Acts

by Robert P. Menzies, Craig S. Keener, Holly Beers (Editor), Craig Keener (Editor)

Overview

A balanced, accessible commentary for Spirit—filled Christians

The Spirit who inspired the authors of the New Testament is at work today around the globe, as evidenced by the explosive growth of pentecostal, charismatic, and renewalist movements; the number of adherents is now estimated at more than half a billion.

The Word and Spirit Commentary on the New Testament meets the need for a balanced, affordable, and accessible commentary series aimed at Christians who identify as Spirit—filled. Features include:

● written by pastorally sensitive biblical scholars from the Spirit—filled tradition
● paragraph—by—paragraph commentary
● images, illustrations, and sidebars on pentecostal/charismatic/revival history or insights
● engages biblical books in their ancient setting
● emphasizes how we listen alongside ancient audiences for the Spirit's voice in our time and contexts

Series volumes explore how God works in the biblical texts and how Christians can expect God to work today, even if in new or culturally surprising ways. Series editors are Holly Beers, Westmont College, and Craig S. Keener, Asbury Theological Seminary.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781540966933
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/19/2025
Series:	Word and Spirit Commentary on the New Testament
Pages:	392
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Robert P. Menzies (PhD, University of Aberdeen) has lived in East Asia for most of the past three decades and serves as director of the Asian Center for Pentecostal Theology. His books include Spirit and Power: Foundations of Pentecostal Experience and Empowered for Witness: The Spirit in Luke—Acts.

Craig S. Keener (PhD, Duke University) is F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and writes regularly at www.CraigKeener.com. He is the author of 37 books, including a four—volume commentary on Acts.

Table of Contents

Series Preface
Introduction
Acts 1:1—14 Introduction: The Prophetic Call
Acts 1:15—2:47 The Prophetic Vocation Embraced
Acts 3:1—6:7 Prophetic Witness in Jerusalem
Acts 6:8—9:31 Prophetic Witness in Judea and Samaria
Acts 9:32—12:25 The Beginning of Prophetic Witness to the Gentiles
Acts 12:25—19:41 Paul's Prophetic Witness in the Diaspora
Acts 20:1—28:31 Paul's Prophetic Witness Reaches Rome
Indexes

Editorial Reviews

'Craig S. Keener, already the author of the longest and one of the most carefully researched commentaries on the Acts of the Apostles (4 volumes consisting of 4,459 pages!) has now managed to produce a much shorter version (635 pages) without sacrificing the virtues of the earlier commentary. This one-volume commentary reflects the author’s remarkable familiarity with a vast number of primary sources (drawn from both Judaism and the Greco-Roman world), as well as an astonishing number of secondary sources in the major European languages. This 'summary' will make Keener’s significant contribution to the study of Acts available to a broader audience.' David E. Aune, Walter Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins, emeritus, University of Notre Dame

'Keener’s four-volume commentary on Acts has become a standard work. All readers will welcome this one-volume abridgement of the longer commentary which still contains all the key discussions, as well as the wealth of information from ancient sources, contained in the longer work. Keener’s work is essential reading for all seeking to read Luke’s work in its original historical context.' Christopher Tuckett, Emeritus Professor, University of Oxford

‘… serious students of Acts will want to keep this abridgement, not to mention Keener’s encyclopedic four-volume commentary, within reach.’ Stanley N. Helton, Restoration Quarterly

From the Publisher