So, it is God who causes those who are told the good news to believe, not the person who is the witness. You can see here that it is God who does the calling and drawing His people near and then they are to go and declare this great God they have come to know and trust. “ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10 1 Peter 2:9-10 brings this calling from all scripture together so beautifully: Our lives should testify to the story we are a part of as God’s children: we are set apart, redeemed, sanctified, and live in light of this because of WHOSE we are. This declaring is not only in word but in deed. Throughout all of scripture we can see God’s people called to be witnesses in order to declare this true and faithful God that we know and have experienced. I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you and you are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and I am God.” I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. We get a clear picture of this again in Isaiah 43:10-12: And this theme continues all throughout the Old Testament with priests, prophets, judges, etc doing just that. This isn’t just for their own sake, but to be a Kingdom of Priests with the role of being set apart for Him in order to declare His praises to a lost world. They are to reflect on all God has done for them, cling closely to Him by obeying His Word, and to be His treasured possession. “The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” Exodus 19:3b-6 God has just rescued the Israelites from slavery and is calling them out as His people to worship Him and to proclaim all that they have experienced. And I love how we begin to see this take place in the book of Exodus. We see it all throughout the story of the Old Testament.

We can see this early on with Abraham when God promises to make him a great nation that will be a blessing to all the nations (Genesis 12). They were to be His representatives to the world! He calls a people to Himself to know Him, to be set apart, and to tell of what they’ve experienced to all the nations around them. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8īut this isn’t just a New Testament thing that started with Christ sending out his disciples, it is something that we can see throughout the entire lens of scripture! From the beginning, we can see God’s plan to use His people to be His witnesses to the other nations around them. In Acts 1:8, Jesus calls his disciples witnesses and calls them to go to the ends of the earth with this good news by the power of the Spirit: The Role of a Witness All Throughout Scripture Likewise, as Christians, we are called to be witnesses for Christ who present a testimony about the truth that we have experienced and heard.

The witness is someone that has seen something take place and is there to tell of all that they saw, heard, and experienced. What do you think of when you hear the word “witness?” Most people probably think of someone in a courtroom.

Witness definition