Acts of the Apostles or Acts of the Holy Spirit? • Deshen Daily

And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch (Acts 5:12 KJV)

We traditionally call the book of Acts the Acts of the Apostles. Some believers have raised a concern stating the book is not the acts of the Apostles but the Holy Spirit. This objection has a valid point and makes sense because the Holy Spirit was clearly doing the works through the Apostles. However, there is a problem with this view. You will not find in any verse throughout this book where the Holy Spirit laid hands on anybody, spoke with a voice from heaven, or cast out demons from people. It was the Apostles who did these works, not the Holy Spirit!

This truth is of utmost importance for us believers and especially those in ministry. It reveals the mystery of how God works. He operates in and through us. The book of Acts is a chronicle of the acts of both the Apostles and the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit moved to heal only when the Apostles healed people. Christ is in us, and until we move, He will not move. He will heal no one until we heal them. We are the ones working, yet not us, but the Holy Spirit working in us (Galatians 2:20)!

Meditate

Is it wrong, therefore, to call the book of Acts the Acts of the Apostles? What were the Apostles’ and the Holy Spirit’s roles in the miracles recorded in Acts?

Apply the Word

Acts is not the Acts of the Apostles or the Holy Spirit. It is both. Similarly, your Christian life is a mysterious unity of you and Christ as one. He chose to partner with us. We must be bold to step forward, believing to depend on Him, soft at heart to yield entirely to Him, and humble to give Him all the glory as He works through us!

Ask the Father to help you cooperate more fully what the Holy Spirit.