For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain. So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
Often, when a preacher has made a statement in a sermon, and he wants to see if the congregation is still engaged with him, he'll ask,"Can I get a witness?" For the early church, "Can I get a witness?" was more than just a throwaway line from a preacher. It was central to their ministry in, and out of, the church.
Even the newest church member among us will have heard of Acts 1:8, which tells us, ". . . you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The early church was determined to follow this command of Jesus and be witnesses for Him throughout the known world.
Peter, of course, was one of the Apostles and he, too, was a witness of and for Jesus as he describes in our focal passage for today.
Witness:
The earliest Christians were Jews and their Bible was the Old Testament. They did not set out to write a new Bible because they believed that the Old Testament contained an abundant amount of prophecies and other passages that proved that Jesus was the Messiah. Their desire was simply to follow God's command to be a witness for Christ in the world.
They did not need to write a new Bible because they had been trained all of their lives to follow the Old Testament Law and Prophets. They knew Deuteronomy 19:15, which directed that, "A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." The early church had far more than two or three witnesses to the life and ministry of Christ!
The early church had the testimony of the eleven Apostles, plus the testimony of the seventy that Jesus had sent out two by two. They had the testimony of Mary and Martha and Lazarus, as well as that of Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus. They also had the testimony of the disciples who were on the Emmaus Road, as well as that of Paul who met Jesus on the Road to Damascus.
If a preacher asked, "Can I get a witness?" in a meeting of the early church, he'd get all the witnesses he could stand! That's actually a good thing for us, today, also. As Peter said, our faith is not based on myths, but on the testimony of hundreds and even thousands of eyewitnesses to the life and ministry of our Lord.
Word:
Of course, we no longer have any living eyewitnesses of Christ, and we haven't had any for many centuries now, but we still have their testimonies about Him. Blessedly for us, the early church decided that they needed to record these testimonies for future generations, and so they collected the four Gospels along with the epistles of Paul and Peter, as well as those of John and some others, and created what we now know as the New Testament.
The creation of the New Testament canon did not begin soon after the ascension of Christ, because, as I noted above, they had the actual witnesses themselves who could attest to the facts of what had gone before. At a certain point, however, these witnesses began to die, and the church became concerned that their testimonies would become lost, and, led and inspired by the Holy Spirit, they recorded the New Testament as we know it today.
While we know that the personal witness of a follower of Christ is powerful and God has used such testimonies to covert untold number of people, the written Word is also powerful. I, personally, met a former Muslim man in West Africa who was converted to Christ by reading the New Testament. He had heard all of his life about the Injil, which is the Arabic name for the Gospels, but he had never read them. He searched for a copy, and in reading the Gospels was converted to Christ! He only met with a Christian after he had decided to follow Christ!
Will:
Of course, the fact that Christian witness moved from personal, verbal testimony to also include the written text of the New Testament was not a surprise to God. In fact, far from being a surprise, it was a part of His plan all along. It was not human will which decided that a written testimony was needed, but it was the will of God as His people, inspired by the Holy Spirit, recorded His Word for the generations to come.
When we reflect upon the will of God for His Word, we should also consider what Paul taught Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:14-17, which says:
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
From Paul's mentoring of Timothy we see that not only is God's Word a key to evangelism and conversion, but it is vital also for equipping and discipleship. As Christians read and study the Bible, they are better equipped to become more and more conformed to the image of Christ, which makes their testimony to unbelievers even more persuasive and powerful.
Clearly, it is God's will that we witness in all forms possible, in word (both written and spoken) as well as in deed and in attitude.
Conclusion:
Acts 1:8 is not only a command but a prophecy. We will be His witnesses, but the open question is, will we be good witnesses, indifferent witnesses, or bad witnesses?
Clearly, the will of God is that we would use His Word to be good witnesses for Him. By knowing and internalizing the Scriptures, we are empowered and equipped to do the basic ministry that all Christians are called to do: be good witnesses for Christ in all parts of our lives and in all ways that we represent Him.
