The Acts of the Apostles
Act 1:11 former
See note 31 in Luke 1.
Act 1:12 Theophilus
See note 32 in Luke 1.
Act 1:13 things
See note 14 in Luke 1.
Act 1:2a taken Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9, 22
Act 1:2b commandment Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 10:42
Act 1:21 Spirit
The resurrected Christ had become the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45), yet in resurrection He still did things through the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).
Act 1:2c apostles Luke 6:13-16
Act 1:31 presented
This was to train the disciples to practice and enjoy the Lord’s invisible presence. See note 263 in John 20.
Act 1:32a appearing Mark 16:14; John 21:1; Acts 10:40-41; 1 Cor. 15:5-8
The resurrected Christ dwelt in the disciples, because He had breathed Himself as the Spirit into them on the day of His resurrection (John 20:22). His appearing does not mean that He had ever left them; it simply means that He made His presence visible to them, training them to realize and enjoy His invisible presence all the time.
Act 1:33 forty
Forty days is a period of trial and testing (see note 21 in Matt. 4).
Act 1:34 kingdom
This proves that the kingdom of God would be the main subject of the apostles’ preaching in their commission that was to come after Pentecost (8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31). It is not a material kingdom visible to human sight but a kingdom of the divine life. It is the spreading of Christ as life to His believers to form a realm in which God rules in His life. See notes 151 in Mark 1, 261 in Mark 4, and 432 in Luke 4.
Act 1:41 met
Or, ate together.
Act 1:42a promise Acts 2:33
See note 491 in Luke 24; cf. note 171 in John 14.
Act 1:4b said Luke 24:49
Act 1:5a baptized Matt. 3:11
Act 1:51 water
See notes 61 in Matt. 3 and 81 in Mark 1.
Act 1:52 baptized
This was accomplished in two sections: (1) all the Jewish believers were baptized in the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (2:4); and (2) all the Gentile believers were baptized in the house of Cornelius (10:44-47; 11:15-17). In these two sections all genuine believers in Christ were baptized in the Holy Spirit into the one Body of Christ once for all universally (1 Cor. 12:13 and note 1).
Act 1:6a time cf. Matt. 24:3
Act 1:6b restoring Matt. 17:11; 19:28; Acts 3:21
Act 1:61 kingdom
The kingdom of Israel, for which the apostles and other devout Jews were looking, was a material kingdom, unlike God’s kingdom of life, which is mentioned in v. 3 and which Christ is building up through the preaching of His gospel. See note 34.
Act 1:7a times Matt. 24:36
Act 1:81 receive
This is to be baptized in the Holy Spirit (v. 5) for the fulfillment of the promise of the Father (v. 4).
Act 1:8a power Luke 24:49; Acts 4:33
Act 1:82 upon
Different from in you (John 14:17). The Holy Spirit was breathed into the disciples on the day of the Lord’s resurrection (John 20:22) to be the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2) to them essentially. The same Holy Spirit would come upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost to be the Spirit of power to them economically. See note 493 in Luke 24.
Act 1:83c witnesses Acts 1:22; 2:32; 3:15; 5:32; 10:39, 41; 13:31; 22:15, 20; 26:16; Luke 24:48; Rev. 2:13
Lit., martyrs; those who bear a living testimony of the resurrected and ascended Christ in life, differing from preachers who merely preach doctrines in letters. In His incarnation Christ carried out His ministry on the earth by Himself, as recorded in the Gospels, to sow Himself as the seed of the kingdom of God only in the Jewish land. In His ascension He would carry out His ministry in the heavens through these martyrs, in His resurrection life and with His ascension power and authority, as recorded in the Acts, to spread Himself as the development of the kingdom of God from Jerusalem, as a beginning, unto the uttermost part of the earth, as the consummation of His ministry in the New Testament. All the apostles and disciples in the Acts were His martyrs, His witnesses, of this kind (reference 8c). See notes 113 in ch. 23 and 161 in ch. 26.
Act 1:8d Judea Matt. 3:5; Acts 26:20
Act 1:8e Samaria Acts 8:1, 14; cf. Matt. 10:5
Act 1:8f uttermost Acts 13:47
Act 1:10a two Luke 24:4; John 20:12
Act 1:10b white Matt. 28:3; Mark 16:5
Act 1:111 Men
Lit., Men, Galileans. More dignified and solemn than simply “Galileans.”
Act 1:11a Galilee Acts 2:7; 13:31; Mark 14:70
Act 1:112 heaven
Luke’s Gospel ends with the Lord’s ascending into heaven (Luke 24:51), and his Acts begins with it. His Gospel is a narrative of the ministry of the incarnated Jesus on earth; his Acts is a record of the continuing ministry of the resurrected and ascended Christ in heaven, carried out through His believers on earth. In the Gospels His ministry on earth, carried out by Himself, only sowed Himself as the seed of the kingdom of God into His believers, with no church being built up yet. In the Acts His ministry in heaven, carried out through His believers in His resurrection and ascension, spread Him as the development of the kingdom of God for the building up of the church (Matt. 16:18) throughout the entire world to constitute His Body, which is His fullness (Eph. 1:23) for His expression, and which is even the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19) for God’s expression.
Act 1:113b come Dan. 7:13
The Lord’s ascension points to His coming back. Between these two events is the dispensation of grace that He, as the pneumatic Christ, the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45), might apply His all-inclusive redemption to God’s chosen people for their full salvation, that He might produce and build up the church as His Body for the establishing of the kingdom of God on earth.
Act 1:114 same
Christ ascended into heaven from Mount Olivet (v. 12), being taken up by a cloud, in a way that was visible to human sight. He will return to the same mount (Zech. 14:4), coming on a cloud (Matt. 24:30), in the same visible way.
Act 1:115 beheld
This vision of Christ’s ascension into heaven strengthened the disciples’ faith in Him and in what He had done for them through His death and resurrection. It broadened their view of God’s heavenly economy, which had brought them into cooperation with Christ’s ministry in the heavens for the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy on the earth. The believers should have such a vision concerning Christ’s ascension.
Act 1:121a Jerusalem Luke 24:52
The disciples returned to Jerusalem to keep the Lord’s words in Luke 24:49 and 1:4 of this book, that they might receive the Spirit of power economically as promised by the Father. They were all Galileans (v. 11). For them to stay in Jerusalem, especially under the Jewish leaders’ threatening, meant that they were risking their lives.
Act 1:12b Olivet Matt. 21:1
Act 1:122 Sabbath
According to Jewish tradition, a Sabbath day’s journey equaled about three-quarters of a mile.
Act 1:13a upper Luke 22:12; Acts 9:37, 39; 20:8
Act 1:131 Zealot
The Zealots, a Galilean sect, were excessively zealous in striving for their religion, and in particular for the Mosaic law. See note 41 in Matt. 10.
Act 1:132 brother
Or, son.
Act 1:141a continued Rom. 12:12; Col. 4:2
Before the Lord’s death the disciples had no interest in praying for spiritual things (Luke 22:40, 45-46); rather, they contended among themselves as to which of them was considered to be greatest (Luke 22:24). But after the Lord’s resurrection and ascension, their spiritual condition changed radically. They did not contend among themselves but were burdened to continue steadfastly with one accord in prayer, even before the day of Pentecost, when they would receive the outpoured Spirit of power economically (ch. 2). This is a strong sign and proof that they had received the indwelling Spirit of life essentially on the day of the Lord’s resurrection (John 20:22). This is also evidence that they had been strengthened in God’s New Testament economy by the vision of the Lord’s ascension.
Act 1:142 with
Or, with one mind.
Act 1:14b one Acts 2:46; 4:24; 5:12; 15:25; Rom. 15:6
Act 1:143 prayer
[ par. 1 2 ]
Act 1:143 [1] The disciples might have prayed to be clothed with the Spirit of power, the promise of the Father, for which the Lord had charged them to remain in Jerusalem (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4), and might also have prayed for the commission given to them by the Lord in Luke 24:47-48 and 1:8 of this book to bear His testimony to the uttermost part of the earth.
Act 1:143 [2] God wanted to pour out His Spirit for the carrying out of His New Testament economy and had promised to do it. Yet He still needed His chosen people to pray for this. As God in heaven, He needs men on earth to cooperate with Him for the carrying out of His plan. The one hundred twenty disciples’ praying for ten days met this need of God’s.
Act 1:14c women Luke 8:2-3; 23:49, 55; 24:10
Act 1:144 Mary
Here Mary is mentioned for the last time in the New Testament.
Act 1:14d mother Matt. 12:46; 13:55
Act 1:15b brothers John 21:23
Act 1:151 said
Before the Lord’s death Peter often spoke nonsensically (Matt. 16:22-23; 17:24-26; 26:33-35). But now, after the Lord’s resurrection, he could expound the Old Testament prophecies properly in their correct significance (vv. 16-20). This too is proof that the disciples, before they received the Spirit of power economically on the day of Pentecost, had received the Spirit of life essentially on the day of the Lord’s resurrection.
Act 1:161 Men
More dignified and solemn than simply “brothers.”
Act 1:16a Scripture Psa. 41:9; John 13:18
Act 1:16b Judas Matt. 26:47; John 13:2
Act 1:171 this
Mentioned also in v. 25; referring to the ministry that bears the testimony of Jesus (v. 8). Though the apostles were twelve in number, their ministry was uniquely one—this ministry, a corporate ministry in the principle of the Body of Christ. All the apostles carried out the same ministry to bear the testimony not of any religion, doctrine, or practice but uniquely of the incarnated, resurrected, and ascended Jesus Christ, who is the Lord of all.
Act 1:17b ministry Acts 6:4; 20:24; 21:19; 2 Cor. 3:8-9; 4:1
Act 1:18a land Matt. 27:7
Act 1:181b wages 2 Pet. 2:13, 15
Or, reward.
Act 1:191 Akeldamach
Aramaic.
Act 1:192 Blood
Signifying a bloody death (Matt. 27:5-8).
Act 1:20a Let Psa. 69:25
Act 1:20b His Psa. 109:8
Act 1:21a went Num. 27:17; Deut. 31:2; 1 Sam. 18:13
Act 1:211 among
Or, before.
Act 1:22a John Mark 1:4; Acts 13:24
Act 1:22c witness Acts 1:8; 2:32
Act 1:221d resurrection Acts 2:31; 4:2, 33; 17:18, 32; 23:6; 24:15, 21; 2:24
The Lord’s resurrection was the focus of the apostles’ testimony. It points back to His incarnation, humanity, human living on the earth, and God-ordained death (2:23), and points forward to His ascension, ministry and administration in heaven, and coming back. Thus, the apostles’ testimony of Jesus Christ, the Lord of all, was all-inclusive, as depicted in the whole book of Acts. They preached and ministered the all-inclusive Christ as He is revealed in the entire Scripture.
Act 1:23a Barsabbas cf. Acts 15:22
Act 1:23b Justus cf. Acts 18:7; Col. 4:11
Act 1:24b hearts Acts 15:8; 1 Sam. 16:7; 1 Chron. 28:9; 29:17; Jer. 17:10; Rom. 8:27
Act 1:25a apostleship 1 Cor. 9:1-2; Gal. 2:8
Act 1:25b go cf. Matt. 27:5
Act 1:261 lots
After the Lord’s ascension and before the day of Pentecost the apostles were in a transitional period, as shown by the way they sought the Lord’s guidance. They had received the indwelling Spirit on the day of the Lord’s resurrection (John 20:22) and had been trained by the Lord for forty days before His ascension to practice and become accustomed to His invisible presence (v. 3). Yet it was still difficult for them to drop the old, traditional way of seeking God’s leading by casting lots (Lev. 16:8; Josh. 14:2; 1 Sam. 14:41; Neh. 10:34; 11:1; Prov. 16:33). They were still not accustomed to the leading and guidance of the indwelling Spirit (Rom. 8:14), unlike the apostle Paul later, in 16:6-8. They were still in the initial stage of God’s New Testament economy before the day of Pentecost.
Act 2:11a Pentecost Acts 20:16; 1 Cor. 16:8
Meaning fiftieth. It was the fiftieth day from the Lord’s resurrection, there being seven weeks in between, counting from the second day (the first day of the week—Luke 23:54—24:1) after the Passover on which the Lord was crucified (John 19:14). It was the fulfillment of the Feast of Weeks (Deut. 16:10), which was also called the Feast of Harvest (Exo. 23:16), and was counted from the day of the offering of a sheaf of the firstfruits of the harvest, to the day after the seventh Sabbath (Lev. 23:10-11, 15-16). The sheaf of the firstfruits offered before God was a type of the resurrected Christ offered to God on the day of His resurrection (John 20:17), which was the day after the Sabbath (John 20:1). From that day to the day of Pentecost there were exactly fifty days (cf. 1:3). The Feast of Harvest typifies the enjoyment of the rich produce brought in by the resurrected Christ. This rich produce is the all-inclusive Spirit of the processed Triune God, given by Him to His chosen people as the blessing of the gospel (Gal. 3:14) that they may enjoy the all-inclusive Christ (the very embodiment of the Triune God) as their good land. This signifies that the believers, by receiving the bountiful Spirit on the day of Pentecost, not only have entered into the good land but also have participated in the bountiful riches of the all-inclusive Christ (Eph. 3:8) in His resurrection and ascension, as God’s full allotment in His New Testament economy.
Act 2:21a wind cf. Ezek. 1:4
In the Lord’s resurrection the Spirit of resurrection life is likened to breath, breathed into the disciples (John 20:22) for their spiritual being and living essentially. In the Lord’s ascension the Spirit of ascension power, poured upon the disciples, is symbolized here by the wind and is for the disciples’ ministry and move economically. The essential Spirit of resurrection life is for the believers to live Christ; the economical Spirit of ascension power is for them to carry out His commission.
Act 2:22b filled cf. Exo. 40:34; 1 Kings 8:10; Hag. 2:7
Gk. pleroo, to fill inwardly, as the wind filled the house.
Act 2:31 tongues
A symbol of speaking, symbolizing that God’s economical Spirit of power is mainly for speaking. He is the speaking Spirit.
Act 2:32 fire
Symbolizing burning power for purging and motivating in God’s economical move.
Act 2:33 sat
The verb is singular, indicating that one tongue sat on each of them.
Act 2:41 all
All modifies only filled in the first clause, not began to speak in the second clause. It cannot be used as evidence that all the disciples who were filled with the Holy Spirit began to speak in tongues.
Act 2:42 filled
[ par. 1 2 ]
Act 2:42 [1] Gk. pletho (used also in 4:8, 31; 9:17; 13:9; Luke 1:15, 41, 67), to fill outwardly. According to its usage in this book, pleroo denotes the filling of a vessel within, as the wind filled the house inwardly in v. 2, and pletho denotes the filling of persons outwardly, as the Spirit filled the disciples outwardly in this verse. The disciples were filled (pleroo) inwardly and essentially with the Spirit (13:52) for their Christian living, and were filled (pletho) outwardly and economically with the Spirit for their Christian ministry. The inward filling Spirit, the essential Spirit, is in the disciples (John 14:17; Rom. 8:11), whereas the outward filling Spirit, the economical Spirit, is upon them (1:8; 2:17). Every believer in Christ should experience both aspects of the Holy Spirit. Even Christ as a man experienced the same thing: He was born of the Holy Spirit essentially (Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:18, 20) for His being and living, and He was anointed with the Holy Spirit economically (Matt. 3:16; Luke 4:18) for His ministry and move. The essential Spirit was within Him and the economical Spirit was upon Him.
Act 2:42 [2] The outward filling of the poured out Spirit was the ascended Head’s baptizing of His Body into the Spirit. On the day of Pentecost the Jewish believers, the first part of His Body, were baptized; in the house of Cornelius the Gentile believers, the second part of His Body, were baptized in the same way (10:44-47). By these two steps He baptized once for all His entire Body into the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13), who is the application and realization of Himself. His baptizing His Body into the Spirit was His baptizing it into Himself. This was the accomplishment of the baptism in the Holy Spirit promised in 1:5 by Christ, the Head of the Body.
Act 2:4a speak Acts 2:11; 10:46; 19:6; Mark 16:17
Act 2:43b tongues 1 Cor. 12:10, 28, 30; 14:4-6, 19
Dialects (vv. 6, 8). The disciples were Galileans (v. 7), yet they spoke the different foreign dialects of the attendants who came from various parts of the world. This is strong proof that tongue-speaking must be an understandable language, not merely a voice or sound uttered by the tongue.
Act 2:4c Spirit 1 Cor. 12:11
Act 2:44 speak
“A peculiar word, and purposely chosen to denote the clear, loud utterance” (Vincent).
Act 2:51 Jews
The devout Jews who came from their dispersion to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Pentecost.
Act 2:9a Medes 2 Kings 17:6
Act 2:9b Elamites Gen. 14:1, 9; Dan. 8:2
Act 2:9c Mesopotamia Gen. 24:10; Judg. 3:8; Acts 7:2
Act 2:9d Cappadocia 1 Pet. 1:1
Act 2:9f Asia Acts 19:10; 1 Cor. 16:19
Act 2:10a Phrygia Acts 16:6; 18:23
Act 2:10b Pamphylia Acts 13:13
Act 2:10c Egypt Gen. 37:28; Exo. 12:51
Act 2:10d Libya Dan. 11:43
Act 2:10e Cyrene Matt. 27:32; Acts 11:20
Act 2:101 proselytes
Gentiles who were converted to Judaism (6:5; 13:43).
Act 2:11a Cretans Acts 27:7, 12-13; Titus 1:5, 12
Act 2:111 tongues
Gk. glossa, used for two things in this chapter: the speaking organ in v. 3, and dialects in this verse and v. 4, referring to the dialect in vv. 6 and 8. This evidence leaves no ground for saying that tongue-speaking may be merely a voice or sound uttered by the tongue, the speaking organ; it must be a dialect, because what the disciples spoke in tongues (vv. 4, 11) were all different dialects (vv. 6, 8). In this sense, tongues and dialects are synonymous, used interchangeably in these verses.
Act 2:13a jeered Acts 17:32
Act 2:131 new
Lit., sweet. Since it was sweet wine, it must still have been new wine.
Act 2:141 eleven
This indicates that Matthias, who was chosen in 1:26, was recognized as one among the twelve apostles.
Act 2:142 Men
Lit., Men, Jews. More dignified and solemn than simply “Jews.”
Act 2:15a drunk 1 Thes. 5:7
Act 2:151 third
I.e., 9:00 a.m.
Act 2:17a And vv. 17-21: Joel 2:28-32
Act 2:171b last Isa. 2:2
Beginning from Christ’s first coming (1 Pet. 1:20).
Act 2:172c pour Acts 2:33; 10:45; Isa. 32:15; 44:3; Rom. 5:5; Titus 3:6
[ par. 1 2 ]
Act 2:172 [1] This differs from the breathing of the Spirit into the disciples out of the mouth of Christ after His resurrection (John 20:22). The pouring out of God’s Spirit was from the heavens in Christ’s ascension. The former is the essential aspect of the Spirit in His being breathed into the disciples as life for their living; the latter is the economical aspect of the Spirit in His being poured upon them as power for their work. The same Spirit is within them essentially and upon them economically.
Act 2:172 [2] The pouring out of the Spirit in Christ’s ascension was the descension of the resurrected and ascended Christ as the all-inclusive Spirit to carry out His heavenly ministry on the earth to build up His church (Matt. 16:18) as His Body (Eph. 1:23) for God’s New Testament economy.
Act 2:173 of
Or, from (also in v. 18).
Act 2:174 upon
Upon is economical, different from the essential in in John 14:17. In is related to the intrinsic essence for life; upon is related to the outward element for power.
Act 2:175 all
All fallen human beings, without distinction of sex, age, or status.
Act 2:176d prophesy Acts 21:9
Prophecies, visions, and dreams are outward expressions and are not related to the inner life.
Act 2:17e visions Acts 10:3, 17; 16:10
Act 2:18a Spirit Acts 11:28; 21:4, 11
Act 2:191 show
Lit., give. Verses 19 and 20, quoted from Joel’s prophecy, are not related to the things that occurred on the day of Pentecost but to the calamities of the judgment day of the Lord in the future.
Act 2:20a sun Matt. 24:29
Act 2:20b great Zeph. 1:14; Rev. 6:17; 16:14
Act 2:201c day 1 Thes. 5:2
See note 123 in 2 Pet. 3.
Act 2:211 calls
[ par. 1 2 3 ]
Act 2:211 [1] Calling on the name of the Lord is not a new practice that began with the New Testament. Rather, it began with Enosh, the third generation of mankind, in Gen. 4:26. It was continued by Job (Job 12:4; 27:10), Abraham (Gen. 12:8; 13:4; 21:33), Isaac (Gen. 26:25), Moses and the children of Israel (Deut. 4:7), Samson (Judg. 15:18; 16:28), Samuel (1 Sam. 12:18; Psa. 99:6), David (2 Sam. 22:4, 7; 1 Chron. 16:8; 21:26; Psa. 14:4; 17:6; 18:3, 6; 31:17; 55:16; 86:5, 7; 105:1; 116:4, 13, 17; 118:5; 145:18), the psalmist Asaph (Psa. 80:18), the psalmist Heman (Psa. 88:9), Elijah (1 Kings 18:24), Isaiah (Isa. 12:4), Jeremiah (Lam. 3:55, 57), and others (Psa. 99:6), all of whom practiced this in the Old Testament age. Isaiah charged the seekers of God to call upon Him (Isa. 55:6). Even the Gentiles knew that the prophets of Israel had the habit of calling on the name of God (Jonah 1:6; 2 Kings 5:11). The Gentile raised up by God from the north also called upon His name (Isa. 41:25). It is God’s commandment (Psa. 50:15; Jer. 29:12) and desire (Psa. 91:15; Zeph. 3:9; Zech. 13:9) that His people call on Him. This is the joyful way to drink from the fountain of God’s salvation (Isa. 12:3-4) and the enjoyable way to delight oneself in God (Job 27:10), that is, to enjoy Him. Hence, God’s people must call upon Him daily (Psa. 88:9). Such a jubilant practice was prophesied by Joel (Joel 2:32) concerning the New Testament jubilee.
Act 2:211 [2] In the New Testament, calling on the name of the Lord was first mentioned by Peter, here, on the day of Pentecost, as the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. This fulfillment is related to God’s outpouring of the all-inclusive Spirit economically upon His chosen people that they may participate in His New Testament jubilee. Joel’s prophecy and its fulfillment concerning God’s New Testament jubilee have two aspects: on God’s side, He poured out His Spirit in the ascension of the resurrected Christ; on our side, we call on the name of the ascended Lord, who has accomplished all, attained unto all, and obtained all. Calling on the Lord’s name is vitally necessary in order for us, the believers in Christ, to participate in and enjoy the all-inclusive Christ with all He has accomplished, attained, and obtained (1 Cor. 1:2). It is a major practice in God’s New Testament economy that enables us to enjoy the processed Triune God for our full salvation (Rom. 10:10-13). The early believers practiced this everywhere (1 Cor. 1:2), and to the unbelievers, especially the persecutors, it became a popular sign of Christ’s believers (9:14, 21). When Stephen suffered persecution, he practiced this (7:59), and his practice surely impressed Saul, one of his persecutors (7:58-60; 22:20). Later, the unbelieving Saul persecuted the callers (9:14, 21) by taking their calling as a sign. Immediately after Saul was caught by the Lord, Ananias, who brought Saul into the fellowship of the Body of Christ, charged him to be baptized, calling on the name of the Lord, to show others that he too had become such a caller. By his word to Timothy in 2 Tim. 2:22, Paul indicated that in the early days all the Lord’s seekers practiced such calling. Undoubtedly, he was one who practiced this, since he charged his young co-worker Timothy to do this that Timothy might enjoy the Lord as he did.
Act 2:211 [3] The Greek word for call on is composed of on and call (by name); thus, it is to call out audibly, even loudly, as Stephen did (7:59-60).
Act 2:212 name
The name denotes the person. Jesus is the Lord’s name, and the Spirit is His person. When we call, “Lord Jesus,” we receive the Spirit.
Act 2:213a saved Acts 2:47; 4:12; 15:11; 16:31
This is the conclusion of the quotation of Joel’s prophecy, which began in v. 17, indicating that the issue of God’s pouring out of His Spirit upon all flesh is their salvation through calling on the name of the Lord. God’s outpouring of His Spirit is the applying of the Lord’s salvation to His chosen people. To be saved is to receive this Spirit, who is the blessing of the gospel in God’s New Testament economy (Gal. 3:2, 5, 14). This Spirit is the Lord Himself as the breath (John 20:22) and the living water (John 4:10, 14) to us. To breathe Him in as our breath and drink Him as our living water, we need to call on Him. Lamentations 3:55-56 indicates that our calling on the Lord is our breathing, and Isa. 12:3-4 indicates that our calling on the Lord is our drinking. After we believe in the Lord, we need to call on Him that we may not only be saved but also enjoy His riches (Rom. 10:12-13). When we exercise our spirit to call on Him, breathe Him in, and drink Him, we enjoy His riches; this is the real worship to God. The Lord connected such worship (John 4:24) to the drinking of the living water given by Him (John 4:14).
Act 2:221 Men
Lit., Men, Israelites. More dignified and solemn than simply “Israelites.”
Act 2:22a Nazarene Matt. 2:23; John 1:45; Acts 3:6; 4:10; 10:38
Act 2:222 man
The first message of the apostles’ preaching of the gospel was focused on a man. In his Gospel, Luke presented to his readers this man, from His conception, through His birth, youth, life on earth, death, and resurrection, to His ascension. Here, in this book, Luke went on to tell us that this man was preached by the apostles as the God-ordained Savior.
Act 2:223 shown
Lit., pointed out, exhibited, displayed; i.e., proved by showing, thus bringing about an approval.
Act 2:22b signs John 3:2; 6:14; Acts 2:43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; Rom. 15:19
Act 2:23a delivered Matt. 20:19; Acts 3:13
Act 2:231b determined Luke 22:22; Acts 4:28
This counsel must have been determined in a council held by the Divine Trinity before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:20; Rev. 13:8), indicating that the Lord’s crucifixion was not an accident in human history but a purposeful fulfillment of the divine counsel determined by the Triune God.
Act 2:232 foreknowledge
See note 201 in 1 Pet. 1.
Act 2:233 lawless
Including Judas Iscariot (Luke 22:3-6), the chief priests, the officers of the temple, the elders (Luke 22:52-53), the high priest, the Jewish Sanhedrin (Luke 22:54, 66-71), Pilate, Herod, and the Roman soldiers (Luke 23:1-25)—mainly the Jewish religionists with their deputies and the Gentile politicians with their subordinates. This indicates that Jesus was killed by all mankind.
Act 2:23c nailed Luke 24:20
Act 2:234 cross
See notes 262 in Matt. 27 and 321 in John 18.
Act 2:23d killed Matt. 21:39; Acts 3:15; 7:52
Act 2:241 God
Here and in v. 32 Peter said that God raised up Jesus. In 10:40-41 he said the same thing again but added, “He rose from the dead.” Regarding the Lord as a man, the New Testament tells us that God raised Him from the dead (Rom. 8:11); considering Him as God, it tells us that He Himself rose from the dead (1 Thes. 4:14). This proves His dual status—human and divine.
Act 2:24a raised Acts 2:32; 3:15; 4:10; 5:30; 10:40; 13:30, 33-34, 37; 17:31; 26:8; 1:22; Rom. 10:9; 1 Cor. 6:14; 2 Cor. 4:14; 1 Thes. 1:10
Act 2:24b death 1 Cor. 15:54; 2 Tim. 1:10
Act 2:242 not
The Lord is both God and resurrection (John 1:1; 11:25), possessing the indestructible life (Heb. 7:16). Since He is such an ever-living One, death is not able to hold Him. He delivered Himself to death, but death had no way to detain Him; rather, death was defeated by Him, and He rose up from it.
Act 2:251a I vv. 25-28: Psa. 16:8-11
This is the declaration of Christ in His resurrection.
Act 2:252 Lord
Referring to God.
Act 2:253 He
When Christ is held by God (as in Isa. 41:13; 42:6), God is on His right hand; when He is exalted by God, He is sitting at the right hand of God (v. 33; Psa. 110:1; Eph. 1:20-21).
Act 2:261 tongue
This is a quotation from Psa. 16:9 in the Septuagint. But in the original Hebrew text the word for tongue is glory, which is a synonym of soul, according to Gen. 49:6 and Psa. 7:5. Because Christ trusted in God, His heart was made glad and His soul exulted while He was in Hades (v. 27).
Act 2:262 rest
Or, dwell, reside, pitch its tent. After Christ died on the cross, while His soul was in Hades exulting, His flesh (His body) was in a tomb resting in hope, because He trusted in God.
Act 2:271a Hades Acts 2:31; Rom. 10:7 and note 1; Rev. 1:18; 20:14
See note 231 in Matt. 11.
Act 2:272b Holy Acts 3:14; 13:35; Luke 1:35
See note 751 in Luke 1.
Act 2:273 corruption
Corruption of the body in the tomb (v. 31).
Act 2:281 ways
The ways to come out of death into resurrection.
Act 2:282 presence
Indicating that Christ was resurrected into God’s presence, especially in His ascension (v. 34; Heb. 1:3).
Act 2:291 Men
See note 161 in ch. 1.
Act 2:29a David 1 Kings 2:10; Acts 13:36
Act 2:30a sworn Psa. 89:3-4; 132:11
Act 2:301b fruit Rom. 1:3; 2 Tim. 2:8
See note 422 in Luke 1.
Act 2:302 throne
This was declared also to Mary by the angel at the conception of Christ (Luke 1:32-33).
