 21:17-26; 28:17-22).

6. Paul used the authorities to protect himself (23:16-23; 25:10-11).

7. Paul’s boldness led to his persecution which also led church-wide boldness.

WORD Interpreting Word

Jason Strange
9/18/2010

After our Lord rose from the dead he appeared to his people. Was it mainly to shock and awe them? They needed it. Was it primarily so that their slumping hearts might be lifted up and filled with inexpressible joy, they needed that too? Was it so that his apostles might be filled with hope, strengthened with courage, commissioned and sent out? That was part of the agenda. I think the main reason was so that he could hold a 40-day crash-course in Hermeneutics. He wanted to show his people not only his resurrected body as physical, tangible, demonstrative evidence; but he wanted to confirm to his people that the Old Testament was Christocentric, it was all about Him!

Jesus here unpacks the OT and shows how all of Redemptive history has culminated to this point and that Jewish history has just climaxed with the coming of their Messiah, his death, and subsequent resurrection. Not only has Jewish history reached its peak, but all of human history has now just been significantly altered. Jesus knew they needed interpretation, he knew they needed clarification, someone to elucidate Moses, the prophets and the psalms. And by doing this he was showing himself as the author of interpretation; and without a thorough explanation of the OT this new community of believers would still be stuck in a Judaic legalistic moralistic religion, they still would need temple and sacrifice; they would still need ceremonial washings and mediation. They would still be trapped in symbol and shadow.

In Luke 24: 27, “and beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. “ Jesus is demonstrating how we are to view all of scripture and how we are to interpret. We are to interpret with one eye on Jesus and the other eye on the text. Jesus uses himself as the interpretative networking by which the Church is to properly handle our Old Testaments, not as random Sunday school stories focused on us and our circumstances but first and foremost on Christ Jesus and big picture. All the smaller details must be plugged into the big picture lest we lose the Authors intent. We distort the drama of redemption when we forget to plug the small details into the overarching story. Christ transforms the storyline, as he not only is the Author, but the central character of the play. To spiritualize the OT actually puts us at the center of the drama when as Michael Horton has said, “This character must be killed off.”

Jesus-The Ultimate interpreter began with Moses, which means he most likely took them to Genesis and worked through the whole Old Testament illuminating the text and showing that the Gospel message was there all along thus establishing a gospel centered hermeneutic. And now this gospel hermeneutic is the way by which all scripture is to read, in so doing he thus gives us the New Covenant style which flavors our understanding of Old Covenant truths. In essence he was bridging the storyline of Scripture and revealing that there was indeed a causeway of truth that connected the various points of redemptive history. He connected the dots and sketched a picture of himself. This was his ‘arch de triumph’; he arched back into the OT and grabbed it all, gathered it up and presented it as proof that he was who he said he was. This is how Jesus uses himself; WORD interpreting word.

Also in our consideration is Luke 24:44-45. Jesus told them that all things which were written about him in the in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Jesus was the prophetic fulfillment and he stayed back for those 40 days and taught them from the OT showing forth himself. The whole OT is filled with Christological symbols and signs, and Jesus showed them ‘all things’ which were written about him. (We see him as Word, promise, Law, Priest, covenant, Judge, King, Shepherd, song, wisdom, prophet ect…)

Also, in verse 45 it says that he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. He not only was interpreting for them but he was illuminating their minds. This shows the primacy of Gods hermeneutical method and its result. It also shows God’s sovereignty in our understanding and that it is Jesus who opens up the mind for our comprehension and that there is a reversal of sin darkened minds, blinded eyes, and stopped up ears, pointing to New Covenant promises now being fulfilled.

Six Panels To Acts

By Max Strange 9/14/2010

Many people come to the book of Acts for a variety of reasons. Some do the apologetical or historical approach, others do a biographical sketch, some trace Paul’s journey’s with a Mediterranean map while others like to glimpse the good ole’ days of primitive church life. Moreover, Christians often approach Acts in a “restoration mentality” fearing that we have strayed too far into worldly ideologies, Westernization, pragmatic thinking, and/or Romish error. Unfortunately, Acts' readers have been importing much baggage, bias, and presuppositions into Luke's book and it is no wonder why Acts ends up being such a hot and highly debatable book. When the proper rules of interpretation are not first applied, debates on secondary issues commence.  Then our interpretation becomes forced by the grid we created thus making Acts into a newly transformed and hybrid proof-text toward my theological bent. No longer will it be called the Acts of the Apostles but the acts of my prejudice and the act of my new authorship. When Luke’s intent is not present, it is easy to see why water-cooler exegesis of Acts gravitate around such things as church functions and forms, water baptism and second baptism of the Holy Spirit, to tongue or not to tongue (that is the question?), the Lord’s Supper weekly or daily, etc. The A/author’s intent for the book can be more easily found when we look for the author’s intention and not our intention. Starting with an eye on Luke's structure, we begin to seek not our own intent/interests but Luke’s. His purpose (which is God's overall Christological purpose) in selecting and shaping the material, the normative patterns for the church come into focus.

Luke gives us his structure throughout Acts. These natural divisions point to Luke’s overarching theme. We see six panels in the book: (1:1-6:7; 6:8-9:31; 9:32-12:24; 12:25-16:5; 16:6-19:20; 19:21-28:30). These sections give the narrative a sense of forward movement that thrust us from Jew to Gentile lands, from Peter to Paul, from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, as promised in Acts 1:8. Luke’s interest in this movement, orchestrated by the Holy Spirit, reveals small Judiastic beginnings that turn into a global-wide, Gentile-predominant phenomenon (92). These panels yield the meaning that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is an unstoppable force. Powered by promise and Spirit, the triumphant expansion of the church and God’s intention for the church moves into sharp resolution. It is important as these panels surface, that we follow some key thoughts to control misuse of the text.

In reading Acts, always look for normative patterns that are elsewhere echoed in Scripture. A teaching can become a primary principle only if a pattern does exist and the rule of faith, using Scripture to interpret itself, is employed. Secondary principles, which ought not be held with a death grip, will be implicit statements that provide integrity to explicit statements. Therefore, it is crucial to not make secondary principles primary (normative for the Church). At the same time, we ought not forget that God communicates by explicit narrative in one place only to draw from typological implications elsewhere. The explicit narrative that has Moses striking the rock in the wilderness (Ex. 17:6) is used by the New Testament authors to imply through typology that it was Christ who was struck to provide living water (1 Cor.10:3; John 4:10; 7:38). So we are also cautious not to rule out typological implications as normative for the church.

Furthermore, when using history to back up a position, it must clearly be related to Luke’s intent. Do not make what was historically normal (or was normally done in church history) a binding principle for all Christians. Scripture must be explicit and implications must be clear in order to be binding.

In closing, Acts should be read with Luke’s interests in mind. His intention is indicated by the six panels found across the landscape of Acts which give the narrative a forward thrust. He shows us that God’s relentless Gospel expansion will push outward from Jewish to Gentile lands, from Peter to Paul, from Jerusalem to Rome, as promised. Once this intent is in our purview, normative principles and patterns in Acts, that are also echoed elsewhere and in harmony with Scripture, come to the fore. We hold on to explicit patterns, historic precedent, and typological implications that are primarily related to Luke’s intent. Conversely, we hold loosely those incidentals that are not related to Luke’s intent.