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Grace Bible Church

4000 E. Collins Rd.   P.O. Box #3762   Gillette, WY  82717   (307) 686-1516

 

- Preaching the Living WORD through the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 -

 

 

 

 

“EMPOWERED BY THE SPIRIT TO BE HIS WITNESSES”

(2013 GBC THEME REVIEW)

 (The Church’s Witness)

 (Acts 1:8) (2/17/13)

Grace Bible Church, Gillette, Wyoming

Pastor Daryl Hilbert

 

I.     THE CHURCH’S EMPOWERMENT

II.    THE CHURCH’S INDWELLING

III.  THE CHURCH’S WITNESS

 

A.    The Meaning of Witness

 

1.     The Greek word for witness is ma,rtus  which carries the root meaning, “to bear in mind,” to remember,” especially as “that which demands much care or deliberation; he who considers or deliberates much.”

2.     It came to apply to “one who remembers, who has knowledge of something by recollection, and who can thus tell about it,” i.e., the witness” (TDNT). We see this usage in such passages as Dt 17:6; 19:15 (LXX); Mt 18:16.

3.     In the NT, it was especially applied to those who witnessed Christ’s death and resurrection announcing the reality of the gospel.

4.     Those who announced the gospel became subject to persecution to the point of death. The term “martyr” took on the meaning of those who suffered death for confessing Christ (Ac 22:20; Re 17:6). “These verses, however, should not be understood as if their witness consisted in their suffering death, but rather that their witnessing of Jesus became the cause of their death)” (Zodhiates, Complete Word Dictionary, NT)

 

B.    The Consideration of the Witnesses

 

1.     The Apostles were the Immediate Context

a)    Though we would all apply Ac 1:8 as an appeal to all believers as “witnesses,” the immediate and biblical context was that the initial witnesses were the apostles.

b)    The resurrected Christ specifically gathered the apostles together (Ac 1:4a), commanded them not to leave Jerusalem (Ac 1:4b), commanded them to wait for the Holy Spirit (Ac 1:4c), and revealed that they would be empowered by the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses (Ac 1:6-8).

2.     The Apostles were Appointed by God

a)    The apostles were not a group of random followers who were willing to volunteer. Rather, they were chosen by Christ Himself (Lk 6:12-16; Jn 15:16).

b)    The apostles were specifically chosen to be His witnesses (Ac 1:2). “Chosen” is the Greek word ekle,  which means a choice selecting out from among others. A different Greek word is used in Ac 10:41 to express a similar idea. Procheirotone,ō is made up of pro, which means “before,” chei,r which means “hand,” and te, which means to “stretch.” Combined we get the idea of stretching out the hand beforehand to choose or appoint. So God’s purpose for the message of salvation was to be announced by a specific group of men, hand-picked beforehand, to be representatives of the gospel. This would also include the apostle Paul (procheirizō - Ac 22:14-15; 26:16).

c)     The apostles were God’s authoritative spokesmen to preach, teach, and write God’s truth and salvation.

3.     The Apostles’ Qualifications

a)    The premier qualification was that they had to have witnessed the resurrected Christ (Apostles - Jn 20:26-28; Ac 1:3; *Ac 1:21-22; 2:32; 3:15; 5:31-32; 10:39-41; Paul - Ac 9:3-6 cp. Ac 22:6-11 cp. Ac 26:12-15; Ac 13:31-32; 23:11; 1Co 15:8; Ga 1:12).

b)    Though numerous other individuals witnessed the resurrected Christ (1Co 15:6), an apostle had to have been commissioned by the resurrected Christ (Apostles - Lk 24:46-49; Jn 20:19-21; Ac 1:8; 10:40-42; Paul - Ac 22:15; Ga 1:1).

c)     They had to have been empowered with miraculous power by the resurrected Christ (Apostles - Ac 2:43; 3:6-9; 4:33; 5:12, 15-16; 9:34, 40; cp. He 2:3-4; Paul - Ac 14:3; 19:11; 28:8-10).

 

C.    The Example of the Witnessing

 

1.     When Jesus told the apostles that they would be His witnesses, what was it that He wanted them to do? He wanted them to “solemnly testify” (diamartu,romai - affirm solemnly, Ac 10:42) to the world everything they had witnessed, namely the resurrection of Christ and the offer of forgiveness and eternal life.

2.     Simply put, the apostles were to evangelize. The word evangelize comes from the Greek word euangeli, and literally means “good” (eu) “news” (aggelos). It was used some 15 times in the book of Acts to show the apostles fulfilling their commission to evangelize the world (Ac 5:42; 8:4, 12, 25, 35, 40; 10:36; 11:20; 13:32; 14:7, 15, 21; 15:35; 16:10; 17:18; cp. Jesus - Lk 4:18, 43-44).

3.     It is often translated “preaching” (Ac 5:42; 15:35) and sometimes “preaching the good news” (Ac 8:12; 13:32) or “gospel (Ac 8:25, 40; 14:7, 15, 21; 16:10).”

4.     They evangelized from the Scriptures (Ac 8:35), continuously (Ac 5:42), under persecution (Ac 8:1-4), locally and abroad (Ac 8:1-4, 40).

5.     They also “announced, proclaimed, and publically heralded the gospel” (kêru,ssō - Acts 8:5; 9:20;  42; 15:21; 19:13; 20:25; 28:31).

 

D.    The Content of the Witnessing

 

1.     What was the content of their preaching? What did they preach? What is the gospel?

2.     According to 1Co 15:1-4, the gospel (euangelion - “good news”) is what Paul preached (1Co 15:1a), what the Corinthians received by faith (1Co 15:1b), what the Corinthians were saved by (1Co 15:2a). More specifically the gospel message was Christ’s death (1Co 15:3) and resurrection (1Co 15:4) according to the Scriptures.

3.     This was the message the apostles preached and we can see aspects of that gospel recorded in the book of Acts. They preached Jesus Christ (Ac 5:42; 8:35; 11:20), His death and resurrection (Ac 17:18), entrance into the kingdom of God (Ac 8:12), as promised to the fathers (Ac 13:32), bringing spiritual peace and forgiveness to all who believe (Ac 10:36).

4.     The book of Acts contains the gospel message and Ac 10:34-43 especially summarizes all the aspects of the gospel (Ac 10:39-40), the apostles’ witness (Ac 10:41-43), and the Holy Spirit’s ministry (Ac 10:44).

 

IV.  OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

 

A.    Believers are also chosen from the foundation of the world (Ep 1:4; Col 3:12; 2Ti 2:10; Tit 1:1; Jm 2:5; 1Pe 1:1; 2:9; 2Jn 1:1) not only to believe but also to become witnesses through the testimony of the apostles and the Scriptures (Ac 2:42; 10:43; He 10:16; Jn 20:29) as well as the Holy Spirit (1Jn 5:6; Ro 8:14-18).

B.    Believer also are to:

1.     Preach the gospel under commission of Christ (Mt 28:19-20; 1Pe 3:15; cp. 1Th 1:8).

2.     Preach the gospel of Christ crucified and resurrected (1Co 2:2; 15:1-4).

3.     Preach the gospel of peace through Christ (Ro 5:1, 10).

4.     Preach the gospel and the offer of forgiveness of sins (Ac 13:38; Ep 1:7; Col 1:14).

5.     Preach the gospel under the empowerment of the Holy Spirit (Ac 1:8).

6.     Preach the gospel in spite of persecution (Php 1:29; 1Th 2:14-16; 2Ti 3:12).