The Importance of Acts and Its Place in the Canon
Studying the book of Acts should be an exciting experience for every Christian. It is the earliest history of the early church and, provides the only narrative record of the growth and development of the apostolic church until Eusebius wrote his Ecclesiastical History in the early fourth century. As a result, Acts is an indispensable source of direction and inspiration toward a return to the power and patterns of the first-century church.
In its present position, Acts first serves as a bridge between the gospels (the records of the incarnate ministry of Jesus) and the epistles (the records of the continued ministry of Jesus through the church empowered by His Spirit) (Arrington 1988, xxxviii–xxxix). The Book of Acts also provides an excellent introduction to and historical background for the Pauline Epistles. To try to reconstruct a history of the early church or the backgrounds behind the letters of Paul without the benefit of Acts would greatly impoverish both efforts (Arrington 1988, xxxvii and Bruce 1988, 3 and 17 n. 71).