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Who is a Disciple of Jesus Christ?
An Apostle is also a Disciple of Jesus Christ, their personal Teacher, Rabbi and Lord.
The Gospels witness the Twelve ‘Disciples,’ with an inner-circle of Peter, James and John.
Jesus had hundreds of disciples. But now that the Lord has ascended once more into heaven and appeared alive to many these many disciples witness to new believers who then become disciples of Jesus’ Twelve Apostles.
Now the Holy Spirit of the Lord empowers the Apostles and NEW disciples in Jerusalem, Judea and Galilee and beyond. The Gospel will begin to ‘go into all the world.’
Other men and women who have witnessed Jesus personally will join the Apostles in Jerusalem as DISCIPLES OF THE DISCIPLES, who the Lord anoints as Teachers of the New Covenant, GOOD NEWS for all of the world.
Proof of the Risen Christ
This Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah, proven by His many signs. Even before the Lord’s recent resurrection many disciples of Jesus in addition to the Twelve had also witnessed His miracles and teaching.
No man or woman who has seen Jesus after His resurrection would now follow any other teacher — not now since that which they have seen and heard and touched appeared to many of them.
Reading Luke’s Account of ACTS
I will try to answer some of your questions here, but perhaps in a different order than Luke addresses the history of the Church.
How did the Church get from Jesus’ in-Person history to the A.D. 2000’s?
(We don’t even know much about Jewish history back to David, Moses and Abraham.)
TIP: You can SEARCH any book of the Bible by name, i.e. Exodus, in addition to asking ANY question in the COMMENTS of and TalkofJESUS.com post.
Although our SERIES on ACTS will proceed in the order Luke records, occasionally we will skip a section and go back to the storyline of a particular person we meet in the long journeys of Acts of the Apostles with reference to Chapter & Verse.
ACTS 6:5-7
The announcement found approval with the whole congregation;
and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit,
and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.
ACTS of the Apostles 6:5 NASB20
Beginning with Stephen in ACTS 6-7
Acts of a disciple Stephen & stories of two Philips
After Peter’s first sermon in Jerusalem near the beginning of Acts, two other witnesses of importance take the stage of history setting the scene of the developing Church.
- Στέφανος – Stephanos, first martyr of the Church &
- Φίλιππος – Philippos (not to be confused with Philip the Apostle or Philip, step-brother to Herod Antipas)
Acts 8: Philip the Evangelist
Next: SAUL OF TARSUS!
Comment on Scripture in our series from ACTS +
TalkofJESUS.COM + Acts of the Apostles for a 21st c. Church
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