The Relationship of the Acts and Post-Acts Epistles of Paul

More than a few people have adopted the Acts 28 position regarding the beginning of the present church and the truths of the mystery given to Paul. However, this late beginning diminishes the special ministry declared by Paul in his epistles during Acts period.

To limit the ministry of Paul in the book of Acts to the prophetic program would be equivalent to denying the special apostleship to Paul and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery that was ‘kept secret since the world began’ (Romans 11:13, 16:25). If the revelation of the mystery is solely in his post-Acts epistles is to deny Ephesians 3:1-11, that he wrote about it before in few words.

The Acts 28 position must be summed up in these two propositions:

1. Prior to Acts 28, the ministry of Paul and the apostles consisted solely of kingdom and covenantal doctrine spoken since the world began by all the prophets.

2. After Acts 28 Paul writes exclusively of the mystery information that was not known before

What is true and what is not

The majority of the defense for Acts 28 consists of explaining that Acts 28 is the end of God’s dealing with Israel. It is from the obvious end of God’s dealing with Israel that new beginning is assumed.

It is true that what was present at the beginning of the book of Acts is done away with by Acts 28: the offer of the kingdom, the presentation of Jesus as Messiah to the Jews, the Pentecostal signs and powers, water baptism for the remission of sins, and the partition between Jew and Gentile. However, it does not follow that just because something ends, that something new must begin thereafter. Instead, Paul’s writings during the Acts period give evidence to the secret dispensation revealed and taught prior to Acts 28.

However, if the propositions of the Acts 28 position are true, then we would not expect to find any reference to the special revelation given to Paul before the post-Acts epistles, and the books to be applied in this dispensation are the post-Acts Epistles of Paul. We know that this is not the case.

The Mystery revealed before Acts 28

Charles Welch, an originator of the Acts 28 position, in his booklet ‘Dispensational Frontier’ writes:

“The territory covered by the Prison Epistles deals with a Mystery, never before revealed or made known”

Welch also distinguishes the Prison epistles, written in or after the time of Acts 28, as the exclusive source for this Mystery information ‘hitherto unrevealed’ in any of Paul’s other writings.

However, prior to the Acts 28 ‘frontier’, Acts period Pauline Scripture testifies of many mystery truths that are supposedly only reserved for the post-Acts teaching and writing.

• The distinct apostleship of Paul (Romans 11:13, Gal 1:11-12; Gal 2:7-9)

• Righteousness without the law (Romans 3:21, 5:15-21)

• The free justification through faith in Christ (Romans 3:22-25; 5:21)

• Justification by faith without works (Romans 4:5; Gal 2:16)

• Deliverance from the wrath of God (Romans 5:9; 1 Thess 1:10)

• The reconciliation of the world (2 Cor 5:19)

• The ‘new creature’, the Body of Christ (2 Cor 5:17; 1 Cor 12:27; Romans 7:4, 12:5, Gal. 6:15)

• No Jew or Gentile (Gal. 3:27-28; 1 Cor 12:13, 2 Cor. 5:16; Gal. 6:15)

• The present possession of our salvation (Romans 5:11; Romans 8; 1 Cor. 1:30)

• Our one baptism into the body of Christ (Romans 6:3-4; 1 Corinthians 12:13, Gal. 3:27-28)

• Our heavenly body (1 Corinthians 15:40-49; 2 Cor 5:1-2; Rom. 8:29-30)

• The secret of the gospel revealed (1 Cor 2:7-8; 1 Cor 9:17; Rom 16:25)

• Abundance of Revelations (2 Cor. 12:7)

• Rapture of the church (I Cor. 15:51-58, I Thess. 4:15-17, Rom. 8:19-25)

• Judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10, Rom. 14:10)

• The Indwelling Christ in the believer (Romans 8:10)

• The Believer as the habitation of God (1 Cor. 3:9,16; 6:19-20)

• The Believer’s place in heaven after death (2 Cor. 5:7-9)

• The Mystery Truths (1 Cor. 4:1):

- Mystery of the cross (1 Cor. 2:7)

- Mystery of the grafting of the gentiles (Romans 11:24-25)

- Mystery of the glorious body (1 Cor. 15:51-56)

- Mystery of the preaching of the risen Christ (Romans 16:25)

All of these mystery truths are in contrast to what was spoken by the prophets since the world began and the teaching of the kingdom (Romans 15:8; Acts 3:21-24).There is no doubt that those who hold to the Acts 28 position have read these and many other passages. But their response to them only results in the diluting the secret of the gospel, and specific dispensational truths.

Prison epistles

Beyond these evident allusions to the ‘hidden wisdom’ in the Acts epistles, we cannot pretend that all of what was spoken in the Prison epistles was new information.

Indeed, Paul did come to ‘visions and revelations’ so that we learn things from his later ministry that was not revealed in his early ministry (Eph. 3:1-5). Now observe the following scriptures: 2 Cor 5:1; 1 Cor 13:12; Acts 26:16, 22:17-21, 23:11; Gal. 1:17; 2 Cor. 12:1-17. The Acts period epistles served as foundational truths for proper understanding of the Prison epistles. Indeed the Prison epistles contain a deeper revelation than of the Acts epistles.