Every blessing,
Dr. Otis Corbitt
Even the newest church member among us will have heard of Acts 1:8, which tells us, ". . . you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The early church was determined to follow this command of Jesus and be witnesses for Him throughout the known world.
Peter, of course, was one of the Apostles and he, too, was a witness of and for Jesus as he describes in our focal passage for today.
Witness:
The earliest Christians were Jews and their Bible was the Old Testament. They did not set out to write a new Bible because they believed that the Old Testament contained an abundant amount of prophecies and other passages that proved that Jesus was the Messiah. Their desire was simply to follow God's command to be a witness for Christ in the world.
They did not need to write a new Bible because they had been trained all of their lives to follow the Old Testament Law and Prophets. They knew Deuteronomy 19:15, which directed that, "A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." The early church had far more than two or three witnesses to the life and ministry of Christ!
The early church had the testimony of the eleven Apostles, plus the testimony of the seventy that Jesus had sent out two by two. They had the testimony of Mary and Martha and Lazarus, as well as that of Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus. They also had the testimony of the disciples who were on the Emmaus Road, as well as that of Paul who met Jesus on the Road to Damascus.
If a preacher asked, "Can I get a witness?" in a meeting of the early church, he'd get all the witnesses he could stand! That's actually a good thing for us, today, also. As Peter said, our faith is not based on myths, but on the testimony of hundreds and even thousands of eyewitnesses to the life and ministry of our Lord.
Word:
Of course, we no longer have any living eyewitnesses of Christ, and we haven't had any for many centuries now, but we still have their testimonies about Him. Blessedly for us, the early church decided that they needed to record these testimonies for future generations, and so they collected the four Gospels along with the epistles of Paul and Peter, as well as those of John and some others, and created what we now know as the New Testament.
The creation of the New Testament canon did not begin soon after the ascension of Christ, because, as I noted above, they had the actual witnesses themselves who could attest to the facts of what had gone before. At a certain point, however, these witnesses began to die, and the church became concerned that their testimonies would become lost, and, led and inspired by the Holy Spirit, they recorded the New Testament as we know it today.
While we know that the personal witness of a follower of Christ is powerful and God has used such testimonies to covert untold number of people, the written Word is also powerful. I, personally, met a former Muslim man in West Africa who was converted to Christ by reading the New Testament. He had heard all of his life about the Injil, which is the Arabic name for the Gospels, but he had never read them. He searched for a copy, and in reading the Gospels was converted to Christ! He only met with a Christian after he had decided to follow Christ!
Will:
Of course, the fact that Christian witness moved from personal, verbal testimony to also include the written text of the New Testament was not a surprise to God. In fact, far from being a surprise, it was a part of His plan all along. It was not human will which decided that a written testimony was needed, but it was the will of God as His people, inspired by the Holy Spirit, recorded His Word for the generations to come.
When we reflect upon the will of God for His Word, we should also consider what Paul taught Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:14-17, which says:
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
From Paul's mentoring of Timothy we see that not only is God's Word a key to evangelism and conversion, but it is vital also for equipping and discipleship. As Christians read and study the Bible, they are better equipped to become more and more conformed to the image of Christ, which makes their testimony to unbelievers even more persuasive and powerful.
Clearly, it is God's will that we witness in all forms possible, in word (both written and spoken) as well as in deed and in attitude.
Conclusion:
Acts 1:8 is not only a command but a prophecy. We will be His witnesses, but the open question is, will we be good witnesses, indifferent witnesses, or bad witnesses?
Clearly, the will of God is that we would use His Word to be good witnesses for Him. By knowing and internalizing the Scriptures, we are empowered and equipped to do the basic ministry that all Christians are called to do: be good witnesses for Christ in all parts of our lives and in all ways that we represent Him.
Every blessing,
Dr. Otis Corbitt
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