Act 2:31a corruption Acts 13:37
Act 2:32a raised Acts 2:24; 3:15
Act 2:322 which
Or, whom. The apostles were witnesses of the resurrected Christ, not only in word but also by their life and action, especially bearing witness of His resurrection (4:33). Bearing witness of Christ’s resurrection is the crucial point, the focus, in carrying out God’s New Testament economy. See note 83 in ch. 1.
Act 2:32b witnesses Acts 1:8; 3:15
Act 2:33b right Mark 16:19; Rom. 8:34; Eph. 1:20; Heb. 1:13; Exo. 15:6; Psa. 98:1
Act 2:331 promise
Not the promise given by the Holy Spirit but the promise given by the Father in Joel 2:28, quoted by Peter in v. 17 and referred to by the Lord in Luke 24:49 and in 1:4 of this book, concerning the Holy Spirit. The exalted Christ’s receiving of the promise of the Holy Spirit was actually His receiving of the Holy Spirit Himself. Christ was conceived of the Spirit essentially for His existence in humanity (Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:18, 20) and was anointed with the Spirit economically for His ministry among men (Matt. 3:16; Luke 4:18). After His resurrection and ascension, He still needed to receive the Spirit economically again that He might pour Himself out upon His Body to carry out His heavenly ministry on earth for the accomplishing of God’s New Testament economy.
Act 2:341 not
This proves that up to the time of Pentecost, David still had not ascended into the heavens. Furthermore, his tomb was still among the disciples on the day of Pentecost (v. 29). This fact annuls the inaccurate teaching that says, based on Eph. 4:8-10, that when Christ was resurrected, He brought Paradise, with all the Old Testament saints, from Hades into the heavens (see note 41 in 2 Cor. 12).
Act 2:34b The Psa. 110:1
Act 2:342 Lord
The first Lord refers to God and the second, to Christ, whom David called “my Lord” (Matt. 22:45 and note 1).
Act 2:343 right
The position of glory, honor, and power (Exo. 15:6; 1 Kings 2:19; Mark 14:62).
Act 2:351 set
This indicates that after Christ’s ascension God is still working to defeat Christ’s enemies that Christ may come back to reign in the universal kingdom of God (1 Cor. 15:25; Rev. 11:15).
Act 2:361a Lord Acts 10:36; Rom. 14:9; 2 Cor. 4:5; Phil. 2:11
[ par. 1 2 ]
Act 2:361 [1] As God, the Lord was the Lord all the time (Luke 1:43; John 11:21; 20:28). But as man, He was made the Lord in His ascension after He brought His humanity into God in His resurrection. And as God’s sent and anointed One, He was Christ from the time that He was born (Luke 2:11; Matt. 1:16; John 1:41; Matt. 16:16). But as such a One, He was also officially made the very Christ of God in His ascension.
Act 2:361 [2] The Lord was made Lord, the Lord of all, to possess all; and He was made Christ, God’s Anointed (Heb. 1:9), to carry out God’s commission.
Act 2:36b Christ Matt. 16:16; John 1:41; 20:31
Act 2:362 you
You here is emphatic.
Act 2:37a pricked cf. Acts 5:33; 7:54
Act 2:37b What Luke 3:10; Acts 16:30
Act 2:371 brothers
Lit., men, brothers. See note 161 in ch. 1.
Act 2:381a Repent Luke 24:47; Acts 5:31; 20:21
See notes 21 in Matt. 3 and 152 in Mark 1.
Act 2:382b baptized Acts 2:41; 8:12, 36, 38; 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:15, 33; 19:5
See notes 61 in Matt. 3, 193 in Matt. 28, 52 in Mark 1, and 161 in Mark 16.
Act 2:383 upon
[ par. 1 2 3 4 ]
Act 2:383 [1] The New Testament uses three different prepositions to describe baptism’s relationship to the Lord:
Act 2:383 [2] (1) En, in (10:48). To be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ is to be baptized in the sphere of the name of Jesus Christ, within which is the reality of the baptism.
Act 2:383 [3] (2) Eis, into (Matt. 28:19; Acts 8:16; 19:5; Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27). To be baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, or into the name of the Lord Jesus, is to be baptized into a spiritual union with the all-inclusive Christ, who is the embodiment of the Triune God. See notes 162 in ch. 8 and 194 in Matt. 28.
Act 2:383 [4] (3) Epi, upon, or on (v. 38). To be baptized upon the name of Jesus Christ is to be baptized upon the ground of what the name of Jesus Christ stands for. It stands for all that the person of Jesus Christ is and all that He has accomplished, both of which constitute the belief (the faith) of God’s New Testament economy. It is on this ground that the believers in Christ are baptized.
Act 2:384 name
The name denotes the person.
Act 2:385c forgiveness Mark 1:4
Forgiveness of sins is based on the redemption of Christ, which was accomplished through His death (10:43; Eph. 1:7; 1 Cor. 15:3); it is the initial and basic blessing of God’s full salvation. Based on it the blessing of God’s full salvation goes forward and consummates in the receiving of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Act 2:386d gift Acts 10:45
Not any gift distributed by the Spirit, such as is mentioned in Rom. 12:6, 1 Cor. 12:4, and 1 Pet. 4:10, but the gift that is the Holy Spirit Himself, given by God to the believers in Christ as the unique gift that produces all the gifts mentioned in Rom. 12, 1 Cor. 12, and 1 Pet. 4. Those gifts are the abilities and capacities for the service of God, and they come from this unique gift, the Holy Spirit.
Act 2:387 Spirit
[ par. 1 2 ]
Act 2:387 [1] The all-inclusive Spirit of the processed Triune God in His New Testament economy, both essential for life and economical for power, given to the believers at the time of their believing in Christ (Eph. 1:13; Gal. 3:2), as the all-inclusive blessing of God’s full gospel (Gal. 3:14) that they may enjoy all the riches of the Triune God (2 Cor. 13:14).
Act 2:387 [2] The apostles preached and ministered Christ, but when their hearers repented and believed in Him, they received this wonderful Spirit of the Triune God. This implies that this Spirit is just the resurrected and ascended Christ Himself. The receiving of the Spirit here is both essential and economical, in a general and all-inclusive sense, differing from the receiving of the Spirit in 8:15-17 and 19:2-6, which is particularly the receiving of the Spirit in His falling upon the believers economically.
Act 2:391 you
Referring to the Jews.
Act 2:392 promise
Referring to the Holy Spirit (see note 331).
Act 2:393 who
Referring to the Gentiles, who are included in all flesh (v. 17).
Act 2:394 as
Referring to those chosen and predestinated by God in eternity (Eph. 1:4-5) and called by Him in the New Testament age (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2).
Act 2:39b calls Joel 2:32; Rom. 8:30; 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2
Act 2:401a testified Acts 4:33; 8:25; 10:42; 14:3; 18:5; 20:21, 24; 22:18; 23:11; 26:22; 28:23; John 15:27
Testifying requires experiences of seeing and enjoyment concerning the Lord or spiritual things. It is different from merely teaching.
Act 2:402 Be
Be is active, and saved is passive; hence, be saved is in the active-passive voice. Salvation is to be carried out by God, but man needs to be active to receive what God intends to do. At the time of Pentecost, everything concerning God’s full salvation had been prepared, and the Holy Spirit was poured out as the application and full blessing of God’s salvation, ready for man to receive. In this matter God is waiting for man, and man needs to take the initiative. Man, be saved!
Act 2:40b crooked Deut. 32:5; Phil. 2:15
Act 2:403 generation
At the conclusion of his message Peter did not say, “Be saved from God’s condemnation,” or “from eternal perdition,” but, “Be saved from this crooked generation.” The crooked generation refers to the perverted Jews in that age, who rejected God’s Christ (v. 36) and were considered by God as the “present evil age” (Gal. 1:4). For the crooked Jews to be saved from their present evil age required a genuine repentance concerning their crookedness toward God and a real turn to God. This indicates that they needed to turn to God not only from their sins but also from their generation, their Jewish society, including their Jewish religion. The result of such a salvation was not their entering into heaven but their entering into a new generation—the church. Thus, the saved ones were separated from the Jewish society into the church. Being saved in this way implies being saved from God’s condemnation and eternal perdition unto God’s eternal purpose and His pleasure (Eph. 3:11; 1:9).
Act 2:411 baptized
By water (10:47-48). See notes 61 in Matt. 3, 193 in Matt. 28, and 203, 211, and 213 in 1 Pet. 3.
Act 2:41a added Acts 2:47; 5:14
Act 2:41b thousand cf. Acts 4:4
Act 2:421 teaching
The first group of believers produced through the apostles’ preaching and ministering of Christ on the day of Pentecost continued steadfastly in four things: teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers. Teaching is the unveiling of God’s New Testament economy concerning Christ and the church; fellowship is the communion and communication between the believers in their communion and communication with God the Father and Christ the Son; breaking of bread is the remembrance of the Lord in His accomplishing of God’s full redemption; and prayer is cooperation with the Lord in heaven for the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy on earth. The first two, teaching and fellowship, conjoined by and to be one group, are of the apostles, but breaking of bread and prayers are not, indicating that besides the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, the believers in Christ should not have any other teaching and fellowship. In God’s New Testament economy there is only one category of teaching revealed and recognized by God—the teaching of the apostles—and only one category of fellowship that is of God and is acceptable to Him—the fellowship of the apostles, which is with the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3 and note 3), and which is the unique fellowship of the unique church, the Body of Christ. The last two, the breaking of bread and prayer, also conjoined by and to be another group, are practices of the believers in their Christian life and are not related directly to God’s economy for the keeping of the oneness of the church, the Body of Christ. Hence, they are not of the apostles, who brought in God’s New Testament revelation and His fellowship among all the believers in Christ.
Act 2:42a breaking Acts 2:46; 20:7; 1 Cor. 10:16; cf. Luke 24:35
Act 2:42b prayers 1 Thes. 5:17; Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2
Act 2:43a fear Acts 5:5, 11; 19:17
Act 2:431 wonders
Wonders and signs are not part of God’s central testimony, which is the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and ascended Christ; neither are they part of His full salvation. They are only evidences that what the apostles preached and ministered and the way they acted were absolutely of God, not of man (Heb. 2:3-4).
Act 2:43b signs Mark 16:17, 20; Acts 5:12; 6:8
Act 2:441a common cf. 2 Cor. 8:14-15
Also in 4:32. Having all things common was not a sign of love but of Christ’s dynamic salvation, which saved the believers from greediness and selfishness. It was practiced for only a short time at the initiation of God’s New Testament economy; it did not continue for the long run as a practice of legality (see note 41 in ch. 5) in the church life during Paul’s ministry, as proved by his words in 2 Cor. 9 and other places.
Act 2:451a sold Acts 4:34, 37; cf. Luke 19:8
This too was an evidence of the Lord’s dynamic salvation, which caused the believers to overcome earthly possessions, which occupy, possess, and usurp all fallen mankind (Matt. 19:21-24; Luke 12:13-19, 33-34; 14:33; 16:13-14; 1 Tim. 6:17).
Act 2:45b divided Acts 4:35; 6:1; cf. Isa. 58:7
Act 2:461b temple Acts 5:42; Luke 24:53
In the initiation of God’s New Testament economy, the early believers and even the first group of apostles were not clear that God had forsaken Judaism with its practices and facilities, including the temple (see Matt. 23:38—“your house,” referring to the God-forsaken temple). Hence, according to their tradition and habit, they still went to the temple for their New Testament meeting.
Act 2:462c breaking Acts 2:42
The early believers remembered the Lord by breaking bread daily in their houses; this showed their love and enthusiasm toward the Lord.
Act 2:463d house Acts 20:20
Or, at home; in contrast to in the temple. Meeting in homes as the Christian way of meeting together is fitting to God’s New Testament economy. This way differs from the Judaic way of meeting in the synagogues (6:9). It became a continual and general practice in the churches (cf. Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Philem. 2).
Act 2:464 simplicity
Or, singleness; describing the heart’s being simple, single, and plain, having one love and desire and one goal in seeking after the Lord.
Act 2:471 having
They lived a life that expressed God’s attributes in human virtues, as Jesus, the Man-Savior, did (Luke 2:52).
Act 2:472 together
This indicates that from the very beginning of their Christian life the early believers were brought into the corporate church life; they did not live individualistically as Christians separated from one another.
Act 3:11a temple Luke 18:10
See note 461 in ch. 2. It was not only the early believers who were not clear concerning God’s New Testament economy in relation to the Judaic temple; even the early apostles did not have a clear vision concerning God’s abandoning of the Judaic things. Hence, even after God poured out the Spirit upon them on the day of Pentecost to initiate a new dispensation, they still would not separate themselves from the Judaic temple. At the initial stage God tolerated their ignorance in this matter. But this led to a mixture of the church with Judaism, which was not condemned by the early church in Jerusalem (cf. 21:20-26). Eventually, the temple was destroyed by Titus with his Roman army in A.D. 70, as prophesied by the Lord in Matt. 23:38 and 24:2. That destruction cleared up the religious mixture.
Act 3:12b ninth-hour Acts 10:3, 30; Matt. 27:46
I.e., 3:00 p.m.
Act 3:2a lame Acts 14:8; Luke 7:22; Isa. 35:6
Act 3:61 Silver
Peter did not possess silver and gold, but St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome was constructed with a superabundance of gold. He did not have silver and gold, but he had the name, the person, of Jesus Christ. He was poor in silver and gold but rich in Christ. The Roman Church is filled with gold but not with the person of Christ. She is rich in gold but poor in Christ.
Act 3:6a not 2 Cor. 6:10
Act 3:6b name Acts 4:7, 10; Mark 16:17
Act 3:62c Nazarene Acts 2:22
Indicating the One despised by the Jewish leaders (John 1:45-46; Acts 22:8; 24:5).
Act 3:63 rise
Some MSS omit, rise up and.
Act 3:8a leaping Isa. 35:6; Acts 14:10
Act 3:9a people Acts 4:21; 5:13
Act 3:11a portico Acts 5:12; John 10:23
Act 3:121 Men
See note 221 in ch. 2.
Act 3:131a God Matt. 22:32; Acts 7:32
The Triune God, Jehovah the great I Am (Exo. 3:14-15).
Act 3:132 Isaac
Some MSS add the God of before Isaac and before Jacob.
Act 3:133b glorified John 12:23; 13:31-32; 17:1; Isa. 55:5
Through His resurrection and in His ascension (Luke 24:26; Heb. 2:9; Eph. 1:20-22; Phil. 2:9-11).
Act 3:13c Servant Acts 3:26; 4:27; Isa. 42:1, 19; 52:13; 53:11
Act 3:13e denied Mark 8:31; Luke 17:25; 23:18, 21, 23
Act 3:13f Pilate 1 Tim. 6:13
Act 3:13g release Luke 23:16, 20, 22
Act 3:14b righteous Acts 7:52; 22:14; 1 John 2:1
Act 3:14c asked Matt. 27:20; Luke 23:18
Act 3:151 Author
The Greek word here means author, origin, originator, chief leader, captain (see note 104 in Heb. 2). Here it denotes Christ as the origin or Originator of life, hence the Author of life, in contrast to a murderer in the previous verse.
Act 3:15a life John 1:4; 5:26; 1 John 5:12
Act 3:152 God
See note 241 in ch. 2.
Act 3:15c raised Acts 2:24; 4:10
Act 3:153 which
See note 322 in ch. 2.
Act 3:15d witnesses Acts 1:8; 5:32
Act 3:161 upon
I.e., on the ground of faith in His name.
Act 3:16a name Acts 3:6; 4:10; John 1:12
Act 3:162 name
Denoting the person. The person is the reality of the name; hence, the name is powerful.
Act 3:17a ignorance Acts 13:27; Luke 23:34
Act 3:181 announced
First, the redeeming death of Christ was 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 a historical accident but an act planned by God according to the purpose of His good pleasure and announced beforehand through the prophets.
Act 3:18a His Acts 4:26; Luke 9:20
Act 3:18b suffer Luke 24:26, 46; Acts 17:3
Act 3:19b wiped Psa. 51:1, 9; Isa. 43:25; 44:22
Act 3:201 refreshing
Lit., cooling, reviving; hence, relieving, refreshing. The seasons of refreshing denote a time of revival of all things with joy and rest, referring to the times of restoration of all things in v. 21, which will be brought in by the coming of the Messiah in His glory, as taught and prophesied by the Savior in Matt. 19:28 (see note 1 there). It seems that Peter’s word skips over the church age and goes directly from the time of Pentecost to the millennium. This may indicate that Peter did not have a clear vision concerning the church age in God’s New Testament economy. The entire New Testament reveals that before the seasons of refreshing, the church occupies a considerable period of time in God’s dispensation.
Act 3:202 Lord
Referring to God.
Act 3:20a appointed cf. 1 Pet. 1:20
Act 3:211 times
The times of restoration in the millennium, as prophesied in Isa. 11:1-10 and 65:18-25, and referred to by Christ in Matt. 17:11 and 19:28. It will be brought in by His coming back.
Act 3:21a restoration Matt. 17:11; 19:28; Acts 1:6
Act 3:212 from
Or, from the foundation of the world.
Act 3:22a A Deut. 18:15, 18; Acts 7:37
Act 3:221 Prophet
Referring to the Lord Jesus.
Act 3:22c hear Matt. 17:5
Act 3:23a And Deut. 18:19
Act 3:23b destroyed Lev. 23:29
Act 3:24a Samuel 1 Sam. 3:20; Acts 13:20
Act 3:25a in Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; Gal. 3:8
Act 3:251 seed
Referring to Christ (Gal. 3:16).
Act 3:26a first Mark 7:27; Acts 13:46; Rom. 1:16
Act 3:261 Him
God sent back the ascended Christ first to the Jews by pouring out His Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Hence, the very Spirit whom God poured out is the very Christ whom God raised and exalted to the heavens. When the apostles preached and ministered this Christ, the Spirit was ministered to people.
Act 3:26d turning Matt. 13:15; John 12:40; Acts 28:27
Act 4:11a captain Acts 5:24, 26; Luke 22:52
I.e., the captain of the temple guard.
Act 4:12b Sadducees Acts 5:17; 23:8; Matt. 22:23
See note 72 in Matt. 3.
Act 4:21 in
I.e., in the power (with the nature and character) of.
Act 4:2a resurrection Acts 2:24; 17:18
Act 4:3a laid Acts 5:18; Luke 21:12
Act 4:4a thousand cf. Acts 2:41; 5:14; 6:1
Act 4:51 gathered
This was a gathering of the Jewish Sanhedrin (v. 15). In the four Gospels this Sanhedrin, composed of the Jewish leaders, became the strongest opponent of the Lord Jesus and His ministry and condemned Him to death (Matt. 26:59). Now, in this book, the same Sanhedrin, with the same constituents, began the persecution of the apostles and their ministry (5:21; 6:12; 22:30). This indicates that Judaism had fallen into the hand of God’s enemy, Satan the devil, and was being used by him in his attempt to frustrate and even destroy God’s move in His New Testament economy for the carrying out of His eternal purpose, that is, to bring His kingdom to the earth by establishing and building up the churches through the preaching of the gospel of Christ.
Act 4:61a Caiaphas Luke 3:2; Matt. 26:3; John 11:49; 18:13-14, 24
A high priest (Luke 3:2).
Act 4:62 John
John and Alexander might have been the kindred of the high priest. In any case, they must have been dignitaries among the Jews, since they are named with the leaders of the Jewish Sanhedrin (v. 15).
Act 4:71 By
Lit., By what kind of power or in what kind of name…
Act 4:81 filled
Filled outwardly and economically (see note 42 in ch. 2).
Act 4:8a Spirit Matt. 10:20; Luke 12:12
Act 4:91 healed
Lit., saved.
Act 4:101 Nazarene
See note 62 in ch. 3.
Act 4:102 you
You here is emphatic.
Act 4:103 God
See note 241 in ch. 2.
Act 4:10c raised Acts 2:24; 5:30
Act 4:111 stone
This word was spoken by the Lord in Matt. 21:42 (see note 1 there), quoted from Psa. 118:22. It unveiled the Jewish leaders’ rejection of Him and God’s honoring of Him for the building of His habitation among His people on the earth. By this word Peter learned to know the Lord as the precious stone held in honor by God, as he expounded concerning Him in his first Epistle (1 Pet. 2:4-7). Peter’s quoting of this word indicates that he preached Christ not only as the Savior for the sinners’ salvation but also as the stone for God’s building. It is such a Christ who is the unique salvation to sinners, and it is in His unique name under heaven, a name despised and rejected by the Jewish leaders but honored and exalted by God (Phil. 2:9-10), that sinners must be saved (v. 12) not only from sin (Matt. 1:21) but also to participate in God’s building (1 Pet. 2:5).
Act 4:112 considered
Or, rejected. Implying to despise, to consider as nothing (cf. Mark 9:12).
Act 4:113a head Isa. 28:16; Eph. 2:20
See note 422 in Matt. 21.
Act 4:12a name Luke 24:47; Acts 10:43
Act 4:12b saved Matt. 1:21; Acts 2:21
Act 4:13a boldness Acts 4:29, 31; 9:27, 28; 13:46; 14:3; Eph. 6:19
Act 4:131b uneducated John 7:15
Lit., unlettered.
Act 4:132 laymen
Referring to one without professional knowledge.
Act 4:151a Sanhedrin Acts 5:21, 27, 34; 6:12; 22:30; 23:1; Matt. 10:17; Mark 13:9
See note 226 in Matt. 5.
Act 4:16a sign John 11:47; 12:18-19
Act 4:20a seen Acts 22:15; 1 John 1:1-3
Act 4:21a people Acts 5:26; Matt. 21:26; Luke 20:19
Act 4:231 own
Referring to the church people, who were made distinct and separate from the Jews by calling on the name of Jesus (9:14). All the brothers and sisters in the Lord are the believers’ own people.
Act 4:241 Sovereign
The Greek word for Sovereign Master denotes a master (of a slave), one who has absolute sovereign power, as in Luke 2:29; Jude 4; Rev. 6:10; 1 Tim. 6:1-2.
Act 4:24b made Exo. 20:11; Psa. 146:6
Act 4:251 rage
The Greek word means to snort like a horse; i.e., to be haughty, insolent.
Act 4:26a His Acts 3:18; Luke 9:20
Act 4:27a gathered Matt. 27:1-2, 11-12; Luke 23:1-25
Act 4:27b Servant Acts 4:30; 3:13
Act 4:27c anointed Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38; Heb. 1:9
Act 4:27d Pontius Luke 3:1; 1 Tim. 6:13
Act 4:281 predestined
Cf. determined in 2:23 and note 1.
Act 4:29a boldness Acts 4:13, 31
Act 4:30a stretching Psa. 138:7; Prov. 31:20
Act 4:30c name Acts 3:6; Mark 16:17
Act 4:31a shaken Acts 16:26; Psa. 77:18
Act 4:311 filled
See note 42 in ch. 2.
Act 4:31b boldness Acts 4:13, 29
Act 4:32a heart 2 Chron. 30:12
Act 4:32b soul Phil. 1:27; 2:2
Act 4:321 not
See note 451 in ch. 2.
Act 4:322 common
See note 441 in ch. 2.
Act 4:331b testimony Acts 2:40; 8:25
See note 322 in ch. 2.
Act 4:332c grace Acts 11:23; 13:43; 14:3, 26; 15:11, 40; 18:27; 20:24, 32
See notes 171 in John 1 and 101 in 1 Cor. 15.
Act 4:34a neither cf. 2 Cor. 8:14-15
Act 4:341 sold
See note 451 in ch. 2.
Act 4:35b distributed Acts 2:45
Act 4:361a Barnabas Acts 11:22, 24, 30
Aramaic, meaning son of prophecy, applied figuratively to one who speaks to encourage, exhort, and console people.
Act 4:36c Cyprian Acts 15:39; 27:4
Act 5:3a Satan John 13:2, 27; Luke 22:3
Act 5:31 Holy
Ananias lied apparently to the apostles but actually to the Holy Spirit, who is God (v. 4). In the apostles’ work for the Lord, the Holy Spirit and the apostles were one. See note 322.
Act 5:41 was
These words indicate that to sell property and distribute the proceeds to others was not considered by the apostles to be a practice of legality.
Act 5:42 contrived
Or, placed, fixed.
Act 5:43 God
This proves that the Holy Spirit, mentioned in v. 3, is God.
Act 5:51 expired
Lit., gave up his soul, or, breathed out his soul (so also in v. 10).
Act 5:91 agreed
Wives should be subject to their husbands (Eph. 5:24), but they should not agree with their husbands to commit sins.
Act 5:9a test Acts 15:10; 1 Cor. 10:9
Act 5:92 Lord
The Holy Spirit in v. 3, God in v. 4, and the Lord in this verse are all one, especially in the experience of the believers.
Act 5:111b church Acts 8:1, 3; 9:31; 11:22, 26; 12:1, 5; 13:1; 14:23, 27; 15:3, 4, 22, 41; 16:5; 18:22; 20:17, 28
Gk. ekklesia, composed of ek, out, and a derivative of kaleo, called; hence, the called out (congregation), the assembly. It is the first time that the church is mentioned here in Acts as a local church (see notes 11 in ch. 8 and 172 in Matt. 18).
Act 5:121 signs
See note 431 in ch. 2.
Act 5:14a to Acts 9:35; 11:21, 24
Act 5:14b multitudes Acts 6:1, 7; 9:31
Act 5:15a streets cf. Mark 6:56
Act 5:15b overshadow cf. Acts 19:12
Act 5:16a sick Matt. 14:35-36; Mark 16:18
Act 5:17a sect cf. Acts 15:5; 26:5; 24:5, 14; 28:22
Act 5:17c jealousy Acts 13:45; 17:5; James 3:14, 16
Act 5:18a laid Acts 4:3; Luke 21:12
Act 5:19a angel Acts 8:26; 10:3; 12:7, 23
Act 5:19b opened Acts 12:10; 16:26
Act 5:201a words John 6:63; Phil. 2:16
The Greek word refers to instant words.
Act 5:202 this
The divine life preached, ministered, and lived by Peter that overcame the Jewish leaders’ persecution, threatening, and imprisonment. This word indicates that Peter’s life and work made the divine life so real and present in his situation that even the angel saw it and pointed it out.
Act 5:211 even
Or, and.
Act 5:241a captain Acts 4:1
See note 11 in ch. 4.
Act 5:26a people Acts 5:13; 4:21
Act 5:26b stoned Acts 7:58; Deut. 17:5
Act 5:281 strictly
Lit., charged you with a charge.
Act 5:28a not Acts 5:40; 4:17-18
Act 5:28b blood Matt. 23:35; 27:25
Act 5:301 God
See note 241 in ch. 2.
Act 5:30a fathers Acts 22:14
Act 5:30b raised Acts 2:24; 10:40
Act 5:30c tree Acts 10:39; 13:29; Gal. 3:13; 1 Pet. 2:24
Act 5:311a exalted Acts 2:33
Jesus’ incarnation made Him a man, His human living on earth qualified Him to be man’s Savior, His crucifixion accomplished full redemption for man, His resurrection vindicated His redemptive work, and His exaltation inaugurated Him to be the ruling Leader that He might be the Savior. This exalting of Him was the ultimate step in His being perfected to be the Savior of man (Heb. 2:10; 5:9).
Act 5:31b right Mark 16:19; Heb. 12:2
Act 5:312 Leader
Or, Prince; the same Greek word as for Author in 3:15. See note 1 there. God exalted the man Jesus, who had been rejected and killed by the Jewish leaders, as the highest Leader, the Prince, the Ruler of the kings to rule over the world (Rev. 1:5; 19:16), and the Savior to save God’s chosen people. Leader is related to His authority, and Savior to His salvation. He rules sovereignly over the earth with His authority that the environment might be fit for God’s chosen people to receive His salvation (cf. 17:26-27; John 17:2).
Act 5:313 give
To give repentance and forgiveness of sins to God’s chosen people requires Christ to be exalted as a ruling Leader and Savior. His sovereign ruling causes and leads God’s chosen people to repent, and His salvation, which is based on His redemption, affords them forgiveness of sins.
Act 5:314d repentance Acts 11:18
Repentance is for forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4). On God’s side, forgiveness of sins is based on Christ’s redemption (Eph. 1:7); on man’s side, forgiveness of sins is through man’s repentance.
Act 5:31e forgiveness Luke 24:47; Acts 13:38; 10:43
Act 5:32a witnesses Acts 1:8; 10:39
Act 5:321 things
Lit., words; referring to instant words.
Act 5:322b Spirit John 15:26; 1 John 5:6
The Holy Spirit was one with the apostles. See note 31.
Act 5:323 obey
Obedience is the way and the condition for one to receive and enjoy the Spirit of God.
Act 5:331 exasperated
Lit., sawn through; a strong figurative expression for being exasperated.
Act 5:341 Pharisee
See note 71 in Matt. 3.
Act 5:37a enrollment Luke 2:1-3
Act 5:38a counsel Prov. 21:30; Isa. 8:10
Act 5:39a fighters 2 Chron. 13:12
Act 5:40a beat Acts 22:19; Matt. 10:17; 23:34; Mark 13:9
Act 5:41b rejoicing Matt. 5:12; 1 Pet. 4:13
Act 5:411 to
I.e., to suffer shame. It is a real honor to be dishonored on behalf of the Name, the very name of the man-dishonored but God-honored Jesus. Hence, the dishonored ones rejoiced that they were counted worthy to be dishonored on behalf of the Name.
Act 5:41c Name Acts 9:16; John 15:21; 1 Pet. 4:14
Act 5:421 temple
See note 461 in ch. 2.
Act 5:422 house
See note 463 in ch. 2.
Act 5:42a announcing Acts 8:4, 35; 11:20; 13:32; 17:18
Act 5:423 Jesus
Lit., the Christ Jesus.
