The Widening Witness. Studies in the Book of Acts.

The Acts of the Apostles is one of the most exciting and vital of the books that comprises our New Testament. Without it, we would be left with gaping holes in our knowledge of early church history, for, apart from the letters of Paul, we have no other accounts, sacred or secular, of these events.

The title, the Acts of the Apostles, was not given until about A.D. 150. The apostles, however, are really incidental to the purpose of the author. He has given us an account of the mighty acts of God in faithful men and women. At center stage, through his Holy Spirit, is God himself—as Paul states, “God to whom I belong and whom I worship” (Acts 27:23). The apostles enter and exit the stage as they point to the central figure; at times they drop out completely. If the author had had only human deeds in mind, he would have written much differently.