Will and grace
The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. -Acts 1:1-3
It may be worth considering that Jesus chose His apostles. They did not choose Him. Being an apostle was nothing to boast about. It was an outcome of God’s sovereign will, not of any merit on their part.
It may also be worth considering that Jesus and His apostles preached the Kingdom of God, not the Five Key to Happiness or The Nazarene™ Method for Winning the Lost.
A third consideration is that Luke spoke of “infallible proofs.” He did not, in fact, ask his readers to abandon or deny their faculty of reason. Perhaps this is because he understood his own faith, as Paul did, as that which properly directed his reason-rather than subverting it.
It may be worth considering that Jesus chose His apostles. They did not choose Him. Being an apostle was nothing to boast about. It was an outcome of God’s sovereign will, not of any merit on their part.
It may also be worth considering that Jesus and His apostles preached the Kingdom of God, not the Five Key to Happiness or The Nazarene™ Method for Winning the Lost.
A third consideration is that Luke spoke of “infallible proofs.” He did not, in fact, ask his readers to abandon or deny their faculty of reason. Perhaps this is because he understood his own faith, as Paul did, as that which properly directed his reason-rather than subverting it.