The author of Acts is the same as that of the Gospel of Luke, as its opening words prove: “The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach” (Acts 1:1). Both Luke and Acts are addressed to Theophilus (Luke 1:3). Acts refers to the “former treatise” and continues the record of the work of Jesus from heaven by His Spirit through His apostles. The Gospel of Luke ends with Jesus ascending to heaven and the disciples praising and blessing God in the temple (Luke 24:53). Acts opens with a restatement of Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:9), the same command Jesus gave to His disciples (Acts 1:4,12), and the promise of the coming Spirit (Acts 1:5). Likewise, Jesus is the central character of both Luke and Acts, though in Acts Jesus works through His apostles while He is in His heavenly session at God’s right hand. These connections between the ending of Luke and the beginning of Acts establish unequivocally the common themes and authorship of Luke over both his Gospel and Acts. Beyond this, the external and internal evidence points to Luke as the common author of both volumes.

Access Denied!Restricted Content

Sorry, this content is restricted to members only! Only those individuals who are participating in our Bible Reading Challenge can access this page

❶ If you wish to join our program of reading through the Bible in one year, you can:

— Sign Up Here

— or Read More Here.

❷ A collection of unrestricted content (content that is free for everyone to use) is Located Here.

❸ Members of our Bible Reading Challenge who wish to see our restricted content should Login Here.

Restricted Content