Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.
~ Acts 26:19
Much debate has taken place about the central theme of the book of Acts. Some have argued that it’s a record of the acts of the apostles. Others have argued that it’s a record of the acts of the Holy Spirit. Still others have argued that it’s a defense of Paul’s ministry.
Each argument can be cleverly supported. But rather than being broken on this stone of stumbling, I wish to point out that Luke himself tells us what the book of Acts is all about. The theme appears in his opening words:
The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach. (Acts 1:1 nasb)
In order to understand the above sentence, we need to compare it with the opening statement of the gospel of Luke.
Since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. (Luke 1:3–4)
Luke was the hand behind the gospel that bears his name as well as the book of Acts. Both books were addressed to a prominent man named Theophilus. The gospel of Luke and the book of Acts are twin volumes. They are two parts of the same story.
The gospel of Luke is a record of what Jesus Christ “began to do and to teach” (Acts 1:1). It’s a record of the beginning of Christ’s life and ministry on earth.
The book of Acts is a record of the continuation of Christ’s life and ministry on earth through His body. As John the apostle said, as Jesus was in this world, so now is the church (1 John 4:17).
Throughout Acts, we see Jesus Christ preaching the gospel, reaching out to the Gentiles, and raising up corporate expressions of Himself throughout the Roman Empire. Let’s look at some specific examples and let Scripture speak for itself.
The Birth of the New Creation
A little-known fact is that Luke deliberately crafted both his gospel and Acts around the same story line. Notice how both books open. The beginning of Luke opens with the birth of Jesus. Pay attention to the language:
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)
Acts opens with the birth of the body of Christ. Strikingly, Luke uses the same language and the same Greek words to narrate the birth of the Lord’s spiritual body as he does in narrating the birth of the Lord’s physical body:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.… And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8; 2:4 nasb)
The gospel of Luke opens with Christ being conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary. Acts opens with Christ being conceived in His people by the Holy Spirit. Remarkably, the entire book of Acts is a duplication of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ through His church.
Lessons from Saul of Tarsus
If he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” (Acts 9:2–5 nasb)
This is perhaps one of the most remarkable texts in all of holy writ. Saul is persecuting the church in Jerusalem. And Jesus Christ takes it personally!
The Lord appears to Saul, but He doesn’t say what we would expect. The words “Why are you persecuting My church?” never come out of His mouth. Instead, He makes this incredible statement:
“Why are you persecuting Me!?”
How does Jesus Christ view His church? He views it as inseparable from Himself. What an incredible thought. The body of Christ, therefore, is not a nifty metaphor. Neither is it a bloodless doctrine or an abstract theology. It’s a reality.
We are part of His body.
This event marked a monumental crisis in the life of Paul. It was accompanied by a blinding vision of Christ, which wrecked his religious life. Paul later referred to it as “the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19 nasb).
What was that vision? It was that Jesus Christ, the Head in heaven, was vitally united to His body on earth. In other words, Paul saw the “whole Christ,” or what Augustine called the totus Christus; the total Christ.
Since His ascension, Jesus Christ has never been a private citizen. Instead, He is vitally and inseparably joined to His church. He is both Head and body. He is both mind and members. That initial revelation would be an ever-expanding vision within Paul. It would later become his flagship message. And he would give his life for it.
From Persecutor to Brother
Acts 9 shows us something else worth noting. When Paul received Christ, something changed within the texture of his own being. This unregenerate Pharisee received the very life of God within him. As a result, Paul was added to the body of Christ and the family of God. For this reason, when Ananias (a member of the church in Damascus) met Paul (then called “Saul”), he greeted him with these surprising words: “Brother Saul” (Acts 9:17). Paul was now part of the divine family.
Paul’s unique revelation and apostleship was founded on the profound revelation of the resurrected Christ. Not the individual Christ; but Christ as the very embodiment of the Christian community. Christ the Head, and Christ the body—the total Christ.
The book of Acts beats a drum that resounds throughout the rest of the New Testament. And here is that sound: In the eyes of God, the church is nothing more and nothing less than Jesus Christ on earth. It’s a new species (creation) that’s kin to divinity; a body to the Son and a family to the Father. Kind of His own kind.
This revelation is at the heart of God’s ageless purpose.
The church was not a divine afterthought. God didn’t plan to have the church after the fall. From eternity past, God wanted a family for His pleasure and a vessel to give His Son visible expression in His creation. This is God’s grand mission. Properly conceived, the family and the visible expression (the body) is the church. The conversion of lost souls is the means toward that end; it is not the goal.
But that’s not all.…
This post is an excerpt from Chapter 23 of From Eternity to Here.
Just Breathe
That really is an insight – how Christ took it personally when Saul was persecuting the church. That helps me.
