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FROM THE PASTOR'S STUDY

Topic: Luke's Perspective of Jesus: Ch. 1 Study Notes

Luke 1:1-4 (First Paragraph)

by Darrel Cline
(darrelcline biblical-thinking.org)

"Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed." (AV, public domain)

At Issue:

The transferral of the Gospel information from historical event to the believer's conviction base as it exists in the heart/mind complex.

Given facts:

Then, there is the fact that Luke believed that writing the facts down would have a beneficial impact upon his reader who was already a lover of God [Theophilus means "of God, a friend/lover"]. In other words, faith does come from the entrance of Truth [Psalm 119:130] if there is a heart/mind condition that is conducive to the embracing of it. The biblical revelation seems to argue that man has the ability to resist Truth even as he knows it is true, but that he cannot embrace the Truth apart from the active ministry of the Spirit of God.

Conclusions:

Proclamation by men is the surface-level, divine method of bringing faith to fulness. Specific argument is useless apart from the Spirit of God, but is highly effective when He uses it.


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This is article #004.
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