Act 6:1a multiplying Acts 6:7; 5:14
Act 6:11b Hellenists Acts 9:29
Jews who spoke Greek. At the very beginning of the practice of the church life, trouble was caused by language differences; proper care was taken to solve this.
Act 6:12 Hebrews
Jews who spoke Hebrew.
Act 6:1c widows Acts 9:39, 41; 1 Tim. 5:3
Act 6:1d dispensing Acts 2:45; 4:35
Act 6:21 fitting
Or, pleasing.
Act 6:3a well-attested 1 Tim. 3:7
Act 6:31 full
Gk. pleres, an adjective form of pleroo, according to the usage in this book here and in v. 5; 7:55; 11:24; and in Luke 4:1. Being full of the Spirit is the condition after one has been filled with the Spirit inwardly and essentially, as mentioned in 13:52. This refers to life, not to work.
Act 6:32c wisdom Deut. 1:13
This is proof that to be full of the Spirit is for life, as in Luke 2:52.
Act 6:41a prayer Acts 1:14; 2:42
To pray is not only to entreat the Lord to do things for His move but also to cause our spirit to be exercised and strengthened. Hence, prayer should precede the ministry of the word, just as the apostles practiced. Without such prayer the ministry of the word will not be enlivened and empowered.
Act 6:4b ministry Acts 1:17; 20:24
Act 6:5a faith Acts 11:24
Act 6:5c Philip Acts 8:5, 26; 21:8
Act 6:51 proselyte
See note 101 in ch. 2.
Act 6:61b laid Acts 8:17; 9:17; 13:3; 19:6; 2 Tim. 1:6
See note 144 in 1 Tim. 4.
Act 6:62 them
Since they were chosen to serve tables, they can be considered deacons, like those whom Paul and his co-workers appointed later in the churches (Rom. 16:1; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:8).
Act 6:71a grew Acts 12:24; 19:20
Grew refers to growth in life, indicating that the word of God is a matter of life that grows as a seed sown into man’s heart (Mark 4:14).
Act 6:7c obeyed Rom. 16:26
Act 6:72d faith Acts 14:22
The objective faith, referring to what the believers believe in concerning Christ (see note 11, par. 2, in 1 Tim. 1). The entire revelation of the New Testament concerning the person of Christ and His redemptive work is the faith of God’s New Testament economy (Rom. 16:26).
Act 6:81 wonders
See note 431 in ch. 2.
Act 6:91 synagogue
Indicating that in Jerusalem there were a number of synagogues composed of the returned Jews according to the respective languages they had acquired in their dispersion (cf. 2:9-11). See note 21 in James 2.
Act 6:92 Libertines
I.e., Freedmen; those who were liberated from their status as slaves.
Act 6:10a withstand Luke 21:15
Act 6:11a say cf. 1 Kings 21:10, 13
Act 6:121 Sanhedrin
See note 51 in ch. 4.
Act 6:13a false Matt. 26:59-60
Act 6:13c against Acts 21:28; cf. Acts 25:8
Act 6:131 place
The temple (Matt. 24:15 and note 4).
Act 6:141 destroy
This indicates that words must have been circulating among the believers concerning the destruction of the temple, as prophesied by the Lord in Matt. 23:37-39 and 24:2, and concerning the termination of the dispensation of law, as spoken by the Lord in Matt. 11:13. The opposing Jews twisted the believers’ words, just as in Matt. 27:40, when they crucified the Lord, they twisted the word that the Lord spoke in John 2:19. Undoubtedly, the Jews’ opposition was instigated by Satan to frustrate God’s New Testament economy. But the ground used by Satan for his instigation was the change of dispensation, which contradicted the Judaic traditions. God’s New Testament economy is to have a new dispensation absolutely separated from Judaism. This offended the Jews by touching the traditions they had inherited for generations, and it stirred up their opposition, which began with the Lord’s ministry in the Gospels and grew more fierce at the time of the apostles’ ministry in this book, during which the Lord’s New Testament move was passing through a transitional period. According to Luke’s narration in Acts, the church among the Jews, including the early apostles, did not pass through this transition successfully, because of the remaining influence of their Judaic background and the entangling opposition from their Jewish kinsmen. This problem returned to trouble them again and again in this book (11:1-3; 15:1-5; 21:18-26). Even the apostle Paul was in danger of being brought back to the Judaic practices in his last visit to Jerusalem (21:20-26). See notes 101 in James 2 and 111 in James 1.
Act 6:14a customs Acts 15:1; 21:21; 28:17
Act 6:151 face
Signifying a heavenly appearance. Stephen was a man on earth, but he bore a heavenly appearance while being persecuted.
Act 7:21 Men
More dignified and solemn than simply “brothers and fathers.”
Act 7:22b glory Psa. 29:3
It might have been visible glory (cf. v. 55), as when the cloud and the fire appeared to Israel (Exo. 16:10; 24:16-17; Lev. 9:23; Num. 14:10; 16:19; 20:6; Deut. 5:24) and filled the tabernacle and the temple (Exo. 40:35; 1 Kings 8:11). It was the God of such glory who appeared to Abraham and called him. His glory was a great attraction to him. It separated (sanctified) him from the world unto God (Exo. 29:43) and was a great encouragement and strength that enabled him to follow God (Gen. 12:1, 4). In the same principle, God calls the New Testament believers by His invisible glory (2 Pet. 1:3).
Act 7:2c Mesopotamia Gen. 24:10; Acts 2:9
Act 7:2d Haran Gen. 11:31; 12:4-5
Act 7:4a came Gen. 11:31
Act 7:4b Chaldeans Gen. 15:7; Neh. 9:7
Act 7:4c died Gen. 11:32
Act 7:41 removed
Apparently Abraham journeyed into Canaan (Gen. 12:4-5), but actually God removed him into the good land.
Act 7:5b seed Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 17:8; 26:3; 48:4
Act 7:6a sojourner Gen. 15:13; Exo. 2:22
Act 7:61 foreign
I.e., Egypt (Exo. 1:1).
Act 7:62 they
I.e., the Egyptians (Exo. 1:11, 13-14).
Act 7:6b enslave Exo. 1:11, 14; 5:6-14
Act 7:63c four Gen. 15:13; cf. Exo. 12:40-41
See note 173 in Gal. 3.
Act 7:8a covenant Gen. 17:9-14
Act 7:8c Jacob Gen. 25:26
Act 7:8d twelve Gen. 29:31-35; 30:5-24; 35:18, 23-26
Act 7:9a jealous Gen. 37:11
Act 7:9b sold Gen. 37:28; 45:4
Act 7:9c with Gen. 39:2, 21, 23
Act 7:10a appointed Gen. 41:40
Act 7:11a famine Gen. 41:54-57; 42:5
Act 7:111 sustenance
Or, fodder (for their cattle).
Act 7:13b Pharaoh Gen. 45:16
Act 7:14a father Gen. 45:9, 27
Act 7:141 seventy-five
Compare with seventy in Gen. 46:27 and Exo. 1:5. Stephen quoted this number from the Septuagint, which mentions five additional descendants of Joseph in Gen. 46:20. Hence, the number he mentioned of the house of Jacob who came to Egypt was seventy-five instead of seventy.
Act 7:15b ended Gen. 49:33; Exo. 1:6
Act 7:16a bought Gen. 33:19; Josh. 24:32
Act 7:17b multiplied Exo. 1:7, 12
Act 7:181 another
Or, different (in character). Not only another king, but a king of different character.
Act 7:19b babies Exo. 1:16, 22
Act 7:201 Moses
From v. 20 through v. 44 Stephen purposely gave a long narration in the most positive way concerning Moses. He did this to vindicate himself before his opposers, who had accused him of blaspheming Moses (6:11).
Act 7:202 lovely
Lit., fair to God. A Hebraism denoting fair in the sight of God; hence, exceedingly fair.
Act 7:211 thrown
Or, put out (to die).
Act 7:21a daughter Exo. 2:3-10
Act 7:221a wisdom cf. Dan. 1:4, 17
I.e., wisdom in learning.
Act 7:23a brothers Exo. 2:11-12
Act 7:261 Men
A dignified and solemn form of address.
Act 7:29b sons Exo. 4:20; 18:3-4
Act 7:301 Angel
Here and in vv. 35 and 38 the Angel (Messenger) in the Old Testament was Christ the Lord, who is Jehovah, the Triune God (Exo. 3:2-16; Judg. 6:12-24; Zech. 2:6-11). This is proved by the Lord and God in the following verses.
Act 7:311 Lord
The Lord and God in vv. 31-35 are the Angel (Messenger) in vv. 30, 35, and 38.
Act 7:321 examine
Or, take notice of; hence, examine.
Act 7:341a I Exo. 3:7
Lit., Having seen I saw. A Hebraism.
Act 7:35b Angel Exo. 23:20; 32:34; 33:2
Act 7:351 appeared
Or, was seen by him.
Act 7:36a out Exo. 12:41
Act 7:36c Red Exo. 14:21-31
Act 7:36d wilderness Exo. 16:1
Act 7:36e forty Exo. 16:35; Num. 14:33; Acts 7:42; 13:18
Act 7:37a A Deut. 18:15, 18; Acts 3:22
Act 7:38a Angel Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19; Heb. 2:2
Act 7:38b Mount Exo. 19:19-20
Act 7:39a turned Exo. 14:12; 16:3; Num. 11:5; 14:3-4
Act 7:411a calf Exo. 32:4-5, 35
Or, young bull.
Act 7:42a delivered Psa. 81:12; Ezek. 20:39; Rom. 1:24
Act 7:421 serve
I.e., star worship.
Act 7:422b host Deut. 4:19; 2 Kings 23:5; Jer. 19:13; Zeph. 1:5
I.e., heavenly bodies.
Act 7:423 book
Probably referring to the twelve books of the minor prophets, from Hosea through Malachi, counting them as one book.
Act 7:431 tabernacle
I.e., the portable tent-temple of the god, to be carried in procession (Vincent).
Act 7:43a Moloch 1 Kings 11:7
Act 7:432 Rompha
The Coptic name for Saturn.
Act 7:44a Tabernacle Exo. 38:21
Act 7:44b Testimony cf. Rev. 15:5
Act 7:44c pattern Exo. 25:9, 40
Act 7:45a Joshua Josh. 3:14; 18:1
Act 7:45b possession Neh. 9:23
Act 7:45c drove Josh. 3:10; 23:9; 24:18
Act 7:45d David Psa. 89:20; Acts 13:22
Act 7:46a habitation Psa. 132:5
Act 7:46b God Gen. 49:24
Act 7:47a built 1 Kings 6:1; 8:13; 2 Chron. 3:1
Act 7:481 Most
Stephen called God “the God of glory” (v. 2) and “the Most High” to vindicate himself before his opposers, who had accused him of blaspheming God (6:11).
Act 7:482 not
Implying that God would abandon the material temple of the Old Testament and initiate a new dispensation, that His people might worship Him in the spirit (John 4:24), in which is God’s spiritual habitation, the church (Eph. 2:22).
Act 7:48a dwell 2 Chron. 6:18; Acts 17:24
Act 7:491 What
This quotation from Isa. 66:1-2 indicates that the Lord was seeking a spiritual habitation in man’s spirit. This is proved by the unquoted part of Isa. 66:2 that says, “But to this kind of man will I look, to him who is poor and of a contrite spirit.”
Act 7:51a stiff-necked Exo. 32:9; 33:3; Deut. 10:16; Isa. 48:4
Act 7:51b hearts Lev. 26:41; Jer. 9:26; Ezek. 44:9
Act 7:511 oppose
A very strong expression.
Act 7:512 Spirit
Since Stephen was full of the Spirit (v. 55) and was one with the Lord the Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17), to oppose him was to oppose the Holy Spirit. Hence, the Lord indicated to Saul, one of Stephen’s persecutors (v. 58; 8:1), that he was persecuting Him (9:4).
Act 7:52a prophets Neh. 9:26; Matt. 5:12
Act 7:52b righteous Acts 3:14; 22:14; 1 John 2:1
Act 7:53a law Deut. 33:2; John 7:19
Act 7:531 ordinances
The Greek word is a noun; the verb form of the same word is used in Gal. 3:19 and is rendered ordained there. The law of God was ordained through angels and became ordinances of angels.
Act 7:541 exasperated
See note 331 in ch. 5.
Act 7:54b gnashed Psa. 35:16; 37:12; Job 16:9
Act 7:551 full
See note 31 in ch. 6.
Act 7:552a glory Acts 7:2; Exo. 24:16; John 12:41
A great vindication and encouragement to the persecuted one.
Act 7:553 standing
The Lord in ascension is usually referred to as sitting at the right hand of God (Matt. 26:64; Heb. 1:3, 13). But Stephen saw Him standing there. This indicates that the Lord was greatly concerned for His persecuted one.
Act 7:55b right Psa. 110:1; Mark 16:19
Act 7:561 heavens
The earth rejected Stephen and was closed to him, but the heavens opened up to him, indicating that the heavens were with him and for him.
Act 7:56a opened Ezek. 1:1; Matt. 3:16; John 1:51; Acts 10:11; Rev. 4:1
Act 7:56b Son Matt. 26:64; Dan. 7:13
Act 7:58a outside 1 Kings 21:13; Luke 4:29; Heb. 13:12
Act 7:58b stoned Matt. 23:37; Heb. 11:37
Act 7:58c witnesses Acts 6:13; Deut. 17:7
Act 7:581d Saul Acts 8:3; 9:1
Saul, who later became an apostle (13:9), helped the persecutors in their slaying of Stephen.
Act 7:591 called
See note 211 in ch. 2.
Act 7:59a spirit Psa. 31:5; Luke 23:46
Act 7:60a kneeling Luke 22:41; Acts 9:40; 20:36
Act 7:601 not
Stephen prayed for his persecutors in the same way that his Lord, whom he loved and lived, had prayed for His (Luke 23:34).
Act 7:60b asleep Dan. 12:2; Matt. 27:52; 1 Thes. 4:14-15; 1 Cor. 15:51
Act 8:1a approved Acts 22:20; Rom. 1:32
Act 8:1b persecution Acts 22:4; 1 Cor. 15:9; Phil. 3:6; 1 Tim. 1:13
Act 8:11c church Acts 8:3; 5:11; 9:31
This was the first church established in a locality (see note 111 in ch. 5) within the jurisdiction of a city, the city of Jerusalem. It was a local church in its locality, as indicated by the Lord in Matt. 18:17. It was not the universal church, as revealed by the Lord in Matt. 16:18, but only a part of the universal church, which is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23). The record concerning this matter (the establishing of the church in its locality) is consistent throughout the New Testament (13:1; 14:23; Rom. 16:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 8:1; Gal. 1:2; Rev. 1:4, 11).
Act 8:1d scattered Acts 8:4; 11:19
Act 8:3b devastating Acts 9:21; Gal. 1:13, 23
Act 8:3d prison Acts 22:4, 19; Luke 21:12
Act 8:41a announcing Acts 5:42
It was sovereign of God that the scattering of the believers from Jerusalem to other localities through the persecution should carry out the spreading of the gospel for the fulfillment of the Lord’s word in 1:8 (11:19).
Act 8:51 Philip
This was not the Philip among the apostles (1:13) but the Philip among the seven appointed by the apostles to serve tables (6:5). Through his ministry in preaching the gospel, as recorded in this chapter, he was manifested to be an evangelist (21:8).
Act 8:52 went
This was a further step in the Lord’s evangelistic move. By this He spread Himself as the seed of the kingdom of God from the racially pure Jews to the racially mixed Samaritans for the fulfillment of His prophecy in 1:8.
Act 8:6a signs Mark 16:17-18
Act 8:9a magic Acts 8:11; 13:6
Act 8:9b amazing Acts 8:11, 13
Act 8:10a God Acts 14:11; 28:6
Act 8:121 announced
Philip announced the kingdom of God as the gospel just as the Lord had done (Mark 1:14-15; Luke 4:43 and note 1).
Act 8:12a kingdom Acts 1:3; 14:22
Act 8:12c baptized Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38, 41; 10:48; 16:33
Act 8:131a signs Acts 8:6-7
See note 431 in ch. 2.
Act 8:151 receive
See note 387, par. 2, in ch. 2.
Act 8:161 not
This does not mean that the believers in Samaria did not receive the Holy Spirit within them essentially when they believed in the Lord. According to the teaching of the New Testament in Eph. 1:13 and Gal. 3:2, they must have received the Holy Spirit essentially when they believed for their regeneration (John 3:6, 36). But they had not yet received the Spirit economically to identify them with the Body of Christ. The reason the Holy Spirit did not fall upon them outwardly and economically was so that the apostles, through whom the practical establishing of the church had been initiated in Jerusalem, might come to bring them into identification with the Body of Christ. This case is different from that of the ones in the house of Cornelius, who, when they believed in the Lord, received the Holy Spirit both essentially within them for regeneration and economically upon them for baptism into the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13) and identification with the Body of Christ. That was because the gospel was preached then directly by Peter, who played the main role in the initiation of the practical establishing of the church.
Act 8:16a baptized Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27
Act 8:162 into
[ par. 1 2 ]
Act 8:162 [1] Not in the name but into the name. The name denotes the person. To be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus is to be baptized into the person of the Lord, to be identified with the crucified, resurrected, and ascended Christ, to be put into an organic union with the living Lord. See notes 383 in ch. 2 and 194 in Matt. 28.
Act 8:162 [2] In Matt. 28:19 the Lord charged the disciples to baptize the believers into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. But later, in practice, the believers were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus, here and in 19:5, and into Christ, in Rom. 6:3 and Gal. 3:27. This indicates that (1) to be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus is equivalent to being baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, because the Lord Jesus is the Triune God, the embodiment of God Himself (Col. 2:9), and (2) to be baptized into the name of the Triune God or into the name of the Lord Jesus is equivalent to being baptized into the person of Christ.
Act 8:163 name
Since the Samaritan believers had been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus, that is, into the Lord Himself, they surely must have received the Spirit of life essentially within them that they might be not only born of the Lord but also joined to the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17), although they had not received the Spirit of power outwardly and economically.
Act 8:171a laid Acts 9:17; 19:6
See note 144 in 1 Tim. 4. Peter and John were sent to Samaria not only to confirm the preaching of the gospel by Philip, one of the seven appointed to serve tables, but also to bring the church in Samaria, composed of Samaritans, with whom the Jews had no dealings, into identification with the Body of Christ by laying their hands on them. The Holy Spirit honored this laying on of hands and fell upon the Samaritans, signifying their identification with the Body of Christ. In this way the Samaritan believers received the Holy Spirit economically in addition to their having received the Holy Spirit essentially when they believed in the Lord Jesus.
Act 8:172 received
See notes 42 and 172 in ch. 2.
Act 8:181 Spirit
Some MSS add, Holy.
Act 8:182 money
This indicates that Simon’s practice of magic, which amazed people, was for money.
Act 8:201 destruction
Not eternal perdition but a punishment, as in Heb. 10:39 (see note 2 there) and Matt. 7:13 (see note 3 there). Simon had believed in the gospel and had been baptized (v. 13); hence, he must have experienced salvation in its initial stage, but he had not been saved from his wicked thought and act concerning money. Therefore, he needed to repent of this wickedness that he might receive the Lord’s forgiveness; otherwise, he would go with his silver into punishment.
Act 8:20a acquire cf. Isa. 55:1
Act 8:20b gift Acts 2:38; 10:45; 11:17
Act 8:211 this
The gift of God (v. 20).
Act 8:22a Repent Rev. 2:16; 3:19
Act 8:251a testified Acts 2:40; 10:42
To testify the word of the Lord is to witness according to personal experience of the Lord, and to speak the word of the Lord is to preach and teach according to the revelation of the Lord. See note 401 in ch. 2.
Act 8:25b announced Acts 8:40; 5:42
Act 8:26a angel Acts 5:19; 27:23
Act 8:26b Gaza Gen. 10:19
Act 8:271 Ethiopian
Ethiopia is Cush (Isa. 18:1), the land of the descendants of Cush, the son of Ham (Gen. 10:6). The gospel had spread from the racially pure Jews to the racially mixed Samaritans through Philip and Peter and John (vv. 5-25). Now the angel of the Lord directed Philip to contact an utter Gentile from Ethiopia. Through this the gospel spread southward to Africa.
Act 8:272c worship John 12:20; Acts 24:11
Proving that the Ethiopian eunuch was seeking God (cf. 17:26-27).
Act 8:291a Spirit Acts 20:23; 21:11
The mentioning of the Spirit here, as in v. 39; 10:19; 13:2; and 16:6-7, indicates that in this book the Lord’s move in spreading His kingdom through the preaching of the gospel was by the Spirit’s leading and directing, not by man’s device and schedule. Hence, this move was not the act of man but the act of the Spirit. This is altogether different from today’s degraded practice.
Act 8:31a unless Rom. 10:14
Act 8:321a He Isa. 53:7-8
Referring to Christ the Redeemer. It must have been sovereignly of the Spirit’s leading that the eunuch opened to the passage concerning Christ as the sinners’ redeeming Lamb, a passage good for gospel preaching.
Act 8:32b not Matt. 26:63; John 19:9
Act 8:33a humiliation Phil. 2:8
Act 8:35a Scripture Luke 24:27; Acts 17:2; 18:28
Act 8:35b announced Acts 8:25, 40; 5:42
Act 8:361 water
This indicates that Philip preached water baptism to the eunuch. In this gospel case, water baptism was particularly emphasized, but no mention was made of Spirit baptism. This should give us strong instruction that we must pay attention to water baptism, which signifies the believers’ identification with Christ’s death and resurrection (Rom. 6:3-5; Col. 2:12), as well as to Spirit baptism. Spirit baptism produces the reality of the believers’ union with Christ in life essentially and in power economically, whereas water baptism is the believers’ affirmation of the Spirit’s reality. Both are needed (cf. 10:47), and neither can replace the other. All believers in Christ should properly have both, just as the children of Israel were baptized in the cloud (signifying the Spirit) and in the sea (signifying water)—1 Cor. 10:2. See notes 81 in Mark 1, 52 in John 3, and 61 in 1 John 5.
Act 8:36a baptized Acts 10:47
Act 8:371 And
Many ancient MSS omit this verse.
Act 8:38a baptized Matt. 28:19
Act 8:39a out Matt. 3:16
Act 8:39b Spirit 1 Kings 18:12; 2 Kings 2:16; Ezek. 3:14; 8:3
Act 8:39c caught 2 Cor. 12:4
Act 8:39d rejoicing Acts 8:8; 11:23
Act 8:40b Caesarea Acts 21:8; 9:30; 10:1, 24
Act 9:2b synagogues Acts 22:19; Luke 12:11; 21:12
Act 9:21c Way Acts 18:25-26; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22
Denoting the Lord’s full salvation in God’s New Testament economy. It is the way God dispenses Himself into the believers through Christ’s redemption and the Spirit’s anointing; it is the way the believers partake of God and enjoy God; it is the way the believers worship God in their spirit by enjoying Him and follow the persecuted Jesus by being one with Him; and it is the way the believers are brought into the church and built up into the Body of Christ to bear the testimony of Jesus (cf. notes 22, 151, and 211 in 2 Pet. 2).
Act 9:3a drew vv. 3-8: Acts 22:6-11; 26:12-18
Act 9:41a Me Matt. 10:40; 25:40
A corporate “Me,” comprising Jesus the Lord and all His believers. Saul did not have this revelation. He thought that he was persecuting Stephen and other Jesus-followers, who were in the Way, which he considered heresy (24:14). He did not know that when he persecuted these he persecuted Jesus, for they were one with Him by being united to Him through their faith in Him. He considered that he was persecuting people on earth, never thinking that he touched anyone in heaven. To his great surprise a voice from heaven told him that He was the One whom he was persecuting and that His name was Jesus. To him this was a unique revelation in the universe! By this he began to see that the Lord Jesus and His believers are one great person—the wonderful “Me.” This must have impressed and affected him for his future ministry concerning Christ and the church as the great mystery of God (Eph. 5:32) and laid a solid foundation for his unique ministry.
Act 9:51 Lord
Saul called Him “Lord,” even without knowing Him (cf. Rom. 10:13).
Act 9:61 will
The Lord would not directly tell Saul immediately after his conversion what He wanted him to do. This was because he needed a member of His Body to initiate him into identification with the Body, for he had been saved and brought to the Lord directly by Him, not indirectly through any channel. Unless a member of His Body had been sent by the Lord to contact him, it would have been difficult for any member of the Body to receive Saul (cf. v. 26). This is related to Saul’s knowledge concerning the Body of Christ and to his ministry for the Body of Christ later (Col. 1:24).
Act 9:6b what Acts 22:10
Act 9:7a hearing John 12:29
Act 9:81 nothing
This was the Lord’s dealing with Saul. Before this, Saul would have considered himself marvelously knowledgeable, as one who knew all things concerning man and God. Now the Lord made him blind so that he could see nothing until the Lord opened his eyes, especially his inner eyes, and commissioned him to open the eyes of others (26:18).
Act 9:10a Ananias Acts 9:17; 22:12
Act 9:111 go
The Lord sent Ananias, one member of His Body, to Saul that Saul might be initiated into identification with the Body of Christ. This too must have impressed Saul with the importance of the Body of Christ, helping him to realize that a saved believer needs the members of the Body of Christ.
Act 9:11b Tarsus Acts 9:30; 21:39; 22:3
Act 9:12a vision Acts 10:3, 17, 19; 16:9-10
Act 9:121c receive Acts 9:17, 18; 22:13
Or, regain. The blinded Saul’s receiving of sight was his being saved in full. This was exceedingly important to him. It was especially important that his inner eyes were opened to see the things of God concerning His mysteries and His economy.
Act 9:13a saints Acts 26:10; 9:32; Rom. 1:7; 15:25-26, 31; 2 Thes. 1:10
Act 9:14a authority Acts 26:10
Act 9:141b call Acts 9:21; 22:16; 2:21; Rom. 10:13
Indicating that in the early days calling upon the Lord’s name was a sign of the Lord’s followers (1 Cor. 1:2). This calling must have been audible, so that others could hear; thus it became a sign.
Act 9:151 chosen
Because of this, Saul had been set apart from his mother’s womb and called by the Lord (Gal. 1:15). The Lord is sovereign and able, according to His choosing in eternity, to make the most fierce among His persecutors a vessel, a leading apostle, to carry out His commission in preaching the gospel and taking the way he had opposed and persecuted. Eventually, the opposing Saul became, in his victorious ministry of the gospel, Christ’s vanquished captive in the triumphal procession celebrating Christ’s victory over all His enemies (2 Cor. 2:14 and notes 1 and 2). The Lord’s perfecting of His chosen vessels in such a way is excellent and glorious.
Act 9:15a vessel Rom. 9:21-24; 2 Tim. 2:20-21
Act 9:15c Gentiles Acts 22:21; Rom. 11:13; 15:16; Gal. 1:16; 2:2, 8-9; Eph. 3:8; 1 Tim. 2:7; 2 Tim. 4:17
Act 9:15d kings Acts 25:26; 26:1-2
Act 9:16a many 2 Cor. 6:4; 11:23
Act 9:171b laying Acts 9:12
Saul’s case was a particular one also because, as the most significant persecutor, he had been saved directly by the Lord from heaven while on his way to persecute the believers. Hence, like the Samaritan believers (8:14-17 and note 171) and the twelve disciples in Ephesus (19:1-7), he needed a member of the Body of Christ to initiate him into identification with the Body of Christ by the laying on of hands.
Act 9:17c receive Acts 9:12, 18; 22:13
Act 9:172 filled
Filled outwardly (see note 42 in ch. 2). According to the principle of salvation in God’s New Testament economy, Saul must have received the Holy Spirit of life essentially at the time of his conversion, prior to Ananias’s coming and laying his hands on him. Before Ananias came, Saul was praying to the Lord (v. 11), indicating that he had believed in the Lord and was calling on Him (cf. Rom. 10:13-14) like those believers whom he had ravaged and was going to arrest (vv. 21, 14). But since he had not been saved through any member of the Body of Christ, the Holy Spirit did not fall upon him economically (2:17 and note 2) until Ananias came as the representative of the Body to identify him with the Body of Christ.
Act 9:181 received
See note 121.
Act 9:182a baptized Acts 22:16
By water (see notes 361 in ch. 8 and 161 in Mark 16).
Act 9:19a Damascus Acts 26:20
Act 9:201 synagogues
See note 21 in James 2.
Act 9:20a Son Matt. 16:16; John 20:31; Rom. 1:3-4
Act 9:22a empowered 1 Tim. 1:12; 2 Tim. 4:17
Act 9:22b confounded Acts 18:28
Act 9:22c Christ Luke 9:20; John 11:27
Act 9:23a do Acts 9:29; 12:2; 23:12; 25:3
Act 9:24a plot Acts 20:3, 19; 23:12
Act 9:24b watched 2 Cor. 11:32
Act 9:24c do Acts 23:15, 21; 25:3
Act 9:25a let cf. Josh. 2:15; 1 Sam. 19:12
Act 9:25b lowering 2 Cor. 11:33
Act 9:26a Jerusalem Acts 22:17; 26:20; Gal. 1:17-18
Act 9:27a Barnabas Acts 4:36; 11:22-26, 30; 13:1-2
Act 9:27d boldly Acts 4:13, 29
Act 9:29a Hellenists Acts 6:1; John 7:35
Act 9:30a brothers John 21:23; Acts 11:1
Act 9:311a church Acts 5:11; 11:22
Since at that time the church had spread only to the regions of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and since the word whole covers all the places where the church existed, church in singular is used here in the universal sense, although there must have been churches in the local sense in a number of the cities of these three regions.
