Lesson 18:God’s Use of the Word “The” in the Book of Acts

Introductory ThoughtsA. Most common word in the English languageB. A definite article, in contrast with the indefinite articleC. The word “the” can be used to refer to a particular person,

place, thing or group:1. Used to indicate that a noun is definite or specified2. Used to indicate that a noun is unique or particular3. Used to indicate that a word is distinctive from others4. Used to limit application to a specified succeeding element

D. The Greek definite article functions similarly but with greater diversity & stronger emphasis.1. It is more advanced than the English definite article.2. To identify, individualize, distinguish, limit & make definite.

E. English “the”=1,541 x’s in 781 vss of Acts in NKJV (of 1,007 vss)

I.

Introductory ThoughtsF. In the use of “the,” God supported, furthered &

accomplished the main theme & purpose of Acts.1. Primary theme = the historical, Divine record of the origin,

establishment and spread of the Lord’s church and N.T. Christianity in the first-century world

2. Primary purpose = to give readers multiple cases of conversion—the main purpose for which Jesus died and the main work for which the apostles were commissioned.

3. The book of Acts contains the instructions necessary for one to become a Christian and to understand God’s plan for His church, and it also contains the examples of those following the Divine instructions.

4. God’s use and emphasis of the definite article is to identify, specify and distinguish Him, His cause, His plan and His promise from anything and everything else!

I.

A. “The God” is found 13 times in 9 versesB. “The Father” is found in 3 verses (1:4, 7; 2:33)C. “The living God” is found in 14:15D. “The Most High” is found in 2 verses (7:48; 16:17)E. “The Lord” is found 76 times in 74 versesF. “The LORD” is found 11 times in 10 versesG. “The Christ” is found 12 times in 11 versesH. “The Just One” is found in 3 verses (3:14; 7:52; 22:14)I. “The Holy One” is found in 3:14J. “The Son of Man” or “the Son of God” is found in 3 versesK. “The Man” is found in 17:31L. “The stone” and “the chief cornerstone” are both found in 4:11M. “The name” is found in 20 versesN. “The Holy Spirit” or “the Spirit” is found in 53 versesO. There is ONE specified, identified, distinguished God! There is no other!

II. God Used the Word “The” to Identify, Specify and Distinguish the Godhead.

A. “The word” is found in 34 verses1. “The word of God” 12 times (4:31; 6:2, 7; 8:14; 11:1; 12:24;

13:5, 7, 44, 46; 17:13; 18:11)2. “The word of the Lord” 9 times (8:25; 11:16; 13:48, 49;

15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:10, 20)3. “The word of His grace” 2 times (14:3; 20:32)4. “The word of this salvation” once (13:26)5. “The word of the gospel” once (15:7)6. “The word” 9 times (4:4; 6:4; 8:4; 10:36, 44; 11:19; 14:25;

16:6; 17:11)

III. God Used the Word “The” to Identify, Specify and Distinguish His Unique Revelation.

A. “The word” is found in 34 versesB. “The gospel” is found in 6 verses (8:25; 14:7, 21;

15:7; 16:10; 20:24)C. “The faith” is found in 6 verses (3:16; 6:7; 13:8;

14:22; 16:5; 24:24)D. “The teaching of the Lord” is found in 13:12E. “The apostles’ doctrine” is found in 2:42F. “The Scripture” or “the Scriptures” is found in 5

verses (8:32; 17:2, 11; 18:24, 28)G. There is ONE specified, identified, distinguished

revelation! There is no other!

III. God Used the Word “The” to Identify, Specify and Distinguish His Unique Revelation.

A. “The kingdom” is found in 8 verses (1:3, 6; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31)

B. “The church” is found in 15 verses (2:47; 5:11; 8:1, 3; 11:22, 26; 12:1, 5; 13:1; 14:27; 15:3, 4; 18:22; 20:17, 28)

C. “The saints” is found in 3 verses (9:32, 41; 26:10)D. “The disciples” is found 24 times in 24 versesE. “The brethren” is found 23 times in 22 versesF. “The flock” is found in 2 verses (20:28, 29)G. “The offspring of God” is found in 17:29H. “The Way” is found in 5 verses (9:2; 19:9, 23; 24:14, 22)I. There is ONE specified, identified, distinguished church!

There is no other!

IV. God Used the Word “The” to Identify, Specify and Distinguish His Unique Church.

A. “The grace of God” or “the Lord Jesus” is found in 6 vss (11:23; 13:43; 14:26; 15:11, 40; 20:24)

B. “The will of God” and “the will of the Lord” are found in 13:36 and 21:14

C. “The way” is found in 4 verses1. “The way of salvation” (16:17)2. “The way of the Lord” (18:25)3. “The way of God” (18:26)4. “The straight ways of the Lord” (13:10)

D. “The salvation of God” is found in 28:28E. “The door” is found in 14:27F. There is ONE specified, identified, distinguished plan and will of

God! There is no other!

V. God Used the Word “The” to Identify, Specify and Distinguish His Unique Will for Man.

A. “The hope” is found in 4 verses (17:27; 23:6; 26:6; 28:20)

B. “The resurrection of/from the dead” is found in 4 verses (4:2; 17:18, 32; 24:21)

C. “The judgment” is found in 24:25D. There is ONE specified, identified, distinguished

hope from God! There is no other!

VI. God Used the Word “The” to Identify, Specify and Distinguish His Unique Promised Hope.

A. If the only revelation that remained from God was the book of Acts, or if the book of Acts was the only book of the Bible that someone read, it would be quite obvious that there is a singularity, specificity, simplicity and superiority to God’s plan.

B. Yet, the book of Acts is not all that we have. Still, it harmonizes perfectly with every other piece of Divine revelation, especially Ephesians 4:4-6 in this particular matter.

VII. The Supreme Value of the Book of Acts and the Supreme Value of God’s “The” Is Evident.