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“It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus” (Luke 1:3).
“The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all things that Jesus began both to do and teach” (Acts 1:1).
We do not know who Theophilus was, but his name means “lover of God,” or “loved by God.” He was evidently really interested in knowing all about the Lord Jesus, and Luke undertook to write, first of all, the gospel of Luke, and then later the book of Acts. They were written for this man Theophilus, but God saw fit to include both books in His Word. The word treatise simply means an article or paper written about a particular subject.
Luke was a Gentile, and also a medical doctor, and it is interesting that he was the only Gentile whom the Lord used to help write the Bible. The book of Luke tells about the Lord Jesus during His time on this earth, while the Acts tells us what He did after He had risen and ascended back to heaven, and had sent down the Holy Spirit. The book of Acts does not teach us doctrine, but it tells us a great deal of how the Lord worked, first of all to form the church, and then how things were done in the early days of the church.
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