Biblical Theme Map

Biblical Theme Map — Acts 1–28

Purpose: This document maps the nine curriculum doctrines onto Acts’ own literary and geographic structure, traces each doctrine’s roots in the Old Testament and its development elsewhere in the New Testament (with special attention to the Romans baseline curriculum), and gives translators a single reference showing how the book’s themes interlock — so that no chapter’s doctrinal content is translated in isolation from the whole book’s argument, nor from the wider Bible the Romans baseline curriculum already anchors.

Part 1 — The Structural Backbone of Acts

Acts 1:8 supplies the book’s own thematic outline, spoken by the risen Christ: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” This verse governs the whole book’s geographic and theological movement and must be treated as the Acts curriculum’s equivalent of Romans 1:16-17’s thesis-statement status — rendered with maximum care and cross-referenced consistently at every echo (8:1; 9:31; 13:47; 28:31).

Movement	Chapters	Dominant Doctrines	Geographic/Ethnic Center
I. Jerusalem — the Spirit given, the church born	1–7	The Holy Spirit and Pentecost; Apostolic Authority and Miracles; The Church as Community	Jerusalem; entirely Jewish
II. Judea and Samaria — the boundary begins to widen	8–12	The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; Repentance and Baptism; Conversion of Paul; Persecution and Bold Witness	Samaria; Damascus; Caesarea; Antioch
III. To the end of the earth — the Gentile mission	13–20	Justification apart from the Law; The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; The Great Commission Fulfilled	Cyprus, Asia Minor, Greece
IV. Witness under trial — the gospel reaches Rome	21–28	Persecution and Bold Witness; Apostolic Authority and Miracles; The Great Commission Fulfilled	Jerusalem, Caesarea, Rome

This four-part structure is itself a theological claim, not merely a travel itinerary: the gospel’s unstoppable geographic and ethnic expansion (culminating in 28:31’s ἀκωλύτως, “unhindered”) is the book’s argument that God’s saving purpose, inaugurated at Pentecost, cannot be contained by ethnic boundary, religious authority, natural disaster, or imperial power. Every chapter-level translation decision should be checked against this overarching claim.

Part 2 — The Nine Curriculum Doctrines: Roots, Development, and Cross-Book Connections

1. The Holy Spirit and Pentecost

OT roots: Joel 2:28-32 (quoted Acts 2:17-21); Ezekiel 36:26-27 and 37:9-14 (new heart, new breath — background typology for the wind/breath imagery of Acts 2:2); Exodus 19 (Sinai theophany typology, see 09_cross_reference_analysis.md Section D.1); Numbers 11:29 (Moses’ wish that all the Lord’s people had the Spirit).
Development in Acts: The Spirit is poured out corporately at Pentecost (ch.2), given to Samaritans (ch.8) and Gentiles (ch.10) as the decisive sign of full inclusion, and continues to direct the church’s mission personally and audibly (13:2; 16:6-7; 20:23; 21:11).
Connection to Romans: The Romans baseline’s holy_spirit (聖靈, Critical) entry and its adoption/Abba theology (Romans 8:15-16) describe the settled, ongoing indwelling reality that Acts narrates as historically inaugurated. Acts answers the question “how did the Spirit come to indwell believers at all?”; Romans answers “what does it mean that he now does?” Both must use identical 聖靈 vocabulary; Acts additionally supplies the “filled with the Spirit” (被聖靈充滿) formula that recurs as the normal pattern of Spirit-empowered witness throughout the book.
Central passage: Acts 2:1-41 (core passage).

