lover of God, a Christian, probably a Roman, to whom Luke dedicated both his Gospel ( Luke 1:3 ) and the Acts of the Apostles ( 1:1 ). Nothing beyond this is known of him. From the fact that Luke applies to him the title "most excellent", the same title Paul uses in addressing Felix ( Acts 23:26 ; 24:3 ) and Festus ( 26:25 ), it has been concluded that Theophilus was a person of rank, perhaps a Roman officer.

These dictionary topics are from
M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition,
published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain, copy freely.