Act 9:312 peace
They had peace inwardly, although there was persecution outwardly. The church is afraid not of being persecuted outwardly but of not having peace inwardly, for only when there is peace can there be the building up.
Act 9:313 being
The building up proceeded after the establishing of the church.
Act 9:314c fear Neh. 5:9
Not in the fear of men, although there were persecutions, but in the fear of the Lord lest the church offend the Lord by being put down or even subdued by the persecution, and lest she offend Him in other things.
Act 9:315 comfort
Indicating that the church was suffering affliction through the persecutions, in which she feared the Lord and enjoyed the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
Act 9:31d multiplied Acts 5:14
Act 9:321 Lydda
A town about eleven miles southeast of Joppa, called Lod in the Old Testament (1 Chron. 8:12; Ezra 2:33).
Act 9:33a paralyzed Matt. 4:24; 9:2
Act 9:34a Jesus Acts 3:6; 4:10
Act 9:341 make
I.e., put in order.
Act 9:35a Sharon 1 Chron. 5:16; 27:29; S.S. 2:1; Isa. 33:9
Act 9:35b turned Acts 11:21; 2 Cor. 3:16
Act 9:36a Joppa Josh. 19:46
Act 9:361 Dorcas
Meaning gazelle.
Act 9:36b good Rom. 13:3; 2 Cor. 9:8; Eph. 2:10; 1 Tim. 2:10; Titus 3:1
Act 9:371 her
Lit., her.
Act 9:37a upper Acts 1:13; 20:8
Act 9:381 there
Lit., in it.
Act 9:391 tunics
A shirt-like undergarment.
Act 9:40a outside Matt. 9:25
Act 9:40c prayed Acts 28:8; James 5:14-15
Act 9:40d rise Luke 7:14; 8:54
Act 9:41a presented cf. Luke 7:15; 1 Kings 17:23
Act 9:42a believed John 11:45; 12:11
Act 10:1a Caesarea Acts 9:30; 12:19
Act 10:11 Italian
Here the Lord took a further step in His evangelistic work. By this He reached another utter Gentile, a man of Italy of the Roman Empire in Europe. Thus the door of the gospel was opened to all the Gentiles. It was difficult for the Jewish apostles and disciples, with their Jewish background and habit, to come near the Gentiles (v. 28). Hence, this was an extraordinary move, needing the participation of an angel of God (v. 3), just as when Philip approached the Ethiopian, a man from Africa, in 8:26. In the two cases the Spirit spoke to Philip and to Peter, respectively, in a particular way (8:29; 10:19).
Act 10:12 cohort
One of ten divisions of an ancient Roman legion. It was composed of six hundred men.
Act 10:21a Devout Acts 8:2; 22:12
Like the Ethiopian eunuch, Cornelius, the Roman centurion, was seeking God, as Paul mentioned in 17:27.
Act 10:2b feared Acts 10:22, 35; 13:16
Act 10:31a vision Acts 9:12; 10:17, 19
See note 103.
Act 10:32b ninth Acts 10:30; 3:1
I.e., 3:00 p.m. (so also in v. 30).
Act 10:4a prayers Acts 10:31; Psa. 141:2; Rev. 8:4
Act 10:41b memorial Heb. 6:10; cf. Matt. 26:13
Though Cornelius was part of fallen mankind, sinful and condemned before God like all others, God accepted his prayers and his alms, whereas He rejected Cain’s (Gen. 4:3, 5). This must have been because of the fact that God, based on Christ’s eternal redemption and in view of Cornelius’s believing in Christ in the ensuing days, forgave him (v. 43) according to His foreknowledge.
Act 10:9a housetop 1 Sam. 9:25; Zeph. 1:5
Act 10:91b pray vv. 9-32: Acts 11:5-14
Cornelius received a vision in prayer (v. 30), and Peter also received a vision (vv. 17, 19) in prayer, through which God’s plan and move were carried out. Man’s prayer is needed as a means of cooperating with God’s move.
Act 10:92 sixth
I.e., 12:00 noon (cf. Psa. 55:17).
Act 10:101 hungry
Signifying seeking after the things of God (Matt. 5:6). God fills the hungry with good things (Luke 1:53).
Act 10:102 eat
A word usually rendered taste.
Act 10:103a trance Acts 22:17
The Greek word means being put out of its place, referring to a state in which a man senses that he passes out of himself and from which he comes to himself (note 111 in ch. 12), as in a dream but without sleep. It differs from a vision, as in vv. 3, 17, and 19, in which definite objects are visible to human eyes. However, in this ecstasy, or trance, Peter saw a vision (11:5).
Act 10:111 heaven
Indicating that the Lord’s evangelistic move on earth is under His administration on the throne in heaven (cf. Heb. 8:1; Acts 7:56). All the apostles and evangelists were and still are carrying out the heavenly commission on earth for the spreading of the gospel of the kingdom of God.
Act 10:11a opened Acts 7:56; Matt. 3:16; John 1:51; Rev. 19:11
Act 10:112 vessel
The vessel that was like a great sheet symbolizes the gospel spreading to the four corners of the inhabited earth to collect all kinds of unclean (sinful) people (Luke 13:29).
Act 10:121 animals
Symbolizing men of all kinds (vv. 15, 28, and notes).
Act 10:131 eat
In this sign, to eat is to associate with people (v. 28).
Act 10:141a never Ezek. 4:14; cf. Dan. 1:8
As taught in Lev. 11. Circumcision, Sabbath keeping, and a particular diet are the three strongest ordinances according to the law of Moses that make the Jews distinct and separate from the Gentiles, whom the Jews consider unclean. All these scriptural ordinances of the Old Testament dispensation became an obstacle to the spreading of the gospel to the Gentiles according to God’s New Testament dispensation (15:1; Col. 2:16).
Act 10:14b common Acts 10:28
Act 10:14c unclean Lev. 20:25
Act 10:151 things
Referring to people whom God has cleansed through the redeeming blood of Christ (Rev. 1:5) and the renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5; Acts 15:9).
Act 10:15a cleansed Acts 15:9
Act 10:171a vision Acts 10:3
See note 103.
Act 10:19a Spirit Acts 8:29
Act 10:201 I
This indicates that Cornelius’s sending of the three men was the Spirit’s move and act through him even before his conversion.
Act 10:22a fears Acts 10:2
Act 10:22b well Acts 22:12
Act 10:22c holy Mark 8:38
Act 10:22d words Acts 11:14
Act 10:231a some Acts 10:45; 11:12
In this strategic case Peter did not act individualistically but with some of the brothers, in the principle of the Body of Christ, that they might bear witness to the way in which God dealt with the Gentiles, that is, preaching the gospel to them through Peter’s breaking of the Jewish tradition and habit (11:12).
Act 10:25a falling Dan. 2:46; Acts 16:29
Act 10:26a man Acts 14:14-15
Act 10:28a another Acts 11:3; Gal. 2:12
Act 10:281 man
This indicates that eventually Peter understood the significance of the vision he had seen in the trance (vv. 11, 17, 19), that is, that the animals in the great sheet represented men.
Act 10:28b common Acts 10:14-15
Act 10:31a heard cf. Dan. 10:12
Act 10:31b remembered Acts 10:4
Act 10:34a respecter 2 Chron. 19:7; Rom. 2:11; Eph. 6:9; 1 Pet. 1:17
Act 10:35a every Acts 17:26-27
Act 10:35b fears Acts 10:2
Act 10:35c righteousness Isa. 64:5
Act 10:351 acceptable
Those who fear God and work righteousness in every nation are still a part of fallen mankind. God accepts them in view of the redemption of Christ (see note 41). Outside of Christ, no fallen man is justified by his works (Rom. 3:20; Gal. 2:16).
Act 10:36a peace Eph. 2:17
Act 10:36b Lord Rom. 10:12
Act 10:361 all
Referring to men (1 Tim. 2:4), not only Jews but also Gentiles.
Act 10:371 the
Lit., the word which has taken place. The Greek word for word here denotes instant words.
Act 10:37a Galilee Matt. 4:12; Mark 1:14
Act 10:38a Nazareth Acts 2:22
Act 10:38b anointed Acts 4:27
Act 10:38c Spirit Matt. 3:16
Act 10:38d power Luke 6:19
Act 10:38e oppressed Luke 4:18
Act 10:38f with John 3:2; 8:29; 16:32
Act 10:39a witnesses Acts 1:8; 10:41
Act 10:39b did Acts 2:23; 3:15; 7:52
Act 10:39c tree Acts 5:30
Act 10:401 God
See note 241 in ch. 2.
Act 10:40a raised Acts 2:24; 13:30
Act 10:40b third Luke 9:22; 1 Cor. 15:4
Act 10:402c manifest Acts 1:3; John 14:21-22
Lit., to become visible.
Act 10:41a witnesses Acts 1:8; 13:31
Act 10:41b ate Luke 24:43; John 21:12
Act 10:411 He
See note 241 in ch. 2.
Act 10:42a charged Matt. 28:20; Acts 1:2
Act 10:42b testify Acts 2:40; 14:3
Act 10:421c Judge John 5:22, 27; 1 Pet. 4:5
At His coming back, before the millennium, the resurrected Christ will judge the living on His throne of glory (Matt. 25:31-46). This is related to His second coming (2 Tim. 4:1). After the millennium He will judge the dead on the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15). See note 311 in ch. 17. That will be the final clearance of the defiled old creation.
Act 10:42d living Rom. 14:9
Act 10:43a prophets Luke 24:27; Acts 3:18, 24; 26:22; Rom. 3:21
Act 10:43b name Acts 4:12; John 20:31; 1 John 2:12
Act 10:43c believes John 3:18; Rom. 10:11; Gal. 3:22
Act 10:431d forgiveness Acts 5:31; Jer. 31:34
This proves that even though Cornelius feared God and worked righteousness and his prayers and alms had been accepted by God, he still needed God’s forgiveness of his sins through his believing into Christ, the Redeemer (see notes 41 and 351).
Act 10:44a Spirit Acts 11:15; 15:8; 2:17, 38; Gal. 3:14
Act 10:441 fell
Outwardly and economically (see note 82 in ch. 1). In the case of the house of Cornelius, the Holy Spirit’s entering into the believers essentially for life and falling upon them economically for power occurred simultaneously when they believed in the Lord. However, only His falling upon them economically is noted here, because it was outward and could be realized by others through their speaking in tongues and magnifying God (v. 46). His entering into them occurred silently and invisibly. They received both aspects of the Holy Spirit directly from Christ the Head, without any mediatorial channel, before they were baptized in water by other members of the Body of Christ. This indicates emphatically that the spreading of the gospel of the kingdom of God to the Gentiles was of the Lord, and that the Head of the Body baptized the Gentile believers into His Body directly, without the laying on of hands of any member of His Body, in contrast to the cases of the Samaritan believers and Saul of Tarsus (8:17; 9:17).
Act 10:442 hearing
This included their believing into the Lord (v. 43; John 5:24; Rom. 10:14; Eph. 1:13).
Act 10:45a circumcision Acts 11:2
Act 10:45b as Acts 10:23; 11:12
Act 10:45c Gentiles Acts 11:18; Gal. 3:14
Act 10:451d gift Acts 2:38
The Holy Spirit Himself, not anything of the Holy Spirit given to the believers as a gift (see note 386 in ch. 2).
Act 10:452 poured
By God from the all-inclusive, resurrected, and ascended Christ (see note 172 in ch. 2).
Act 10:461a speaking Mark 16:17; Acts 2:4, 6, 8
Speaking in tongues was not the unique issue of receiving the Holy Spirit economically, because in this case the magnifying, that is, the praising, of God was also one of its issues, as was prophesying in the case of the twelve believers in Ephesus (19:6). Hence, speaking in tongues is not the only evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit economically; neither is it the necessary evidence, because there is at least one case of the receiving of the Holy Spirit economically, the case of the Samaritan believers (8:15-17), which does not mention speaking in tongues. In the case of Saul of Tarsus (9:17) concerning this matter, there again is no mention of speaking in tongues, although he told us later, in 1 Cor. 14:18, that he spoke in tongues.
Act 10:462 magnifying
The same expression as in Luke 1:46.
Act 10:47a baptized Acts 8:36
Act 10:471b as Acts 11:17; 15:8
[ par. 1 2 ]
Act 10:471 [1] Like the early apostles and the Jewish believers on the day of Pentecost (2:4), the Gentile believers in the house of Cornelius received the Holy Spirit economically directly from the ascended Head. Only these two instances in the New Testament are considered the baptism in the Holy Spirit (1:5; 11:15-16). By these two steps the Head of the Body baptized all His believers, both Jewish and Gentile, once for all into His one Body (1 Cor. 12:13). Hence, the baptism in the Spirit is an accomplished fact carried out by Christ in His ascension, on the day of Pentecost and in the house of Cornelius. None of the other cases—the Samaritan believers in ch. 8, Saul of Tarsus in ch. 9, and the twelve Ephesian believers in ch. 19—are considered the baptism in the Holy Spirit according to the revelation of the New Testament. These other cases were merely the believers’ experiences of the once-for-all-accomplished baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Act 10:471 [2] In this book, concerning the believers’ receiving of the Holy Spirit economically, that is, the Holy Spirit’s falling upon them, only five cases are mentioned. Two of them are for the accomplishing of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. These are the instances that occurred on the day of Pentecost and in the house of Cornelius. The other three—the cases of the Samaritan believers, Saul of Tarsus, and the twelve believers in Ephesus—are considered extraordinary, in that some members of the Body of Christ were needed to identify those believers with the Body by the laying on of hands. Besides these five cases, in many cases of conversion, such as the three thousand (2:41), the five thousand (4:4), the Ethiopian eunuch (8:36, 38-39a), the many who believed in Antioch (11:20-21, 24), the many instances in chs. 13 and 14 under Paul’s preaching ministry, Lydia in Philippi (16:14-15), the jailer in Philippi (16:33), the believers in Thessalonica (17:4), the believers in Berea (17:10-12), the believers in Athens (17:34), the ruler of the synagogue and many other believers in Corinth (18:8), and the believers in Ephesus (19:18-19), there is no mention of the believers’ receiving of the Holy Spirit economically—the Holy Spirit’s falling upon the believers—because in all these cases the believers were brought into the Body of Christ in a normal way through their believing and had no particular need for a member of the Body of Christ to bring them into identification with the Body by the laying on of hands. According to the principle of God’s New Testament economy, they all must have received the Holy Spirit essentially for life and economically for power in a normal way through their believing into Christ.
Act 10:481 baptized
See note 361 in ch. 8.
Act 10:482 in
Cf. into the name in 8:16.
Act 10:483 name
The name denotes the person (see note 195 in Matt. 28). To be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ is to be baptized into the person of Christ (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27), which is also to be baptized into the sphere of His person (see note 383 in ch. 2).
Act 11:1a brothers Acts 11:29; 9:30
Act 11:21a circumcision Acts 10:45; Col. 4:11; Titus 1:10
Circumcision was an outward ordinance inherited by the Jews from their forefathers, beginning from Abraham (Gen. 17:9-14). It made them distinct and separate from the Gentiles. It became a dead, traditional formality, a mere mark on the flesh without any spiritual significance, and became a great obstacle to the spread of God’s gospel according to His New Testament economy (15:1; Gal. 2:3-4; 6:12-13; Phil. 3:2; see note 141 in ch. 10).
Act 11:3a ate Gal. 2:12; cf. Luke 15:2
Act 11:3b with Acts 10:28
Act 11:5a praying vv. 5-14: Acts 10:9-32
Act 11:121 doubting
Or, making no distinction.
Act 11:122 these
The six brothers were present while Peter was speaking, as witnesses to his word.
Act 11:12a six Acts 10:23, 45
Act 11:141 house
See note 311 in ch. 16.
Act 11:15a Spirit Acts 10:44
Act 11:16a John Acts 1:5
Act 11:17a gift Acts 10:45; 8:20
Act 11:17b as Acts 10:47; 15:8
Act 11:17c who cf. Rom. 9:20
Act 11:18a glorified Acts 21:20
Act 11:18b Gentiles Acts 10:45; 13:46-47; Rom. 15:9-10
Act 11:18c repentance Acts 5:31
Act 11:181 life
Gk. zoe, referring to the life of God (Eph. 4:18), the eternal life (1 John 1:2), the uncreated, indestructible life (Heb. 7:16), which is Christ Himself (John 14:6; 11:25; Col. 3:4) as the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45), of which life the Spirit is (Rom. 8:2). This life is received by the believers through their believing into Christ (John 3:15-16) after repentance, and issues in their full salvation (Rom. 5:10). The gospel preached by Peter comprises the divine blessings not only of forgiveness (5:31; 10:43) and salvation (2:21; 4:12) but also of the Spirit (2:38) and life. Forgiveness deals with people’s sins, and life, with people’s death (John 5:24; 1 John 3:14; 2 Cor. 5:4).
Act 11:191a scattered Acts 8:1
See note 41 in ch. 8.
Act 11:192 no
This indicates how strong the Jewish believers were in keeping their traditions. They would not come near the Gentiles (10:28). This condition continued even after Peter’s preaching to Cornelius, an Italian. It surely restricted the Lord’s move in spreading His gospel according to God’s New Testament economy.
Act 11:201 men
They must have been from among the Jewish believers in dispersion (cf. 1 Pet. 1:1).
Act 11:202 spoke
This was a further step of the Lord’s move in spreading His gospel to the Gentiles after what happened in the house of Cornelius (ch. 10) and before Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles, which began in ch. 13.
Act 11:20a Greeks John 7:35
Act 11:20b announcing Acts 5:42
Act 11:21a hand Luke 1:66
Act 11:21b great Acts 11:24
Act 11:21c turned Acts 9:35
Act 11:22a church Acts 5:11; 11:26
Act 11:221 sent
The Greek word denotes being sent out (on a mission) as an authoritative representative. Barnabas was sent out from Jerusalem to visit the believers in other places; he was sent with authority from the apostles, not from the church, because the apostles were there in Jerusalem.
Act 11:222 Barnabas
Saul was saved by the Lord directly without any preaching channel (9:3-6) and was brought into identification with the Body of Christ through Ananias, a member of the Body of Christ (9:10-19). However, he was introduced to practical fellowship with the disciples in Jerusalem through Barnabas (9:26-28). Now Barnabas was sent from Jerusalem to go as far as Antioch to encourage the believers, and he went to Tarsus to bring Saul to Antioch (vv. 25-26). This was a great step. It initiated Saul into the Lord’s move in spreading the gospel of His kingdom to the Gentile world (13:1-3; see note 251 in ch. 12).
Act 11:231a grace Acts 4:33; 13:43; 2 Cor. 6:1; Col. 1:6
See notes 146 in John 1 and 101 in 1 Cor. 15. The grace that was seen by Barnabas must have been the Triune God received and enjoyed by the believers and expressed in their salvation, change in life, holy living, and the gifts they exercised in their meetings, all of which could be seen by others.
Act 11:23b rejoiced Acts 8:39
Act 11:232 remain
I.e., be persistently faithful to the Lord, cleave to Him, and live in close fellowship with Him.
Act 11:23c purpose 2 Tim. 3:10
Act 11:241 full
See note 31 in ch. 6.
Act 11:24a considerable Acts 11:21
Act 11:242 number
Or, crowd (also in v. 26).
Act 11:24b added Acts 5:14
Act 11:25a Tarsus Acts 9:30
Act 11:26a Antioch Acts 13:1
Act 11:26b church Acts 11:22; 12:1
Act 11:261c Christians Acts 26:28
See note 161 in 1 Pet. 4. That the disciples in Antioch were given such a nickname, a term of reproach, indicates that they must have borne a strong testimony for the Lord, a testimony that made them distinct and peculiar in the eyes of the unbelievers.
Act 11:271a prophets Acts 13:1; 15:32
See note 283 in 1 Cor. 12.
Act 11:28a Agabus Acts 21:10
Act 11:28b Spirit Acts 2:18; 8:29; 10:19; 21:4, 11
Act 11:28c famine Matt. 24:7
Act 11:281d Claudius Acts 18:2
A Caesar of the Roman Empire. In the fourth year of his reign, about A.D. 44, there was a famine in Judea and the neighboring countries.
Act 11:291 disciples
This verse shows that the believers’ having all things in common (2:44-45; 4:32), which was practiced at the time of Pentecost, had become a thing of the past at the time the matter here was mentioned, no more than ten years after Pentecost, long before Paul began his ministry to the Gentiles (13:2-4). This word indicates further that there was no uniformly prescribed way in the early days of the church concerning the believers’ giving of material things; rather, it was left to each believer to give out of his own will and his own initiation.
Act 11:292 prospered
The Greek word here means to progress favorably, or to go on smoothly; hence, it denotes to thrive smoothly, to prosper, in an enterprise, an occupation, or other activities. Prosperity is given by God, and it issues in surplus and abundance.
Act 11:29a send Acts 24:17; Rom. 15:26; 1 Cor. 16:1
Act 11:293 for
Lit., for a service. Derived from the same Greek word as the word for ministered in Matt. 4:11.
Act 11:29b dispensing Acts 12:25
Act 11:29c brothers Acts 11:1
Act 11:301a elders Acts 14:23; 15:2, 4, 6; 20:17; 21:18; 1 Tim. 5:17, 19; Titus 1:5; James 5:14
This indicates that in the early days the finances of the church were under the management of the elders (see note 35 in 1 Tim. 3).
Act 11:30b Barnabas Acts 13:1
Act 11:302 Saul
Now Saul, through Barnabas, was brought into the service among the churches.
Act 12:11 Herod
Herod, Agrippa I, whose successor was King Agrippa (II) in 25:13. Both were different from Herod the tetrarch in 13:1. Thus far the church had suffered persecution only from the Jewish religion. Now Gentile politics began to participate in the persecution in cooperation with the Jewish religion (v. 11).
Act 12:1a church Acts 12:5; 5:11; 13:1
Act 12:2b James Matt. 4:21
Act 12:2c sword Heb. 11:37
Act 12:3a pleasing Acts 24:27; 25:9
Act 12:3b Unleavened Acts 20:6; Exo. 12:15-20; 23:15
Act 12:4a seized cf. John 21:18
Act 12:4b prison Luke 21:12; Acts 16:23
Act 12:41 quaternions
A quaternion was a group of four soldiers.
Act 12:4c Passover Exo. 12:11, 21; John 18:28
Act 12:5a prayer Acts 12:12; Eph. 6:18
Act 12:6a bound Acts 21:33
Act 12:7b stood Luke 2:9; 24:4
Act 12:7c struck 1 Kings 19:7
Act 12:7d chains Acts 16:26
Act 12:9a vision Acts 10:3, 17; 11:5; 16:9-10
Act 12:10a opened Acts 5:19; 16:26
Act 12:111 came
Perhaps Peter felt that he had gone out of himself as in a trance; now he came to himself, that is, became sober. Cf. note 103 in ch. 10.
Act 12:11a angel Gen. 48:16; Psa. 34:7; 91:11; Dan. 3:28; 6:22
Act 12:11b rescued Psa. 33:18-19; 97:10; 2 Cor. 1:10; 2 Pet. 2:9
Act 12:12a John Acts 12:25; 13:5, 13; 15:37, 39; Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:11; Philem. 24; 1 Pet. 5:13
Act 12:12b praying Acts 12:5
Act 12:151 his
Not only the apostle Peter had an angel; even the little ones among the believers have their angels (Matt. 18:10). Angels are servants to the believers who inherit God’s salvation (see note 141 in Heb. 1). This is an arrangement in God’s eternal economy.
Act 12:17a motioning Acts 19:33; 21:40
Act 12:171b James James 1:1
This indicates that James was a leader among the apostles and among the elders of Jerusalem (cf. 15:13; 21:18; Gal. 1:19; 2:9, 12).
Act 12:17c brothers Acts 11:1
Act 12:19a Caesarea Acts 10:1, 24
Act 12:201 chamberlain
One who takes care of the bed chamber.
Act 12:20a fed Ezra 3:7
Act 12:23a angel 2 Sam. 24:17; 2 Kings 19:35
Act 12:23b glory cf. Psa. 115:1
Act 12:23c worms Jonah 4:7
Act 12:231 expired
See note 51 in ch. 5.
Act 12:241 God
Some MSS read, the Lord.
Act 12:24a grew Acts 6:7
Act 12:251 Barnabas
Verses 1-24 are a parenthetical section, a record of Peter’s persecution. This verse is a continuation of 11:30, which, with the preceding verses from 11:22, is a narration of Paul’s initiation into his apostolic ministry (see note 222 in ch. 11). The passage from 11:19—12:25 is a transitional record between Peter’s apostolic ministry to the Jews in chs. 2—11 and Paul’s apostolic ministry to the Gentiles in chs. 13—28 (cf. Gal. 2:7-8).
Act 12:25a dispensing Acts 11:29
Act 12:25b John Acts 12:12; 13:5, 13
Act 13:1a Antioch Acts 11:26
Act 13:11b church Acts 5:11; 14:23
See note 11 in ch. 8.
Act 13:12c prophets Acts 11:27
See note 283 in 1 Cor. 12.
Act 13:13 teachers
See note 284 in 1 Cor. 12.
Act 13:14d Barnabas Acts 11:22, 24
A Levite, a Cyprian by birth (4:36).
Act 13:15 Niger
Meaning black and denoting a Negro, probably of African origin.
Act 13:16 Lucius
A Cyrenian from Cyrene in North Africa. He was a Jew if he was the Lucius in Rom. 16:21, a kinsman of Paul.
Act 13:17 Manaen
Herod was governmentally related to the Romans; hence, Manaen, Herod’s foster brother, must have been Europeanized.
Act 13:18e Herod Luke 3:1
The one who killed John the Baptist (Luke 9:7-9). It was the Lord’s sovereign doing that the foster brother of John the Baptist’s murderer became one of the leading functioning members in the church.
Act 13:19f Saul Acts 11:25
A Jew born in Tarsus and taught by Gamaliel according to the law of Moses (22:3). The five prophets and teachers recorded here were composed of Jews and Gentiles, each having a different background, education, and status. This indicates that the church is composed of all races and classes of people regardless of their background, and that the spiritual gifts and functions given to the members of the Body of Christ are not based on their natural status.
Act 13:21 ministering
Not conferring with men and organizing.
Act 13:22 Holy
As the pneumatic Christ, the Head of the Body.
Act 13:2a Spirit Acts 8:29; 10:19; 16:6-7; 20:28
Act 13:23b Set 1 Tim. 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11
This was a great step taken by the Lord for the spread of the gospel of His kingdom to the Gentile world. It was begun from Antioch, a Gentile center in Syria, without the organizing of a mission, without the raising of funds, without human ordination, and without any human plan or method. It was initiated by five faithful and seeking members of the Body of Christ, who gave the Head of the Body an opportunity through their ministering and fasting, that He, as the Spirit, might set them apart to carry out His great commission to spread His kingdom for the establishing of His church in the Gentile world through the preaching of His gospel. This major step had nothing to do with the church in Jerusalem organizationally, and it was not under the authority and direction of Peter and the other eleven apostles in Jerusalem. It was begun solely and purely from a Gentile center, far away from the atmosphere and influence of any Judaic background and practice and even from the practice and influence of the church in Jerusalem. It was absolutely a move by the Spirit, in the Spirit, and with the Spirit through the coordination of the faithful and seeking members of the Body of Christ on the earth with the Head in the heavens. Hence, this was not a religious movement with a human schedule. From Antioch the Lord’s move on the earth for God’s New Testament economy had an entirely new start. Although the flow of the Lord’s move began from Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost and later came to Antioch and went on from Antioch to the Gentile world, it had a purified start by the Spirit at its turn in Antioch.
Act 13:2c work Acts 9:15; 22:21
Act 13:2d called Rom. 1:1; Gal. 1:15
Act 13:31a fasted Acts 14:23
Not discussed and decided.
Act 13:32b laid Acts 6:6
See note 144 in 1 Tim. 4. Here the laying on of hands denotes identification, signifying that they who laid their hands were one with those on whom they laid hands. By this they declared to all that they were one with the sent ones in their going to carry out the Lord’s great commission.
Act 13:41 Spirit
In v. 3 Barnabas and Saul were sent by the other three. But here it says that they were sent out by the Spirit. This proves that the three were one with the Spirit in the Lord’s move, and the Spirit honored their sending as His.
Act 13:42 went
This was the start of Paul’s first ministry journey, which ended in 14:27.
Act 13:5a word Acts 13:26, 46
Act 13:51 in
Barnabas and Saul did not go to attend the Jewish synagogue gathering but to take advantage of that gathering to announce the word of God, just as the Lord did in His ministry on the earth (Matt. 4:23; Luke 4:16). See note 141.
Act 13:52b synagogues Acts 13:14; Mark 6:2; Luke 4:15-16
See note 21 in James 2.
Act 13:5c John Acts 12:12, 25; 13:13; 15:37
Act 13:5d attendant Acts 19:22
Act 13:6a magician Acts 8:9, 11
Act 13:6b false Matt. 7:15
Act 13:71a proconsul Acts 18:12; 19:38
At that time Cyprus was a senatorial province of the Roman Empire, and the head of its local government was the proconsul.
Act 13:8a magician cf. Exo. 7:11
Act 13:8b opposed 2 Tim. 3:8
Act 13:81 faith
The objective faith, referring to the contents of the gospel, in which the believers in Christ believe (see note 11, par. 2, in 1 Tim. 1).
Act 13:91 Paul
The change of name may indicate a change in life. In any case, after Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit here, he took the lead in the apostolic ministry all the way.
Act 13:92 filled
The outward filling for power. See note 42 in ch. 2.
Act 13:10a devil John 8:44; 1 John 3:8, 10
Act 13:101 straight
See note 151 in 2 Pet. 2.
