«　WEEK 3　DAY 4　»

　　Acts 3:25-26 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God covenanted with your fathers, saying to Abraham, "And in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." To you first, God, having raised up His Servant, has sent Him to bless you in turning each of you away from your wicked deeds.

　　The Lord Jesus is the Author of life. As such, He is the origin or Originator of life, the holy and righteous One; He was killed by the Jewish leaders, raised from the dead by God, and witnessed by the disciples.

　　In Acts 3:14-15 Peter said to the Jewish people, "But you denied the holy and righteous One and asked that a man who was a murderer be granted to you; and the Author of life you killed, whom God has raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses." The Greek word rendered "Author" is archegos, meaning "author," "origin," "originator," "chief leader," "captain." In 3:15 it denotes Christ as the origin or Originator of life, hence the Author of life, in contrast to the murderer [v. 14]. According to this verse Peter indicates that Christ is the source, the origin, and the Initiator of life; He is the Author, the Chief Leader, in life. Here we see the imparting of life into others, which is to propagate Christ. For such a propagation, we need the Lord as the Author of life, as the source of life. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 2981)

　　Christ as the Author of life is also the holy and righteous One. According to Acts 3:14 the Lord is the holy One. In this verse holy indicates that Jesus, the Nazarene, the One despised by the Jewish leaders, was absolutely for God and separated unto Him. Furthermore, He was absolutely one with God. According to the denotation of the word holy in the Bible, it signifies one who is absolutely unto God, who is absolutely for God, and who is absolutely one with God. In all of human history only the Lord Jesus is such a One....There was never an instant when He was not absolutely for God and one with Him. Therefore, He is called the holy One. He alone deserves the title the holy One.

　　In 3:14 Peter called the Lord Jesus not only the holy One but also the righteous One. To be righteous is to be right with God and also with everyone and with everything. Only the Lord Jesus can be called the righteous One, because only He is right with God and with everyone and everything. In ourselves we are not right with God, with others, or even with things. We, therefore, cannot be the righteous One.

　　As the righteous One, the Lord Jesus is the right One. He was never wrong with God or with anyone or anything....As the righteous One, the Lord cleansed the temple in a righteous way. He was never wrong, for He was always the righteous One. As the righteous One, He is right with God, with man, and with everything in the heavens and on the earth.

　　As God's Servant, Christ was raised up by God to bring the blessing covenanted to Abraham, first to the Jews, the chosen people of God, that they may turn away from their wickedness.

　　In Acts 3:25-26 Peter says, "You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God covenanted with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.' To you first, God, having raised up His Servant, has sent Him to bless you in turning each of you away from your wicked deeds." Here the "seed" of Abraham in whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed refers to Christ (Gal. 3:16). Christ is the One in whom all the families of the earth, all races, colors, and nationalities, will be blessed. Furthermore, God sent back the ascended Christ first to the Jews by pouring out His Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Hence, the very Spirit whom God poured out is the very Christ whom God raised and exalted to the heavens. When the apostles preached and ministered this Christ, the Spirit was ministered to people. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2981-2983)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 291