One thing you didn’t hear in the sermon on Sunday was a point about how Luke’s use of words is careful & historically accurate.
A little backstory. When Luke begins his gospel & describes the way he plans to write, he says:
It seemed good to me . . . having followed all things [about Jesus Christ] closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may certainty concerning the things you have been taught. Luke 1:3-4
While some people may say Christianity is about made-up or other-worldly things, Luke says, he wrote his gospel & the book of Acts to tell the truth & describe historical facts. And Luke’s careful use of language makes this clear.
In Acts 13:7, Luke calls Sergius Paulus the “proconsul” of Cyprus. This may seem to be simple point. However, the town of Cyprus was ruled by an agent of the Emperor until 22 B.C., but when Paul & Barnabas arrived there in A.D. 47, it was ruled by a proconsul. Through this name, Luke is demonstrating that he cares deeply about the historical accuracy of Acts & wants to situate this verse & story within a specific time period.
The same attention to historical detail was seen in our text last week. Luke uses the word “church” very carefully in verse 1 & 5 to describe believers in Jerusalem. Earlier in Acts, Jerusalem was filled with a random group believers, so there was no use of the word “church” until chapter 5. Believers were only said to be “added” (2:42; 2:47) or “added to the Lord” (5:14). They were not said to be added to the church.
Why? Because, while believers were being added to the Lord, there were no formal, individual churches yet. So, it would be historically inaccurate to use the word “church” until later.
But, years later, when Luke describes the believers in Jerusalem in chapter 12, he uses the word “church” twice. Jerusalem is now filled with many separate, local churches to which individuals “belong” (12:1).
Also, interestingly, while there is only one use of the word “church” in chapters 1-8 (5:11), the word “church” is used 18 times in the rest of Acts as the gospel is preached & churches are planted throughout the Mediterranean world. (For those wondering, those references are: 8:1, 3; 9:31; 11:22, 26; 12:1, 5; 13:1; 14:23, 27; 15:3, 4, 22, 41; 16:5; 18:22; 20:17, 28.)
Christianity rests on historical accuracy & truth. And the New Testament writers took great pains to insure that their writings were accurate. Let us never forget!
Psalm 19:9 reminds us, The rules of the Lord are true, & righteous altogether.