There are many ways to outline a book, the most common for books of the Bible are either by scene (subject) or by literary devices that clue the reader into divisions within the text. For example, the book of Acts could be divided into two parts, the account of Peter and the account of Paul, with subdivisions beneath them. Or you could divide the text into parts based upon “Progress Reports” Luke includes about the church, and then subdivided from each of those sections. The former suggestion is based on subject matter while the latter is based on literary cues.

My preference is for outlines based on critical analysis, though Luke is well served by the subject-based one below.


A “Preface” is defined as an explanation of the motivation for the work, background of the project, conditions that led up to the work and/or the purpose of the work (Turabian's Style Manual for Writers). The first four verses of the book fit this definition precisely. For more information on the identity of Theophilus see the Historic Background.