A Criteria Of Certainty

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Daily Devotions with Pastor Chuck

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From the book of Acts we read,

“To these He also presented Himself alive, after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3 – NASB)

“After His sufferings . . . after” the cross, the Lord Jesus “presented Himself” to His apostles (V-2). Jesus had truly risen bodily from the dead. Our text says that He “presented Himself alive . . . by many convincing proofs.”

Let me attempt to put this in perspective for we who, in this current time, live by faith but have not seen the risen Christ. We are told by Luke, the author of the book of Acts, that “by many convincing proofs” Jesus was “appearing” and He was “speaking” to those He had chosen to be His disciples. They were witnesses and Luke wrote of them seeing Jesus, touching Him, eating with Him, and these appearances served as “convincing proofs” that the risen Jesus was the Lord God, the great I AM, that everything He had said and was saying was true, backed by the “convincing proofs” of His very resurrection from the dead!

This word “convincing proofs” is one Greek word. According to my research this is the only place in the New Testament that this word is used. It is the word, tekmerion. The late Dr. Henry Morris has written regarding this word . . .

“. . . meaning literally ‘many criteria of certainty.'”

Dr. Morris was of the mind that the word was truly significant, noting that “the inspired Word of God applies it only to the resurrection of Christ.” Thus we have, regarding the resurrected Christ, a “criteria of certainty” that Luke is writing about. This Jesus that he wrote about in His gospel and now writes about in Acts, this One who has risen from the dead, well, we can be sure it has happened for the inspired writing of the Scriptures affirms it as “certainty.”

Peter wrote,

“For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” (II Peter 1:16 – NASB)

The apostle John wrote,

“and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us –” (I John 1:2 – NASB)

Brethren, our faith in the resurrected Christ is not some leap off a tall building, some leap into a dark place. No, Luke tells us through the Scriptures that the One we have placed our faith in to save us from the penalty due our sin, that He has “presented Himself alive . . . by many convincing proofs.” This, the author of Acts makes known to all those that have believed on Jesus and thus we are strengthened in our faith.

Have a good day brethren . . . and as you go about your day, consider these words of Luke, “many convincing proofs,” and from them may you be assured of Him in whom you have believed.