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Acts 3:15 - Is the Prince of Life the Almighty Creator?

Acts 3:15 -- and the Prince of the life ye did kill, whom God did raise out of the dead, of which we are witnesses. -- Young's Literal.

Acts 3:15 -- You killed the author of life, the very one whom God raised from the dead. We are witnesses of this. -- Common English Bible.

Acts 3:15 (CSB) And you killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this. -- Holman Christian Standard Bible.

Some offer Acts 3:15 as a proof of the trinity. It has been claimed that Jesus is the Creator of the universe and thus this is alleged to prove that Jesus is God Almighty, and therefore one of the person of the alleged triune God. Evidently, the phrase "Prince of Life" is being assumed to mean the absolute source of all life, and thus that this would mean that Jesus is God who created the universe.

The word rendered "prince" above is a compound word that roughly means chief or first leader. It can refer to the chief source. It is used again in Acts 5:31 regarding how the one person who is God exalted Jesus. It is used again in Hebrews 2:10, designating Jesus as the first, the pioneer or chief over salvation. It is also used in Hebrews 12:2 in reference to Jesus as being the pioneer and perfecter of the faith of those who belong to Christ. In none of these instances, however, does the usage of this word of Jesus designate Jesus as being his God, Jehovah, or as being a person of his God, Jehovah.

We should note that throughout Acts 3, the word "God" refers to only one person, and Jesus is distinguished from being "God". Indeed, even in Acts 3:15, "God" is referring to only one person. Peter identified Jesus, not as being the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but as being the servant whom Jehovah raised up as the prophet like Moses. -- Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Acts 3:13-26.

Furthermore, there is no indication that those Jews to whom Peter spoke thought that Peter was speaking of God Almighty. God Almighty does not die! Yet Peter said that the Jews had killed Jesus. Did those Jews kill God Almighty, who does not die? Thus, it would be implausible to think that Peter would be telling the Jews to whom he was speaking that they had killed God Almighty!

Jesus, however, was the first man to live his life in full obedience to God. As such he was the pioneer in bringing life and incorruptibility to light. (1 Timothy 1:10) Since Jesus proved his faithfulness and has been highly exalted by his God, Jehovah (Micah 5:4; Ephesians 1:3,17-23; Philippians 2:8,9), and since God has given to Jesus the authority and power to give life to others, then Jesus became the source of life for redeemed mankind -- he became the life-giving spirit. -- Matthew 28:19; John 5:19-21,25; 11:25; 14:6; 17:2; 20:31; Romans 5:12-19,21; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:21,22,45; 1 Peter 3:19; 1 John 4:9. 

Jesus' being God's instrument in salvation, of course, does not remove Jesus' God (Micah 5:4: Ephesians 1:3) from being the ultimate source of all life. (1 Timothy 6:13; 1 John 5:11) It was Jesus' God, Jehovah (Micah 5:4), the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Acts 3:13), who raised Jesus from the dead, as reported not only in Acts 3:15, but also in Acts 2:24,32,26; 4:10; 10:40; 13:30,33,37; 17:31; Romans 4:24; 8:11; 10:9; 1 Corinthians 6:14; 15:15; Galatians 1:1; Colossians 2:11,12; 1 Thessalonians 1:9,10; 1 Peter 1:21; 3:18; see also Hebrews 5:7.

As is true with all the scriptures trinitarians present as being alleged proof of their trinity doctrine, there is nothing that says that God Almighty is more than one person, or that He is three persons. There is nothing in Acts 3 that means that we need to imagine and assume that God is more than one person and that Jesus is a person of Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, etc.


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