Theology and Ecclesiology in the Miletus Speech

Reflections on Content and Context

Bibliographic Data

ID19293148
AuthorsBeverly Roberts Gaventa (Princeton Theological Seminary, corresponding author)
Year2004
Volume50
Issue1
Pages36-52
Publication date2004-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNew Testament Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0028-6885 • E-ISSN: 1469-8145
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0028688504000037
OpenAlexW2052528613
LanguageEN
Citations received2

Paul's address to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 stands at the center of an extended treatment of the internal life of the church (20.1–21.17), and constitutes Luke's last portrait of the believing community. In this section, scenes of community life (20.7–12, 17–38; 21.8–14) alternate with travel episodes (20.1–6, 13–16; 21.1–7, 15–17) to show the relationship among groups of believers scattered around the Aegean and back to Caesarea. The resulting portrait of believing communities echoes some important features of the early descriptions of community life in Jerusalem. In this larger literary context, the speech to the Ephesian elders takes on a different appearance from its usual characterization as the farewell address of Luke's hero, Paul. The speech repeatedly connects the church to God, introducing Luke's larger themes of God's plan, the action of the Holy Spirit, and the instruction of Jesus himself. These features show that the church's future, in Luke's view, has less to do with its imitation of Paul than with its relationship to the God who calls it into being

Action (physics) · Archaeology · Art · Art history · Content (measure theory) · Context (archaeology) · Ecclesiology · HERO · Imitation · Literature · Portrait · Sacrifice · Sociology · Theology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology

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