Reg and I began the Acts series just a few weeks ago and we are now beginning to answer questions and add content from the series onto the Web site. I want to take a few minutes to talk about the book of Acts. Some of this information may seem a little basic, but I have a hunch that someone reading this blog may not have a clue about the things that you learned in Sunday school. Anyway, here it goes...

Importance of Acts
Acts is a book of the Bible. It is the 5th book in the New Testament, just following the four gospels. It is appropriately placed after the gospels since it is a record of the transition from Jesus being physically present (in the Gospels) to the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is the beginning of the church as we know it. Jesus ascends into the heaven in the first few verses. The story picks up with his follower’s actions. We refer to the book as Acts, but it is commonly refereed to as The Acts of the Apostles.
Acts is an extremely important historical document.
J. B. Phillips in The Young Church in Action tells us that we cannot read Acts,

“without being profoundly stirred and, to be honest, disturbed. The reader is stirred,” he says, “because he is seeing Christianity, the real thing, in action for the first time in human history. . . . Here we are seeing the Church in its first youth, valiant and unspoiled . . . a body of ordinary men and women joined in an unconquerable fellowship never before seen on this earth...for surely, he adds, this is the Church as it was meant to be. It is vigorous and flexible, for these are the days before it ever became fat and short of breath through prosperity, or musclebound by over–organization. These men did not make ‘acts of faith,’ they believed; they did not ‘say their prayers,’ they really prayed.

Acts is a book that has the potential to transform our understanding of the church. There is nothing else like it and we are looking forward to learning the story together. The New International Bible Commentary tells us,

Acts is the only authentic record we have of the first years of the church’s history. There are a few meager hints in Paul’s letters of events that took place in these years. Josephus provides valuable background material and a number of details, but if Acts had been lost there is nothing to take its place.

Author of Acts
The book is written by this guy named Luke. He is the same person who wrote the Gospel of Luke. Acts is Part 2 of a 2 part series. Luke tells us in the first few verses that his previous book covered the life of Jesus and that this book will continue the story. Luke is mentioned only three time in the New Testament.

Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. (Colossians 4:14 NIV)
Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. (2Timothy 4:11 NIV)
And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.(Philemon 1:24 NIV)

However, we do learn a few things about Luke from these verses. We know that he is a Gentile, that he is a doctor, and that he is companion of Paul. He walked around with Paul and compiles this record of the early church somewhere around 75 AD or so.

Theophilus
The book is address to Theophilus. He is the same name that is used in the gospel of Luke. Some conclude that Theophilus is a real person, while others feel that it is a phrase that refers to anyone who would read this book as a ”friend of God“. The name literally means ”friend“ from the Greek word ”philo“ and God ”theos“. Some conclude that Luke’s addressing him as a general address to all those who are friends of God. Nevertheless, the NIV Dictionary says,

It is reasonable to suppose that Theophilus, to whom Luke dedicated both his gospel (1:3) and the Book of Acts (1:1), was a real person. The title “most excellent” demands this, while the name and title together suggest a person of equestrian rank who became a Christian convert. Nothing is known of the man.

It doesn't seem important to me whether is a real person or not. The fact is that the record is to aid Theophilus in his understanding of the story. In the same way, Luke helps us understand the story.

Conclusion
Acts is an important book that gives us unique insight into the life of the early church. We look forward to studying the book with you. We hope that you will engage the book with us through the many channels that are offered. Ask a question, listen to the special podcasts, read the blogs, find a small group that is studying the book, and read the book on your own as you attend worship each week.
Read more about the Acts: Chronicles of the Church series