The Transitional Nature of the Acts Period

Richard C. Church

To clearly understand what the Bible teaches about spiritual gifts and their applicability to the believer in the dispensation of grace, it is extremely important to realize the transitional nature of the period of time covered by the book of Acts. When this transitional period is not comprehended accurately, one will inevitably begin to try to operate under the instructions of a different dispensation.

Rightly Dividing The New Testament

In 2 Timothy 2:15 we are instructed to:

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. "

For most Christians, the only division they see in the Bible is the division between Old and New Testament. However, there are many subdivisions of the two Testaments which are necessary to accurately understand the Bible. In the Old Testament, for instance, Adam lived under a different set of instructions than Noah. Noah lived under different instructions than Moses. This is because they were under different dispensations.

Likewise, in the New Testament there is more than one dispensation. The passage which best outlines these divisions for us is found in Ephesians 2:

Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Eph 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Eph 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

There are three time periods mentioned in these verses: "time past", "but now" and "ages to come." Each of these time periods has a distinctive feature with regard to the Gentiles. In "time past" the Gentiles were: without Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, without hope, without God. There was a difference between Jew and Gentile. "But now" the Gentiles are no longer far off, but God is working through one body where there is neither Jew nor Gentile (Gal 3:28; Col 3:11). In the "ages to come", God will be showing "the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."

At the beginning of the New Testament, we are clearly still in "time past" where there was a difference between Jew and Gentile. Christ instructed His apostles to go only to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" and not to go to any Gentile city (Mat 10:5-6). The Lord would not speak to a Canaanite woman until she acknowledged her place as a dog under the table of Israel, again stating that He was not sent but unto the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Mat 15:22-28). In fact, in Christ's earthly ministry Christ never went to a Gentile and the only Gentiles who received blessing from Him were those who had first blessed God's people Israel. This is why the Apostle Paul writes:

Rom 15:8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:
Rom 15:9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.
Rom 15:10 And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.

The Gentiles could be blessed by God during this dispensation, but only "with his people". In other words, Gentile blessing came through the nation of Israel. These Gentiles could be blessed on the basis of the covenant with Abraham.

Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

It can be shown that this division between Jew and Gentile remained in effect, even for a short time after the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first place in the New Testament where we are given a hint as to God's plan to form one body of Jew and Gentile alike is in Acts 9. Speaking to Ananias about Saul of Tarsus:

Act 9:15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Act 9:16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.

Note that here the Gentiles are placed first and the children of Israel last. Saul, also called Paul, was God's choice to be "the apostle of the Gentiles" (Rom 11:13). It was through Paul that the Lord revealed the "dispensation of the grace of God" (Eph 3:1-9).

It has been said that "All of the Bible is for us, but not all of it is about us or to us." Because we know that we live under the dispensation of grace and it was to Paul that this dispensation of grace was revealed, we can understand what parts of the Bible are "to" us.

The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are clearly a different dispensation as they place a distinction between Jew and Gentile. These belong to "time past."

The Hebrew Christian Epistles (Hebrews-Revelation) will also reveal, upon close inspection, a difference between Jew and Gentile (1 Pet 2:12; Rev 2:9; 3:9). These belong to the time "to come", when the body of Christ has been raptured and God is fulfilling His prophetic plan for the earth.

And Paul's Epistles give us instruction in the "but now" period, the dispensation of the grace of God. It is no accident that the books of the New Testament are laid out in this fashion. The compilers of the New Testament books were aided by the Holy Spirit in placing the books in the exact order that God would have them, the order laid out in Ephesians 2: "time past", "but now" and "ages to come."

Acts: A Transitional Book

But one book has been left out of the three divisions above - the book of Acts. The book of Acts is best described as a "transitional" book. It records the transition from the program which was in effect in the four gospels to the new program of grace revealed in Paul's epistles. Acts records a chaotic time in which two programs were in effect at one time: one on its way out and the other on its way in.

