This study argues that the Holy Spirit operates as the ultimate source of divine legitimation during a period of intense institutional transition. The narrative strategic deployment of the Holy Spirit serves a dual, sociotheological function designed to navigate the ethnic anxieties of the nascent ecclesial community. This function operates along two simultaneous axes:
• Internal Jewish Validation: The manifestation of the Spirit acts as divine proof to legitimate the expanding mission to the nations, directly addressing the hesitation of law-observant Jewish followers of Jesus. • External Gentile Encouragement: By actively engaging with prevailing Graeco-Roman concepts of pneumatic experience, the text validates and contextualises the faith of incoming Gentile ('ethnic') believers.
By employing a narrative-critical approach alongside exegesis of selected Lukan texts this monograph demonstrates how the Spirit mediates the complex challenges of ethnic diversity within Lukan communities.
