Baptism of the first pagans
While Peter was still speaking the Holy Spirit came down [ 'The Pentecost of the pagans'. As Peter notes, v. 47; 11:15; 15:8. Its resembles the first Pentecost.] on all the listeners. Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter were all astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit should poured out on the pagans too, since they could hear them speaking strange languages and proclaiming the greatness of God. Peter himself then said, 'Could anyone refuse the water of baptism to these people, now they have received the Holy Spirit just as much as we have?' He then gave orders [ It was usual for the apostles to administer baptism themselves, cf. 19:5; 1 Cor. 1:14,17. See also 1 John 4:2.] for them to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterwards they begged him to stay on for some days. [ That Peter should lodge with the uncircumcised seems to the Jerusalem 'Hebrews' even more shocking and contrary to the Law than that he should authorise their baptism (11:2-3; cf. 10:28). This same question gave rise to the Antioch incident, Gal. 2:11f.] - Acts 10:44-48 -
Jerusalem: Peter justifies his conduct
The apostles and the brothers in Judaea heard that the pagans too had accepted the word of God, and when Peter came up to Jerusalem the Jew criticised him [ Western Text 'So after some time Peter determined to set out for Jerusalem. After speaking to the brothers and encouraging them, he set out, delivering many sermons throughout the countryside and instructing the people. When he reached them and told them of the favour God had granted, the circumcised brothers remonstrated with him'.] and said, 'So you have been visiting the uncircumcised and eating with them, have you?'
Peter in reply gave them the details point by point: 'One day, when I was in the town of Jaffa,' he began 'I fell into a trance as I was praying and had a vision of something like a big sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners. This sheet reached the ground quite close to me. I watched intently and saw all sorts of animals and wild beasts - everything possible that could walk, crawl or fly. Then I heard a voice that said to me, "Now, Peter; kill and eat!" But I answered: Certainly not, Lord; nothing profane of unclean has ever crossed my lips. And a second time the voice spoke from heaven, "What God has made clean, you have no right to call profane". This was repeated three times, before the whole of it was drawn up to heaven again. - Acts 11:1-10 -
'Just at that moment, three men stopped outside the house where we were staying; they had been sent from Caesarea to fetch me, and the Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going back with them. The six brothers here came with me as well, and we entered the man's house. He told us he had seen an angel standing in his house who said, "Send to Jaffa and fetch Simon known as Peter; he has a message for you that will save you and your entire household".
'I had scarcely begun to speak when the Holy Spirit came down on them in the same way as it came on us at the beginning, and I remembered that the Lord had said, "John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit". I realised then that God [ 'God' omitted by Western Text (because it is Christ who gives the Spirit).] was giving them the identical thing he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ; and who was I to stand in God's way?' [ Peter explains why he allowed a pagan to be baptised; he does not answer the objection that he had lodged with the uncircumcised, cf. v. 3, see 10:1+. According to Luke, Peter was considered to have been the first to receive pagans into the Church, in spite of the episode of the Ethiopian eunuch, 8:26-39, and the date of evangelisation of Antioch to which Luke does not refer till later, vv. 19f. Against this background the council of Jerusalem, 15:5-29, appears as a kind of sequel to, or repetition of, the discussion in 11:1-18.]
This account satisfied them, and they gave glory to God. 'God' they said 'can evidently grant even the pagans the repentance that leads to life.' - Acts 11:11-18 -
Foundation of the Church of Antioch
Those who had escaped [ V.19 takes up from 8:1 and 8:4 and then presents the episode of the Antiochene Church's foundation as an immediate sequel to Stephen's martyrdom from which it has been separated by the insertion of the Acts of Philip, 8:5-40 and of Peter, 9:31-11:18. Nevertheless, the narrative presupposes the story of Saul's vocation, 9:1-30, itself concerned with Stephen's martyrdom.] during the persecution that happened because of Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, [ Antioch on the Orontes, capital of the Roman province of Syria third city of the empire after Rome and Alexandria.] but they usually proclaimed the message only to Jews.