2. The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles

OT roots: Genesis 12:3; 22:18 (Abrahamic blessing to all nations, quoted Acts 3:25); Isaiah 49:6 (light to the Gentiles, quoted Acts 13:47); Amos 9:11-12 (Gentile inclusion in David’s restored tent, quoted Acts 15:16-18); Deuteronomy 10:17 (God’s impartiality, echoed Acts 10:34).
Development in Acts: Traced in a deliberate sequence — Samaritans (ch.8) → an Ethiopian court official (ch.8) → Cornelius and his household, the definitive Gentile-inclusion narrative (ch.10) → the Jerusalem Council’s formal ratification (ch.15) → Paul and Barnabas’s programmatic mission to the nations (ch.13-28).
Connection to Romans: This is the narrative outworking of the doctrine the Romans baseline calls “Unity of Jews and Gentiles” (High) and “Universal Scope of the Gospel” (High). Romans 10:12-13 (“no distinction between Jew and Greek… everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”) states the doctrine Acts 10 and 15 narrate as historical event. The Joel 2:32 / Romans 10:13 / Acts 2:21 identical-quotation rule (09_cross_reference_analysis.md Rule 1) is the tightest textual link between the two curricula on this theme.
Central passages: Acts 10 (Cornelius); Acts 15 (Jerusalem Council); echoed at Acts 2:39.

3. Repentance and Baptism

OT roots: Ezekiel 18:30-32 (turn and live); Joel 2:12-13 (return to the Lord); the Levitical/ritual-washing background reinterpreted, not merely repeated, at Christian baptism.
Development in Acts: The paired call “repent and be baptized” (2:38) is the normative response-pattern to gospel proclamation, repeated with variation at 3:19, 8:12, 8:36-38, 9:18, 10:47-48, 16:15, 16:33, 17:30, 18:8, 19:3-5, 22:16, 26:20. Acts 19:3-6 sharpens the doctrine by distinguishing John’s preparatory baptism from Christian baptism accompanied by the Spirit’s coming.
Connection to Romans: Romans 6:1-4 develops the meaning of baptism (union with Christ’s death and resurrection) that Acts narrates as practiced. Neither curriculum’s baptism material should be translated as if the other did not exist; the Romans baseline’s sin (罪) and this curriculum’s repent (悔改) and forgiveness of sins (罪得赦免) entries must cohere as one unified doctrine of conversion.
Central passage: Acts 2:37-41 (core passage climax).

4. The Church as Community

OT roots: Exodus 19:5-6 (Israel as a set-apart, corporate priestly people); Isaiah 66:1-2 (God not confined to a house made by hands, quoted Acts 7:48-50); Deuteronomy 6:4-5 combined with the “one accord” pattern of corporate worship.
Development in Acts: The Jerusalem church’s shared life (2:42-47; 4:32-35), the resolution of internal ethnic tension via the Seven (ch.6), the emergence of church office (elders, ch.14, 20; overseers/shepherds, ch.20), and the Jerusalem Council’s model of Spirit-guided corporate decision-making (ch.15).
Connection to Romans: Romans 12:4-8 (one body, many members) and Romans 16’s greetings to a networked community of house-churches describe the same reality Acts narrates being formed. The Romans baseline’s caution against 廟/祠堂 framing for 教會 is independently reinforced by Acts’ own Isaiah 66:1-2 quotation (Acts 7:48-50) — this curriculum supplies scriptural warrant, not merely cultural-collision caution, for that distinction.
Central passages: Acts 2:42-47; Acts 6:1-7; Acts 15.

5. Apostolic Authority and Miracles

OT roots: Exodus 4:1-9 and 7-11 (Moses’ signs authenticating his commission); Deuteronomy 18:22 (a true prophet’s word comes to pass); 1 Kings 17-18 (Elijah’s authenticating miracles).
Development in Acts: Signs and wonders (2:19,22,43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 14:3; 15:12) consistently authenticate apostolic proclamation rather than functioning as free-floating displays of power; the Simon Magus episode (ch.8) and the sons of Sceva episode (ch.19) both dramatize the sharp distinction between Spirit-given authority and occult power-for-hire.
Connection to Romans: Romans does not use σημεῖα/τέρατα language extensively, but Romans 15:18-19 (“what Christ has accomplished through me… by signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit”) is Paul’s own retrospective summary of exactly the pattern Acts narrates in real time. The Romans baseline’s power_of_god (神嘅大能, High) entry extends directly into Acts’ σημεῖα/τέρατα vocabulary (神蹟奇事, Critical) — translators must treat these as one connected doctrine of divinely-authenticated proclamation, never two unrelated glossary entries.
Central passages: Acts 2:22,43; Acts 3 (healing at the temple); Acts 8 (Simon Magus).

