Holy Spirit plays a key role in the Acts of the Apostles, leading to the use of the titles "Book of the Holy Spirit" or the "Acts of the Holy Spirit" for that book in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

.''A Bible Handbook to the Acts of the Apostles'' by Mal Couch 2004 pages 120-129 Acts is written by Luke who also wrote the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

after his name. Acts tells the story of the birth of the early church when the apostles met in the Upper Room in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. Of the about seventy occurrences of the word ''

pneuma ''Pneuma'' () is an ancient Greek word for "breath", and in a religious context for " spirit" or "soul". It has various technical meanings for medical writers and philosophers of classical antiquity, particularly in regard to physiology, and is ...

'' () in Acts, fifty-five refer to the Holy Spirit.

Continuation of the ministry of Jesus

From the start, in Acts 1:2, the reader is reminded that the Ministry of Jesus, while he was on

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

, was carried out through the power of the Holy Spirit and that the "acts of the apostles" are the continuing acts of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

, facilitated by the Holy Spirit. Acts thus presents the Holy Spirit as the "life principle" of the early church and provides five separate and dramatic instances of its outpouring on believers:

Acts 2 Acts 2 is the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book containing this chapter is anonymous but early Christian tradition affirmed that Luke composed this book as well as the Gospel of Luke ...

:1–4, Acts 4:28–31, Acts 8:15–7, Acts 10:44 and Acts 19:6.''The Acts of the Apostles'' by Luke Timothy Johnson, Daniel J. Harrington 1992 pages 14-18

Continuous work

References to the Holy Spirit appear throughout

Acts 1 Acts 1 is the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book containing this chapter is anonymous but early Christian tradition affirmed that Luke composed this book as well as the Gospel of Lu ...

:5 and 8, stating towards the beginning: "For John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit… ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you" referring to the fulfillment of the prophecy of

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

Luke 3 Luke 3 is the third chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, traditionally attributed to Luke the Evangelist, a companion of Paul the Apostle on his missionary journeys. It contains an account of the preaching of ...

:16: "he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit."''Reading Acts: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles'' by Charles H. Talbert 2005 pages 24-25 In addition to the Holy Spirit and in its impacts on the Book of Acts, this should include the

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

's direct communication to Paul the Apostle. This encounter had a very pivotal in terms of Paul's defense against the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

and Jewish authority empowered by the Holy Spirit. Several passages, for example,

Acts 9 Acts 9 is the ninth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records Saul's conversion and the works of Saint Peter.Halley, Henry H. ''Halley's Bible Handbook'': an abbreviated Bible commentary. 23rd edit ...

:1–9,

Acts 18 Acts 18 is the eighteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the final part of the second missionary journey of Paul, together with Silas and Timothy, and the beginning of the third miss ...

:10, Acts 23:11, and Acts 27:23 all reveal a pneumatological element that reshapes the outcome of Paul's trial bending towards the prevailing of God's will rather than the agony of Paul's death.

References

{{Acts of the Apostles Holy Spirit People in Acts of the Apostles