Acts 1:6 So the ones who came together asked Him, saying, Lord, are You at this time restoring the kingdom to Israel? (7) But He said to them, It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set by His own authority. (8) But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
[Part 1 of 2] Literally, the Greek word for "witnesses" in Acts 1:8 means "martyrs." Witnesses are those who bear a living testimony of the resurrected and ascended Christ in life. They differ from preachers who merely preach doctrines in letters. In His incarnation Christ carried out His ministry on the earth, as recorded in the Gospels, by Himself to sow Himself as the seed of the kingdom of God only in the Jewish land. In His ascension He carries out His ministry in the heavens, as recorded in Acts, through these witnesses, these martyrs, in His resurrection life and with His ascension power and authority to spread Himself as the development of the kingdom of God from Jerusalem, as a start, unto the remotest part of the earth, as the consummation of His ministry in the New Testament. All the apostles and disciples in Acts were His martyrs, His witnesses, of this kind. In verse 8 the Lord was indicating to His disciples that they should care for the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them and then be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and unto the remotest part of the earth. The disciples, however, were occupied with the traditional concept concerning Israel, Moses, and keeping the law. Here, in a brief way, the Lord was telling them that they needed a great transfer, a dispensational transfer. [continued tomorrow]
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Acts, pp. 31-32. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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