We and They – Acts 16:39-40

The doctrinal statement of this church says that we believe in the INSPIRATION of the Word of God.

As far as I know all of our members firmly believe in that doctrine. Amen?

Even though it really shouldn’t, that statement means different things to different people.

As a result we have to get a little more specific.

Our Statement of faith says that we believe in the plenary, verbal inspiration of the Bible.

By “inspiration” we don’t mean that God prompted the ideas that the Bible penmen wrote down.

By “inspiration” we mean that THE VERY WORDS that those penmen wrote were God-breathed.

“Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

That should be sufficient, but religious & theological confusion has forced us to be even more specific.

The word “plenary” means that we believe that THE ENTIRE BIBLE has been given to us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

“Plenary” speaks of completeness or something in its entirety.

In other words, the Bible doesn’t CONTAIN the Word of God;

The Bible IS the Word of God from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21.

And the word “verbal” means that every verb in the Bible is inspired by God – along with every noun, every adjective, every adverb, and every article whether definite or indefinite.

In other words every word, and that includes every PRONOUN.

This message tonight is, as they say, a horse of a different color.

It’s definitely not a sermon, and it isn’t going to spur you on to greater service of the Lord.

What I want to do is help you see some of the comings & goings of the men of God in the Book of Acts.

And in the process I want to point out that every pronoun has been inspired by the Holy Spirit.

As you shall see, we could outline the rest of the Book of Acts according to “we” and “they.”

“He” and “they” – Acts 15:40 to 16:10.

This Second Missionary Journey began with Paul and Silas.

If there were any others with them when they left Antioch, the scriptures doesn’t give us any indication.

“And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.

And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.

Then came he to Derbe and Lystra.”

I’m sure that it didn’t upset Silas, so it probably shouldn’t upset us either,

But our historian was primarily interested in the ministry of Paul,

So he referred to Paul and “he” when without a doubt Silas was with him during this time.

From Acts 16:4 to 16:10, Luke speaks of “they,”

Because at that time the number in the missionary team grew from two people to three.

Timothy had joined the team.

From verse 10 throughout the rest of Acts 16 the scripture moves from “they” to “we” and “us.”

As you know the Book of Acts was not written by Paul or Peter.

It is primarily the history of those two apostles as it was given to Luke, and from Luke to us.

The Book of Acts, you might say, is the sequel to the Gospel of Luke.

Acts begins with the words:

“The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen.”

The Gospel of Luke begins with the words:

“Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,

Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;

It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,

That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.”

When we compare the Book of Acts, to the Epistles of Paul, it becomes quite apparent that it was in Troas that Luke joined in the missionary company.

It’s in Acts 16:10 that the pronoun “us” is introduced for the first time,

And in the next verse we find the word “we.”

It’s not that the word isn’t found earlier, but until this point the word is always used in a quotation:

For example, Peter said, “we” when speaking of himself and the other disciples or of John & himself.

It’s in Acts 16:11 that we have the editor’s or the writer’s use of the word.

Let’s follow it down to verse 18.

Beginning with Acts 16:19 the primary pronoun is changed once again back to “they” and “them.”

The change in pronouns proves to us that Luke was not arrested, nor beaten and jailed.

And the clear language also indicates that Timothy wasn’t arrested either.

It was just Paul and Silas.

So what were Luke and Timothy doing while Paul and Silas were in jail?

They might have tried to help to get them released, but the Bible doesn’t tell us so.

So might we lawfully assume from verse 40 that they were with Lydia and the other believers?

Maybe they were in prayer and trying their best to encourage the saints during the midst of this crisis?

We can only guess as to what they were doing, but they were not inside the prison.

Now this is what caught my attention and provoked this brief lesson tonight.

Acts 17 CONTINUES the “they” and “them” pronouns.

Acts 16:40 says, “And when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.”

As we shall see, it appears that Luke remained in Philippi while Paul, Silas and Timothy moved on.

Acts 17:1-15.

While Paul was in Athens there were no other missionaries with him.

He had sent word to Silas and Timothy to join him, but for some reason they didn’t.

Acts 18:1-5.

I’m not going to read the rest of Acts 18 or Acts 19, but I can assure you that there aren’t any editorial “we.”

The last time that Luke referred to himself in the company of Paul and Silas it was in Acts 16:16:

“And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

The same followed Paul and us.”

The only time that “we” or “us” is used in Acts 17 or 18 it’s always in a quotation, and it never refers to Luke.

Then in Acts 20, Luke moves back into “we,” and he stays in that pronoun to the end of the book.

Acts 20:1-6.

Acts 21:1-18.

In Acts 22-26 Luke gives us the details about Paul’s arrest and trial in Jerusalem and Caesarea.

That doesn’t involve Silas, Timothy or Luke,

So as we might expect, the editorial pronouns “us” and “we” aren’t used.

But in the closing two chapters, Acts 27 and 28, we once again have a plethora of “us” and “we.”

And I find that fact very touching.

Paul was being sent to Rome under arrest, because of his appeal to Caesar.

He was in chains and would have been killed with the other prisoners if the soldiers had their way.

Luke however, along with some others, went of their own free will.

Luke was there out of love and dedication to the work of the Lord.

Acts 27:1-2; 28:1-16.

None of this is vitally important information,

But all these pronouns are a part of the tapestry of the Book of Acts,

And they are as much inspired by the Holy Spirit as “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house.”