“Jesus, who is the Christ, has come in the flesh “. This scripture is more profound than most realize or understand. Those that He is in belong to Him. They are the members of His body, He being the head of His body. They who He is in, are joined to Him as a wife is to her husband. ” For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and be joined unto his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery (hidden truth), but I speak of Christ and the church” They are not the many who are called (invited), to the wedding, but the few who are chosen. A bride does not receive an invitation to her own wedding, she is chosen by the bridegrooms Father.
I’ve never seen the parrallel you point out before…wow how much he loves us! Thanks for posting the excerpt!
When I read Luke or Acts now and put myself into the place of Theophilus–as a God Lover–I now see even more clearly that he is the body and the head and I’m so grateful for his mercy and grace.
great book, a must read!
From Eternity To Here is one of my all time favorite books. Reading this again is just simply refreshing. Thanks!
I loved the post and the truth behind it, but one question. You talk about Act 1:1 as if it was alove, but Luke’s sentence goes until verse 3 where it says that “…Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up…”. That would hurt your point of saying that he didn’t stop, but continue to do it…”
I want to make clear that I agree with everything you said, but I think you “forced” a interpretation using “half of a sentence” of this especific verse. And yourself in your writings say that doing that is dangerous… Not that what you said is a lie (it is really TRUE), but that the verse is not the best to describe it… The question is: Am I right or wrong? And, what did I miss?
In love, from a brother that respect you a lot!
You misunderstand. In Acts 1:1, he is referring to the gospel of Luke. Luke records what Jesus *began* to do and teach until He ascended. Acts records what He *continued* to do after His ascension. That’s the natural logic of his statement.
The parallels Luke draws between Christ and his followers in Luke-Acts are quite incredible (well, hard to take in anyhow!). It is no accident the way these 2 books are structured. Jesus at the Jordan and the disciples at Pentecost both receive the Spirit and then go on to interpret this using Scripture (in a way, incidentally that would have been rather “new” for the people of their day), preach, heal, exorcise unclean spirits, etc. Luke clearly envisaged the disciples in Acts continuing what Jesus did. Through Jesus, the Spirit created the redeemed community, cleansing God’s people and equipping them – this doesn’t stop after the ascension! I suppose for me the difficulty is why we don’t see more of what Luke seems to be expecting. There are some good (although not easy read) theologians who’ve written on these Lukan parallels – Max Turner, Bob Menzies, Roger Stronstad – to name a few.
Thanks for confirming the point. How did you find this blog?
Via Twitter. Good to see some interesting and robust ideas being discussed here. I really enjoyed researching links between Luke-Acts as part of my investigation into the Spirit’s role in our Bible reading for my MA thesis. Your post is a welcome reminder that Jesus still lives and ministers in and through us – truly astonishing and astonishingly true!
Frank,
I think this is the most excellent post I have seen on your site to date. A lot of things here with far reaching implications for both doctrine and practice. Keep up the great work.
~Chris
Thx. You’ll really enjoy “From Eternity to Here” then . . . it’s full of these sorts of parallels.
WOW! “The church was not a divine afterthought. God didn’t plan to have the church after the fall. From eternity past,God wanted a family for His pleasure and a vessel to give His Son visible expression in His creation. This is God’s grand mission.”
PS I agree with Robyn…this is study group
An excerpt of chapter 23 From Eternity to Here. No wonder I liked this post so much. One of my favorite reads about the love of my life, Jesus!
Frank,
Great post. Looking at Jesus from this perspective causes me to enjoy Him now and not just look forward to the second coming. In addition, I now look at salvation as a means to an end (Not Heaven) but to open the door to HIS eternal purpose.
This is more than a blog…this is study group 🙂 I love what is revealed here. I love the connection between the two books and I love how you compared the opening of each book. Sorry to overuse “love” but that is what I felt when reading these excerpts…God’s loving plan, Jesus loving protection, Jesus lovingly giving us His identity…and all of that increases my sense of responsibility…not as a burden, but as an honor to represent Him in the world along side my brothers and sisters throughout the world, even those I’ve never met. Keep teaching…
I know Jim. It boggles my mind that God chose to accomplish His will through fatally flawed human beings. I find myself being ashamed of judging, hurting and further dividing the body in the name of unity. What a wretch who can save me. His grace is scandalous. Thank you God for loving and forgiving me!
Thank you for this reminder. I obviously need to go back and read FETH again.
“How does Jesus Christ view His church? He views it as inseparable from Himself. What an incredible thought. The body of Christ, therefore, is not a nifty metaphor. Neither is it a bloodless doctrine or an abstract theology. It’s a reality.”
This is so applicable to us today, the church isn’t how we see it. The church is how Christ sees it, so if we are given to distinction, sects, and other man made divisions we are in effect persecuting Jesus. This should give us pause the next time we feel convicted to slander on another in any way.
“John Perkins said it right, love is the final fight.”
Thanks again Frank.
Incredible! Thank God for this revelation.