What is the meaning of Acts 22:15? You will be • The phrase announces God’s initiative; Paul did not volunteer—he was chosen. • Acts 9:15 affirms this calling: “He is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel”. • The future tense (“will be”) points to an assured outcome, echoing Ephesians 2:10, where believers are “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand.” • Paul’s conversion turns a persecutor into a servant, mirroring 1 Timothy 1:12: “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, that He considered me faithful and appointed me to service”. His witness • The possessive “His” centers everything on Christ; Paul’s life becomes evidence for Jesus’ resurrection power (Acts 1:8). • A witness testifies to facts, not opinions. Paul’s sermons in Acts repeatedly focus on Jesus’ death and resurrection (e.g., Acts 13:30–31). • 2 Corinthians 5:20 underscores the role: “Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us”. • The reliability of a witness rests on firsthand experience, underscoring Paul’s Damascus Road encounter. to everyone • The scope is universal—Jews, Gentiles, kings, commoners. Paul’s later journeys fulfill this reach (Acts 26:20). • Romans 1:16 affirms the same breadth: “The gospel…is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek”. • Galatians 3:28 and Colossians 1:23 reinforce that no ethnic, social, or geographic barrier exempts anyone from hearing the gospel. • This universality reflects God’s heart that “all people be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4). of what you have seen and heard • Paul’s testimony is anchored in tangible reality: the blinding light, the voice of Jesus, and the instruction from Ananias (Acts 9:3–6, 17). • Acts 26:16 repeats Christ’s words: “I have appeared to you…to appoint you as a servant and a witness of what you have seen of Me and what I will show you”. • The apostle John uses similar language of personal experience in 1 John 1:1–3, highlighting the credibility of eyewitness proclamation. • Acts 4:20 models this stance: “For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard”. • Personal experience coupled with divine revelation produces a compelling, authoritative witness. summary Acts 22:15 declares that God sovereignly commissions Paul to serve as Christ’s representative, testifying to all peoples from the overflow of his direct encounter with the risen Lord. The verse underscores divine calling, Christ-centered message, universal audience, and eyewitness authority—components that still define faithful gospel witness today. |
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