Ye shall be witnesses unto Me
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 (Acts 1:8 KJV)
Jesus spoke the precious words in the verse above to His disciples just before He ascended to heaven. He said they would first receive power when the Spirit comes upon them, and then they will be witnesses unto Him. Let me briefly review the practical implications of this phrase “witnesses unto me.”
First, He said they would be witnesses. He did not merely say they will give a witness but that they will be the witnesses. In this context, a witness is someone who has experienced an event or some occurrence and therefore brings first-hand evidence or confirmation to confirm the report of the event. Imagine you witnessed an incident in the supermarket, and the courts called upon you to testify to what you saw. They are not primarily concerned about your interpretation but what you saw first hand.
So the key concepts of a witness unto Christ are experience, confirmation, or proof of a report. This is not the same are merely preaching the Gospel. The call in this verse is for the disciples to tell the world of the death and resurrection of the Savior from what they have seen and experienced and to bring the proof to convince those that hear their message that what they are saying is true and of God. Power is mandatory to be an effective witness as above. God never designed His Church to be a powerless entity. We need the power of the Spirit. We need to go back to our foundations!
MEDITATE
What are the similarities and differences between a witness and a preacher?
APPLY THE WORD
O how we are in dire need of witnesses today, not just preachers or teachers! The Church has become too intellectual in many circles, and until we return to the power of the Spirit in witnessing the Gospel to the dying world, we will remain a religious, theological, and nonprofit entity with little practical impact. Desire and pray for the Lord to help us all be witnesses as He has commanded.
PRAY
Pray for yourself and the Church in these very trying days that Act 1:8 above will be our daily reality.
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