![]() There are seven "progress reports" on the unity and advance of the church that further confirm this (cf. In a sentence, given the emphasis on the unity of the church (2, 4, 15, 20) and its expansion from Jerusalem to Rome we may say that the Luke's purpose was to demonstrate to Theophilus the sovereign, unified and unmitigated advance of the gospel into all the world, i.e. Given the contents of the book of Acts, Theophilus appears to have had questions about the coming and activity of the Holy Spirit, the ministry of the apostles, Paul and his dealings with the Jerusalem apostles and the advance of Christianity to the Imperial capital. "in order that he might know the certainty of the things he had been taught." Apparently, as Longenecker 1 observes, Theophilus "seems to have been a man, who though receptive to the gospel and perhaps even convinced by its claims, had many questions about Christianity as he knew it." Luke wrote to strengthen him in his belief. In Luke 1:4 the author says that he is writing to "most excellent Theophilus". Therefore, it is reasonable to include Luke's purpose for Acts as falling under his purpose for the book of Luke. It was probably written in the early 60's, perhaps from Antioch, Rome or Ephesus.Īs was stated, Acts is the second part of what was originally a two-part, single volume (i.e. It also provides helpful information of the facts surrounding many of the letters of the apostles, which in turn helps us to better understand when they said what they said and why they said it. ![]() Therefore, as Acts furnishes for us a selective record of events that took place during the formative years of the church, it provides us with the historical antecedents of our faith and how that faith came to be embraced from Jerusalem to Rome. The importance of this second of Luke's two-volume work can hardly be over-estimated, for without it we would have no record of the beginnings and development of the early church. It will help to keep the whole of the book before you as you work your way through each section. The following outline is intended to be used while studying the book. The life of the early church is recorded and preserved for us in the book of Acts and the epistles.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |