Interpreting Acts

According to Klein, the book of Acts is similar to the genre of the four gospels, and it is theological history because it communicates theological truths by acting as a narrative of interrelated events. (Klein, 418) Chapter one for example starts with Jesus being taken up into haven and chapter two of the book of Acts introduces Pentecost that soon came as a result. From the time that Jesus is taken up into heaven and through the events of Pentecost the apostles and all the other characters do the works that they are transformed to complete through having been part of these events. The point to be made is that the concepts that Acts introduces are interrelated to one another because the parts of the total story often build part by part to make a large structure known of as the church that is build first on the foundation of the assent of Jesus Christ into heaven and then on the basement of Pentecost giving many people the power of the Holy Ghost to do God's work.

What the Genre Implies for Interpreting the Book

For Klein the book of Acts has a wealth of details, and through these details the book teaches what God commands the believers to do as well as to show what God is accomplishing. (Klein, 419) The point to be made is that the book of Acts is very reflective upon the history of events, and this reflection has a way of utilizing the Holy Ghost in order to illuminate God's ultimate purpose for the events having happened the way that they happened. Overall, Acts thus utilizes details as like symbols that when added together show what God's thoughts are.

Readers Differentiate between Theology and History in the book

In general the theology of the book of Acts teaches about God and his purposes, but the history mainly focuses upon people and events that describe the history of the foundation of the church. The story of Philip in Acts 8:26-40 for example is history in that it gives an account of what is perhaps the first Ethiopian to become a Christian, and this person likely contributed to the spread of Christianity historically in Ethiopia (although much of this history may be lost today). On the other hand the question about how the Holy Ghost works through evangelism can be addressed as theology by the very same story of Philip by showing the details of how the evangelism took place through both God and the evangelist.

An interpreter Should Look for the Following to Understand the Message

A person should look for unique phrases such as "baptism of the Spirit" and "filling of the Spirit" (Klein, 425) within the context of how the author is trying to express a theological truth. On the other hand the long developed historical narrative can give support to the fact that the Holy Ghost is seen by the author to work in specific ways, and in this regard the author chooses to use language to describe what he has already built up to by using the historical narrative. Overall, people that interpret the book of Acts should be very concerned with the way that the history backs the theology.

Bibliography:

Klein, William, Blomberg, Craig, and Hubbard, Robert. Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. Revised and Updated. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993.