By Michael
A. H. Back
This word appears four times in the New Testament (NASB):
"But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a
murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the PRINCE [archegos] of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to
which we are witnesses." Acts 3:14-15
"The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to
death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to
His right hand as a PRINCE [archegos] and a Savior, to grant
repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." Acts 5:30-31
"For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and
through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to
perfect the AUTHOR [archegos] of their salvation through
sufferings." Hebrews 2:10
"Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the AUTHOR [archegos] and
perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne
of God." Hebrews 12:2 NASB
Using this last verse as the example, down through the years, English
translators have struggled to translate archegos into English because
we have no exact English equivalent for this word. Different
translators have focused on different aspects of the word's meaning,
and yielded the following:
"Looking to Jesus, the FOUNDER and perfecter of our
faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of
God." English Standard Version
"Having our eyes fixed on Jesus, the GUIDE and end of our
faith, who went through the pains of the cross, not caring for the
shame, because of the joy which was before him, and who has now taken
his place at the right hand of God's seat of power." Bible in
Basic English
"Looking with undivided attention to the ORIGINATOR and
Perfecter of [our] faith-Jesus-who, because of the joy being set
before Him, endured a cross, having disregarded [the] shame, and has
sat down at [the] right hand of the throne of God." Analytical
Literal Translation
"Looking stedfastly on Jesus the LEADER and completer of
faith: who, in view of the joy lying before him, endured the cross,
having despised the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the
throne of God." 1889 Darby Translation
"Keeping our eyes on Jesus, the SOURCE and perfecter of
our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and
despised the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God's
throne." Holman Christian Standard Bible
At first glance, some of these words seem to having nothing in common
with each other. What do "author, founder, guide, originator,
leader, prince and source" have in common? What they have in
common is that each focuses on a different part of the meaning of
archegos. The word archegos actually has no exact English equivalent.
An archegos did the following:
1)Scouted ahead into uncharted territory, blazed a trail, and
selected a place for a new settlement. He might also lead people
along the trail to the new settlement. (guide, scout)
2)Established and built a new settlement for all those coming
after him. (author, founder, originator, source)
3)He then remained at the new settlement to help it grow into
a solid and strong community; he protected it from attacks, and ruled
it as the first leader. (prince, leader, captain)
So this is what the four verses listed at the beginning are saying.
Our salvation and faith has an archegos, someone who forged ahead
where we couldn't go (the complete remission of our sins), blazed a
trail that did not previously exist (allowing us to come into the
holy of holies, and come before the throne of God), established for
us a life and a home that we didn't used to have (eternal salvation,
as well as being genuine children of God now), and then stuck around
to help us build it, and to continue to guide and protects us
(building up the church, and leading and guiding us in our battle
with Satan for the souls of the lost).
Jesus is more than just the author of our faith; He is the ARCHEGOS of our faith.
