Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 64:1 (Mar 2021)
Article: The God Who Acts: Luke’s Presentation of God
Author: Justin Jackson

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The God Who Acts: Luke’s Presentation of God

Justin Jackson*

^* Justin Jackson is a Ph.D. student at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Adjunct Professor of Biblical Studies at Southern Bible Institute and College, 7200 S Hampton Rd., Dallas, TX 75232. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: The work of God and person of God must be considered together because his being is revealed through his work, and his work is motivated by his being. Luke writes of that which “has been accomplished,” prompting the question of what exactly had been accomplished and by whom. This article surveys Luke’s presentation of God’s self-revelation through both his work and his person and shows that the Gospel of Luke presents God as the God of Israel who has accomplished the New Exodus and established Davidic dominion through his divine Son by the Holy Spirit, resulting in salvation for the nations.

Key words: Luke, God, New Testament, Trinity, redemption, Christ, global salvation

One could hardly overemphasize the drastic difference between the God of Luke’s Gospel and the gods of the Greco-Roman world.1 Though the Greco-Roman pantheon was believed to be all-powerful, it was also described as passively inactive. Take, for example, Cicero’s description of the gods in his De natura deorum. He depicts Epicurus saying that “the gods do nothing and care for nothing, and that though they possess limbs like those of men they make no use of those limbs” (Nat. d. 1.3). Later in De natura deorum 1.51, he says that “god is entirely inactive” (nihil enim agit deus) and free from occupation (nullis occupationibus est implicatus). The Greco-Roman god(s) neither toils nor labors (nulla opera molitur). Instead, their activity is almost completely focused on their self-absorbed pursuit of carnal passions.2

This concept of powerful but inactive and self-serving gods runs counter to Lukan theology, which depicts the singular triune God actively intervening in the world to accomplish its redemption. According to Luke, the God of Israel has accomplished the redemption of the nations and has established a redeemed community,

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the church, in Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. This article seeks to show how Luke describes both God’s work and his person. Luke’s readers must consider these two concepts simultaneously because God’s being is revealed through his work, and his work is motivated by his being. For Luke, the God of Israel is neither ina...