Act 13:11a hand Exo. 9:3; Psa. 32:4
Act 13:13a Perga Acts 14:25
Act 13:13b Pamphylia Acts 2:10; 14:24
Act 13:13c John Acts 13:5
Act 13:131 departed
Based on 15:38, the reason for John’s departing must have been negative and hence a discouragement to Paul and his companions. However, he was recovered to Paul in Paul’s later ministry (Col. 4:10-11; 2 Tim. 4:11).
Act 13:14a Antioch Acts 14:21
Act 13:14b synagogue Acts 13:5
Act 13:141 on
The purpose of the apostles’ going to the synagogue on the Sabbath day was not to keep the Sabbath but to grasp the opportunity for preaching the gospel (see note 51).
Act 13:14c Sabbath Acts 13:42, 44; 16:13
Act 13:15a reading Acts 13:27; 15:21
Act 13:15b Law Matt. 5:17; 7:12; Luke 16:16
Act 13:15c rulers Mark 5:22
Act 13:151 Men
See note 161 in ch. 1.
Act 13:161 Men
See note 261 in ch. 7.
Act 13:162 those
The Gentiles who were seeking God.
Act 13:16a fear Acts 13:26; 10:2, 22, 35
Act 13:17a Israel Matt. 15:31; Luke 1:68
Act 13:17b chose Deut. 7:6-7
Act 13:17c Egypt Psa. 105:23; Acts 7:17
Act 13:171 high
I.e., uplifted.
Act 13:17d led Exo. 12:51; 13:14, 16
Act 13:18a forty Exo. 16:35; Acts 7:36
Act 13:181 He
Other MSS read, He put up with them.
Act 13:18b nurse cf. Deut. 1:31
Act 13:19a seven Deut. 7:1
Act 13:19b inheritance Josh. 14:1–19:51; Psa. 78:55; Acts 7:45
Act 13:201 four
The four hundred and fifty years extends from the people’s exodus from Egypt (v. 17) to the time of Samuel the prophet (v. 20), when David reigned completely, ruling over the whole nation of Israel (2 Sam. 5:3-5; cf. Judg. 11:26; 1 Kings 6:1).
Act 13:20a judges Judg. 2:16, 18
Act 13:20b Samuel 1 Sam. 3:20; Acts 3:24
Act 13:21a king 1 Sam. 8:5-22
Act 13:21b Saul 1 Sam. 9:1-2; 10:1
Act 13:22a deposed Hosea 13:11
Act 13:22b David 2 Sam. 2:4; 5:3
Act 13:22c found 1 Sam. 13:14; Psa. 89:20
Act 13:221 heart
David was a man according to God’s heart, that is, according to God’s heart’s desire, not only according to God’s words. Such a man will do all God’s will.
Act 13:22d will Acts 13:36
Act 13:23a seed Acts 2:30; Rom. 1:3
Act 13:23b promise 2 Sam. 7:12; Psa. 132:11
Act 13:23c Savior Luke 2:11; Rom. 11:26
Act 13:24a John Matt. 3:1; Mark 1:4; Acts 1:22
Act 13:241 prior
Lit., before the face of His entrance. A Hebraism.
Act 13:242 baptism
See note 43 in Mark 1.
Act 13:24b repentance Luke 3:3; Acts 19:4
Act 13:251 suppose
To think secretly or conjecture.
Act 13:25a not John 1:20
Act 13:25b sandals Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16; John 1:27
Act 13:261 Men
See note 161 in ch. 1.
Act 13:262 those
See note 162.
Act 13:26a fear Acts 13:16
Act 13:26b word Acts 13:46
Act 13:27a ignorant Acts 3:17
Act 13:271 words
Lit., voices.
Act 13:27b read Acts 13:15
Act 13:272 judging
I.e., sentencing Him to death (Luke 24:20).
Act 13:28a not Luke 23:4, 22; John 19:6
Act 13:28b Pilate Luke 23:23-24; Acts 3:13-14
Act 13:29a tree Acts 5:30
Act 13:29b tomb Matt. 27:60; Mark 15:46; Luke 23:53; John 19:41-42
Act 13:301 God
See note 241 in ch. 2.
Act 13:30a raised Acts 2:24; 13:33-34, 37
Act 13:31a appeared Acts 1:3; 1 Cor. 15:5-7
Act 13:31b Galilee Acts 1:11; 2:7
Act 13:31c witnesses Acts 1:8; 22:15
Act 13:32a announce Acts 5:42
Act 13:32b promise Acts 13:23; 26:6
Act 13:33a You Psa. 2:7; Heb. 1:5; 5:5
Act 13:331 begotten
Resurrection was a birth to the man Jesus. He was begotten by God in His resurrection to be the firstborn Son of God among many brothers (Rom. 8:29). He was the only begotten Son of God from eternity (John 1:18; 3:16). After incarnation, through resurrection He was begotten by God in His humanity to be God’s firstborn Son.
Act 13:34a raised Rom. 6:9; 8:11
Act 13:341 the
The Greek word for the holy things here is in the plural. The same Greek word is used for Holy One in the next verse, but in the singular. However, it is not the regular word for holy; it is a Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word chesed, which is translated mercies in Isa. 55:3, and also in 2 Chron. 6:42 and Psa. 89:1 in both the Septuagint and the KJV. In Psa. 89, the word mercies in plural in v. 1 is the same word as for Holy One in singular in v. 19. This Holy One is Christ, the Son of David, in whom God’s mercies are centered and conveyed. Hence, the holy things of David, the faithful things refers to the resurrected Christ. This is fully proved by the context, especially by Your Holy One in the next verse, and by the verse following Isa. 55:3.
Act 13:342 holy
See note 751 in Luke 1. So also for Holy in the next verse.
Act 13:35a You Psa. 16:10; Acts 2:27, 31
Act 13:351 allow
Lit., give.
Act 13:361 served
This indicates that David’s reigning as king was a service rendered to his generation by the counsel of God.
Act 13:36a counsel Acts 13:22; 20:27
Act 13:36b asleep 2 Sam. 7:12; 1 Kings 2:10
Act 13:362 buried
Lit., added to.
Act 13:371 God
See note 241 in ch. 2.
Act 13:37a raised Acts 2:24; 17:31
Act 13:381 men
See note 161 in ch. 1.
Act 13:38a forgiveness Luke 24:47; Acts 5:31
Act 13:39a not Rom. 2:13; Gal. 2:16; 3:11
Act 13:391 by
Lit., in.
Act 13:39b believes Acts 10:43; Rom. 3:28; Gal. 3:8
Act 13:392c justified Isa. 53:11
To be forgiven of sins is on the negative side (v. 38) and is for our release from condemnation. To be justified is on the positive side and is for our reconciliation to God and our being accepted by Him.
Act 13:41a Look Hab. 1:5
Act 13:41b marvel Isa. 29:14
Act 13:42a Sabbath Acts 13:14
Act 13:43a devout Acts 13:50; 16:14; 17:4, 17; 18:7
Act 13:431b proselytes Matt. 23:15; Acts 6:5
See note 101 in ch. 2.
Act 13:43c continue Acts 14:22
Act 13:432d grace Acts 4:33; 14:3; Titus 2:11; Gal. 5:4; Heb. 12:15; 1 Pet. 5:12
See note 231 in ch. 11.
Act 13:45a Jews Acts 13:50; 14:19; 18:12; 20:3; 21:27; 23:12, 20
Act 13:45b jealousy Acts 5:17
Act 13:45c blasphemed Acts 19:9; 1 Pet. 4:4
Act 13:46a boldly Acts 4:13
Act 13:46b word Acts 13:5
Act 13:46c first Acts 3:26
Act 13:461 not
One’s thrusting away the word of God is proof that he, by his own judgment, is unworthy of eternal life. See note 481.
Act 13:46d worthy Matt. 22:8
Act 13:46e Gentiles Acts 9:15; 11:18; 18:6; 22:21; 28:28; Rom. 11:11
Act 13:471 you
This word is a quotation from Isa. 49:6, which refers to Christ as God’s Servant, whom God made a light to the Gentiles that His salvation might reach to the end of the earth. Because he was one with Christ in carrying out God’s salvation in Christ, the apostle Paul applied this prophetic word to himself in his ministry of gospel preaching for the turning of the gospel from the Jews, because of their rejection, to the Gentiles. In His ministry on earth the Lord expressed the same thing to the stubborn Jews in Luke 4:24-27.
Act 13:47a light Isa. 42:6; Luke 2:32
Act 13:47b uttermost Acts 1:8
Act 13:481 appointed
Or, ordained. One’s rejecting the gospel is evidence that he is unworthy of eternal life (v. 46); one’s believing it is proof that he was appointed or ordained by God to eternal life. God’s ordination, or predestination, for man’s salvation is sovereignly of Himself. However, He still leaves man to his own free will. Whether man would believe or reject His salvation is up to man’s own decision.
Act 13:48a believed John 3:15-16, 36
Act 13:50a incited Acts 14:19; Matt. 27:20
Act 13:50b women Acts 17:4, 12
Act 13:50c worshipped Acts 13:43
Act 13:50d raised Acts 14:2
Act 13:50e persecution 2 Tim. 3:11
Act 13:50f cast 1 Thes. 2:15; cf. Luke 4:29
Act 13:51a shook Matt. 10:14
Act 13:51b Iconium Acts 14:1, 21
Act 13:521 filled
Gk. pleroo, filled inwardly. See note 42 in ch. 2. This infilling by the Holy Spirit is essential, being for life, not for power. Joy, being a matter of life, not of power, proves this.
Act 13:52a joy Matt. 5:12
Act 14:1a Iconium Acts 14:21; 16:2
Act 14:11 into
See note 51 in ch. 13.
Act 14:12b synagogue Acts 13:5
See note 21 in James 2.
Act 14:2a disobedient Rom. 15:31
Act 14:2b stirred Acts 13:50; 17:5, 13; 21:27
Act 14:21 minds
Lit., souls.
Act 14:2c brothers Acts 12:17
Act 14:3b testified Acts 2:40; 18:5
Act 14:31c grace Acts 4:33; 14:26; 15:11
See note 231 in ch. 11.
Act 14:32d signs Acts 15:12; Mark 16:17; Heb. 2:4
See note 431 in ch. 2.
Act 14:4b some Acts 17:4; 28:24
Act 14:5a outrageously 2 Cor. 12:10
Act 14:5b stone Acts 14:19; 2 Cor. 11:25; Acts 7:58
Act 14:6a fled Matt. 10:23
Act 14:6b Lystra Acts 14:21; 16:1, 2; 2 Tim. 3:11
Act 14:6c Derbe Acts 14:20; 16:1; 20:4
Act 14:7a announced Acts 13:32; 14:15, 21
Act 14:9a faith Matt. 9:2, 22, 29
Act 14:91 healed
Or, saved.
Act 14:10a leaped Acts 3:8; Isa. 35:6
Act 14:11a gods Acts 8:10; 28:6
Act 14:121 Zeus
Jupiter in Roman mythology. (See note 111 in ch. 28.) So also in 19:35.
Act 14:122 Hermes
Mercury in Roman mythology.
Act 14:14a tore cf. Gen. 37:29; Matt. 26:65
Act 14:151 Men
See note 261 in ch. 7.
Act 14:15a men Acts 10:26
Act 14:15b like James 5:17
Act 14:15c announce Acts 14:7
Act 14:152d vain Deut. 32:21; 1 Sam. 12:21; Jer. 14:22
Referring to idols and idolatry.
Act 14:15e to Luke 1:16; Acts 15:19; 26:18, 20; 1 Thes. 1:9
Act 14:15f living Matt. 16:16; Heb. 3:12; 1 Tim. 3:15
Act 14:15g made Acts 17:24; Exo. 20:11; Rev. 14:7
Act 14:16a gone cf. Acts 17:30; 1 Pet. 4:3
Act 14:16b allowed Psa. 81:12
Act 14:17a not cf. Rom. 1:19-20; Acts 17:27
Act 14:17b rain Lev. 26:4; Deut. 28:12; Psa. 68:9; Matt. 5:45
Act 14:17c hearts Psa. 104:15
Act 14:17d food Psa. 104:27
Act 14:19a Jews Acts 13:45
Act 14:19b persuaded Acts 13:50
Act 14:19c stoned Acts 14:5
Act 14:20a Derbe Acts 14:6
Act 14:21a announced Acts 14:7
Act 14:21b disciples Matt. 28:19
Act 14:21c Lystra Acts 14:6
Act 14:21d Iconium Acts 13:51; 14:1
Act 14:21e Antioch Acts 13:14
Act 14:22a Establishing Acts 15:32, 41; 18:23
Act 14:221 souls
Man’s soul is composed of his mind, emotion, and will. To establish the souls of the disciples is to establish them (1) in their mind, that they may know and understand the Lord and the things concerning Him (1 Cor. 2:16; Phil. 3:10); (2) in their emotion, that they may love the Lord and have a heart for the Lord’s interest (Mark 12:30; Rom. 16:4); and (3) in their will, that they may be strong to remain with the Lord and do the things that please the Lord (11:23; Col. 1:10; 1 Thes. 4:1).
Act 14:222b continue Acts 13:43; Col. 1:23
Lit., remain, persevere; i.e., stand firm and not depart from the faith, into which they had entered.
Act 14:223c faith Acts 16:5
See note 72 in ch. 6.
Act 14:22d tribulations 2 Cor. 6:4
Act 14:224e kingdom Acts 1:3; 19:8; 2 Thes. 1:5; John 3:3, 5
See note 34 in ch. 1.
Act 14:231a elders Acts 11:30
All the churches here in which elders were appointed by the apostles had been established within less than one year. Hence, the elders appointed in these churches could not have been fully mature. They must have been considered elders because they were comparatively the most mature among the believers. They were not voted in by their congregations but were appointed by the apostles according to their maturity of life in Christ. They were charged by the apostles to care for the leadership and shepherding in their churches (see notes 21 in 1 Tim. 3 and 33 in 1 Pet. 5).
Act 14:232 in
In every church equals in every city in Titus 1:5 (see note 51 there).
Act 14:23b church Acts 14:27; 5:11
Act 14:23c fastings Acts 13:3
Act 14:23d committed Acts 20:32
Act 14:24a Pamphylia Acts 13:13
Act 14:251
Some MSS add, of the Lord.
Act 14:26a Antioch Acts 13:1
Act 14:261 grace
See notes 101 and 102 in 1 Cor. 15.
Act 14:271 arrived
This was the end of Paul’s first ministry journey, which began in 13:4.
Act 14:272 gathered
For fellowship regarding God’s move in the spreading of His gospel, not for a report concerning their mission.
Act 14:27a church Acts 14:23; 15:3, 4
Act 14:27b declared Acts 15:4, 12; 21:19
Act 14:27c opened 1 Cor. 16:9; 2 Cor. 2:12; Col. 4:3; Rev. 3:8
Act 14:27d Gentiles Acts 11:18; 13:46
Act 15:11 came
With a strong purpose to exercise the Judaic influence on the Gentile believers.
Act 15:1b brothers Acts 15:3, 22-23; John 21:23
Act 15:12c Unless Acts 15:5
This is an annulling of the faith in God’s New Testament economy, and it is a real heresy. Hence, the “certain men” who taught the Christian brothers this heresy might have been those whom Paul in Gal. 2:4 considered false brothers.
Act 15:13d circumcised Lev. 12:3; John 7:22; 1 Cor. 7:18; Gal. 5:2; Col. 2:11
See notes 21 in ch. 11 and 141 in ch. 10. In God’s New Testament economy, to be circumcised is to make Christ of no profit to the believers.
Act 15:14e custom Acts 6:14; 21:21
To keep the custom of Moses, that is, to practice the outward ordinances of the law, is not only to nullify the grace of God and make Christ’s death of no effect (Gal. 2:21) but also to bring the believers, whom Christ has set free, back to the slavery of law (Gal. 5:1; 2:4).
Act 15:21 dissension
This was Paul and Barnabas’s contending for the faith (Jude 3) against one of the greatest heresies, that the truth of the gospel might remain with the believers (Gal. 2:5).
Act 15:2a elders Acts 15:4, 6, 22-23; 11:30; 16:4
Act 15:22b Jerusalem Gal. 2:1
It was not because Jerusalem was the headquarters of God’s move, or because the church in Jerusalem was the head church controlling other churches, that Paul, Barnabas, and certain others went to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. It was because Jerusalem was the source from which the heretical teaching concerning circumcision came. In order to solve the problem and uproot the trouble, they needed to go to the source. Unlike the situation with the Roman Catholic Church, according to God’s New Testament economy there is no headquarters for God’s move on earth and no head church that controls other churches. The headquarters of God’s move in His New Testament economy is in the heavens (Rev. 4:2-3; 5:1), and the One who rules over all the churches is Christ, the Head of the church (Col. 1:18; Rev. 2:1).
Act 15:3a sent Acts 21:5; 1 Cor. 16:6, 11; 2 Cor. 1:16; Titus 3:13
Act 15:31b church Acts 15:4, 22, 41; 5:11
The going up to Jerusalem by Paul, Barnabas, and certain others was the move of the church, not the move of themselves as individuals. They did not act individualistically apart from the church, but corporately in and with the church. This was the move of the Body of Christ.
Act 15:3c Gentiles Acts 15:12; 11:18
Act 15:3d brothers Acts 15:7, 13, 22-23
Act 15:4a received Acts 21:17
Act 15:4b church Acts 15:3, 22
Act 15:4c declared Acts 15:12; 14:27; 21:19
Act 15:5a sect Acts 26:5; cf. Acts 5:17; 24:5, 14; 28:22
Act 15:51 Pharisees
See note 71 in Matt. 3.
Act 15:52 circumcise
See note 13.
Act 15:61 gathered
This was a unique conference held by the apostles of the universal church and the elders of the local church in Jerusalem. These two groups were the leading ones in the Lord’s New Testament move on earth. The conference had no chairman; the presiding One was the Spirit (v. 28), the pneumatic Christ, the Head of the church (Col. 1:18) and the Lord of all (10:36). Much discussion had taken place (v. 7) indicates that everyone in the conference had the freedom to speak. The decision was made based on (1) the testimony shared by Peter (vv. 7-11), (2) the facts related by Barnabas and Paul (v. 12), and (3) the concluding word given by James (vv. 13-21), who was the leading one among the apostles and elders in Jerusalem (12:17; 21:18; Gal. 1:19; 2:9) because of the influence he exercised over the believers by his piety (see note 41 in James 1).
Act 15:71 Men
See note 161 in ch. 1.
Act 15:72 early
Lit., ancient, old.
Act 15:7a chose Acts 22:14
Act 15:7b Gentiles Acts 11:18; 15:17
Act 15:7c gospel Acts 20:24; Eph. 1:13; Col. 1:5; 1 Thes. 1:5
Act 15:8a hearts 1 Chron. 28:9; Acts 1:24
Act 15:8b Spirit Acts 10:44; Gal. 3:2
Act 15:8c as Acts 10:47; 11:15, 17
Act 15:9a no Acts 11:12; Rom. 3:22; 10:12
Act 15:9b cleansing Acts 10:15; Psa. 51:10; 1 Pet. 1:22
Act 15:91 hearts
Indicating that God does not care for outward legalistic ordinances, which cannot cleanse man’s inward being; He cares for the inward cleansing of man’s heart. This corresponds with the Lord’s emphasis in Mark 7:1-23. The cleansing of man’s heart can be accomplished only by the Holy Spirit with the divine life, not by outward ordinances of dead letters.
Act 15:10a testing Acts 5:9
Act 15:101b yoke Matt. 11:29-30
The yoke of the law, which was a bondage under slavery (Gal. 5:1 and note 4). To require people to keep the law of slavery not only enslaves people but also tests God. Even God could not and would not make man keep the law of dead letters.
Act 15:111a grace Acts 15:40; 4:33; Eph. 2:5; Titus 3:7; John 1:14, 17; 2 Cor. 13:14
This grace comprises the Lord’s person (see note 211 in Gal. 2) and His redemptive work (Rom. 3:24). Peter and the Jewish believers were saved by this grace, not by keeping the law of Moses. As far as God’s salvation is concerned, to keep the law means nothing to either the Jews or the Gentiles.
Act 15:11b saved Acts 2:21; 16:31
Act 15:12a relating Acts 15:4; 14:27
Act 15:12b signs Acts 14:3
Act 15:12c Gentiles Acts 15:3
Act 15:131 finished
Lit., became silent.
Act 15:13a James Acts 12:17; Gal. 1:19; 2:9, 12; Acts 21:18
Act 15:132 Men
See note 161 in ch. 1.
Act 15:141 Simeon
I.e., Simon (John 1:40, 42).
Act 15:14a people Acts 18:10
Act 15:16a After Amos 9:11-12
Act 15:161 tabernacle
The kingdom of Israel. To rebuild the tabernacle of David is to restore the kingdom of Israel (1:6).
Act 15:17a seek Acts 17:27
Act 15:171 upon
Or, who have been called by My name.
Act 15:17b name Isa. 43:7; Jer. 14:9; Dan. 9:19; James 2:7
Act 15:181a from Isa. 45:21
Or, from the foundation of the world.
Act 15:19a turning Acts 14:15; 1 Thes. 1:9
Act 15:20a contaminations Ezek. 4:14; Dan. 1:8; Mal. 1:7
Act 15:20b idols Acts 15:29; 21:25; 1 Cor. 8:1; Rev. 2:14, 20
Act 15:20c fornication 1 Cor. 6:9; Gal. 5:19
Act 15:20d blood Gen. 9:4; Lev. 3:17; 17:14; Deut. 12:16, 23-25
Act 15:211 Moses
This indicates that the concluding word given by James was still under the influence of the Mosaic law because of James’s heavy Judaic background (see notes 261 in James 1 and 101 in James 2). The influence of this background remained, even at the time Paul paid his last visit to Jerusalem (21:20-26).
Act 15:212 synagogues
See note 21 in James 2.
Act 15:21a read Acts 13:15, 27; 2 Cor. 3:14-15
Act 15:22a church Acts 15:3, 4, 41
Act 15:22b Barsabbas cf. Acts 1:23
Act 15:22c Silas Acts 16:19; 1 Pet. 5:12
Act 15:23a brothers Acts 15:1
Act 15:23b Syria Acts 15:41
Act 15:24a troubled Gal. 1:7; 2:4; 5:10, 12; cf. Titus 1:10-11
Act 15:25a one Acts 1:14
Act 15:25b beloved 2 Pet. 3:15
Act 15:261 risked
Lit., given over, given up.
Act 15:262a lives Acts 20:24; 21:13
Lit., souls. Referring not only to their lives but also to their very beings, which they had given up for the name of the Lord.
Act 15:26b name Acts 21:13
Act 15:27a Silas Acts 15:22, 32
Act 15:28a Spirit John 16:13; Acts 5:32; 8:29; 10:19; 13:2; 1 Cor. 7:40
Act 15:28b burden Matt. 11:28, 30; 23:4; Luke 11:46; Rev. 2:24
Act 15:29a idols Acts 15:20; 21:25
Act 15:321a prophets Acts 11:27; 13:1
See note 283 in 1 Cor. 12.
Act 15:32b confirmed Acts 14:22; 15:41
Act 15:33a peace 1 Cor. 16:11; Gen. 26:29
Act 15:341 But
Some MSS omit this verse.
Act 15:35a Antioch Acts 13:1
Act 15:35b announcing Acts 14:15
Act 15:36a every Acts 13:4, 13-14, 51; 14:1, 6, 24-25
Act 15:37a John Acts 13:5
Act 15:38a withdrew Acts 13:13
Act 15:391 sharp
Barnabas and Paul were men who had given up their lives for the name of the Lord (v. 26), yet immediately after their victory in contending for the faith against the heresy concerning circumcision, there arose such a sharp contention between them concerning a relative of one of them that they separated from each other. The responsibility for the problem should rest with Barnabas, because after this incident he no longer appears in the divine record in Acts concerning the Lord’s move in God’s New Testament economy. The reason for his failure might have been his natural relationship with Mark, his cousin (Col. 4:10), who left Barnabas and Paul in a negative way in their first ministry journey (13:13 and note 1). Mark was later recovered to Paul’s ministry (2 Tim. 4:11; Philem. 24), but Barnabas was not. Disputes that arise among the co-workers because of personal relationships are terrible! Remember this well!
Act 15:39a Cyprus Acts 4:36
Act 15:40a Silas Acts 15:22; 16:19
Act 15:401 went
This was the start of Paul’s second ministry journey, which ended in 18:22.
Act 15:40b grace Acts 15:11; 18:27; Rom. 16:20
Act 15:41a Syria Acts 15:23; 21:3
Act 15:41b confirming Acts 15:32
Act 15:41c churches Acts 15:3, 4, 22; 16:5; 14:23; Rom. 16:4, 16; 1 Cor. 7:17; 11:16; 14:34; 16:1, 19; 2 Cor. 8:1, 18, 19, 23, 24; 11:8, 28; 12:13; Gal. 1:2, 22; 1 Thes. 2:14; 2 Thes. 1:4; Rev. 1:4, 11, 20; 2:7, 11, 17, 23, 29; 3:6; 22:16
Act 16:1b Timothy Acts 17:14; 18:5; 19:22; 20:4; Rom. 16:21; 1 Cor. 4:17; 1 Thes. 3:2; 1 Tim. 1:2, 18; Heb. 13:23
Act 16:1c Jewish 2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15
Act 16:2a brothers Acts 16:40
Act 16:31a circumcised Gal. 2:3
See note 21 in ch. 11.
Act 16:32 because
This indicates that the strong influence of the Judaic background remained among the Jewish believers. It disturbed and frustrated the move of the Lord’s gospel (see note 141 in ch. 10).
Act 16:3b Jews cf. 1 Cor. 9:20
Act 16:4a decrees Acts 15:20, 29; 21:25
Act 16:51a churches Acts 5:11; 18:22
See notes 11 in ch. 8 and 311 in ch. 9.
Act 16:5b faith Acts 14:22
Act 16:5c increased Acts 5:14; 6:7; 9:31
Act 16:6a Phrygia Acts 18:23
Act 16:61 by
As in the evangelistic work of Philip (8:29, 39), the move of the apostle Paul and his co-workers for the spread of the gospel was not according to their decision and preference or according to any schedule made by human council, but by the Holy Spirit according to God’s counsel. They intended to speak the word in Asia, but the Holy Spirit forbade them. Forbidding is a part of the Holy Spirit’s leading.
Act 16:71a Spirit Rom. 8:9; 1 Pet. 1:11; Phil. 1:19; Gal. 4:6
The Spirit of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in the preceding verse are used interchangeably, revealing that the Spirit of Jesus is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a general title of the Spirit of God in the New Testament; the Spirit of Jesus is a particular expression concerning the Spirit of God and refers to the Spirit of the incarnated Savior who, as Jesus in His humanity, passed through human living and death on the cross. This indicates that in the Spirit of Jesus there is not only the divine element of God but also the human element of Jesus and the elements of His human living and His suffering of death as well. Such an all-inclusive Spirit was needed for the apostle’s preaching ministry, a ministry of suffering carried out among human beings and for human beings in the human life.
Act 16:72 not
The Holy Spirit’s forbidding them to go to the left, to Asia (v. 6), and the Spirit of Jesus’ not allowing them to go to the right, to Bithynia, indicated a straightforward direction for the apostle and his co-workers. Thus, they went in a direct course to Macedonia through Mysia and Troas (v. 8).
Act 16:8a Troas Acts 20:5-6; 2 Cor. 2:12; 2 Tim. 4:13
Act 16:91a vision Acts 9:12; 10:3, 17
Not a dream or a trance. See note 103 in ch. 10.
Act 16:92b Macedonia 2 Cor. 2:13
A province of the Roman Empire in southeastern Europe by the Aegean Sea between Thrace and Achaia .
Act 16:101 we
We is used here for the first time to include the writer, Luke. This indicates that from Troas, Luke joined the apostle Paul in his ministry journey.
Act 16:102 endeavored
Lit., sought. This was a major step in the Lord’s move for the spreading of His kingdom to another continent, Europe. It explains the intention of the Holy Spirit’s forbidding, the Spirit of Jesus’ not allowing, and the coming of the vision in the night. To carry out this particular leading in the Lord’s strategic move required the endeavoring of the apostle and his co-workers. This they did immediately.
Act 16:103 concluding
After seeing the vision from God, they needed to conclude, that is, to understand what it meant, by exercising the mind—a mind saturated and directed by the spirit (Eph. 4:23)—according to the actual situation and environment.
Act 16:111 Troas
A seaport on the Aegean Sea at the northwest corner of Asia Minor, opposite Macedonia.
Act 16:112 Samothrace
An island in the Aegean Sea between Troas and Philippi.
Act 16:113 Neapolis
The seaport of Philippi.
Act 16:12a Philippi Phil. 1:1; 1 Thes. 2:2
Act 16:121 colony
A fortified outpost of the Roman Empire in a foreign country, where the citizens had equal rights with those in the capital, Rome. Hence, Philippi was a strategic point for the spread of the gospel at its beginning in Europe.
Act 16:131a Sabbath Acts 13:14
Indicating how widespread Judaism and its influence were, even in Europe.
Act 16:13b river Ezra 8:15, 21; Psa. 137:1
Act 16:132 prayer
Man’s prayer to God affords Him an opportunity for His move among men on the earth.
Act 16:14a Thyatira Rev. 2:18
Act 16:14b worshipped Acts 13:43
Act 16:141 Lord
The Lord here, who opened the heart of Lydia to give heed to the preaching of the gospel, must be the Spirit, who is the Lord Himself (2 Cor. 3:17).
Act 16:14c opened Luke 24:45
Act 16:151 baptized
Baptism immediately followed their believing, as the Lord commanded in Mark 16:16.
