In 3:15 Peter went on to say, “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 contrast to the murderer in the previous verse.
In this verse the King James Version has “the Prince of life.” This is a poor rendering. In 3:15 archegos does not denote a prince; it denotes the very source, origin, even originator, of life, the Author of life. Here Peter is saying that the Healer is the source of life, the Originator of life; He is the Author, the Chief Leader, in life. Peter was indicating that the Healer is not merely a Healer—He is the source, origin, and Initiator of life.
What we have in chapter three of Acts is not merely a matter of healing. Here we see the imparting of life into others. This is to propagate Christ. For such a propagation, we need the Lord as the Author of life, as the source of life.
Many Christians, following traditional theology, read the Bible in a shallow way. This is the reason I encourage the saints to drop traditional theology and come back to the Bible. In the Bible there are many deep “mines” in which we need to dig. One of these deep mines is the Greek word archegos in 3:15.
We need to see where life is, where life comes from. The word “Author” in verse 15 indicates that life comes from this Healer, who is the Holy One and the Righteous One. This Healer has not only the power to heal; He Himself is the source, the origin of life, for He is the Author, the Originator of life. When we have life, we also have healing. The reason people become sick is that they are weak in life. Medical doctors know that when we are weak in life, we may become ill. But if we are strong in life, the life will swallow up death.
Peter wanted the people to realize that the One they killed is the Author of life. He is not only the Healer—He is the Author of life. But although He was killed, God raised Him from the dead. As we have pointed out, regarding the Lord as a man, the New Testament says that God raised Him from the dead. But considering Him as God, it tells us that He Himself rose from the dead (Rom. 14:9). Furthermore, the apostles were witnesses of the resurrected Christ, bearing witness of His resurrection, which is the crucial focus in the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy.
In 3:16 Peter said, “And by faith in His name, His name has made this man strong, whom you behold and know; and the faith which is through Him has given him this perfect soundness before you all.” The Greek words rendered “by faith in His name” literally mean “on the faith of His name,” that is, on the ground of faith in His name. The name denotes the person. The person backs the name; hence, the name is powerful.
In verses 17 and 18 Peter goes on to say, “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as also your rulers did; but the things which God announced beforehand through the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He has thus fulfilled.” The redeeming death of Christ was first determined by God in eternity (2:23) and announced beforehand through the prophets in the Old Testament time. This proves again that Christ’s death was not an historical accident, but an act planned by God according to the purpose of His good pleasure and announced beforehand through the prophets.
In 3:22 and 23 Peter indicates that the Lord Jesus is the Prophet: “Moses indeed said, A Prophet will the Lord your God raise up for you, from your brothers, like me; Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He may speak to you. And it shall be that every soul, whoever does not hear that Prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.” Therefore, in this chapter we see that the Lord Jesus is the Servant, the Holy One, the Righteous One, the Author of life, and the Prophet.