The main emphasis of the message is Luke's summary statement in verse 38; “The church . . . had rest.” The assumption of most commentators is that the conversion of Saul ended the vicious persecution of the church, at least for season. Thus, Luke expresses that respite. I believe it is much more than that, especially in view of the qualifying statements in the rest of the verse.
Luke is summarizing the close of the Jewish phase of the gospel kingdom expansion as laid out by Jesus in 1:8. It is the church (singular) throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria—the Jewish church. While there may have been a slight reprieve in the persecution, it did not stop with Saul's conversion. It will get worse.
The peace or rest the church enjoyed is a condition of tranquility, harmony, and concord, corresponding to the Hebrew “shaloam.” “Church” (“ekklesia”) is used in the Hebrew sense of a people gathered and owned by God, governed by covenant commitment, to fulfill the purposes of God in bringing glory to His name (Acts 7:38). Jesus said, “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18). He distinguishes His ekklesia from the normal city-state political function of the Greek democracy of the time and gives it the Hebrew concept of a people gospel called and governed by the New Covenant.
The church, in the condition of Shaloam (a right relationship to God) is “edified” (built up spiritually) by “walking in the fear of God” (the conscious realization that one is living before the face of God and willingly submitting to His will) in “the ‘parakesis' of the Holy Spirit” (His enabling and guiding work). With this stage complete, the Gentile state of expansion is about to start.
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