Act 16:15a household Acts 16:31; 11:14
Act 16:152 come
Lydia, after believing and being baptized, entered into fellowship with the apostle and his co-workers—the fellowship of the Body of Christ—as evidence of her salvation. This is truly an expression of the fact that she had received grace.
Act 16:153 house
The first house that the Lord gained in Europe through His gospel and for His gospel (v. 40).
Act 16:161a spirit Luke 13:11
See note 231 in Mark 1.
Act 16:162 Python
Used in reference to a prophesying demon, and also in reference to a fortuneteller.
Act 16:163b divining Lev. 19:31; 1 Sam. 28:8
The art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge by the aid of supernatural powers.
Act 16:17a cried Luke 4:33-34, 41
Act 16:17b slaves Dan. 3:26
Act 16:17c Most Mark 5:7
Act 16:18a name Mark 16:17
Act 16:18b came Matt. 17:18; Mark 1:25-26
Act 16:19a profit cf. Acts 19:25
Act 16:19b Silas Acts 15:22
Act 16:19c dragged Acts 8:3; 17:6; 18:12; 21:30
Act 16:201a magistrates Matt. 10:18
The Roman praetors.
Act 16:20b throwing Acts 17:6
Act 16:21a customs cf. Esth. 3:8
Act 16:21b Romans Acts 16:37
Act 16:22a beat 2 Cor. 11:25
Act 16:23a prison Acts 12:4; Luke 21:12
Act 16:241a stocks Job 13:27; 33:11; Jer. 20:2-3; 29:26
Lit., timber; an instrument of torture with holes to hold the prisoner’s wrists, ankles, and neck. The same word is used in reference to the cross in 5:30; 10:39; Gal. 3:13; and 1 Pet. 2:24.
Act 16:25a midnight Job 35:10; Psa. 42:8; 77:6; 119:62
Act 16:26a shaken Acts 4:31
Act 16:26b opened Acts 5:19; 12:10
Act 16:26c bonds Acts 12:7
Act 16:27a do cf. Acts 12:19
Act 16:29a fell Acts 10:25
Act 16:30a what Luke 3:10, 12, 14; John 6:28; Acts 2:37; 22:10
Act 16:31a Believe Mark 16:16; John 3:16, 36; 6:47; Acts 13:39; 1 John 5:10
Act 16:31b saved Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11
Act 16:311 household
Indicating that the family of the believer is a complete unit for God’s salvation, like the family of Noah (Gen. 7:1), the families partaking of the passover (Exo. 12:3-4), the family of the harlot Rahab (Josh. 2:18-19), the family of Zaccheus (Luke 19:9), the family of Cornelius (11:14), the family of Lydia (v. 15), the family of the jailer here, and the family of Crispus in 18:8.
Act 16:331a baptized Acts 2:38; 8:12; 10:47-48
Again baptism was practiced immediately after someone believed. See note 151. This must have been done in the bathing pool at the place where they were, which, according to the word up in the next verse, must have been downstairs. This shows and testifies to us that the believers in the early days did not have any regulation or ritual; rather, they took appropriate measures in accordance with local conditions.
Act 16:341 up
See note 331.
Act 16:342 into
After believing and being baptized, the jailer did not care for the officials who were his superiors or for the criminals. He too came into fellowship with the apostles, the fellowship of the Body of Christ, as a token of his salvation. See note 152.
Act 16:34a set Psa. 23:5; Luke 5:29
Act 16:34b exulted Psa. 9:14; 13:5; Isa. 25:9; Luke 1:47; 1 Pet. 1:6, 8
Act 16:351 lictors
The Roman lictors, those who held the rod to clear the way for the magistrates and to execute punishment on the criminals.
Act 16:37a Romans Acts 22:25
Act 16:38a frightened Acts 22:29
Act 16:39a depart Matt. 8:34
Act 16:40a house Acts 16:14-15
Act 16:40b brothers Acts 16:2; 17:10
Act 17:11a Thessalonica Acts 20:4; Phil. 4:16; 1 Thes. 1:1; 2 Thes. 1:1
Another leading city, situated on a gulf in the province of Macedonia.
Act 17:12b synagogue Acts 9:20; 13:5, 14; 14:1; 18:4; 19:8
See note 21 in James 2.
Act 17:21 went
See note 141 in ch. 13 (so also in v. 10).
Act 17:2b Scriptures Acts 8:35; 18:28
Act 17:3a suffer Luke 24:26, 46; Acts 3:18
Act 17:3c Christ John 20:31
Act 17:4a some Acts 17:34; 14:4; 28:24
Act 17:41 were
Lit., were allotted to.
Act 17:4b Silas Acts 15:22, 27, 32, 40
Act 17:4c devout Acts 13:43
Act 17:4e women Acts 17:12; 13:50
Act 17:5a jealous Acts 5:17; 13:45; James 3:14, 16
Act 17:5b set Acts 17:13; 14:2
Act 17:5c Jason Rom. 16:21
Act 17:6a dragged Acts 16:19
Act 17:6b upset Acts 16:20
Act 17:61 world
Lit., the inhabited earth.
Act 17:7a Caesar Luke 2:1; John 19:12
Act 17:7b king Luke 23:2; John 18:33, 37
Act 17:10a brothers Acts 17:14; 16:40
Act 17:10b synagogue Acts 17:1
Act 17:111 noble
I.e., open-minded.
Act 17:11a examining Isa. 34:16; John 5:39
Act 17:12a women Acts 17:4; 13:50
Act 17:13a agitating Acts 17:5
Act 17:14a brothers Acts 17:10
Act 17:14b go cf. Matt. 10:23
Act 17:14c Timothy Acts 16:1
Act 17:151a Athens Acts 18:1; 1 Thes. 3:1
The capital of Achaia, a province of the Roman Empire. It was the center of enlightenment in science, literature, and art for the ancient world. Through the apostle Paul’s visit to such a center, the gospel of the kingdom of God reached the people of the highest culture.
Act 17:15b Timothy Acts 18:5
Act 17:16a his Acts 19:21
Act 17:161 spirit
Paul’s human spirit (Zech. 12:1; Job 32:8; Prov. 20:27), regenerated by the Spirit of God (John 3:6), indwelt by the Lord the Spirit (2 Tim. 4:22; Rom. 8:10-11), and acting with the Spirit (Rom. 8:16), in which spirit he worshipped and served God (John 4:24; Rom. 1:9). Such a spirit was provoked by the many idols in Athens.
Act 17:162b full Isa. 2:8
Even the highest culture did not prevent these people from worshipping idols. Within them, as within all mankind, was a God-worshipping spirit created by God for man to seek and worship Him (cf. v. 22). However, because of their blindness and ignorance, they took the wrong objects for their worship (v. 23). Now the very true God, who created the universe and them, sent His apostle to announce the true object whom they should worship (vv. 23-29).
Act 17:17a synagogue Acts 13:5
Act 17:17b devout Acts 17:4; 13:43
Act 17:181 Epicurean
The Epicurean philosophers were the followers of the Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270 B.C.), whose philosophy was materialism. They did not recognize the Creator and His providence over the world but sought sensuous pleasures, especially in eating and drinking. Some of Paul’s words to the Philippians (Phil. 3:18 and note 1) and the Corinthians (1 Cor. 15:32 and note 3) referred to the Epicureans.
Act 17:182 Stoic
The Stoic philosophers were members of a school of philosophy founded by Zeno (340-265 B.C.). They were pantheists who believed that everything was governed by fate and that all happenings were the result of the divine will, and therefore that man should calmly accept them, free from all passion, grief, or joy. They emphasized that the highest good is virtue and that virtue is the reward given to the soul. Some of the words in Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians referred to the Stoics (Phil. 4:11 and note 1).
Act 17:183 babbler
The Greek word means “seed-picker: a bird which picks up seeds in the streets and markets; hence one who picks up and retails scraps of news” (Vincent).
Act 17:184 deities
Lit., demons.
Act 17:18a announcing Acts 5:42
Act 17:18b resurrection Acts 4:2; 17:31-32
Act 17:191a Areopagus Acts 17:22, 34
Mars’ Hill (in Athens), the seat of the ancient and venerable Athenian Court, which judged the most solemn problems of religion.
Act 17:19b new Mark 1:27
Act 17:20a strange 1 Pet. 4:4
Act 17:201 what
Lit., what these things want to be.
Act 17:221 Men
Lit., Men, Athenians. More dignified and solemn than simply “Athenians.”
Act 17:222 very
The Greek word here means fearing a demon, a supernatural spirit; hence, given up to demon worship, very much revering the deities. The same word is used in noun form in 25:19.
Act 17:23a worship John 4:22; 2 Thes. 2:4
Act 17:23b without 1 Cor. 15:34
Act 17:241 God
The apostle’s word in vv. 24-25 was a very strong inoculation to both the atheistic Epicureans, who did not recognize the Creator and His providence over the world, and the pantheistic Stoics, who submitted themselves to the will of many gods concerning their fate (cf. v. 18).
Act 17:24a made Acts 14:15; Isa. 42:5
Act 17:24b Lord Matt. 11:25
Act 17:24c not Acts 7:48; 1 Kings 8:27
Act 17:25a breath Gen. 2:7; Job 12:10; 27:3; 33:4; Isa. 42:5; Dan. 5:23
Act 17:261 one
Adam. Some ancient MSS read, one blood.
Act 17:26a every Acts 10:35
Act 17:26b face Gen. 11:8; Luke 21:35
Act 17:262 appointed
The migrations to America in their times and with their boundaries are strong proof of this word and the first part of the succeeding verse.
Act 17:26c boundaries Job 14:5; Deut. 32:8; Psa. 74:17
Act 17:27a seek Acts 15:17; Job 23:3
Act 17:271b not Deut. 4:7
Because God is the omnipresent Spirit.
Act 17:281 in
Denoting that man’s life and existence and even his actions are in God. This does not mean that unbelievers have God’s life and live, exist, and act in God like the believers in Christ, who are born of God, possess His divine life and nature, and live, exist, and act in His divine person.
Act 17:282 poets
Probably referring to Aratus (about 270 B.C.) and Cleanthes (about 300 B.C.), both of whom uttered these same words in their poems to Zeus (Jupiter), whom they considered the supreme God.
Act 17:283 His
In the writings of the two poets His refers to Zeus as the supreme God.
Act 17:284 race
Just as Adam was thought to be the son of God (Luke 3:38 and note 2). Since God is the Creator, the source, of all men, He is the Father of them all (Mal. 2:10) in a natural sense, not in the spiritual sense in which He is the Father of all the believers (Gal. 4:6), who are regenerated by Him in their spirit (1 Pet. 1:3; John 3:5-6).
Act 17:291 what
Gk. theion, meaning that which is divine. It is not the same as theiotes in Rom. 1:20, which denotes the characteristics of divinity, nor is it the same as theotes in Col. 2:9, which denotes the Godhead, God Himself. Theion is a more vague and abstract word than theiotes and is not as definite as theotes, which is definite in denoting the Godhead, God Himself. Cf. note 201 in Rom. 1.
Act 17:29a gold Isa. 40:18-19; 46:5-6; Hab. 2:18-19
Act 17:292 thought
Or, imagination, device.
Act 17:30a times cf. Acts 14:16
Act 17:30b ignorance Eph. 4:18; 1 Pet. 1:14
Act 17:301 charges
Some MSS read, declares to.
Act 17:30c repent Mark 6:12; Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 5:31; 11:18; 26:20
Act 17:311a day Rom. 2:5, 16; 2 Pet. 2:9; Matt. 12:36
The day when Christ will judge living men, i.e., the nations on the earth at His coming back, on the throne of His glory before the millennium (Matt. 25:31-46). This probably does not include the day when He will judge dead men at the great white throne after the millennium (Rev. 20:11-15), as in 10:42 (see note there), 2 Tim. 4:1, and 1 Pet. 4:5, because on the day mentioned here He will judge the world, which should refer only to living men. This day of Christ’s judgment on earth will be brought in by His coming back. He was designated by God to execute this judgment, and God’s raising Him from the dead is strong proof of this. In their preaching to the Gentiles, both Peter in 10:42 and Paul here and in 24:25 stressed the coming judgment of God.
Act 17:31b judge Psa. 9:8; 96:13; 98:9; John 5:22, 27
Act 17:312 proof
Or, faith, assurance, guarantee. The resurrection of Christ is proof and assurance that He is coming back to judge all the inhabitants of the earth. This is guaranteed that we may have faith in it and that it may lead us to repent (v. 30).
Act 17:31c raising Acts 2:24; 26:8
Act 17:32a resurrection Acts 17:18; 23:6, 8; Heb. 6:2
Act 17:32b scoffed Acts 2:13
Act 17:32c again Acts 24:25
Act 17:34a joined Acts 17:4
Act 17:34b Areopagite Acts 17:19, 22
Act 18:1a Athens Acts 17:15-16; 1 Thes. 3:1
Act 18:1b Corinth Acts 19:1; 1 Cor. 1:2
Act 18:2a Aquila Acts 18:18, 26; Rom. 16:3; 1 Cor. 16:19; 2 Tim. 4:19
Act 18:2c Italy Acts 27:1, 6; Heb. 13:24
Act 18:21d Claudius Acts 11:28
A Caesar of the Roman Empire. What he did here was used by the Lord for the carrying out of His ministry of the building up of His church, just as what Caesar Augustus did was used by God for the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning the birthplace of Christ (Luke 2:1-7).
Act 18:3a worked Acts 20:34-35; 1 Cor. 4:12; 1 Thes. 2:9; 2 Thes. 3:8
Act 18:41 in
See note 51 in ch. 13.
Act 18:42a synagogue Acts 18:19; 13:14; 17:1, 17
See note 21 in James 2 (so also in vv. 19, 26).
Act 18:43 Sabbath
See note 141 in ch. 13.
Act 18:44b Greeks Acts 19:10; 20:21
Indicating that some Greeks were attending the Jewish synagogues (Mark 1:21 and note 1) to listen to the word of God.
Act 18:51 when
It was at this time in Corinth that Paul wrote his first Epistle to the church in Thessalonica (1 Thes. 1:1), after Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia with information concerning the church there (1 Thes. 3:6 and note 1).
Act 18:5a Timothy Acts 17:14-15; 1 Thes. 3:6
Act 18:52 constrained
Or, pressed by.
Act 18:5b testifying Acts 2:40; 20:21
Act 18:5c Christ Acts 18:28; 5:42; 9:22
Act 18:6a blasphemed Acts 13:45; 1 Pet. 4:4
Act 18:6c blood 2 Sam. 1:16; Ezek. 33:4; Lev. 20:9-16
Act 18:61 go
See note 471 in ch. 13.
Act 18:6d Gentiles Acts 13:46; 28:28
Act 18:7a worshipped Acts 16:14
Act 18:8a Crispus 1 Cor. 1:14
Act 18:81b household Acts 11:14
See note 311 in ch. 16.
Act 18:9a night Acts 23:11; 27:23
Act 18:91 vision
See note 103 in ch. 10.
Act 18:9b not Acts 27:24; Jer. 1:8
Act 18:10a with John 14:17; Matt. 28:20; Josh. 1:5
Act 18:10b people Acts 15:14
Act 18:111 remained
Lit., sat.
Act 18:12a proconsul Acts 13:7
Act 18:12b Jews Acts 13:45
Act 18:12c brought Acts 16:19
Act 18:15a questions 1 Tim. 6:4; 2 Tim. 2:14
Act 18:15b law Acts 23:29
Act 18:171 Sosthenes
See note 13 in 1 Cor. 1.
Act 18:18a Aquila Acts 18:2
Act 18:18b shorn cf. Acts 21:23-24
Act 18:18c Cenchrea Rom. 16:1
Act 18:181 vow
A private vow for thanksgiving performed in any place by the Jews, with the shearing of the hair. It differed from the Nazarite vow, which had to be carried out in Jerusalem with the shaving of the head (21:24 and note 3; Num. 6:1-5, 18; cf. 1 Cor. 11:6, where it is shown that there is a difference between shearing and shaving). Paul was a Jew and kept the vow, but he would not and did not impose it on the Gentiles. According to the principle of his teaching concerning God’s New Testament economy, Paul should have given up all the Jewish practices, which belonged to the Old Testament dispensation. However, he still had this vow, and it seems that God tolerated it, probably because it was a vow carried out in private outside Jerusalem and would not have had much effect on the believers.
Act 18:19a Ephesus Acts 19:1; 1 Cor. 15:32; 2 Tim. 1:18; Rev. 1:11
Act 18:191 entered
See note 51 in ch. 13.
Act 18:19b synagogue Acts 18:4
Act 18:21a willing 1 Cor. 4:19; 16:7; cf. James 4:15
Act 18:22a church Acts 5:11; 20:17
Act 18:221 went
This was the end of Paul’s second ministry journey, which began in 15:40.
Act 18:22b Antioch Acts 15:35
Act 18:231 went
This was the start of Paul’s third ministry journey, which ended in 21:17.
Act 18:23a Galatia Acts 16:6
Act 18:23b confirming Acts 14:22
Act 18:24a Apollos Acts 19:1; 1 Cor. 1:12; 4:6; 16:12; Titus 3:13
Act 18:251 way
Not the doctrine concerning the Lord but the practical way in which the New Testament believers should walk. See note 21 in ch. 9.
Act 18:25a fervent Rom. 12:11
Act 18:252 only
This indicates that Apollos did not have a complete revelation of God’s New Testament economy, although he had been instructed in the way of the Lord. Hence, there was a deficiency in the result of his ministry (19:2 and note 2).
Act 18:25b baptism Acts 19:3; Luke 3:3, 16; 7:29
Act 18:26a Aquila Acts 18:2, 18
Act 18:26b way Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14; Matt. 22:16
Act 18:27a wrote 2 Cor. 3:1
Act 18:271b grace Acts 4:33; 20:24
Lit., the grace; indicating the particular grace which Apollos enjoyed in the Lord. This grace is just God Himself in Christ as the portion to the believers in Christ (see notes 146 in John 1 and 101 in 1 Cor. 15).
Act 18:28a Scriptures Acts 18:24; 8:35; 17:2
Act 18:28b Christ Acts 18:5
Act 19:1a Apollos Acts 18:24
Act 19:1b Ephesus Acts 18:19
Act 19:21 receive
See note 387, par. 2, in ch. 2.
Act 19:22a not cf. Acts 8:16
This was the deficiency in the result of Apollos’s ministry, a ministry which lacked a complete revelation of God’s New Testament economy. See note 252 in ch. 18.
Act 19:31a John’s Acts 18:25
This is the last mention of John the Baptist in the New Testament. “Here at last, he wholly gives place to Christ” (Bengel). There was in John’s disciples a thought of rivalry between John and Christ (John 3:26). John’s ministry was to introduce Christ (v. 4). Once Christ had been introduced, John’s ministry should have ceased and been replaced by Christ. John should have decreased, and Christ should have increased (John 3:30).
Act 19:4a baptism Luke 3:3; Acts 13:24
Act 19:4b after Matt. 3:11; John 1:15
Act 19:51 into
See notes 383, point 2, in ch. 2 and 162 in ch. 8.
Act 19:61a laid Acts 6:6
See notes 171 in ch. 8 and 471 in ch. 10.
Act 19:6b Spirit Acts 10:44; 11:15
Act 19:62 upon
See note 174 in ch. 2.
Act 19:63 spoke
See note 461 in ch. 10.
Act 19:6c tongues Mark 16:17; Acts 2:4
Act 19:6d prophesied Acts 2:17-18; 21:9
Act 19:81 entered
See note 51 in ch. 13.
Act 19:82a synagogue Acts 13:5; 17:1, 10; 18:4
See note 21 in James 2.
Act 19:8b persuading Acts 28:23
Act 19:83c kingdom Acts 1:3; 20:25
See note 34 in ch. 1.
Act 19:9a speaking Acts 13:45
Act 19:91b Way Acts 19:23; 18:26
See note 21 in ch. 9.
Act 19:92 Tyrannus
He might have been a teacher, and Paul might have rented his school and used it as a meeting hall, apart from the opposing Jews’ synagogue, to preach and teach the word of the Lord to both Jews and Greeks for two years (v. 10).
Act 19:10a two cf. Acts 20:31
Act 19:10b Asia Acts 20:18; 2 Cor. 1:8; 2 Tim. 1:15
Act 19:10c Greeks Acts 18:4
Act 19:111 works
See note 431 in ch. 2.
Act 19:11a hands Acts 5:12; 14:3
Act 19:121a body cf. 2 Kings 4:29; Acts 5:15
Referring to the surface, the skin, of the body. A medical term used at that time. Luke, the author, was a medical doctor.
Act 19:122 spirits
See note 231 in Mark 1.
Act 19:12b went Acts 8:7; 16:18
Act 19:13a exorcists Matt. 12:27
Act 19:13b name Mark 9:38
Act 19:17a fear Acts 2:43; 5:5, 11; Luke 1:65
Act 19:17b name 2 Thes. 1:12
Act 19:181a confessing Matt. 3:6
Confessing and making known denotes the most thorough and most open confession.
Act 19:182 practices
This word has also the technical meaning of magic spells, and that may be the meaning here.
Act 19:191 burned
This was to clear up their past life, which was sinful and demonic.
Act 19:192 pieces
Each piece was approximately a day’s wage.
Act 19:201 Thus
Or, Thus, by the might of the Lord the word grew and was strong.
Act 19:20a grew Acts 6:7
Act 19:211a purposed Rom. 1:13
[ par. 1 2 ]
Act 19:211 [1] The purpose was to carry out Paul’s loving concern for the need of the poor saints in Jerusalem. At that time Paul was in Ephesus on his third ministry journey, busy with a heavy burden to carry out his ministry in Asia (1 Cor. 16:8-9) and in Macedonia and Achaia (1 Cor. 16:5-7; Acts 20:1-3). Nonetheless, he still had a burden to spare part of his time for the needy saints in Jerusalem. When he arrived in Corinth, he wrote his Epistle to the saints in Rome, expressing the purpose of his trip and begging them to pray for him concerning this purpose (Rom. 15:25-31). Although he was an apostle set apart by God for the Gentiles (22:21; Gal. 2:8), Paul was still concerned for the Lord’s interest among the Jews. His primary concern was for the Body of Christ universally, not merely for his part of the New Testament ministry among the Gentiles.
Act 19:211 [2] Besides this, his purpose in going to Jerusalem at this juncture might also have been to fellowship with James and the other apostles and elders in Jerusalem regarding the Judaic influence on the church there. According to Paul’s teachings in the Epistles to the Galatians and the Romans, the decision made by the conference of the apostles and elders in ch. 15 to resolve the problem concerning circumcision must not have been fully satisfactory to him. This undoubtedly troubled him because of his concern for God’s New Testament economy, which is to build up the Body of Christ. James’s word in 21:20-22, after Paul had arrived in Jerusalem (21:17-18), and his proposal that Paul participate in the four Jewish believers’ Nazarite vow (21:23-24) seem to confirm this view.
Act 19:212 spirit
Since the Lord the Spirit dwelt in Paul’s spirit (2 Tim. 4:22; Rom. 8:10-11), Paul must have purposed according to the leading of the Lord the Spirit. See note 161 in ch. 17.
Act 19:21b Macedonia Acts 20:1; Rom. 15:26; 1 Cor. 16:5; 2 Cor. 1:16; 8:1; 9:2
Act 19:213 go
Paul did go to Jerusalem (21:17), and he did see Rome (28:14, 16).
Act 19:21c Jerusalem Acts 20:16, 22; Rom. 15:25; 1 Cor. 16:3
Act 19:214d see Rom. 1:13; 15:24, 28
This desire of Paul’s was fulfilled by the Lord when He brought Paul to Rome through his appeal to Caesar (23:11; note 111 in ch. 25).
Act 19:22a served Acts 13:5
Act 19:22b Timothy 1 Cor. 16:10; Acts 18:5; 20:4; Rom. 16:21; 2 Cor. 1:1
Act 19:221 Erastus
A city treasurer of Corinth (Rom. 16:23; cf. 2 Tim. 4:20), of high rank, who probably had been converted by Paul’s preaching in Corinth (cf. 18:8) and had become an attendant to Paul.
Act 19:222 stayed
It was at this time, in Ephesus, that the apostle wrote his first Epistle to the church in Corinth (1 Cor. 16:3-10, 19, and note 81; 4:17; cf. Acts 19:20-23, 8-10, 17; 20:1).
Act 19:23a disturbance Acts 19:40
Act 19:231b Way Acts 19:9
See note 21 in ch. 9.
Act 19:241 Demetrius
Not the Demetrius in 3 John 12.
Act 19:242 made
A dirty and demonic trade. Those who practiced such a trade cooperated with the demons to possess and usurp people for Satan’s evil kingdom (Matt. 12:26).
Act 19:243 Artemis
Artemis was the Ephesian goddess. To the Romans she was the goddess Diana (Latin).
Act 19:251 assembled
Behind the idol worship were demons, who instigated the uproar against the apostle to disturb and frustrate the preaching of the gospel. This was Satan’s fighting against God’s spreading of His kingdom on the earth.
Act 19:252 Men
See note 261 in ch. 7.
Act 19:25a prosperity cf. Acts 16:19
Act 19:26a hands Deut. 4:28; 2 Kings 19:18; Psa. 115:4; Rev. 9:20; Isa. 44:10-17; Jer. 10:3-5
Act 19:27a great Acts 19:28, 34; cf. Acts 8:9-10
Act 19:291 Gaius
See note 12 in 3 John.
Act 19:29a Aristarchus Acts 20:4; 27:2; Col. 4:10; Philem. 24
Act 19:29b companions 2 Cor. 8:19
Act 19:311 Asiarchs
Principal persons of the province of Asia.
Act 19:32a crying Acts 21:34
Act 19:331 Alexander
Probably not because Alexander was a convert of Paul’s preaching. (This Alexander was not the one in 1 Tim. 1:20 and 2 Tim. 4:14.)
Act 19:33a motioning Acts 12:17
Act 19:34a Great Acts 19:27-28
Act 19:351 Men
Lit., Men, Ephesians. More dignified and solemn than simply “Ephesians.”
Act 19:352 fallen
I.e., fallen from heaven.
Act 19:35a Zeus Acts 14:12; 28:11
Act 19:37a robbers Rom. 2:22
Act 19:38a proconsuls Acts 13:7
Act 19:391 legal
Or, regular assembly.
Act 19:40a insurrection Acts 19:23
Act 19:411 dismissed
This was the sovereignty of the Lord; it preserved His apostle from the demonic uproar.
Act 20:11a Macedonia Acts 19:21; 1 Cor. 16:5; cf. 1 Tim. 1:3
It was there that Paul wrote his second Epistle to the church in Corinth (2 Cor. 2:13 and note 2; 7:5-6; 8:1; 9:2, 4).
Act 20:31 three
During that time, in Corinth, the apostle wrote his Epistle to the saints in Rome (Rom. 15:22-32; cf. Acts 19:21; 20:1-3; 1 Cor. 16:3-7).
Act 20:3a plot Acts 9:24; 20:19; 23:12
Act 20:3b Jews Acts 13:45
Act 20:32 resolved
Paul had originally intended to go to Jerusalem through Syria from Achaia in Greece (19:21; 1 Cor. 16:3-7). Because of the Jews’ plot against him, he changed his route, going northward to Macedonia. From there he returned to Jerusalem. He knew that the Jews were plotting against him and that he would suffer because of this (v. 19). Therefore, he begged the saints in Rome to pray for him concerning his return to Jerusalem (Rom. 15:25-26, 30-31). This might also have been the reason that he was bound in his spirit to go to Jerusalem (v. 22). Eventually, after returning to Jerusalem, he was seized by the Jews (21:27-30), who sought to kill him (21:31; 23:12-15).
Act 20:4a Aristarchus Acts 19:29
Act 20:41 Gaius
See note 12 in 3 John.
Act 20:4c Timothy Acts 19:22
Act 20:4d Tychicus Eph. 6:21; Col. 4:7; 2 Tim. 4:12; Titus 3:12
Act 20:4e Trophimus Acts 21:29; 2 Tim. 4:20
Act 20:6a Philippi Acts 16:12
Act 20:6b Unleavened Exo. 23:15; Acts 12:3
Act 20:6c Troas Acts 16:8, 11; 2 Cor. 2:12; 2 Tim. 4:13
Act 20:71a first Luke 24:1; 1 Cor. 16:2
The Lord’s Day (Rev. 1:10). Paul stayed in Troas for seven days (v. 6), but it was only on the first day of the week that they gathered together to break bread in remembrance of the Lord. This indicates that at that time the apostle and the church considered the first day of the week a day to meet together for the Lord.
Act 20:72 we
Including the writer, Luke.
Act 20:7b break Acts 20:11; 2:42, 46; 1 Cor. 10:16; 11:23-24
Act 20:10a upon 1 Kings 17:21; 2 Kings 4:34
Act 20:11a broken Acts 20:7
Act 20:111 eaten
Or, tasted.
Act 20:16a Jerusalem Acts 20:22; 19:21; 24:11
Act 20:161 day
Probably to meet people from different countries who came to Jerusalem on that day (cf. 2:1, 5).
Act 20:16b Pentecost 1 Cor. 16:8
Act 20:17a elders Acts 11:30; 14:23; 1 Tim. 4:14
Act 20:17b church Acts 20:28; 5:11
Act 20:18a Asia Acts 19:10
Act 20:18b how 2 Cor. 1:12; 1 Thes. 1:5
Act 20:19a Serving Rom. 12:11; Col. 3:24
Act 20:19b humility Phil. 2:3; 1 Pet. 3:8; 5:5
Act 20:19c tears Acts 20:31; 2 Cor. 2:4; Phil. 3:18
Act 20:19d trials James 1:2; 1 Pet. 4:12
Act 20:19e plots Acts 20:3
Act 20:20a withhold Acts 20:27
Act 20:20b house Acts 2:46
Act 20:21a testifying Acts 2:40; 20:24
Act 20:21b Greeks Acts 18:4
Act 20:21c repentance Mark 1:15; Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 19:4
Act 20:21d faith John 3:16, 36
Act 20:211 in
Lit., into. The same word for unto in this verse.
