Jesus, The Prince Of Life

Acts 3:14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;

15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

This phrase “the Prince of life” only appears here in the Bible. The Apostle Peter, who spoke these words, was preaching to thousands of unbelieving Jews in the Jerusalem Temple. Peter's words were powerful, direct, and impromptu.

When someone speaks off the cuff like this the hearers usually get a clearer glimpse of the personality and raw beliefs of the person behind the words. That was surely the case that day. Peter's unprepared words give us insight into his core beliefs which were also the commonly held beliefs of all early Christians. They believed Jesus was the Prince of Life.

So what is the meaning of the words Peter chose to describe Jesus? The word “prince” is a beautiful and unique word. There really isn’t a full English equivalent to this word. In modern English prince is usually defined as the son of a king, but that is not in the definition of this word translated Prince.

The word literally means “furnishing the first cause”. This is used for a founder or originator, and it is a word that carries with it the honor of being the first to pass through or to begin something great.

It is translated in Hebrews 2:10 with the word “captain” in the phrase, “captain of our salvation.” He is the chief leader of all the saved and the originator of their salvation. It is translated in Hebrews 12:2 with the word “author” in the phrase, “author and finisher of our faith.” There would be no saving faith if Jesus had not come and secured our salvation. He furnished the first cause of our saving faith.

By using this phrase Peter declared that Jesus is the originator, the author of life. But he wasn't just crediting Jesus with the creation of the world. Peter was giving the honor to Jesus of being the first to pass though the front lines of death coming out on the other side as the Victor. He defeated death and through this victory gives life everlasting! He is the leader of a great army of victors who shall also pass through death into everlasting life because they have trusted their eternal souls into His Gospel care. He Is The Prince Of Life!

A Borderless World

Acts 1:8 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.

Most of Old Testament history is about a specific place in the world: Israel, a specific people: Jews, and one city: Jerusalem. Now for the first time in Biblical history this focus, led by the Spirit of God, was radically changing.

The earthly government of God would be moved from a central government with a single location to a worldwide mission without any boundaries or capital. It was mobile and led directly by Jesus through His Holy Spirit.

Jesus' ministry moved from a nation with borders to no borders. His government on earth remains border-less today. His ministry moved from a specific race of people who depended heavily on their lineage, to every race regardless of their heredity. There is now no racial identity to the Government of Christ, and no multi-generational structure or dynasty. And its language is every language, God’s truth in every language… wow...

Throughout history since this radical change there have been multiple regular attempts to centralize the government of Christ or place its identity on a particular nation, government, party, or system. When radical nationalism creeps into the vocabulary and thinking of professing Christians it is always a corruption. Those who use the identity of Christ's government to attempt to heal the ills of their national government will always find they have only deepened the corruption by producing a poisonous hybrid. Christ's earthly government will remain free... no borders, no earthly capital, no single language, no exclusive race, and no dynastic structure.

Absolute Proof - Beyond Any Doubt

Acts 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs,

In US courts we have various standards for decisions made by jurors. In criminal cases a verdict of guilty cannot be returned unless the juror is sure of guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt”. This means that the evidence presented to the juror has established a particular point to a moral certainty, and it is beyond dispute that any reasonable alternative is possible. But “beyond a reasonable doubt” does not mean absolute proof or the absence of any doubt.

In civil cases there is the standard of “proof by clear and convincing evidence.” This is a lower burden of proof than reasonable doubt. It is a decision by the Juror that there is high probability that “a fact sought to be proved is true.”

In the language of the New Testament a word of evidence and decision making was used in this verse. It is translated “infallible proofs”. The Greek scholars in Friberg’s Analytical Greek Lexicon defined this word as: “evidence that removes doubt.” This is the highest level of proof: these people witnessed the same reality over, and over, and over again, to the point that they could not mistake the truth of what they had witnessed. The proof was absolute. This word was used here by Luke concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Never Built A Building

Acts 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

This may seem unimportant, but actually it is one of the most revolutionary truths of the New Testament. Religion in the world of Jesus was all about buildings: Temples, and their location: sacred ground. A large part of the first 5 books of the Old Testament was dedicated to details about the construction of the Tabernacle and instructions about what would take place in it. 1 Kings 6:38 says it took Solomon 7 years to build the first Temple. John 2:20 informs us that Herod’s temple took 46 years to finish.

The religions of the world were rooted in the size and opulence of their temples, but Jesus never gave any instruction or revealed any plan to build a temple. He never declared any ground to be sacred to His Church.

In this passage John’s baptism, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit are tied together. John baptized outdoors apart from any structure. There were pools at the temple, but, as far as we know, John didn’t baptize there. The Baptism of the Spirit took place in someone’s home, not a sacred temple, or even a church building. In fact, there is no church building mentioned in the New Testament.

This is one of the most radical ideas in the teachings of Jesus. Jesus taught that the true Temple of God was His body. John 2:19-21 This is the reality of the Incarnation. With the coming of the Christ our gathering place for worship became the person of the Christ secured by the ministry of His Spirit. He is “God with us.” We go to Him as the center of our worship. Even the poorest of the poor can worship at this temple. The most humble structure can become the grandest temple... if Jesus is worshiped there.

I'm all for buildings... but a place of wood and brick can never replace the Christ. A building only shelters us so we can focus our worship on Him... if His Spirit is not present the grandest building is desolate. Jesus is revealed in His Word by His Spirit, there is no other direct revelation of the Christ on this earth. Read Him… Worship Him.