s Christ as the savior of the world. In Acts Luke presents that message of salvation as Jesus' apostles (Gr. apostolos, he that is sent, ambassador) carry it from Jerusalem to the "ends of the earth." Thus, Luke, begins with the apostles meeting Jesus after the resurrection, describes the beginning of the church, the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27), and finishes when the gospel arrives in Rome. He implies that from Rome, the center of the known world, the gospel will spread to its ends.
The early structure of the church was therefore under the apostles only, who, once numbering twelve again, turn Jerusalem (and the world) upside down (Acts 17:6). However, they also go to the temple still to pray (Acts 3:1). Paul, later on, even agrees to the temple rites of a Nazarene (Acts 21:20-27). Much of the church still looked to the temple, and the apostles were in charge of most things. Slowly, changes were forced upon the church, first as the apostles were confronted with deception on the part of believers (Acts 5:1-10) and then because of conflicts among believers (6:1-6). The latter prompted the first reorganization of the church, by forcing the apostles to appoint workers (diakoneo, or waiter) to attend to the problem.
By the end of Acts Luke is describing the functions of the church (Acts 21:5), prophets (Acts 21:9-11), and elders (Acts 21:18). Meanwhile, Paul and the rest of the apostles are slowly pushed out of Judaism and its legalism into the newness of simple worship of God without the rituals and sacrifices.
Acts 3:1; 5:1-10; 6:1-16; 17:6; 21: 5, 9-11, 18, 20-27
The epistle to the Romans is Paul's message to Christians he has never met. As such, he ensures that they receive the full gospel. At first the letter seems to be a notice that Paul is happy to hear of their faith, prays for them, and hopes to visit them. But very quickly Paul shifts from a declaration of his willingness to preach the gospel (Rom. 1:16) to what ...