God's Relational Presence by J. Scott Duvall

Author:J. Scott Duvall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biblical Theology;Presence of God;Bible—­Theology;God—­Biblical teaching;REL006080;REL006000
ISBN: 9781493419685
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2019-10-03T00:00:00+00:00

Luke-Acts

The richly textured presentation of the theme of God’s relational presence in Mark and Matthew continues in Luke-Acts. Since Luke seeks to tell one theological story in both his Gospel and the book of Acts, including both Jesus and the early church, we have opted to treat Luke and Acts together. In surveying Luke’s two volumes for their contribution to the theme of God’s relational presence, five central emphases lead the way: (1) God’s purposes and plan; (2) Jesus: Savior, Lord, and Messiah; (3) the Holy Spirit; (4) the people of God; and (5) Christ’s return.

God’s Purposes and Plan to Redeem a People

Darrell Bock rightly declares, “God is the major actor in Luke-Acts.”120 God is at work fulfilling his promises and carrying out his plan to redeem a people for himself. John Squires concludes that the plan of God “functions as the foundational theological motif” for Luke-Acts.121 Luke makes reference to God’s plan in both specific and overarching ways. He uses particular expressions such as “the plan,” “foreknown,” “foretold,” “chosen,” “promised,” “it is necessary,” and “fulfilled” to identify God’s work of carrying out the plan.122 But God’s plan moves far beyond individual terms to encompass broader narrative movements and themes.123 In the end, Luke makes it clear that God desires a permanent and unhindered relationship with his redeemed people, allowing them to experience his relational presence forever.

To begin with, God’s plan is rooted in his character as a caring, loving Father (Luke 12:6–7) who gives the kingdom to his children (12:22–34), explained in verse 33 as “treasure in heaven,” meaning life in his bountiful presence. He is a missionary God to the core, whose heart is firmly set on seeking and saving the lost (Luke 15).124 His character is what makes the “withness” of reconciliation possible (e.g., in Luke 15 the father ran to meet the younger son but also “went out and pleaded with” the older son). The Son extends the Father’s purposes, as Jesus makes clear when he says of Zacchaeus, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:9–10).

Luke also stresses how God’s plan means the fulfillment of his covenant promises revealed in Scripture.125 With the coming of Jesus, the Messiah and Lord, and the pouring out of the Spirit in the last days, God has made good on his covenant promises to Abraham (Luke 1:54–55; Acts 3:24–25), Moses (Acts 3:22; cf. Luke 9:30, 33), David (Luke 1:68–70; Acts 2:29–30), and the prophets (Acts 3:21). God’s people, as promised, will now experience the abiding presence of God’s Spirit and lasting hope (Acts 26:6–7).

God’s plan centers on Jesus, the Lord and Messiah. Luke stresses this in his Gospel, as do the other Synoptics (e.g., Luke 4:16–21), but he makes it a special point of emphasis in Acts. What happened to Jesus was God’s plan: he was anointed, empowered to minister, appointed to suffer, raised from the dead and exalted (e.

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