The Significance of the Distribution of Self-designations in Acts

Abstract An analysis of the distribution of self-designations in Acts reveals that Luke’s use of these self-designations is not random. Rather significant insight into Luke’s theology and into early Christian history can be gained by looking at the way these self-designations are distributed throughout Acts, when they are actually used, and whether they are used by Luke’s narrator or by actors in his story. The self-designations discussed here are ἀδελφοί, µαθηταί, ἐκκλησία, “the believers” and “the saints” or “the sanctified ones.”