Act 20:212
Some MSS add, Christ.
Act 20:221 bound
See note 32.
Act 20:222 spirit
Paul’s regenerated spirit, in which he served God (see note 161 in ch. 17). In his spirit, a spirit joined to the Lord the Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17), Paul sensed beforehand that something would happen to him in Jerusalem, and the Holy Spirit testified this to him (v. 23).
Act 20:22a Jerusalem Acts 20:16; 21:15
Act 20:223 there
Lit., in it.
Act 20:231 Except
Paul did not know what he would encounter in Jerusalem (v. 22), but he did know one thing: the Holy Spirit was solemnly testifying to him that bonds and afflictions awaited him. The Holy Spirit’s testifying was only a prophecy, a foretelling, not a charge. Hence, he must not have taken it as a command but as a warning. See notes 41 and 111 in ch. 21.
Act 20:23a Spirit Acts 21:4, 11
Act 20:23b bonds Acts 21:33
Act 20:23c afflictions Rom. 8:35; 1 Thes. 3:3
Act 20:241 consider
Implying that Paul sensed he was going to be martyred.
Act 20:242a life Acts 15:26; 21:13
Or, soul.
Act 20:24b course 2 Tim. 4:7; Heb. 12:1
Act 20:24c ministry Acts 1:17; 21:19; Rom. 11:13; 2 Cor. 4:1
Act 20:24d testify Acts 2:40; 22:18
Act 20:24e gospel Acts 15:7
Act 20:24f grace Acts 20:32; 4:33; Gal. 2:21
Act 20:251a kingdom Acts 1:3; 28:23
The kingdom of God. See note 34 in ch. 1.
Act 20:25b face Acts 20:38
Act 20:252 no
Indicating that Paul realized beforehand that he would be martyred.
Act 20:261 on
Lit., on today’s day. A very forceful expression.
Act 20:26a this Deut. 8:19
Act 20:262 I
I.e., I am free from blame if any of you should suffer death.
Act 20:26b blood Ezek. 3:18-19; 33:5, 9
Act 20:27a shrink Acts 20:20
Act 20:27b counsel Luke 7:30; Acts 13:36; Eph. 1:11; Heb. 6:17
Act 20:28a Take 1 Tim. 4:16
Act 20:281b flock Luke 12:32; John 10:16
See note 22 in 1 Pet. 5.
Act 20:282c Spirit Acts 13:2; 1 Cor. 12:8-9
The apostles appointed the elders in every church (14:23). But here Paul, the leading one, who did the appointing, said that the Holy Spirit did it, indicating that the Holy Spirit was one with the apostles in their appointing of the elders, and that the apostles did it according to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Act 20:28d placed 1 Cor. 12:28
Act 20:283e overseers Phil. 1:1; Titus 1:7; cf. 1 Pet. 2:25
I.e., the elders of the church (v. 17), proving that overseer and elder are synonymous terms denoting the same person. To make an overseer a bishop of a district to rule over the elders of various localities in that district is grossly erroneous. That is what Ignatius did. His erroneous teaching became the basis for the establishing of rank and brought in the hierarchy (see note 21 in 1 Tim. 3).
Act 20:284f shepherd John 21:16
The main responsibility of the elders as overseers is not to rule over but to shepherd, to take all-inclusive tender care of the flock, the church of God (see notes 21 and 31 in 1 Pet. 5).
Act 20:28g church Acts 20:17; 1 Cor. 1:2; 10:32; Gal. 1:13
Act 20:28h obtained cf. 2 Pet. 2:1; Rev. 5:9
Act 20:285 His
[ par. 1 2 3 ]
Act 20:285 [1] Indicating the precious love of God for the church and the preciousness, the exceeding worth, of the church in the eyes of God. Here the apostle did not touch the divine life and nature of the church as in Eph. 5:23-32, but the value of the church as a treasure to God, a treasure which He acquired with His own precious blood. Paul expected that the elders as overseers would treasure the church as God did.
Act 20:285 [2] Both the Holy Spirit and God’s own blood are divine provisions for the church that He treasures. The Holy Spirit is God Himself, and God’s own blood denotes God’s work. God’s redemptive work acquired the church; now God Himself, the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45), cares for the church through the overseers.
Act 20:285 [3] God’s own blood is the blood of Jesus Christ. This implies that the Lord Jesus is God.
Act 20:28i blood Luke 22:20; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Heb. 9:12, 14
Act 20:29a wolves Matt. 7:15; 10:16; John 10:12
Act 20:291 sparing
The apostle did not care for his own life, but he was very concerned for the future of the church, which was a treasure to him as well as to God.
Act 20:301a draw cf. Rom. 16:17-18
The perverted ones among the believers in the church are always used by the devil, who hates the church, to draw the sheep away to form another flock.
Act 20:31a watch Matt. 24:42; 13:17
Act 20:31b three cf. Acts 19:10; 24:17
Act 20:31c tears Acts 20:19
Act 20:32a commit Acts 14:23
Act 20:321 God
Some MSS read, the Lord.
Act 20:322b grace Acts 20:24
See note 231 in ch. 11.
Act 20:32c build Acts 9:31
Act 20:323d inheritance Acts 26:18; Eph. 1:14; 1 Pet. 1:4
The Greek word here refers to the legal inheritance of a share of an estate. Cf. note 186 in ch. 26.
Act 20:324e sanctified Heb. 13:12; 10:29; 1 Cor. 6:11; Rom. 6:19, 22; 1 Thes. 5:23; 3:13
To participate in God’s inheritance requires us to be sanctified, and to be sanctified requires the word of God’s grace (John 17:17 and note 1).
Act 20:33a coveted 1 Thes. 2:5; cf. 2 Cor. 7:2; 12:17
Act 20:341a hands 1 Cor. 4:12; 1 Thes. 4:11
Making tents (18:3).
Act 20:35a toiling 1 Thes. 2:9; 2 Thes. 3:8; Acts 18:3
Act 20:351 the
Or, the infirm. Referring to those who were weak physically (1 Cor. 11:30); hence, the poor ones.
Act 20:35b weak Rom. 15:1; 1 Thes. 5:14
Act 20:352 It
This word is not recorded in the Gospels; it must have been received by oral communication.
Act 20:35c give Luke 6:38
Act 20:36a knelt Acts 7:60; 21:5
Act 20:37a falling Gen. 33:4; 45:14; 46:29; Luke 15:20
Act 20:38a face Acts 20:25
Act 20:38b escorted Acts 21:5
Act 21:3b Syria Acts 20:3; 15:23, 41
Act 21:41 told
In 20:23 the Holy Spirit made known to Paul that bonds and afflictions awaited him in Jerusalem (see note 1 there). Now the Spirit took a further step to tell him, through some members of the Body of Christ, not to go to Jerusalem. Since Paul practiced the Body life, he should have taken this word and obeyed it as a word from the Head.
Act 21:4a Spirit Acts 21:11; 20:23
Act 21:4b not Acts 21:12
Act 21:4c Jerusalem Acts 19:21; 20:16, 22
Act 21:5a escorting Acts 20:38
Act 21:5b knelt Acts 20:36
Act 21:7a brothers Acts 21:17; 28:14
Act 21:8a Caesarea Acts 21:16; 9:30; 10:1
Act 21:81 house
Wherever Paul went, he visited the brothers and stayed with them (vv. 4, 7). He was actually practicing the Body life of the church, living according to what he taught concerning the Body of Christ.
Act 21:8b Philip Acts 6:5; 8:5, 26, 40
Act 21:8c evangelist Eph. 4:11
Act 21:9a prophesied Acts 2:17-18; 19:6
Act 21:10a Agabus Acts 11:28
Act 21:11a belt cf. Jer. 13:1-11
Act 21:111 says
Again, the Holy Spirit told Paul beforehand, indirectly through a member of the Body of Christ, what would befall Paul in Jerusalem (see note 231 in ch. 20). This was again a warning in the nature of a prophecy, not a charge. It was again the Head speaking through His Body (see note 41). Since Paul practiced the Body life, he should have listened to this speaking.
Act 21:11b bind Acts 21:33; 22:29
Act 21:11c deliver Acts 21:31-33; cf. Luke 18:32
Act 21:121 we
Including Luke, the writer. Here the Body of Christ, through many members, expressed its feeling, entreating Paul not to go to Jerusalem. But because of his strong will, manifested in his readiness even to sacrifice his life for the Lord (v. 13), he would not be persuaded, forcing the members of the Body of Christ to leave this matter to the will of the Lord (v. 14).
Act 21:12a not Acts 21:4
Act 21:12b go cf. Matt. 16:21
Act 21:13a die Acts 15:26; 20:24; Rom. 8:36; Phil. 2:17
Act 21:13b name Acts 5:41
Act 21:14a will Matt. 6:10; 26:42
Act 21:15a Jerusalem Acts 19:21; 20:22
Act 21:16a Caesarea Acts 21:8
Act 21:16b Cyprus Acts 13:4
Act 21:161 lodge
In Jerusalem.
Act 21:171 come
This was the end of Paul’s third ministry journey, which began in 18:23.
Act 21:17a Jerusalem Acts 19:21; 20:16, 22
Act 21:17b brothers Acts 21:7
Act 21:17c welcomed Acts 15:4
Act 21:181a James Acts 15:13; Gal. 2:9, 12; James 1:1
See notes 171 in ch. 12 and 191 in Gal. 1.
Act 21:18b elders Acts 11:30; 15:2, 4, 6
Act 21:19a related Acts 14:27; 15:4, 12
Act 21:19b ministry Acts 20:24
Act 21:20a glorified Acts 11:18
Act 21:201 thousands
Or, myriads, ten thousands.
Act 21:202b zealous Acts 22:3; Gal. 1:14; Phil. 3:6; Rom. 10:2
Indicating that the Jewish believers in Jerusalem still kept the law of Moses, remained in the Old Testament dispensation, and were strongly under the Judaic influence, mixing God’s New Testament economy with the outdated Old Testament economy (see notes 13 in James 1 and 101 in James 2).
Act 21:20c law Acts 21:24
Act 21:21a teaching Acts 21:28
Act 21:211 apostasy
To forsake the law of Moses, not to circumcise, and not to walk according to the customs of dead letters are actually according to God’s New Testament economy. But these were considered by the unbelieving Jews, and even by the Jewish believers in Christ, to be apostasy from God’s Old Testament dispensation.
Act 21:21b not Gal. 6:15; 1 Cor. 7:19; Rom. 2:28-29
Act 21:21c customs Acts 6:14
Act 21:221 They
Some MSS read, A multitude must certainly gather, for they will hear that you have come.
Act 21:231 vow
Referring to the Nazarite vow (Num. 6:2-5).
Act 21:241a purified Acts 24:18
To be purified with the Nazarites was to become a Nazarite with them, joining them in the fulfilling of their vow. The same word is used in the Septuagint in Num. 6:3 in describing the Nazarite’s duties. To take the Nazarite vow was a purification before God.
Act 21:242 expenses
The cost of the offerings, which a Nazarite had to pay for the completion of his purification (Num. 6:13-17). This was very expensive for the poor Nazarites. It was a custom among the Jews, and was considered proof of great piety, that a rich person would pay for the poor the expenses of the offerings.
Act 21:243 shave
To be done at the completion of the Nazarite vow (Num. 6:18). This shaving differed from the shearing in 18:18 (see note 1 there), which was for a private vow.
Act 21:24b law Acts 21:20; James 4:11
Act 21:25a idol Acts 15:20, 29
Act 21:261 being
[ par. 1 2 3 ]
Act 21:261 [1] I.e., participating in their Nazarite vow (see note 241). To do this Paul had to enter into the temple and remain there with the Nazarites until the completion of the seven days of the vow; then the priest would offer the offerings for each one of them, including him. Surely he was clear that such a practice was of the outdated dispensation, which, according to the principle of his teaching in the New Testament ministry, should be repudiated in God’s New Testament economy. Yet he went through with it, probably because of his Jewish background, which had also been manifested earlier in his private vow in 18:18, and probably because he was practicing his word in 1 Cor. 9:20. However, his toleration jeopardized God’s New Testament economy; this God would not tolerate. At this point he must have felt that he was in a predicament, and he must have been deeply troubled, longing to be delivered from it. Just at the time when their vow was to be concluded, God allowed an uproar to rise up against him, and what they intended to accomplish was blown away (v. 27). Moreover, by God’s sovereignty Paul was rescued out of his predicament.
Act 21:261 [2] The mixing of Judaic practices with God’s New Testament economy was not only erroneous in relation to God’s dispensation but also abominable in the eyes of God. This gross mixture was terminated by Him a mere ten years or so later with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, the center of Judaism, through Titus and his Roman army. This rescued and absolutely separated the church from the devastation of Judaism.
Act 21:261 [3] God might have tolerated Paul’s carrying out of a private vow in 18:18, but He would not allow Paul, a vessel chosen by Him not only for the completing of His New Testament revelation (Col. 1:25) but also for the carrying out of His New Testament economy (Eph. 3:2, 7-8), to participate in the Nazarite vow, a strict Judaic practice. In going to Jerusalem, Paul’s intention might have been to clear up the Judaic influence on the church there (see note 211, par. 2, in ch. 19), but God knew that the church there was incurable. Hence, in His sovereignty God allowed Paul to be arrested by the Jews and imprisoned by the Romans that he might write his last eight Epistles (see note 111 in ch. 25), which completed the divine revelation (Col. 1:25) and gave the church a clearer and deeper view concerning God’s New Testament economy (Eph. 3:3-4). Thus, God left the Judaism-influenced church in Jerusalem to remain as it was until the devastating mixture was terminated with the destruction of Jerusalem. For Paul to write his last eight Epistles to complete God’s New Testament revelation was far more important and necessary than for him to accomplish some outward works for the church.
Act 21:262 completion
I.e., the completion of the Nazarite vow (Num. 6:13).
Act 21:26a offering Num. 6:13-17
Act 21:27a Jews Acts 23:12, 20; 13:45
Act 21:27b Asia Acts 24:18
Act 21:27c threw Acts 14:2
Act 21:27d laid Acts 21:30; 26:21
Act 21:281 Men
See note 221 in ch. 2.
Act 21:28a teaches Acts 21:21
Act 21:28b against Acts 6:13
Act 21:282 people
God’s New Testament teaching according to His New Testament economy was indeed against the Jews, who opposed God’s New Testament economy (Matt. 21:41, 43-45; 22:7; 23:32-36; Acts 7:51; 13:40-41), against the law of dead letters (Rom. 3:20, 28; 6:14; 7:4, 6; Gal. 2:19, 21; 5:4), and against the holy place, the temple (Matt. 23:38 and note 1; 24:2; Acts 7:48). Since Paul’s ministry was to carry out God’s New Testament economy, it could not please the Jews, who were possessed and usurped by Satan, the enemy of God, and were instigated by him to oppose and ravage God’s New Testament move. Hence, it offended the Jews and was opposed to the law and the temple, for which they were zealous, and it stirred up their jealousy and hatred to the uttermost, so that they made a plot (20:3) to do away with Paul (vv. 31, 36).
Act 21:283 this
The holy place, the temple.
Act 21:284c profaned Acts 24:6
Lit., made common.
Act 21:285 holy
The temple. See note 154 in Matt. 24.
Act 21:29a Trophimus Acts 20:4
Act 21:30a laid Acts 21:27
Act 21:30b dragged Acts 16:19
Act 21:30c outside cf. 2 Kings 11:15
Act 21:31a kill Acts 23:12; John 16:2
Act 21:311b commander Acts 21:32-33, 37; 22:24; 23:17
A chiliarch, in command of one thousand troops or a cohort.
Act 21:312 cohort
See note 12 in ch. 10.
Act 21:33a bound Acts 20:23; 21:11; 22:29; 26:29
Act 21:33b chains Acts 28:20; Eph. 6:20; Phil. 1:7, 13; 2 Tim. 1:16; Acts 12:6
Act 21:34a shouting Acts 19:32
Act 21:34b barracks Acts 22:24; 23:10
Act 21:36a Away Acts 22:22; Luke 23:18
Act 21:39a Jewish Acts 22:3
Act 21:39b Tarsus Acts 9:11
Act 21:40a motioned Acts 19:33; 12:17
Act 21:40b Hebrew Acts 22:2; 26:14
Act 21:401 dialect
I.e., Aramaic, the language then used in Palestine.
Act 22:11 Men
See note 21 in ch. 7.
Act 22:12b defense Acts 24:10; 25:8
Paul faced his opponents in a way different from Christ’s way. For the accomplishing of His redemption, Christ was like a lamb brought to the slaughter; and like a sheep dumb before its shearer, He did not open His mouth when judged by men (Isa. 53:7; Matt. 26:62-63; 27:12, 14). But as a faithful and bold apostle sent by the Lord, Paul needed to make a defense and exercise his wisdom to save his life from his persecutors that he might fulfill the course of his ministry. Although he was willing and ready to sacrifice his life for the Lord (20:24; note 121 in ch. 21; 21:13), he still endeavored to live longer that he might carry out the Lord’s ministry as much as possible. See notes 252 in this chapter and 31 and 63 in ch. 23.
Act 22:21 dialect
See note 401 in ch. 21.
Act 22:31 a
Lit., a man, a Jew.
Act 22:3a Jew Acts 21:39
Act 22:3c strictness Acts 26:5
Act 22:3d zealous Acts 21:20
Act 22:4a persecuted Phil. 3:6; 1 Tim. 1:13
Act 22:41 Way
See note 21 in ch. 9.
Act 22:4b prisons Acts 22:19; 8:3; 26:10
Act 22:51 assembly
Referring to the presbytery, the eldership (of the Sanhedrin). Hence, the Sanhedrin. See note 226 in Matt. 5.
Act 22:5b letters Acts 9:2; 28:21
Act 22:5c Damascus Acts 9:3; 26:12
Act 22:6a drew vv. 6-11: Acts 9:3-8; 26:12-18
Act 22:71 Me
See note 41 in ch. 9.
Act 22:81 Lord
See note 51 in ch. 9.
Act 22:8a Nazarene Acts 26:9; 3:6
Act 22:91 hear
I.e., understand, as in Mark 4:33; 1 Cor. 14:2. They heard the voice but did not understand it, just as they beheld the light but saw no one (9:7).
Act 22:10a What Acts 16:30
Act 22:101 will
See note 61 in ch. 9.
Act 22:111 not
See note 81 in ch. 9.
Act 22:121a Ananias Acts 9:12, 15
See note 111 in ch. 9.
Act 22:12b well Acts 10:22
Act 22:131a receive Acts 9:12, 17, 18
See note 121 in ch. 9.
Act 22:14a God Acts 5:30; 24:14
Act 22:14b appointed Acts 9:15; 26:16
Act 22:14c will Rom. 12:2; Eph. 1:9; 5:17; Col. 1:9
Act 22:14d righteous Acts 3:14
Act 22:15a witness Acts 1:8; 22:20
Act 22:15b seen Acts 4:20
Act 22:161 be
See notes 361 in ch. 8 and 161 in Mark 16.
Act 22:16a baptized Acts 9:18
Act 22:162b calling Rom. 10:13
See note 211 in ch. 2. Calling on the Lord’s name here was a means for Paul to wash away his sins committed in arresting so many of the believers who called on the Lord’s name. All the believers knew that he had considered calling on the Lord’s name a sign of those whom he should arrest (9:14, 21). Now he had turned to the Lord. In order for Paul to wash away, before God and before all the believers, the sins that he had committed in persecuting and arresting the Lord’s callers, he was charged by Ananias to call on the name that he had formerly abhorred. He had to do this—an act contrary to his former practice—at his baptism, in which he made a public confession of the Lord whom he had persecuted.
Act 22:163 His
His is significant here, pointing particularly to the name of the One whom Paul had hated and persecuted (v. 8).
Act 22:16c name Acts 2:38
Act 22:17a Jerusalem Acts 9:26; 26:20; Gal. 1:18
Act 22:17b temple Luke 18:10; Acts 3:1
Act 22:171 trance
See note 103 in ch. 10.
Act 22:18a testimony Acts 2:40; 23:11
Act 22:19a imprisoning Acts 22:4
Act 22:19b synagogue Acts 26:11; Matt. 10:17
Act 22:20a blood Matt. 23:35
Act 22:20b witness Acts 1:8; 26:16
Act 22:20c shed cf. Acts 7:57-58
Act 22:20d approving Acts 8:1; cf. Luke 11:48
Act 22:21a far Acts 2:39
Act 22:21b Gentiles Acts 13:46-47; 18:6
Act 22:22a Away Acts 21:36
Act 22:22b not Acts 25:24
Act 22:241 commander
See note 311 in ch. 21.
Act 22:24a barracks Acts 21:34
Act 22:24b examined Acts 22:29
Act 22:24c ascertain Acts 23:28; 24:8
Act 22:251 with
Or, for the lashes.
Act 22:252 said
This was Paul’s wisdom, to utilize his Roman citizenship to save himself from suffering persecution. See note 12.
Act 22:25a Roman Acts 22:29; 16:37; 23:27
Act 22:29a examine Acts 22:24
Act 22:29b commander Acts 21:31
Act 22:29c afraid Acts 16:38
Act 22:29d Roman Acts 22:25
Act 22:29e bound Acts 21:11, 33
Act 22:301a Sanhedrin Acts 4:15
See note 51.
Act 23:11a Sanhedrin Acts 4:15
See note 51 in ch. 22.
Act 23:12 Men
See note 161 in ch. 1.
Act 23:13b conscience 2 Cor. 1:12; 1 Tim. 3:9; 2 Tim. 1:3; Heb. 13:18
After man’s fall and his being sent out of the garden of Eden (Gen. 3:23), God in His dispensation wanted man to be responsible to his own conscience. But man failed to live and walk according to his conscience and fell further into wickedness (Gen. 6:5). After the judgment of the flood, God ordained that man should be under human government (Gen. 9:6). Man failed in this also. Then, before fulfilling His promise to Abraham concerning the blessing of the nations in his seed, Christ (Gen. 12:3; Gal. 3:8), God put man under the test of the law (Rom. 3:20; 5:20). Man failed this test utterly. All these failures indicate that man has fallen from God to his conscience, from his conscience to human government, and from human government to lawlessness; that is, man has fallen to the uttermost. Hence, to conduct oneself in all good conscience before God, as Paul did, was a great return to God from man’s fall. Paul spoke this word to vindicate himself before those who accused him of being a lawless and even reckless person. In his defense he referred again to his conscience in 24:16. This showed his high standard of morality, in contrast to the hypocrisy of the Jewish religionists and the crookedness of the Roman (Gentile) politicians. See notes 121 in this chapter, 21, 241, 261, and 273 in ch. 24, and 91 and 132 in ch. 25.
Act 23:2b strike 1 Kings 22:24; Lam. 3:30; Micah 5:1; Matt. 26:67; 2 Cor. 11:20
Act 23:31 said
This was Paul’s straightforwardness and boldness in dealing with his persecutors. See note 12 in ch. 22.
Act 23:3a whitewashed Matt. 23:27
Act 23:3b wall Isa. 30:13; Ezek. 13:10-16
Act 23:32c judge Lev. 19:35; Deut. 25:1-2
Or, condemn.
Act 23:4a high John 18:22
Act 23:5a You Exo. 22:28
Act 23:5b speak cf. 2 Pet. 2:10; Jude 8
Act 23:61a Sadducees Matt. 22:23
See note 72 in Matt. 3.
Act 23:62 Pharisees
See note 71 in Matt. 3.
Act 23:63 cried
Here again Paul exercised his wisdom to avoid suffering persecution. See note 12 in ch. 22.
Act 23:6b Sanhedrin Acts 23:1, 20, 28
Act 23:64 Men
See note 161 in ch. 1.
Act 23:6c Pharisee Acts 26:5; Phil. 3:5
Act 23:6d hope Acts 24:15; 26:6-7
Act 23:6e resurrection Acts 24:21; 26:8
Act 23:65 judged
Or, condemned.
Act 23:8a no Matt. 22:23; 1 Cor. 15:12
Act 23:9a scribes Mark 2:16; Acts 4:5
Act 23:9b nothing Acts 25:10
Act 23:9c angel John 12:29
Act 23:10a dissension Acts 23:7
Act 23:101 commander
See note 311 in ch. 21.
Act 23:102 ordered
This was the Lord’s sovereignty exercised to rescue Paul from the hand of the Jews. Through the riot of the Jews in Jerusalem, God delivered Paul out of the predicament into which he fell when he took James’s compromising proposal and participated in the Nazarite vow. Now, through the commander of the Roman cohort, God in His sovereignty again rescued Paul, this time from the hand of the rioting Jews, who had attempted to kill him, that He might separate him from all the dangerous situations and entrapments and send him to a quiet prison. This was to afford him a quiet environment and give him time, whether in Caesarea (24:27) or in the city of Rome (28:16, 23, 30), that through his last Epistles he might release exhaustively to the church throughout the generations the revelation of the mystery of God’s New Testament economy that he received from the Lord. The benefit and profit that the church throughout the generations has received from these Epistles will take eternity to measure.
Act 23:10b barracks Acts 23:16, 32; 21:34; 22:24
Act 23:11a night Acts 18:9; 27:23
Act 23:111 following
According to the Jewish calendar, sundown is the beginning of the next day.
Act 23:112b stood 2 Tim. 4:17; 1 Sam. 3:10
The Lord was living all the time in Paul essentially (Gal. 2:20). Now, to strengthen and encourage him, the Lord stood by him economically. This showed the Lord’s faithfulness and good care for His servant.
Act 23:11c courage Matt. 14:27; John 16:33
Act 23:113 solemnly
The Lord admitted that the apostle did bear a solemn testimony concerning Him in Jerusalem. A testimony differs from mere teaching (see note 401 in ch. 2).
Act 23:11d testified Acts 2:40; 26:22
Act 23:114 testify
To carry out His heavenly ministry for the propagating of Himself that the kingdom of God might be established for the building up of the churches as His fullness, the ascended Christ wanted to use not a group of preachers trained by man’s teaching to do a preaching work, but a body of His witnesses, martyrs, who bore a living testimony of the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and ascended Christ (see notes 83 in ch. 1 and 161 in ch. 26). Satan could instigate the Jewish religionists and utilize the Gentile politicians to bind the apostles and their evangelistic ministry, but he could not bind Christ’s living witnesses and their living testimonies. The more they bound the apostles and their evangelistic ministry, the stronger and brighter these martyrs of Christ and their living testimonies became. In His appearing to the apostle, the Lord indicated that He would not rescue him immediately from his bonds but would leave him in bonds and bring him to Rome that he might testify concerning Him, as he had done in Jerusalem. The Lord encouraged Paul to do this.
Act 23:115 Rome
This was to fulfill Paul’s desire in 19:21. See note 241 in ch. 27.
Act 23:12a Jews Acts 23:20; 21:27; 13:45
Act 23:121b plot Acts 9:24; 20:3; 23:30, 16
The plot in vv. 12-15 manifested the falsehood and satanic hatred (John 8:44; Matt. 23:34) in the hypocritical Jewish religionists. See note 13.
Act 23:122 put
To put themselves under a curse means that they would keep their vow, and that if they were to break the vow, they were willing to be cursed. (So also in v. 21.)
Act 23:12c killed Acts 23:14-15, 21, 27; 25:3; 21:31
Act 23:141 We
Lit., We have cursed ourselves with a curse. This means that they were bound under a curse and could not break their vow. It is a very strong expression.
Act 23:151 determine
I.e., determine by thorough investigation (see also 24:22).
Act 23:15a do Acts 23:21; 9:24; 25:3
Act 23:161 heard
This too was the Lord’s sovereignty exercised to secretly rescue Paul’s life.
Act 23:16a ambush Acts 25:3; 23:12
Act 23:16b barracks Acts 23:10, 32
Act 23:17a commander Acts 21:31
Act 23:18a prisoner Eph. 3:1
Act 23:20a agreed Acts 23:14-15
Act 23:20b Sanhedrin Acts 23:6
Act 23:21a done Acts 23:12, 15; 9:24; 25:3
Act 23:231 spearmen
Or, slingers; lightly armed soldiers.
Act 23:232 third
I.e., 9:00 p.m.
Act 23:241a Felix Acts 24:3; 25:14
The Roman governor of the province of Judea.
Act 23:24b governor Acts 23:33; 24:1, 10; 26:30; Luke 3:1; 20:20
Act 23:26a Excellency Acts 24:3
Act 23:26b rejoice Acts 15:23
Act 23:27a seized Acts 21:27
Act 23:27b done Acts 23:21
Act 23:27c Roman Acts 22:25
Act 23:28a ascertain Acts 22:24
Act 23:29a questions Acts 25:19
Act 23:29b law Acts 18:13, 15
Act 23:29c worthy Acts 25:25; 26:31; 28:18
Act 23:30a disclosed Acts 23:16-21
Act 23:30b plot Acts 23:12
Act 23:30c accusers Acts 23:35; 24:19; 25:16
Act 23:311 Antipatris
A place about forty Roman miles from Jerusalem and about twenty-six from Caesarea.
Act 23:32a barracks Acts 23:10
Act 23:33a Caesarea Acts 25:1
Act 23:34a Cilicia Acts 21:39
Act 23:35a accusers Acts 23:30
Act 23:351b praetorium Matt. 27:27; John 18:28, 33; 19:9
The palace of the former kings, built by Herod the Great. It became the official residence of the governor of the Roman province of Judea. Paul was guarded there leniently, not confined in the common prison.
