THE FAITH OF THE FIRST CHRISTIANS ACTS CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER ONE THE FAITH OF THE FIRST CHRISTIANS F amous Hollywood producer once said that for a move to be successful, it must start with an earth quake and work up to a climax. Luke certainly didn’t follow that formula when he wrote the book of Acts. Except for the ascension of Jesus Christ, events recorded in Acts 1 are anything but dramatic. After all, what is exciti ng about a business meeting? Then why record these events? Why didn’t Luke just start with the story of Pentecost? For several reasons. To begin with, Luke was writing volume two of a work that started with what we call the gospel of Luke(see Luke 1:1–4), and he had to begin with the proper salutation and introduction. We don’t know who Theophilus was or even if he was a believer, but Luke’s salutation suggests that he may have been an important Roman official (see Acts 23:26; 24:3; 26:25). Likely Theophilus was a Christian or at least a seeker who was carefully studying the Christian faith. His name means “friend o...