Witnesses of Christ and the Knowledge of His Resurrection Power

But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts. 1.8)

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death. (Phil. 3.10)

Without resurrection there can be no power of the Holy Spirit. The power of resurrection is unto the knowledge of Christ. And the power of the Holy Spirit is unto the testimony of God. To know Christ means to know the power of resurrection; and to know the power of the resurrection of Christ is to know Christ himself. So that in this matter of knowing Christ, knowing the power of His resurrection is a principal factor. Only by our knowing the power of the resurrection of the Lord do we come to the true knowledge of Him. And this power of resurrection is also the power of the Holy Spirit, without which no one is fit to bear witness for the Lord.

Qualifications for Being a Christian Witness

The biggest problem lies in how much we know Christ. We should not take the filling of the Holy Spirit as the goal. As good as the filling of the Holy Spirit is, that must not be our aim. For the purpose of God is Christ. If we know Him, we naturally are qualified to witness for Him.

To bear witness to Christ is not preaching; neither is it theological knowledge; nor is it Scriptural exposition. We cannot testify for Christ if we base our testimony only on external knowledge. The degree to which we know the power of the resurrection of Christ determines the extent of our declaration before God and men. Without the experience of Philippians 3.10 there can be no witnessing of Acts 1.8. Through the knowledge of the power of resurrection we come to know who Christ is. Naturally we are qualified to be witnesses of Christ, and just as naturally we shall receive the power of the Holy Spirit. There is no need to tarry long for the power of the Holy Spirit, for the power of resurrection is available in a second.