Act 24:11 orator
I.e., a spokesman, one who knew Roman legal procedure.
Act 24:1b governor Acts 23:24
Act 24:21 Since
Tertullus’s word from here to the end of v. 3 displayed his baseness, his lack of any ethical standard. See note 13 in ch. 23.
Act 24:3a excellent Acts 23:26; 26:25; Luke 1:3
Act 24:3b Felix Acts 23:24
Act 24:5a agitator cf. Luke 23:2
Act 24:5b insurrections Acts 17:6
Act 24:5c sect Acts 24:14; 28:22; cf. Acts 5:17; 15:5; 26:5
Act 24:6a profane Acts 21:28
Act 24:61 and
Many ancient MSS omit the section from this word through come to you in v. 8.
Act 24:8a ascertain Acts 22:24
Act 24:101a defense Acts 25:8
See note 12 in ch. 22.
Act 24:11a worship Acts 8:27
Act 24:11b Jerusalem Acts 21:12, 17
Act 24:12a neither Acts 25:8; 28:17
Act 24:12b temple Acts 21:26-30
Act 24:13a Neither Acts 25:7
Act 24:141a Way Acts 24:22
See note 21 in ch. 9.
Act 24:14b sect Acts 24:5
Act 24:142c serve Acts 27:23; Rom. 1:9; 2 Tim. 1:3; Heb. 9:14; 12:28
Lit., serve as a priest.
Act 24:14d God Acts 5:30; 22:14
Act 24:14e Law Acts 26:22; 28:23; Matt. 11:13; Rom. 3:21
Act 24:15a hope Acts 23:6
Act 24:151 resurrection
The resurrection of the righteous will occur before the millennium at the Lord’s coming back (1 Cor. 15:23; 1 Thes. 4:16). This will be the resurrection of life (John 5:28-29a and notes; Dan. 12:2a) and the resurrection of reward (Luke 14:14), which includes the first, or the best, resurrection (Rev. 20:4-6 and notes 52 and 62), the out-resurrection (Phil. 3:11 and note 2). The resurrection of the unrighteous will occur after the millennium (Rev. 20:5). This will be the resurrection of judgment (John 5:29b and notes) and of shame and everlasting contempt (Dan. 12:2b), and will be for the judgment of eternal perdition upon the unrighteous (Rev. 20:12-15 and note 121). It was concerning this judgment that the apostle warned the unrighteous Felix in v. 25 (see note 2 there).
Act 24:16a exercise 1 Tim. 4:7
Act 24:161b conscience 2 Cor. 1:12; 1 Tim. 3:9; 2 Tim. 1:3; Heb. 13:18
See note 13 in ch. 23.
Act 24:17a many cf. Acts 19:10; 20:31
Act 24:17b alms Rom. 15:26, 31; 1 Cor. 16:1-3; 2 Cor. 8:2-3; 9:5, 7, 13; Acts 11:29-30
Act 24:17c nation Acts 26:4; 28:19
Act 24:181 purified
See note 241 in ch. 21.
Act 24:18a Asia Acts 21:27
Act 24:19a accusation Acts 23:30
Act 24:20a Sanhedrin Acts 23:1
Act 24:21a resurrection Acts 24:15; 23:6
Act 24:22a Way Acts 24:14
Act 24:22b commander Acts 21:31
Act 24:23a keep Acts 28:16
Act 24:23b liberty Acts 27:3
Act 24:241 Drusilla
A daughter of King Herod Agrippa. She was persuaded by Felix, who became enamored of her, to forsake her husband and marry him. This showed the intemperance and corruption of Felix, a Roman politician. See note 13 in ch. 23.
Act 24:24a faith Acts 20:21; Gal. 2:16
Act 24:251 reasoning
Lit., saying thoroughly, discussing (in argument or exhortation), disputing. The same as in 17:2; 18:4, 19.
Act 24:252a righteousness Titus 2:12
Realizing Felix’s unrighteousness (vv. 26-27) and intemperance (see note 241), the apostle reasoned with Felix regarding righteousness and self-control, the control of passions and desires, especially, here, sexual desires. The coming judgment is related to the resurrection of the unrighteous, which the apostle preached in v. 15 (see note 1 there). The apostle reasoned with Felix regarding the coming judgment also; this was a warning to Felix. Through this, Felix became afraid. See notes 421 in ch. 10 and 311 in ch. 17.
Act 24:25b self-control 1 Tim. 3:2; 2 Pet. 1:6
Act 24:25c judgment Rom. 2:2-3, 5, 16; 2 Tim. 4:1; 1 Pet. 4:5; Rev. 20:12
Act 24:25d will Acts 17:32
Act 24:261a money cf. Exo. 23:8
This indicated the Roman politician’s corruption. See note 13 in ch. 23.
Act 24:271 two
Luke does not disclose what the apostle did during these two years. He might have used the time to be with the Lord for His move on earth. If so, this might have influenced the Epistles he wrote during the time of his appeal in Rome—Colossians, Ephesians, and Philippians—which are the most mysterious, most profound, and richest in the divine revelation. The supply that they have brought to the church throughout the generations cannot be fully told.
Act 24:272a Festus Acts 25:1; 26:24-25
Felix’s successor as the governor of Judea.
Act 24:273 gain
Lit., grant favor to; i.e., grant favor to gain favor. This again showed the corruption of Roman politics.
Act 24:27b favor Acts 25:9; 12:3; Mark 15:15
Act 24:27c left Acts 25:14
Act 24:27d bound Acts 22:29
Act 25:1a Festus Acts 24:27
Act 25:1b Caesarea Acts 23:33
Act 25:2a chief Acts 25:15; 24:1
Act 25:3a ambush Acts 23:16, 12
Act 25:3b do Acts 23:15, 21
Act 25:51 influential
Lit., powerful.
Act 25:52 wrong
Or, out of place, amiss.
Act 25:5a accuse Acts 25:11
Act 25:6a judgment Acts 25:10, 17; Matt. 27:19
Act 25:7a charges Acts 25:18, 11; cf. Luke 23:2, 10
Act 25:7b not Acts 24:13
Act 25:81a defense Acts 24:10; 25:16
See note 12 in ch. 22.
Act 25:8b Neither Acts 24:12; 28:17
Act 25:8e Caesar John 19:12
Act 25:91 gain
This exposed the corruption of another Roman politician. See notes 13 in ch. 23 and 273 in ch. 24.
Act 25:9a favor Acts 24:27
Act 25:9b Jerusalem Acts 25:20
Act 25:10a judgment Acts 25:6, 17
Act 25:10b nothing Acts 23:9
Act 25:11a worthy Acts 25:25; 23:29; 26:31; 28:18
Act 25:11b accuse Acts 25:5, 7, 16; 24:19
Act 25:111c appeal Acts 25:21, 25; 26:32; 28:19
For his defense Paul wanted to appeal to Caesar (see notes 12 in ch. 22 and 322 in ch. 26). This would allow him to fulfill his desire to see Rome for the furtherance of the Lord’s testimony (19:21) and was according to the Lord’s indication to him (23:11). Without this appeal he would have been killed by the Jews who plotted against him (cf. 23:12-15; 25:1-3, 9) and would not have been able to write his last eight Epistles. Before his appeal to Rome, he had written only six Epistles: 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Galatians, Romans, and 1 and 2 Corinthians. During his first imprisonment in Rome he wrote Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon. After that imprisonment he wrote 1 Timothy, Titus, and Hebrews. Then, during his second imprisonment he wrote 2 Timothy. Without these last eight Epistles, what a lack the divine revelation would have and what a loss the church would have suffered! His appeal did render great profit and benefit to the Lord’s interest.
Act 25:112 Caesar
Caesar Nero.
Act 25:121 council
The council of a Roman province, composed of the councilors or assessors chosen by the governor of the province, with whom the governor usually consulted concerning an appeal like Paul’s.
Act 25:131a Agrippa Acts 25:23; 26:30-31
Herod Agrippa II, who reigned over the region north and east of Galilee, a Jew by religion, the son of the Herod in ch. 12.
Act 25:132 Bernice
The sister of Drusilla, Felix’s wife (24:24). She was also a sister of Agrippa, with whom she lived incestuously. This again showed the corruption of the politicians in the circle of Roman politics. See note 13 in ch. 23.
Act 25:13b Caesarea Acts 25:1
Act 25:14a left Acts 24:27
Act 25:14b prisoner Acts 25:27
Act 25:14c Felix Acts 23:24
Act 25:15a chief Acts 25:2
Act 25:16a custom John 7:51
Act 25:16b accused Acts 25:11
Act 25:16c accusers Acts 23:30
Act 25:16d defense Acts 25:8
Act 25:17a judgment Acts 25:6, 10
Act 25:18a charge Acts 25:7
Act 25:19a questions Acts 23:9, 29
Act 25:191 religion
See note 222 in ch. 17.
Act 25:19b alive Acts 17:18
Act 25:201 being
Or, being perplexed; i.e., not knowing what to do.
Act 25:20a Jerusalem Acts 25:9
Act 25:211 the
Lit., the Augustus; a title of the Roman emperor. So also in v. 25.
Act 25:21a Emperor Acts 25:25
Act 25:23a Agrippa Acts 25:13; 26:32
Act 25:231 commanders
See note 311 in ch. 21.
Act 25:24a Jews Acts 25:2, 7
Act 25:24b not Acts 22:22
Act 25:25a worthy Acts 25:11
Act 25:25b appealed Acts 25:11
Act 25:251 decided
This was the sovereignty of the Lord.
Act 25:261 you
Plural, referring to the commanders and prominent men who were present (v. 23).
Act 25:27a prisoner Acts 25:14
Act 26:1a defense Acts 24:10; 25:8
Act 26:2a accused Acts 26:7; 25:16
Act 26:21 defense
See note 12 in ch. 22.
Act 26:31 Especially
Or, Since you are especially expert in.
Act 26:32 familiar
Lit., a knower of, one who is acquainted with.
Act 26:3b questions Acts 25:19
Act 26:4a nation Acts 24:17; 28:19
Act 26:51 religion
Or, zealous worship to God. See note 261 in James 1.
Act 26:6a hope Acts 23:6; 24:15; 28:20
Act 26:7a twelve Matt. 19:28; James 1:1
Act 26:8a raises Acts 2:24; 1 Cor. 15:12
Act 26:9a contrary 1 Tim. 1:13
Act 26:10a prison Acts 8:3; 22:19
Act 26:10b authority Acts 9:14
Act 26:10c cast cf. Acts 8:1; 22:20
Act 26:11a synagogues Acts 22:19
Act 26:11b persecuted Acts 8:1; Gal. 1:13
Act 26:111 foreign
Lit., outside.
Act 26:12a journeyed vv. 12-18: Acts 9:3-8; 22:6-11
Act 26:14a Hebrew Acts 21:40; 22:2
Act 26:141 Me
See note 41 in ch. 9.
Act 26:142 goads
A goad on a plow is a sharp-pointed stick used to subdue and prod an ox yoked to the plow. The Lord’s word here signifies that Saul was already yoked to the plow and had no choice but to take the Lord’s yoke obediently for the carrying out of the Lord’s commission. It was hard for him to kick against the goads on the Lord’s plow.
Act 26:151 Lord
See note 51 in ch. 9.
Act 26:16a appoint Acts 22:14
Act 26:161b witness Acts 1:8
Not only a minister but also a witness. A minister is for the ministry; a witness, for the testimony. The ministry is related mainly to the work, to what a minister does; a testimony is related to the person, to what a witness is (see notes 83 in ch. 1 and 114 in ch. 23).
Act 26:16c seen Acts 22:15
Act 26:17a from Acts 12:11
Act 26:17b Gentiles Acts 9:15; Rom. 11:13
Act 26:181 open
This was to carry out the fulfillment of God’s jubilee, the acceptable year of the Lord, proclaimed by the Lord Jesus in Luke 4:18-21 (see note 191 in Luke 4) according to God’s New Testament economy. The first item of the spiritual and divine blessings of the New Testament jubilee, which are the blessings of the gospel of God, is to open the eyes of those who are fallen and turn them from darkness to light, that they may see the divine things in the spiritual realm. To see these things requires spiritual sight and divine light.
Act 26:18a eyes Luke 4:18; Eph. 1:18
Act 26:182b darkness Isa. 9:2; Luke 1:79; John 8:12; 1 Pet. 2:9; 1 John 2:8, 11
Darkness is a sign of sin and death; light, a sign of righteousness and life (John 1:4; 8:12).
Act 26:18c light Acts 26:23; Eph. 5:8; Col. 1:12; John 1:4; 9:5
Act 26:183 authority
The authority of Satan is Satan’s kingdom, which belongs to darkness (Matt. 12:26 and note 1).
Act 26:184 to
I.e., to the authority of God, to God’s kingdom, which belongs to light.
Act 26:185d forgiveness Acts 5:31; Luke 24:47
The base of all the blessings of the New Testament jubilee.
Act 26:186 an
Lit., a portion; referring to a portion of an inheritance. This inheritance is the Triune God Himself with all He has, all He has done, and all He will do for His redeemed people. The Triune God is embodied in the all-inclusive Christ (Col. 2:9), who is the portion allotted to the saints as their inheritance (Col. 1:12). The Holy Spirit, who has been given to the saints, is the foretaste, the pledge, and the guarantee of this divine inheritance (Rom. 8:23; Eph. 1:14), which we are sharing and enjoying today as a foretaste in God’s New Testament jubilee, and which we will enjoy in full in the coming age and for eternity (1 Pet. 1:4). In the type of the jubilee in Lev. 25:8-13, the main blessings are the liberty proclaimed and the returning of every man to his own possession. In the fulfillment of the jubilee here, liberation from the authority of darkness and the receiving of the divine inheritance are the primary blessings (cf. note 323 in ch. 20).
Act 26:18e inheritance Acts 20:32
Act 26:187 sanctified
Not only positionally but also dispositionally (Rom. 6:19 and note 2, 22). To be sanctified positionally is only to have a change in position and purpose; to be sanctified dispositionally is to be transformed in nature by and with the holy nature of God (2 Cor. 3:18). To be sanctified is to be saturated with God as our possession for our enjoyment today. Our sanctification will consummate in our maturity in the divine life that we may resemble God and be qualified to fully possess and enjoy Him as our inheritance in the coming age and for eternity.
Act 26:191 vision
Not a doctrine, a theory, a religious creed, or any theology, but a heavenly vision, in which the apostle saw the divine things concerning the dispensing of the Triune God into His chosen, redeemed, and transformed people. All his preaching in this book and his writing in his fourteen Epistles, from Romans through Hebrews, are a detailed description of this heavenly vision seen by Paul.
Act 26:20a Damascus Acts 9:19-20
Act 26:20b Jerusalem Acts 9:26-29; 22:17-18
Act 26:20c all Matt. 3:5; Acts 1:8
Act 26:20d Gentiles Acts 13:46
Act 26:20e repent Acts 2:38; 17:30
Act 26:20f turn Acts 14:15; 1 Thes. 1:9
Act 26:20g worthy Matt. 3:8
Act 26:21a seized Acts 21:27, 30
Act 26:221a help Heb. 13:6
Or, assistance. The Greek word originally meant alliance. This implies that the apostle was allied with God and realized God’s assistance in this alliance.
Act 26:22b stood Eph. 6:13
Act 26:22c testifying Acts 2:40; 28:23
Act 26:22d prophets Acts 10:43; 24:14
Act 26:22e Moses Luke 24:27, 44; Acts 28:23
Act 26:23a suffer Luke 24:26, 46; Acts 3:18
Act 26:231 to
Lit., out of the resurrection of the dead.
Act 26:23b rise Acts 2:24; 3:15
Act 26:232c light Acts 26:18
Indicating the enlightenment of God, who is light (1 John 1:5), shining in Christ, who is the light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5), through the preaching of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4, 6).
Act 26:241a insane Mark 3:21; 2 Cor. 5:13
Or, raving mad (so also in the next verse).
Act 26:25a excellent Acts 24:3
Act 26:25b Festus Acts 24:27
Act 26:25c truth 2 Cor. 6:7; 7:14; 12:6
Act 26:25d soberness 2 Tim. 1:7; Titus 2:6
Act 26:261 knows
Agrippa, a Jew by religion, knew the things of the Old Testament and of resurrection.
Act 26:262 freely
Or, boldly, plainly.
Act 26:28a Christian Acts 11:26; 1 Pet. 4:16
Act 26:29b bonds Acts 21:33
Act 26:30a governor Acts 25:14
Act 26:30b Bernice Acts 25:13, 23
Act 26:30c those Acts 25:24
Act 26:31a worthy Acts 23:29; 25:25
Act 26:32a Agrippa Acts 25:23
Act 26:321 This
In this section, 21:27—26:32, a long narration of the Jews’ final persecution of the apostle, the genuine characteristics of all the involved parties were made manifest: (1) the darkness, blindness, hatred, and hypocrisy of the Jewish religion; (2) the injustice and corruption of Roman politics; (3) the transparency, brightness, faithfulness, and courage of the apostle; and (4) the Lord’s encouraging care for His witness and His sovereignty over the entire situation for the carrying out of His divine purpose.
Act 26:32b released Acts 28:18
Act 26:322 not
But without his appeal to Caesar, the apostle might have been killed by the Jews through Festus’s unjust handling of him (25:9), and thus his life might not have been preserved to that day. See note 111 in ch. 25.
Act 26:32c appealed Acts 25:11; 28:19
Act 27:11 we
Including the writer, Luke.
Act 27:12 Augustan
Perhaps an imperial cohort named by Caesar Augustus (cf. Luke 2:1).
Act 27:13 cohort
See note 12 in ch. 10.
Act 27:21 put
This was the beginning of the apostle’s fourth ministry journey, which ended in 28:31.
Act 27:2a Aristarchus Acts 19:29
Act 27:3a kindly Acts 24:23
Act 27:6a Alexandrian Acts 28:11
Act 27:91 Fast
I.e., the Day of Expiation (Lev. 16:29-31; 23:27-29; Num. 29:7).
Act 27:101 Men
See note 261 in ch. 7.
Act 27:11a owner Rev. 18:17
Act 27:121 facing
Or, down the southwest wind and down the northwest wind.
Act 27:141 the
Lit., it.
Act 27:14a wind Mark 4:37
Act 27:142 Euraquilo
I.e., the Northeasterner.
Act 27:161 get
I.e., to secure on deck the small boat, which in calm weather was attached by a rope to the vessel’s stern (Vincent).
Act 27:16a small Acts 27:30
Act 27:171 used
I.e., passed cables around the body of the ship.
Act 27:17a feared Acts 27:29
Act 27:172 Syrtis
A shoal by this name, southwest of the island of Crete.
Act 27:173 lowered
Or, dropped the sea anchor.
Act 27:18a jettison Acts 27:38; Jonah 1:5
Act 27:191 gear
Or, furniture.
Act 27:211 men
See note 261 in ch. 7.
Act 27:212 should
Although Paul was a prisoner in bonds, his behavior displayed much ascendancy with dignity. Luke’s narration, as an account of the Lord’s move on earth, stresses not doctrine but the testimony of the Lord’s witnesses (1:8). Hence, in his narration there are no details related to doctrine; rather, there are details regarding the things that happened to His witnesses, in order to portray the testimonies in their lives. This is especially so with Paul’s voyage in the last two chapters of this book.
Act 27:22a cheer Acts 27:25, 36
Act 27:23a night Acts 18:9; 23:11
Act 27:23b angel Acts 8:26
Act 27:231d serve Acts 24:14; Rom. 1:9; Dan. 6:16
Lit., serve as a priest.
Act 27:23e stood 2 Tim. 4:17
Act 27:24a not Acts 18:9; John 16:33; Isa. 41:10
Act 27:241 stand
This was to fulfill the Lord’s promise in 23:11 and the apostle’s desire in 19:21.
Act 27:24b granted cf. Gen. 18:26; 19:21, 29
Act 27:25a cheer Acts 27:22, 36
Act 27:251 men
See note 261 in ch. 7.
Act 27:25b believe 2 Tim. 1:12
Act 27:25c spoken Luke 1:45
Act 27:26a aground Acts 27:29
Act 27:26b island Acts 28:1
Act 27:281 took
To let down a lead into the sea to determine the depth.
Act 27:282 fathoms
One fathom is about six feet.
Act 27:29a fearing Acts 27:17
Act 27:29b aground Acts 27:26
Act 27:291 rocky
Lit., rough.
Act 27:30a small Acts 27:16
Act 27:34a hair 1 Sam. 14:45; 2 Sam. 14:11; 1 Kings 1:52; Matt. 10:30; Luke 21:18
Act 27:35a thanks Matt. 15:36
Act 27:35b eat 1 Cor. 10:30-31
Act 27:36a cheerful Acts 27:22, 25
Act 27:38a throwing Acts 27:18
Act 27:41a broken 2 Cor. 11:25
Act 27:42a kill cf. Acts 12:19
Act 27:431 intending
This was again the sovereignty of the Lord exercised to save His servant’s life.
Act 27:44a safely Acts 27:22
Act 28:1a island Acts 27:26
Act 28:11 Malta
Or, Melita.
Act 28:21 natives
Or, barbarians (so also in v. 4); those who spoke neither Greek nor Latin but were not necessarily uncivilized.
Act 28:3a viper Amos 5:19; 9:3
Act 28:41 snake
Lit., beast. Medical writers used this term to denote poisonous snakes. (The same word is used in v. 5.)
Act 28:42 Justice
Gk. Dike, perhaps a reference to the goddess in Greek mythology, who was in charge of meting out justice.
Act 28:5a snake Mark 16:18; Luke 10:19
Act 28:61a god Acts 14:11
The apostle was not a god, in contrast to what the curious natives believed in their superstition. Rather, in his living and ministry he expressed the very true God, who in Jesus Christ had gone through the processes of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection, and who, as the all-inclusive Spirit, was then living in him and through him.
Act 28:8a fever Matt. 8:14
Act 28:8c laid Mark 5:23; 16:18; Luke 13:13; Acts 9:12
Act 28:91 healed
On the sea in the storm, the Lord had made the apostle not only the owner of his fellow voyagers (27:24) but also their life-guarantor and comforter (27:22, 25). Now, on the land in peace, the Lord made him furthermore not only a magical attraction in the eyes of the superstitious people (vv. 3-6) but also a healer and a joy to them (vv. 8-9). All during the apostle’s long and unfortunate imprisonment-voyage, the Lord kept the apostle in His ascendancy and enabled him to live a life far beyond the realm of anxiety. This life was fully dignified, with the highest standard of human virtues expressing the most excellent divine attributes, a life that resembled the one that the Lord Himself had lived on the earth years before. This was Jesus living again on the earth in His divinely enriched humanity! This was the wonderful, excellent, and mysterious God-man, who lived in the Gospels, continuing to live in the Acts through one of His many members! This was a living witness of the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and God-exalted Christ! Paul in his voyage lived and magnified Christ (Phil. 1:20-21). It is no wonder that the people honored him and his companions with many honors (v. 10), that is, with the greatest respect and highest regard! An ambassador sent by God should be treated by men with such respect and regard.
Act 28:11a Alexandrian Acts 27:6
Act 28:111 twin
Gk. Dioskouroi, the twin sons of Zeus, Castor and Pollux, the guardian deities of sailors. A figure of these two was affixed to the stern.
Act 28:11b Zeus Acts 14:12; 19:35
Act 28:14a brothers Acts 21:7
Act 28:151 there
I.e., Rome.
Act 28:152 brothers
The warm welcome of the brothers from Rome and the loving care of those in Puteoli (vv. 13-14) show the beautiful Body life that existed in the early days among the churches and apostles. This life was a part of the heavenly kingdom life on the Satan-darkened and man-inhabited earth. Apparently, the apostle, as a prisoner in bonds, had entered the region of the dark capital of the Satan-usurped empire; actually, as the ambassador of Christ with His authority (Eph. 6:20; Matt. 28:18-19), he had come into another part of the participation in the Body life of Christ’s church in the kingdom of God on earth. While he was suffering the persecution of religion in the empire of Satan, he was enjoying the church life in the kingdom of God. This was a comfort and an encouragement to him.
Act 28:153 Market
A place more than forty miles from Rome.
Act 28:154 Three
A place more than thirty miles from Rome.
Act 28:155 took
This indicates that the apostle was quite human. Although he had been encouraged by the Lord directly (23:11) and was very courageous throughout his voyage (27:22-25, 33-36), he still took courage at the brothers’ warm welcome. It was in his uplifted humanity with its human virtues that Christ with His divine attributes was expressed during his voyage. He magnified Christ continually in his adverse situation (Phil. 1:20).
Act 28:16a guarding Acts 24:23
Act 28:171 Men
See note 161 in ch. 1.
Act 28:17a nothing Acts 24:12-13; 25:8
Act 28:17b customs Acts 6:14; 15:1
Act 28:18a release Acts 26:32
Act 28:18b cause Acts 23:29; 25:25; 26:31
Act 28:19a appeal Acts 25:11
Act 28:19b nation Acts 24:17; 26:4
Act 28:20a hope Acts 26:6-7
Act 28:20b chain Acts 21:33; 26:29; Eph. 6:20; Phil. 1:7, 13-14; 2 Tim. 1:16
Act 28:21a letters Acts 22:5
Act 28:22a sect Acts 24:5, 14
Act 28:22b spoken Luke 2:34; 1 Pet. 2:12; 3:16
Act 28:23a expounded Luke 24:27; Acts 17:3
Act 28:23b testifying Acts 2:40
Act 28:231c kingdom Acts 28:31; 1:3
See note 34 in ch. 1.
Act 28:23d persuading Acts 19:8
Act 28:23e Moses Acts 26:22
Act 28:23f Prophets Acts 24:14
Act 28:24a some Acts 14:4; 17:4
Act 28:261 Go
God the Father spoke this word to the stubborn children of Israel in Isa. 6:9-10. God the Son quoted this word to the rejecting Jews in Matt. 13:14-15. And now God the Spirit through the apostle repeated this word as He spoke to the hardhearted people. This indicates that in all the moves of the Divine Trinity the children of Israel were disobedient to the God of grace. Thus, He turned to the Gentiles for the carrying out of His New Testament economy in the spreading of His kingdom for the building up of the churches through the propagation of the resurrected and ascended Christ (v. 28).
Act 28:27a heart Mark 6:52; John 12:40
Act 28:271 fat
I.e., dull.
Act 28:27b eyes Rom. 11:8
Act 28:28a salvation Rom. 11:11; Isa. 49:6
Act 28:28b Gentiles Acts 13:46
Act 28:28c hear Acts 13:48; John 10:16
Act 28:291 And
Many MSS omit this verse.
Act 28:301 two
During this time the apostle wrote the Epistles to the Colossians (cf. Col. 4:3, 10, 18), Ephesians (cf. Eph. 3:1; 4:1; 6:20), and Philippians (cf. Phil. 1:7, 14, 17), and the Epistle to Philemon (cf. Philem. 1, 9). In Phil. 1:25; 2:24; and Philem. 22, he was expecting to be released from imprisonment. Probably after these two years he was released and visited Ephesus and Macedonia (1 Tim. 1:3). In addition, he visited Crete (Titus 1:5), Nicopolis (Titus 3:12), Troas, and Miletus (2 Tim. 4:13, 20). See note 62 in 2 Tim. 4.
Act 28:302 welcomed
I.e., received by welcoming, as in Luke 8:40.
Act 28:311 Proclaiming
This was the end of the apostle’s fourth ministry journey, which began in 27:2.
Act 28:312a kingdom Acts 28:23
[ par. 1 2 3 ]
Act 28:312 [1] The kingdom of God is one of the matters emphasized in this book. Luke’s writing here both begins (1:3) and ends with the kingdom of God.
Act 28:312 [2] This book was not actually ended; rather, it was left open that more may be added. The reason for this must have been that the work of the Holy Spirit in preaching Christ for His propagation, multiplication, and spread through the believers of Christ was not yet completed and needed to be continued for a long period of time. Such an evangelistic work for Christ’s propagation, multiplication, and spread is according to God’s New Testament economy for the producing of many sons for God (Rom. 8:29) that they might be the members of Christ to constitute His Body (Rom. 12:5) for the carrying out of God’s eternal plan and the fulfillment of His eternal will. This is revealed in detail in the twenty-one Epistles and the book of Revelation, which follow this book. The church produced by Christ’s propagation and multiplication is the sphere in which God is expressed and in which He reigns in Christ; hence, the church becomes the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God, along with Christ’s propagation and multiplication, grows out of and spreads from God’s life. Acts is a record of the spreading of Christ; it is also a record of the kingdom of God, because the kingdom of God is the expansion of Christ. The gospel that is widely preached in this book is the very Christ as the gospel (5:42), the gospel of Christ, and it is also the kingdom of God as the gospel (8:12), the gospel of the kingdom of God. The preaching of such a gospel will continue and advance until the whole earth becomes the kingdom of Christ (Rev. 11:15).
Act 28:312 [3] In the four Gospels God was incarnated, passed through human living, died, and resurrected, thus completing Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God (Col. 2:9). In Acts this embodiment of God, as the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45), spreads Christ into His believers, i.e., works the processed Triune God into His chosen, redeemed, and transformed people to make them the constituents of the church, through which God may be expressed. The ultimate issue of the church will be the New Jerusalem in eternity future as God’s full and eternal expression, which will also be God’s eternal kingdom as the sphere in which He reigns in His divine life in eternity forever and ever. This should be the reality and goal of all gospel preaching today.
Act 28:31b boldness Acts 4:29