Twenty Questions Scholars Ask When Studying the Holy Spirit

All New Testament believers should have a unique, familial relationship with the Book of Acts. The people at the Azusa Street mission, where the Pentecostal movement was born in America in the early 1900s, were intent on restoring the church to its apostolic roots. These precious believers were convinced that Christianity had lost its way. They hungered for more of God, and as they searched the Scriptures in the Book of Acts, they discovered the original plan and pattern the Lord Jesus gave His Church, and they were determined to follow its path and be embraced by its dunamis power.

Since that time, people across this people-planet have continued experiencing the gift of God through their baptism in the Holy Spirit.

As we read in the Acts narrative, today, people still find God doing what He did in the Upper Room in Jerusalem, what He did at Cornelius's house, and what He has done for the last two thousand years. Historical accounts corroborate that people everywhere receive what the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul preach about. Over the past few decades, New Testament Church scholars have defined the contours of the theology that early Pentecostals intuitively grasped.

Acts contains both history and theology. Luke, the author of Acts, certainly had history in mind when he penned the book. He placed dates and geographical markers in the text so later readers could corroborate his account. He referenced governmental leaders whose names and accomplishments could be accessed through extra-biblical sources. It should be noted that Luke wrote using first-century conventions of historiography, and as a result, his writings differ significantly from contemporary conventions of history writing. Therefore, it would be a mistake to apply today's standards of history writing to ancient histories like Acts or the Gospels. But without a doubt, Acts is a work of history.

However, Luke also had theology in mind when he wrote Acts. In addition to being a work of history, it is also a work of theology. Evidence for the theological nature of Acts can be found in the prologues for both of his books, Luke and Acts. In many ways, the Book of Acts functions as the second volume of a two-volume work that we know as Luke-Acts. A cursory glance at the opening verses of both Luke and Acts reveals that the prologue for Luke also serves as the prologue of Acts. In this prologue, Luke stated he was writing so Theophilus, and by extension others, might understand "those things which are most surely believed among us" and that he might "know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed" (Luke 1:1, 4). He intended to portray not only a historical record of the events as they transpired but also the theology behind the events.

It is fascinating to see how Luke tells the story of how the gospel was presented and experienced by new people groups. This ongoing expansion of the Kingdom is the theme of Acts. (See Acts 1:8.) After preaching his Pentecost sermon to the Jews gathered in Jerusalem, Peter responded to their conviction-prompted questions with a call to repentance and baptism in Jesus' name and a promise of the infilling of the Spirit. The same elements are present in the account of the first Samaritan converts (Acts 8:5–25). They are repeated (twice) in the account of the first Gentile household (Cornelius) to become Christian (Acts 10:24–48; 11:1–17). The Acts 11 account is especially instructive. When Peter returned to Jerusalem after preaching to Cornelius and his household, he was called before the church elders to give a defense for his actions. Peter concluded his defense: "And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then he remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?" It is then easy to conclude that these accounts are designed to be historically normative; they are more than just history; they are the standard way Christian conversion occurs. In other words, they are prescriptive; they teach the theology of transformation.