The book of Acts offers something unique in the Christian canon. It has no rival in terms of a book spanning so many different lands. Its references to the Spirit far outpace any other work. It functions as a hinge canonically, bridging the Gospels and Epistles. It recounts the birth of the church age, and its content has no parallel in the New Testament.
Some of Paul’s letters correspond to each other and the four Gospels overlap, but most of what is found in Acts can be found in no other document.
Acts is also unique in that it might be our only writing from a Gentile—in addition to the Gospel by Luke.
The New Testament is largely written to deal with the Jew and Gentile dispute in light of Jesus’s arrival. If this is what the New Testament concerns, then it is remarkable that twenty-seven
percent of the New Testament (Luke–Acts) comes from a Gentile mind, heart, and quill.
Acts is also unparalleled in that it recounts a new stage in Christian history: post-Jesus life. Everything (canonically) before this has been either pre-Jesus or with Jesus. Now, readers get a glimpse of Jesus’s followers as they seek to be faithful to Jesus after he has departed.
The new community must figure out how to act now that Christ is gone.
Acts, as a unique part of the canon and coming from a distinctive voice, lays out the unparalleled story of the early church to encourage the church to press on. It, therefore, has much to say to the church in every generation.
Acts is an exemplar for the renewal of the church. Luke, as a travel companion of Paul, kept his eye on the community of faith, and so should any modern reading of Acts. This story is for more than the people of God, but aimed primarily to encourage God’s people.
Acts speaks to the church in two different ways. As a transitional book, Acts recounts non-repeatable events that establish the community of faith.
Acts also confronts Christians as a programmatic book. It provides guidance for the church in every age. Its message can’t be locked in the past. The same Spirit is still active. The same Christ still rules. The same God still sustains his church.
Taken from, What We Would Be Missing if We Didn’t Have the Book of Acts by Patrick Shreiner, Copyright © January 04, 2022. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org
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