Christ is the Author of life in whom is life. In his preaching in Acts 3:15 Peter declares, “And the Author of life you killed, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.” Here the Greek word rendered “Author” is archegos, meaning author, origin, originator, chief leader, captain. It denotes Christ as the origin or Originator of life, hence, the Author of life.
In Acts 3:15 the King James Version has “the Prince of life.” This is a poor rendering. Here archegos does not denote a prince; it denotes the very source, the origin, even the Originator, of life, the Author of life. Here Peter is saying that Christ is the source of life, the Originator of life; He is the Author, the Chief Leader, in life.
Christ’s being the Author of life is for the imparting, the dispensing, of life into others. To dispense the divine life into others is to propagate Christ. For such a propagation we need Christ as the Author of life, as the source of life.
We need to see where life is, where life comes from. The word “Author” in Acts 3:15 indicates that life comes from Christ. He is the source, the origin, of life, for He is the Author, the Originator, of life. Peter wanted the people to realize that the One they had killed and whom God had raised from the dead is the Author of life.
In Christ as the Author of life is life. John 1:4 says, “In Him was life.” Here “Him” denotes Christ as the Word who is God and through whom all things came into being (John 1:3). Through incarnation Christ, the Word, the Author of life, came as life to be received by the man whom He created. Life is in Him, and He is life (John 11:25; 14:6). He came that we may have life (John 10:10).
Man was created as a vessel to contain God as life, as indicated by the tree of life (Gen. 2:9). However, by creation man was merely an empty vessel; he did not have genuine life. The created life of man is not genuine; genuine life is the divine life, the life that is in Christ. What kind of life did you have before you received Christ, the Author of life? It was, at best, a temporary life; it was not a permanent life, an eternal life. Although it was an instant life, it was not a constant life. Before we received Christ, we were uncertain as to how long our instant life would endure. In a very real sense, before we were saved we did not have life, because we did not have the divine, eternal life that is in Christ as the Author of life.
The life in Christ is eternal, constant, and permanent. All men need such a life, the divine and uncreated life that is in Christ. This life is for man, and man is the receiver of this life. Christ is the Author of life in whom is life so that the life of God may be dispensed into us.
A number of verses in the New Testament reveal that Christ is the Lord (John 4:1; 6:23; 20:28). As applied to Christ, the Greek word for “Lord” used in the New Testament equals the divine title “Jehovah” of the Old Testament. Furthermore, in the New Testament “the Lord” is a divine title of the Triune God. Hence, the Lord is a title not only of the Lord Jesus Himself as the Son of God but also a title of the Triune God.
In 1 Corinthians 2 Paul says that “not one of the rulers of this age has known” God’s wisdom in a mystery, “for if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (vv. 7-8). The “glory” in verse 7 is Christ, who is the Lord of glory. Christ is our life today (Col. 3:4) and our glory in the future (Col. 1:27). To this glory God has called us (1 Pet. 5:10), and into it He will bring us (Heb. 2:10).
At least four times in the book of Revelation Christ is called “another Angel” (Rev. 8:3; 7:2; 10:1; 18:1). Christ is called another Angel in this book because He is the One sent by God to carry out His economy. Revelation 8:3 says, “And another Angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer, and much incense was given to Him that He should add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.” This Angel is Christ. In the administration of God’s judgment upon the earth, Christ is the Angel standing on the position of One who has been sent by God. In a very positive sense, Christ is everything; He is whatever the economy of God needs. Revelation specifically describes Christ as another Angel indicating that He is not a regular or common angel but a special Angel. In the Old Testament Christ was called the Angel of Jehovah, who was God Himself (Gen. 22:11-12; Exo. 3:2-6; Judg. 6:11-24; Zech. 1:11-12; 2:8-11; 3:1-7). In Genesis 22 the Angel of Jehovah spoke to Abraham, and in Exodus 3 the Angel of Jehovah appeared to Moses. Christ is another Angel; He is the unique, special Angel.
In the heavenly scene portrayed in Revelation 8 Christ appears as another Angel to execute God’s administration over the earth in the way of ministering to God as the High Priest with the prayers of His saints. As He offers the prayers of His saints to God, He adds His incense to them. The first altar in Revelation 8:3 refers to the altar of burnt offering (cf. Exo. 27:1-8), and the golden altar before the throne refers to the incense altar (cf. Exo. 30:1-9). The golden censer signifies the prayer of the saints, which is brought to God by Christ as another Angel. The incense signifies Christ with all His merit added to the prayers of the saints so that the saints’ prayers may be acceptable to God upon the golden altar.
Revelation 7:2 says, “And I saw another Angel ascend from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and He cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea.” As in Revelation 8:3, the Angel in this verse is Christ. Here Christ is unveiled as another Angel in relation to “a hundred and forty-four thousand sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel” (v. 4).
In Revelation 10:1-7 we have a vision of Christ coming to possess the earth. Verse 1 says, “And I saw another strong Angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon His head, and His face was as the sun, and His feet as pillars of fire.” Here “clothed with a cloud” indicates that Christ is coming secretly. The rainbow upon His head indicates that Christ, in His judgment upon the earth, will keep the covenant God made with Noah (Gen. 9:8-17). The pillars indicate steadfastness (Jer. 1:18; Gal. 2:9), and fire signifies the holiness of God (Exo. 19:18; Heb. 12:29), according to which Christ will execute His judgment upon the earth.
We have pointed out that Christ is called another Angel because He is One sent by God. In Revelation 7, 8, and 10 He is sent to carry out a particular commission. The same is true in Revelation 18:1: “After these things I saw another Angel coming down out of heaven, having great authority; and the earth was illumined with His glory.” According to verse 2, “He cried with a strong voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!” Here Christ proclaims the fall of material Babylon, the city of Rome, at the end of the great tribulation. As another Angel Christ will shine over the earth to destroy Babylon the great with great authority.
We have seen that in the Godhead Christ is the complete God, the Son of God, the Word, the expression of the Father, the One whom no one knows except the Father, the Word of life, the life-giving Spirit, the Giver of the Spirit, the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, the Author of life in whom is life, the Lord, the Lord of glory, and another Angel. If you spend adequate time to consider these aspects of Christ’s person in the Godhead, you will realize that all He is in the Godhead is for the dispensing of the Triune God into His chosen people.