However, this information was built upon prior revelation to Paul, and is not separate from it. The prison epistles often reference Paul’s ministry within Acts seamlessly as the same ministry and message. Many of the truths earlier listed can be found in the teaching of the Prison epistles also.

Philippians

For example, Paul thanks God upon remembrance of the Philippians for ‘their fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now’ (Phil 1:5 with Acts 20:1-6). This is enlightening only when we realize that Paul is writing to the Philippians from prison about his fellowship that was established at his visits to Philippi during the Acts period (Acts 16:12, 20:6). It is to the Philippians that Paul expounds upon the changing of our vile bodies into glorious (Phil. 3:20-21). Paul also speaks of this information to the Corinthians prior to his imprisonment in 1 Corinthians 15. And he said also to them: “Those things which ye both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do:”(Phil. 4:9).

Observe the following:

• 1:1 – They were called saints in Christ (When did they become saints in Christ?).

• 1:5 – They are in fellowship with Paul in the gospel from the start (When was that?).

• 1:26 – Paul mentioned of coming again to them (When did Paul first visited them?).

• 2:12 – They are commended by Paul because they always obeyed (When did they first obeyed?).

• 4:9 – They are commanded to do those things that they have learned, received, heard, and seen from Paul (When did Paul demonstrated all of it?).

• 4:10 – Paul rejoiced to experience again the care from them (When did they start to care for Paul?).

• 4:14-15 – They communicated with Paul as concerning giving and receiving – “in the beginning of the gospel” (When was that?)

• 4:16 – They sent something for Paul’s necessities when he was at Thessalonica (Again, when?)

If we honestly observe the natural flow of the Scripture, it all happened during the Acts period (Acts 16). And the Paul never told us of any changed position or doctrines that he taught to them but rather exhorted to continue in them.

Colossians

Let us continue in the same pattern of study that we have learned from our observation in the book of Philippians.

• 1:2 – “To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse:” (When?)

• 1:4 – “Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus , and of the love which ye have to all the saints” (When?)

• 1:5 - “For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;” (When?)

• 1:6 – “Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:” (When?)

• 1:7 – “As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant” (When?)

• 1:13 – “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:” (When?)

• 1:23 – “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled , and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven;” (How and When?)

• 2:6 – “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord,” (When?)

• 2:7 – “as ye have been taught” (When?)

• 3:1 - If ye then be risen with Christ, (When?)

Again, the obvious answer is during Acts period! And no form doctrinal changes, but rather continuance of the faith.

Ephesians

Likewise the Ephesians, to whom Paul is writing from prison after Acts 28, are stated to have heard the gospel and believed it prior to Paul’s writing (Ephesians 1:12,13). It is not a wild assumption that they were saved before Acts 28 and even before Acts 20:24 by the preaching of the gospel of the grace of God exclusive to the ‘dispensation of grace’. Paul never shunned to declare the whole counsel of God before he left Ephesus (Acts 20:27).

“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. “ – Acts 20:24

The edification gifts of Ephesians 4:11-13 would seem to match seamlessly with Pauls explanation of the building of the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:27 or Romans 12:5: “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” – Romans 12:5

• 1:1 – “to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus”

• 1:3 - “who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:”

• 1:12 – “who first trusted in Christ.”

• 1:13 – “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”

• 2:1 – “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;”

• 2:5 – “hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)”

• 2:6 – “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”

• 3:2 - If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to youward:

• 3:3 – “How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,”

It all began when they first trusted in Christ! When was that? Again, it was during Acts period (Acts 20).

Timothy

Also, in his first letter to Timothy, Paul reminds Timothy of why he was left at Ephesus:

(I Tim.1:3, 2 Tim. 2:2, 3:10, 14). So then, by the time Paul writes Timothy, there is a body of doctrine of which Timothy was supposed to protect at Ephesus. It was for this reason that Paul left him there! It would be silly to inform Timothy to charge others to teach ‘no other doctrine’, if they were not aware of the doctrine in the first place.

Indeed, Timothy did know the doctrine before Paul wrote him. The Ephesians and Timothy who had ministered with Paul had known his doctrine for this dispensation, which was specially revealed to him from Christ even before Acts 28 (Gal 1:11-12).

Conclusion

Acts Epis

​ACTS EPISTLES	​POST-ACTS EPISTLES
​Foundational truths	​Deeper and Higher truths
​Progressive in revelations	​Final and complete in revelations
Mystery in few words	​Mystery fully revealed
Childhood of the Church	​Adulthood of the Church
​Signs, wonders, and miracles	Faith, hope, charity

We should be reminded that it is not the purpose of the book of Acts to expound what Paul taught and to detail his personal life. Instead, its clear purpose is to show the fall of Israel so that God could have mercy upon all (Romans 11:32). In Acts we find their continued rejection of Peter, Stephen, the Holy Ghost, and eventually Paul.

The Acts 28 position robs us of many precious grace truths that are only found in Paul’s pre-prison epistles. However, even more damaging is how it weakens the defense of Paul’s special apostleship and message towards those who see no difference between Paul’s doctrines with the doctrine of the twelve at Pentecost.

Evangelist Rodgie Quirante

The Workman's Treasure Study Series