The record of the Lord's ministry, from Luke Chapter 1, all the way through to the end of Acts Chapter 28, if you put those two books together, it is the most detailed account of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Again, Luke is an educated man. Luke 1:1-4 tells us that he gathered in manuscript. He gathered in all the writings that he could find about Jesus Christ. He interviewed eyewitnesses. And being an educated man, he used a lot of detailed words. He wanted to be accurate and detailed about his presentation.
II. THE RECIPIENT TO THE BOOK OF ACTS:
We are told that the man's name to whom it is written is Theophilus, which literally means "Lover of God," THEOS for God, and PHILEO for love. He's a God lover. It's either his name or his title. Theophilus was a common name at that time. Some people believe it might have been used as a title in order to hide his identity.
But in Luke Chapter 1, he's called "the most excellent Theophilus." The title "most excellent" is either a title of an officer in the Roman military or the title of an official in the Roman government, especially a governor. The title is used three times in Acts, once it's for "most excellent" Governor Felix, "most noble" Felix, and "most noble" Festus, addressing the governors of the Roman government.
So Theophilus was a Roman official. Tradition says that he was from Antioch of Syria. Apparently, Luke and Theophilus knew each other. Luke and Acts, both of them were written to Theophilus. We're told in Acts 1:1-2 and Luke 1:1-4 that they were written to the same person.
HERE IS A GENERAL STATEMENT FOR YOU:
The record of the Lord's ministry, from Luke Chapter 1, all the way through to the end of Acts Chapter 28, if you put those two books together, it is the most detailed account of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Again, Luke is an educated man. Luke 1:1-4 tells us that he gathered in manuscript. He gathered in all the writings that he could find about Jesus Christ. He interviewed eyewitnesses. And being an educated man, he used a lot of detailed words. He wanted to be accurate and detailed about his presentation.
II. THE RECIPIENT TO THE BOOK OF ACTS:
We are told that the man's name to whom it is written is Theophilus, which literally means "Lover of God," THEOS for God, and PHILEO for love. He's a God lover. It's either his name or his title. Theophilus was a common name at that time. Some people believe it might have been used as a title in order to hide his identity.
But in Luke Chapter 1, he's called "the most excellent Theophilus." The title "most excellent" is either a title of an officer in the Roman military or the title of an official in the Roman government, especially a governor. The title is used three times in Acts, once it's for "most excellent" Governor Felix, "most noble" Felix, and "most noble" Festus, addressing the governors of the Roman government.
So Theophilus was a Roman official. Tradition says that he was from Antioch of Syria. Apparently, Luke and Theophilus knew each other. Luke and Acts, both of them were written to Theophilus. We're told in Acts 1:1-2 and Luke 1:1-4 that they were written to the same person.
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