The plan of God as a central theme in Luke–Acts

The plan of God is a distinctively Lukan theme which undergirds the whole of Luke–Acts, becoming especially prominent in the speeches of Acts. A variety of thematic strands are woven together to emphasize the certainty and consistency of the plan of God as it is worked out in the life of Jesus and the history of the early church. This theme serves as a multifaceted means by which Luke strives to explain, strengthen and expand the faith of the readers of his two volume work.

Luke first presents this distinctive theme in his Gospel, where he links this plan of God (ἡ βουλή του̂ θεου̂) with accepting the baptism of John, which the people and the tax collectors did (Luke 7.29), thereby ‘justifying God’, in contrast to the Pharisees and lawyers, who rejected such a baptism (Luke 7.30). In the first major speech reported in Acts, Peter claims that Jesus' crucifixion occurred as part of God's ‘definite plan and foreknowledge’ (τῃ̂ ὡρισμένῃ βουλῃ̂ καὶ προγνώσει του̂ θεου̂, Acts 2.23), and the early believers acknowledged to God that the plot against Jesus which led to his death was ‘whatever thy hand and thy plan (βουλή) had predestined to take place’ (Acts 4.28).