6. Persecution and Bold Witness

OT roots: Jeremiah 1:17-19 and 20:7-9 (the prophet’s compelled, costly speech); Daniel 3 and 6 (faithful witness under threat of death); the pattern of the persecuted righteous throughout the Psalms (e.g., Psalm 69, quoted Acts 1:20).
Development in Acts: Stephen’s martyrdom (ch.7) establishes the pattern; Peter and John’s boldness before the Sanhedrin (ch.4-5); Herod’s persecution and Peter’s deliverance (ch.12); Paul’s repeated suffering and legal self-defense (chs. 14, 16, 21-28), culminating in unhindered proclamation even under Roman custody (28:31).
Connection to Romans: Romans 8:35-39 (“who shall separate us from the love of Christ… tribulation… persecution”) is the doctrinal ground on which Acts’ narrated sufferings stand — assurance of salvation (Romans baseline, High) is what makes the boldness (παρρησία) of Acts theologically coherent rather than merely psychologically brave. Given Hong Kong’s political climate, both curricula’s persecution material must stay doctrinally, not politically, framed (per the Romans baseline’s Kingdom/Lordship political-sensitivity rule, extended to Acts 1:6, 4:25-26, 12, 16, 21-28).
Central passages: Acts 4:1-31; Acts 7 (Stephen); Acts 16:16-40 (Philippi).

7. Conversion of Paul

OT roots: Exodus 3-4 (Moses’ theophanic call-narrative pattern); Isaiah 6 (Isaiah’s commissioning vision); Jeremiah 1:4-10 (prophetic call from the womb).
Development in Acts: Narrated three times (ch.9; ch.22; ch.26) with increasing rhetorical purpose — first as narrative event, then as personal testimony before a hostile crowd, then as formal defense before a king — modeling how one conversion account can serve multiple witnessing contexts.
Connection to Romans: Paul’s own theology of grace transforming “the least of the apostles… a former persecutor” (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:9, outside this curriculum’s scope, but structurally identical to Acts 9’s narrative) grounds the Romans baseline’s Critical grace doctrine in Paul’s own biography: the man who most forcefully teaches unmerited favor is the man Acts shows receiving it least deserved. This connection should be highlighted in any teaching material combining the two curricula.
Central passages: Acts 9:1-19; Acts 22:1-21; Acts 26:9-23.

8. Justification apart from the Law

OT roots: Genesis 15:6 (Abraham’s faith credited as righteousness — not directly quoted in Acts but structurally assumed at 13:38-39, per 09_cross_reference_analysis.md Rule 8); Habakkuk 2:4 (the righteous shall live by faith — quoted in Romans 1:17, not Acts, but doctrinally identical ground).
Development in Acts: Paul’s sermon at Antioch of Pisidia (13:38-39) states the doctrine explicitly for the first time in the book; the Jerusalem Council (ch.15) resolves the concrete test case (must Gentiles be circumcised/keep the law to be saved?) with the same doctrine as its rationale (15:10-11).
Connection to Romans: This is the single most direct doctrinal overlap between the two curricula. Acts 13:38-39 and Romans 3:21-4:25 must use identical justification (稱義) and imputed_righteousness (算為義) translation-memory entries, per Rule 8 in 09_cross_reference_analysis.md. Any perceived inconsistency between the two curricula’s rendering of this doctrine would constitute a Critical-tier translation failure.
Central passages: Acts 13:38-39; Acts 15:1-11.

9. The Great Commission Fulfilled

OT roots: Isaiah 49:6 (light to the Gentiles, quoted Acts 13:47); Psalm 2:8 (the nations as the Son’s inheritance, echoed Acts 1:8); Genesis 12:3 (all nations blessed through Abraham).
Development in Acts: Acts 1:8 sets the mandate; the book’s entire structure (see Part 1 above) narrates its fulfillment, closing deliberately without narrative resolution — Paul under house arrest in Rome, yet “proclaiming the kingdom of God… with all boldness and without hindrance” (28:31) — signaling that the mission continues beyond the book’s final page.
Connection to Romans: Romans itself is a product of this very mission (Paul writing to a church in the empire’s capital he has not yet visited, Romans 1:8-15; 15:22-29) — read together, the two curricula show the Great Commission’s mandate (Acts 1:8) and one of its concrete literary fruits (the letter to Rome) within the same overarching redemptive-historical narrative. Romans 15:19-24’s account of Paul’s missionary range is the direct sequel-in-miniature to Acts’ own narration of that range.
Central passages: Acts 1:8; Acts 28:16-31 (the book’s open-ended close).

