These days, the word “church” has taken on meanings foreign to the Bible. To first century Greeks, it meant the assembly of citizens called together for a civic meeting (Acts 19:32). The New Testament borrowed that term for Christ’s spiritual gathering—all whom He saves and adds to His group (Acts 2:41, 47; 5:11; Ephesians 1:22; 5:23). When they assemble regularly in specific places, they are Christ’s local “churches” (Acts 13:1; 15:41). Toward a good definition, compare Acts 8:1 with Acts 9:1.
Before Acts 2, Jesus spoke of the church as still future: “I will build My church” (Matthew 16:18). After Acts 2, the church is active. What was Luke’s purpose for writing Acts? As history, it shows how the Holy Spirit grew the church from Jewish beginnings in Jerusalem to impact the Gentile world, even at its center, Rome. Along the way, Acts develops themes such as response to the Gospel and Christianity’s relationship to the government.
Is Luke’s intent, guided by the Spirit, to provide an exact model of the church for all future Christians to imitate? Again, discernment is needed. For Acts is a book of beginnings. The Holy Spirit’s fire on the apostles is not an everyday occurrence (Acts 2). The door opened to the Samaritans, confirmed by apostolic hands, does not need to be re-opened (Acts 8). Nor does the door opened to Gentiles by the Spirit Himself (Acts 8, 10). The question, “Should the Law be imposed on Gentile Christians?” was examined and answered (Acts 11, 15). In these and other firsts, Jesus used the apostles and prophets as the foundational stage of the church (Ephesians 2:20). Once a solid foundation has been set, that process is not repeated. Rather, the house is built on it. The question is how to build.