You shall be [My] witnesses.
—Acts 1:8
The Spirit of truth…shall testify of Me; And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning.
—John 15:26-27
When Christ said the words, “[My] witnesses,” He not only referred to all believers, but especially to all ministers of the gospel. This is the high calling and the only power of the preacher of the gospel—in everything to be a witness for Jesus.
This gives us two great truths. The first is that the preacher must place the preaching of Christ Himself above everything he teaches from the Word of God. This is what the first disciples did: “In every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:42). This was what Philip did at Samaria: he “preached Christ unto them” (Acts 8:5). And so Paul wrote, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
The minister of the gospel must never forget that it is especially for this that he has been set apart: to be, along with the Holy Spirit, a witness for Christ. As he does this, sinners will find salvation, and God’s children will be sanctified and equipped for His service. Only in this way can Christ have His place in the hearts of His people and in the world around.
But there is a second thought of equal importance. And that is that the preacher’s teaching must always be a personal testimony from his own experience of what Christ is doing now and can do in the future. As this note is sounded, the Holy Spirit carries the message as a living reality to the listeners’ hearts. This is what will build up believers so that they can walk in such fellowship with Jesus Christ that He can reveal Himself through them. And this is what will lead them to the knowledge of the indispensable secret of spiritual health—the prayer life in daily fellowship, in childlike love, and true consecration with the Father and the Son.
Such thoughts will bring much unity in prayer and will cultivate among believers and ministers the joy of the Holy Spirit, in which the mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart (see Matthew 12:34), to the praise and glory of our ever blessed Redeemer, Jesus Christ our Lord.