Part 3 — Theme Interconnection Map

The nine doctrines are not nine isolated units; they form a single connected argument. The table below shows each doctrine’s primary connective tissue to the doctrines immediately before and after it in the book’s unfolding logic.

Doctrine	Feeds From	Feeds Into
The Holy Spirit and Pentecost	OT promise (Joel); Christ’s ascension and promise (ch.1)	Apostolic Authority and Miracles; The Church as Community
The Church as Community	The Holy Spirit and Pentecost (corporate filling)	Persecution and Bold Witness (a community, not isolated individuals, suffers together)
Apostolic Authority and Miracles	The Holy Spirit and Pentecost (empowering)	The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (miracles authenticate cross-boundary proclamation, e.g. ch.10)
Repentance and Baptism	Apostolic proclamation (Peter’s sermon, ch.2-3)	The Church as Community (baptized believers are “added,” 2:41,47)
Conversion of Paul	Persecution and Bold Witness (Paul begins as persecutor)	Justification apart from the Law (Paul becomes its primary Acts-curriculum spokesman, ch.13)
The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles	The Holy Spirit and Pentecost (Spirit given to Gentiles, ch.10)	Justification apart from the Law (the theological rationale for Gentile inclusion, ch.15)
Justification apart from the Law	The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (the concrete test case)	The Great Commission Fulfilled (a law-free gospel is a portable, universally offerable gospel)
Persecution and Bold Witness	Apostolic Authority and Miracles (miracles provoke opposition)	The Great Commission Fulfilled (persecution does not stop, but paradoxically advances, the mission)
The Great Commission Fulfilled	All eight preceding doctrines	(culminates the book; opens onto Romans and the rest of the NT)

Part 4 — Cross-Reference to the Romans Curriculum’s Thematic Architecture

The Romans baseline curriculum is organized around justification, sanctification, and the Jew-Gentile unity of the church, culminating in a call to costly, Spirit-empowered mission (Romans 15). Acts supplies the narrative Romans presupposes:

Romans assumes a functioning, multi-ethnic church already exists in Rome; Acts narrates how such churches came to exist at all.
Romans’ doctrine of justification by faith apart from the law (chs. 3-4) is argued theologically; Acts 13:38-39 and 15:1-11 show the same doctrine being applied to resolve a real, historically pressing controversy.
Romans’ doctrine of the Spirit’s indwelling and intercession (ch.8) is described as the settled experience of believers; Acts narrates the Spirit’s dramatic, historically singular arrival (ch.2) and subsequent Spirit-directed guidance of the mission (13:2; 16:6-7).
Romans 9-11’s extended wrestling with Israel’s unbelief and future hope finds its narrative counterpart in Acts’ repeated pattern of Jewish synagogue proclamation met with mixed reception, culminating in the Isaiah 6:9-10 quotation at Acts 28:26-27.
Romans 15:14-33’s account of Paul’s mission plans (Jerusalem, Rome, Spain) is the direct continuation of Acts’ own unfinished ending (28:16-31) — the two curricula’s final chapters should be read, and where relevant taught, as one continuous story rather than two unrelated documents.

Translators moving between the two curricula’s materials should treat this thematic architecture as load-bearing: a Cantonese reader encountering both curricula in sequence (as the Hong Kong church’s normal discipleship pattern of moving from Gospels/Acts into the epistles would suggest) must experience one continuous, terminologically consistent biblical argument, not two separately-flavored translation projects that happen to share some vocabulary.

This document extends, and in every instance defers to, the baseline Romans translation_memory.json / bible_term_registry.json / doctrine_risk_registry.json, and to 07_semantic_analysis.md, 08_core_glossary.md, and 09_cross_reference_analysis.md of this Acts curriculum.

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