{"id":5730,"date":"2018-01-08T13:39:07","date_gmt":"2018-01-08T19:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?p=5730"},"modified":"2018-01-08T13:39:07","modified_gmt":"2018-01-08T19:39:07","slug":"work-spirit-luke-acts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/08\/work-spirit-luke-acts\/","title":{"rendered":"Work of the Spirit &#8212; Luke and Acts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Jack Wilkie<\/strong><br \/>\nThis will be the fifteenth and final article of the \u201cDigging Deeper\u201d study starters, so we\u2019ll discuss two (lengthy) New Testament books this month to finish off the series. While they are separated by John in the order of the New Testament, Luke and Acts really should be seen together if we are to gain a proper understanding of the author\u2019s intentions. It\u2019s generally believed that both were written within a few years of each other (60 A.D. for Luke, as early as 63-65 A.D. for Acts). Acts picks up right where Luke\u2019s Gospel leaves off (with a little overlap), and many of the themes carry over as well.<br \/>\n<strong><em>Key Themes<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nLuke really builds his writing around two prophecies, one from Isaiah and one from Joel. Jesus quoted Isaiah 61:1 (in Luke 4), telling how He was sent to preach to the poor, the captive, the blind, and the oppressed. Joel 2:28-32, quoted by Peter in Acts 2, prophesied a time that God would pour forth His Spirit on all mankind\u2013\u2013young, old, men, women, slaves, free. Luke, a Gentile, wrote his account to document Jesus\u2019 ministry and the spread of the church and show how it united all kinds of people. Luke shows this in his Gospel by the people to whom Jesus ministered and in Acts by the spread of the church to people of all cultures and places. So, the work of the Spirit is a prominent theme, along with the importance of the different people involved in the work of the Gospel. The work (and signs) done through the Son of Man and the rest of God\u2019s people and their devotion to prayer are well documented throughout the fifty-two chapters of Luke\u2019s account.<br \/>\n<strong><em>Key Verses<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nIn a block of text this long, there will naturally be many important verses. However, some verses always stand out because of their statements of purpose and relation to the major themes. Of course, the prophecies mentioned above are essential for understanding Luke\u2019s writing as a whole. Jesus came to a culture where Jews were better than Gentiles, the Pharisees were better than the average Jew, the tax collectors (among others) were socially unacceptable, etc. As one of the Gentiles that the Jews would typically exclude, Luke writes from a point of view that shows how Jesus came to reach out to all people, not just those that society held up as holy. This is what separates Luke\u2019s Gospel from the others. In addition, Luke began each with a statement of purpose: he was writing to Theophilus to record the history of Jesus\u2019 ministry and the Apostles\u2019 work after His departure. While Luke\u2019s purpose was to record the actions of Jesus and the Apostles, the purpose statements for their work were given in Luke 19:10 (along with 5:31) and Acts 1:8 (along with Luke 24:46-47). Acts 4:19-20 displays the attitude of the early church in that they wouldn\u2019t be deterred by any threats in their efforts to take the Word to all. Acts 11:17 shows Peter\u2019s thoughts on the conversion of the Gentiles: \u201cWho was I that I could withstand God?\u201d<br \/>\n<strong><em>Key Words<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nAgain, there are many words that stand out in terms of importance and clarification of the text. Above all, thanks to Joel 2:28, Luke talks about the <em>Spirit<\/em> extensively throughout both books. Both Christ and the Apostles worked in the power of the Spirit throughout, and so the Holy Spirit is discussed frequently in both volumes. Working in the Spirit, they all performed <em>signs<\/em> as predicted by Joel 2:28ff. So, this is another word that is key in both books. And, of course, they performed those signs in the Holy Spirit\u2019s <em>power<\/em>, another key word in both Luke and Acts. Prayer was also central in the lives of Jesus and His disciples in the early church. We can really learn a lot from their example by doing a keyword study of <em>pray<\/em> or <em>prayer<\/em> in these two books. Also in keeping with the theme that all can be saved, the term <em>sinner<\/em> shows up all over Luke.