had to live down the apparently shameful death of
its Founder, and it had possessed no distinctive
Scripture, having continued to use the sacred books
of Judaism. The difficulty and complexity of the F.F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles. The
Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary TXondon: ïîîe ïyndale Press, Ï952^), p. 3Of.
^Ellis, p. 59. 3
Barrett, p. 62*
situation were further heightened by the appearance of diversified traditions: a development which took
place as Christianity took root in different social
and ethnic settings. One is able to see readily why
Luke, aware of these awesome difficulties which had
dogged the Church, found himself disposed to adopt a non-human explanation for the Church’s continuing existence. Luke attempted to show that the entire
development of the Church had been undergirded, prompted, and inspired by the Spirit. As H. Conzelmann says,
the Spirit stood behind the Church’s missionary
1
outreach, and gave guidance at every turn.
In view of the foregoing, it ought not to be surprising that when one turns his attention to Acts, he discovers many passages which haV ve reference to the
Spirit’s manifesting His presence in the life of
the Church through charismatic action. These passages are: 1:5; 1:S; 2:1-4; 2:33; 2:37-39; 2:43; 4:6; 4:31; 6:3; 6:5; 6:6-10; 7:55; 6:14-19; 9:17; 10:44-46; 11: 15-17 ; 11:24; 11:27&2S; 13:2; 13:9; 15:6; 15:32; 19:
The Theology of St. Luke. Trans. G. Buswell
1-6; 20:22&23; 21:4; 21:8’^11.
In these passages there are two key concepts
which mark Luke’s thought regarding the charismatic
activity of the Holy Spirit. The first is the under standing of the Spirit as an external force affecting the individual by "coming upon" him or by "filling"
him. The second is the idea of unique, usually powerful
behaviour which results from the "coming upon" or "filling"♦
The first of these concepts which we shall consider is that of the Spirit’s being an external force or influence which in some way breaks into the
lives of men. R. Bultmann sees this as an "animistic concept" (animistische Denlcweise) in which the Spirit appears as a personal force which, like a demon,
falls upon (uberfallen) men.^ This idea is illustrated
in several passages in Acts. The first of these is 1:8
1
R. Bultmann, Theologie des Neuen Testaments(Tubingen: J.G.B. Mohr (Paul SîebeckT^ 1953),p* 153.
(BT, Theology of the New Testament. Trans. K. Grobel.
Charles Scribner’s Sons: New fork, 1951 and 1955.) None
of the passages which Bultmann cites as illustrative of this conception (Acts 5:32; 10:19; 16:6f; 20:23)
where the key words are c7T&\0 @vToj TcG A^cov*
vyxS-S,,.. The preposition ev t is of major importance. Regarding it Bauer-Arndt-Gingrich
say, "on, upon, to, over of powers, conditions, etc.,
which come upon someone or under whose influence he
finds himself."^ The picture evoked is of the Holy Spirit’s swooping down upon individuals, seizing
them, and using them.
The concept of the Spirit as a force which ’comes upon’ is evident also in Acts 8:16. This verse, in part, reads o-v^emo i^v/ Irr^ ev(Tcvi otv^TcSv
IniTrcr^-rwK^^,.. .The emphasis of the verse is derived from the preposition tni and the verb IncrfnTio . The former was discussed above; the latter bears the idea
2
of coming upon with great power, taking control of. Again the picture is of the Holy Spirit’s seizing
o x D X*
men. This combination of tn’l and sninLTTTw appears again in Acts 10:44 and Acts 11:15. Both of these
passages refer to events which took place at the ^Bauer-Arndt-Gingrich, p. 288.
house of Cornelius, the centurion, and in both the
Holy Spirit is spoken of as taking control of people.
In Acts 19:6, only the preposition Inc is used, but the emphasis remains the same.
In his discussion of the concept of the Holy Spirit
which is to be seen in Luke-Acts, E. Schweizer draws
attention to the fact that Luke finds it unsatisfactory to conceive of the relationship between Jesus and the
Holy Spirit in OT terms which regard the Spirit as a
force which comes upon men.^ While this observation
regarding the relationship between Jesus and the Spirit