Several of Paul's epistles were written during this period of time to instruct the believers at the time about how to function during the transition. Paul's "Acts" epistles are Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians and 1 & 2 Thessalonians. This fact is important in studying these books as they often contain doctrines which are transitional in nature (i.e. tongues in 1 Corinthians 14).

Although the body of Christ and the dispensation of grace had already begun, it took some time for the new truths to be fully revealed. And once they were revealed it took time for those truths to be communicated back to the believers from the previous dispensation who were operating under a very different set of instructions. In many cases, God continued practices from the old dispensation into the new as a proof to those other believers that this new teaching was from God.

Another reason for the transition was that the written word of God was not yet completed. Some of the transitional elements of 1 Corinthians (tongues, prophecy and the word of knowledge) were to continue until "that which is perfect is come" (1 Cor 13:8-10), or in other words, until the word of God was completed.

What Is Transitional and What Is Not?

God never leaves the Bible student on his own to determine which elements were temporary and transitional and which would continue to be the standard for the rest of the dispensation of grace. When a practice was intended to be temporary, ample evidence is given in the word of God.

Water baptism is a good example. We know that Paul baptized early in his ministry, but later into the book of Acts there is little mention of baptism. God gives us the reason in 1 Cor 1:17 where Paul says that he was not sent to baptize. In other words, water baptism was not a part of Paul's commission and was only a temporary carryover from the previous dispensation.

Spiritual gifts are another example. In the Old Testament, spiritual gifts were promised to the believing remnant of the nation of Israel after the resurrection of Christ (Psa 68:18-19 cf. Eph 4:8). These gifts were never promised to Gentiles. But after the start of the dispensation of grace in Acts 9, God did begin to give these gifts to the Gentiles as a sign to Israel that He was doing something new. This is exactly what Peter testifies in Acts 15 regarding the giving of the gift of tongues to the household of Cornelius.

Act 15:7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
Act 15:8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Act 15:9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Act 15:10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Act 15:11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

The general rule to follow with regard to the Acts period is that all practices of the previous dispensation which were carried over into the body of Christ cease by the end of the book of Acts. This applies to baptism, spiritual gifts, miraculous demonstrations, healings, etc. A reading of Acts will show that, while all of these were prevalent at the beginning of the book, they are scarcely mentioned at the end.

The More Excellent Way

Although you would think that all believers would be happy to understand these truths and what God expects of them today, many have a hard time letting go of the practices of the Acts period. They like the way these experiences make them feel and are willing to even deceive themselves in order to experience a miracle or spiritual manifestation. But the test of truth is not what makes us feel good or even what we think we've experienced, but rather it is the words of the Bible.

Some feel that to give up belief in the practice of the spiritual gifts is to deprive oneself of a great blessing from God. But note Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 12:31:

1Co 12:31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.

As hard as it may be to believe for some, Paul says there is a more excellent way than the practice of the gifts. He tells these Corinthian believers that, during the transitional time in which they were living, they should desire the best gifts (apostle, prophet and teacher), but that he was going to show them a way that was more excellent than even the best gifts. He goes on in the next chapter to show that this more excellent way is the way of agape love.

The gifts were very widely practiced in the Corinthian church, but their practice of the gifts was not making them more spiritual. In fact, the Corinthians are the most carnal of the churches to which Paul writes. They were yet "babes in Christ." Certainly their practice of the gifts was not a sign of an advanced spiritual maturity. Yet many today believe that one must practice these sign gifts in order to be truly spiritual.

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul likens the spiritual gifts to children's toys to be set aside when maturity is reached. Although it had not yet reached that point, the day was soon coming when the church would be grown up enough that they would no longer need the gifts for edification. They would have the completed word of God to teach them. Ample evidence had already been provided to the Jews and kingdom saints of the new work of God in the body of Christ. When that point came, soon after the close of the book of Acts, God stopped parceling out the spiritual gifts. All practice of these gifts since that point has been psychological self-delusion.

Let us not cut ourselves short by continuing to try to play with the children's toys that were given to the body of Christ in its infancy. Let us press on into the more excellent way that our Apostle delivered to us.