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Jack Wilkie This will be the fifteenth and final article of the \u201cDigging Deeper\u201d study starters, so we\u2019ll discuss two (lengthy) New Testament books this month to finish off the series. While they are separated by John in the order of the New Testament, Luke and Acts really should be seen together if we [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[45,66],"tags":[167,118,1207,1145,1326,1307,121],"class_list":["post-5730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-study","category-think-excerpts","tag-acts","tag-bible","tag-digging-deeper","tag-jack-wilkie","tag-luke","tag-march-2013","tag-study","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Work of the Spirit - Luke and Acts - Focus Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/08\/work-spirit-luke-acts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Work of the Spirit - Luke and Acts - Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Jack Wilkie This will be the fifteenth and final article of the \u201cDigging Deeper\u201d study starters, so we\u2019ll discuss two (lengthy) New Testament books this month to finish off the series. While they are separated by John in the order of the New Testament, Luke and Acts really should be seen together if we [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/08\/work-spirit-luke-acts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-01-08T19:39:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"focus\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"focus\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/08\\\/work-spirit-luke-acts\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/08\\\/work-spirit-luke-acts\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"focus\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13\"},\"headline\":\"Work of the Spirit &#8212; Luke and Acts\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-08T19:39:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/08\\\/work-spirit-luke-acts\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":695,\"keywords\":[\"acts\",\"BIble\",\"Digging Deeper\",\"Jack Wilkie\",\"luke\",\"March 2013\",\"Study\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Bible Study\",\"Think Excerpts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/08\\\/work-spirit-luke-acts\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/08\\\/work-spirit-luke-acts\\\/\",\"name\":\"Work of the Spirit - Luke and Acts - Focus Press\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-08T19:39:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/08\\\/work-spirit-luke-acts\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/08\\\/work-spirit-luke-acts\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/08\\\/work-spirit-luke-acts\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Work of the Spirit &#8212; Luke and Acts\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/\",\"name\":\"Focus Press\",\"description\":\"Renew Your Mind\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13\",\"name\":\"focus\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"focus\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/author\\\/focus\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Work of the Spirit - Luke and Acts - Focus Press","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/08\/work-spirit-luke-acts\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Work of the Spirit - Luke and Acts - Focus Press","og_description":"By Jack Wilkie This will be the fifteenth and final article of the \u201cDigging Deeper\u201d study starters, so we\u2019ll discuss two (lengthy) New Testament books this month to finish off the series. While they are separated by John in the order of the New Testament, Luke and Acts really should be seen together if we [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/08\/work-spirit-luke-acts\/","og_site_name":"Focus Press","article_published_time":"2018-01-08T19:39:07+00:00","author":"focus","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"focus","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/08\/work-spirit-luke-acts\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/08\/work-spirit-luke-acts\/"},"author":{"name":"focus","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#\/schema\/person\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13"},"headline":"Work of the Spirit &#8212; Luke and Acts","datePublished":"2018-01-08T19:39:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/08\/work-spirit-luke-acts\/"},"wordCount":695,"keywords":["acts","BIble","Digging Deeper","Jack Wilkie","luke","March 2013","Study"],"articleSection":["Bible Study","Think Excerpts"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/08\/work-spirit-luke-acts\/","url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/08\/work-spirit-luke-acts\/","name":"Work of the Spirit - Luke and Acts - Focus Press","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-01-08T19:39:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#\/schema\/person\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/08\/work-spirit-luke-acts\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/08\/work-spirit-luke-acts\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/08\/work-spirit-luke-acts\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Work of the Spirit &#8212; Luke and Acts"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/","name":"Focus Press","description":"Renew Your Mind","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#\/schema\/person\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13","name":"focus","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"focus"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus"],"url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/author\/focus\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5730\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}