January 2024
The Acts of the Apostles
INTO THE WORD
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Luke the evangelist stands as the preeminent historian of the Apostolic era. Not only did he write one of the four Gospels, but he authored a second book covering the lives and work of the earliest Christians during the first three decades or so after our Lord rose from the dead. We are talking, of course, about the book of the Acts of the Apostles.
We note Luke’s role because the prefaces of both Luke and Acts (Luke 1:1–4; Acts 1:1–5) indicate that the same author wrote both works, and the church has historically recognized this author as Luke, the beloved physician (Col. 4:14). Luke was an eyewitness to many of the events recorded in Acts, as we deduce from the “we” passages where Luke’s use of first-person plural pronouns places him as one of Paul’s fellow travelers (Acts 16:10–17; 20:6–15; 21:1–8; 27:1–28:16). As with the other historical narratives in the Bible, Acts was written both to recount events and to impart theological truth.
Acts is really about the work of Christ, by His Spirit, in the world. To complement our look at Acts 1–2, we will also study John 16:4b–15, where Jesus provides extended teaching on the Holy Spirit.
These verses parallel the themes of the studies each week. We encourage you to hide them in your heart so that you may not sin against the Lord:
Abiding in the Word
- Acts 1:8
- Acts 2:36
- Ezra 7:10
- John 16:8