'Ye Shall Be Witnesses Unto Me'

The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. being...: Or, eating together with them For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. power...: Or, the power of the holy Ghost comming upon you - Acts 1:1-8

    The book of Acts is an inspired history of the apostolic ministry of the early church, covering a period of thirty to thirty-five years. The central theme throughout the book is the ascension and lordship of Jesus Christ. It was written by Luke, who was also the author of the gospel narrative bearing his name. Acts begins where the Gospel of Luke ends, with the ascension of Christ. It is a history of the church of Christ in its infancy, showing God's constant care and special providence for it. In these first verses five important lessons are set before us.

    1. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only lawgiver in his church (1:1-2)

    Luke makes a connection between his Gospel and the book of Acts. Both were written specifically for a man named Theophilus (Luke 1:3), a man of rank and honour. Not many noble are called (1 Cor. 1:26), but some are. God has chosen some of all ranks. Theophilus means either 'lover of God' or 'loved of God'.

    Luke describes his Gospel as 'a treatise ...of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up'. Though they did not record every word and deed of Christ (John 21:25), Luke and the other Gospel writers did record all that the Holy Spirit inspired, all that we need to know—particularly all that Christ did and said relating to the salvation of his people: his obedience to God, his conformity to the law, and his death as our substitute, by which he brought in everlasting righteousness and obtained eternal redemption for us.

    Christ gave his commandments by the Holy Spirit to chosen apostles, and by them to his church. All the doctrines and ordinances, faith and practice of the church are, by the commandment of Christ, laid down in the Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16).

    2. Our Lord Jesus gave many infallible proofs of his resurrection from the dead (1:3).

    Our Saviour appeared to his disciples many times, publicly and privately, giving irrefutable proof of his resurrection (1 Cor. 15:1-8). He spent forty days on the earth after his resurrection, eating and drinking, walking and talking with his disciples, showing them his hands and side and teaching them things concerning the kingdom of God. The testimony of those honest men and women who saw the risen Christ cannot be rejected except by those who are wilfully ignorant.

    3. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the promise of the Father (1:4-5)

    There are thousands of promises in the Bible, but only the promise of the Spirit is called 'the promise of the Father'. God the Father promised that he would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh in the last day (Joel 2:28), and Christ promised his disciples the gift of the Spirit from the Father (John 14:16; 15:26; 16:7; 7:37-39; Gal. 3:13-14).

    4. Even the most gifted and useful men in the world are only fallible men and are sometimes confused (1:6-7).

    'Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?' They were curious about the fulfilment of prophecy. They did not yet understand the spiritual nature of Christ's kingdom. These were faithful, believing men, loyal to Christ; but they were only men. Being men, they were confused about the kingdom of Christ. We learn two things from verse 6:

    Firstly, there are no infallible men in this world! The apostles themselves were not infallible. They wrote the Holy Scriptures by the infallible direction of God the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). What they wrote is the infallible, inerrant Word of God. But the apostles themselves were just men, sinners saved by grace!

    Secondly, we ought to be patient and forbearing with one another's faults, weaknesses and failures. Our Lord did not show the least bit of anger towards his erring disciples. Certainly we should be as kind to one another (Eph. 4:32).

    The lesson of verse 7 is one we need often to be reminded of: there are some things God does not intend us to know! No one on earth knows when Christ will come again, or when the end of the world will be. Indeed, there are many things known only to God. We must never pry into that which God has not revealed (Deut. 29:29). We are to search the Scriptures, studying the Word of God, that we might know those things he has revealed concerning himself, us, his Son and his salvation.

    5. Our Lord plainly tells us what the lifelong work and responsibility of every believer is (1:8)

    'Ye shall be witnesses unto me' (Isa. 43: 10,12;44:8; Luke 24:48). Notice two things in this eighth verse:

    'Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.' Without question, this refers to the special, apostolic power that came upon those men chosen to be our Lord's apostles. Yet it certainly has meaning for us today. No one can ever be saved, serve God, or lay down his life in the cause of Christ as his witness until the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit comes upon him in regeneration. 'Salvation is of the Lord!' It is by God's grace alone (Rom. 11:6; Eph. 2:8-9).

    When the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit comes upon you, the Son of God says, 'Ye shall be witnesses unto me.' A witness is one who accurately and honestly relates to others that which he has heard with his own ears, seen with his own eyes, and felt and experienced in his own heart. He does not relate secondhand information. He declares only what he himself knows to be true (1 John 1:1-3). It is the privilege, responsibility and honour of every believer to be a witness for Christ in his generation. This is every believer's calling and vocation in this world. Every true Christian is a missionary. Every true believer is an evangelist. Every true follower of Christ is a preacher. Every true child of God is his witness. The Greek word for 'witness' is the one from which we get the word 'martyr'. Christ's witnesses are his martyrs, people who lay down their lives in the cause of Christ! Go ahead and work at your job, so that you can pay the expenses of life; but do not forget that your calling, your life's work, is to be his witness. Let nothing interfere with that!