Some of them, however, who came from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch where they started preaching to the Greeks, [ Var. 'Hellenists', cf. 9:29. 'Greeks', as opposed to 'Jews', v.19, includes all the uncircumcised.] proclaiming the Good News of the Lord Jesus [ Not 'Christ', a title more suited to a Jewish audience with its messianic expectation; in preaching to pagans Jesus was called 'Lord', cf. 25:26+. He is 'Lord' because in virtue of his elevation to the Father's right hand, he rules over the kingdom in this fulness of time, cf. 2:21,36; 7:59-60; 10:36; 1 Thess. 4:15-17; 2 Thess. 1:7-12; Romans 10:9-13.] to them as well. The Lord helped them, and a great number believed and were converted to the Lord.
The Church in Jerusalem [Which enjoyed right of supervision over the other churches, cf. 8:14; 11:1, and see Gal. 2:2+.] heard about this and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. There he could see for himself that God had given grace, and this pleased him, and urged [ Apparently a play on the name 'Barnabas', 'son of exhortation', 4:36.] them all to remain faithful to the Lord [ Var. 'in the Lord'.] with heartfelt devotion; for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith. And a large number of people were won over to the Lord. - Acts 11:19-24 -
Barnabas then left for Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. As things turned out they were to live together in that church [ Meaning doubtful. Possibly 'they worked together', 'they were received (by the church)' that is, were guests of the church.] a whole year, instructing a large number of people. It was at Antioch that the disciples were first called 'Christians'. [ That is, supporters or followers of Christus (or Chrestus). The nickname shows that the pagans of Antioch took the title 'Christ' (anointed) for a proper name.] - Acts 11:25-26 -
Barnabas and Saul sent as deputies to Jerusalem
WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE/HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY. - Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, and the fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!
"I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, wife, brothers, parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not be given repayment many times over in this present time, in the world to come, Eternal Life." - Luke 18:28-30 -
"EACH ONE OF US, HOWEVER, HAS BEEN GIVEN HIS OWN SHARE OF GRACE, GIVEN AS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ALLOTTED IT. IT WAS SAID THAT HE WOULD:
WHEN HE ASCENDED TO THE HEIGHT, HE CAPTURED PRISONERS,
HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.
WHEN IT SAYS, 'HE ASCENDED,' WHAT CAN IT MEAN IF NOT THAT HE DESCENDED RIGHT DOWN TO THE LOWER REGIONS OF THE EARTH? THE ONE WHO ROSE HIGHER THAN ALL THE HEAVENS TO FILL ALL THINGS IS NONE OTHER THAN THE ONE WHO DESCENDED.
AND TO SOME, HIS GIFT WAS THAT THEY SHOULD BE APOSTLES; TO SOME, PROPHETS; TO SOME, EVANGELISTS; TO SOME, PASTORS AND TEACHERS; SO THAT THE SAINTS TOGETHER MAKE A UNITY IN THE WORK OF SERVICE, BUILDING UP THE BODY OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
IN THIS WAY WE ARE ALL TO COME TO UNITY IN OUR FAITH AND IN OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE SON OF GOD, UNTIL WE BECOME THE PERFECT MAN, FULLY MATURE WITH THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST HIMSELF.
THEN WE SHALL NOT BE CHILDREN ANY LONGER, OR TOSSED ONE WAY AND ANOTHER AND CARRIED ALONG BY EVERY WIND OF DOCTRINE, AT THE MERCY OF ALL THE TRICKS MEN PLAY AND THEY CLEVERNESS IN PRACTISING DECEIT.
IF WE LIVE BY THE TRUTH AND IN LOVE, WE SHALL GROW IN ALL WAYS INTO CHRIST JESUS, WHO IS THE HEAD BY WHOM THE WHOLE BODY IS FITTED AND JOINED TOGETHER, EVERY JOINT ADDING ITS OWN STRENGTH, FOR EACH SEPARATE PART TO WORK ACCORDING TO IT FUNCTION. SO THE BODY GROWS UNTIL IT HAS BUILT ITSELF UP, IN LOVE." - EPHESIANS 4:7-16 -
Page 46
Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless.
While Peter was still speaking the Holy Spirit came down [ 'The Pentecost of the pagans'. As Peter notes, v. 47; 11:15; 15:8. Its resembles the first Pentecost.] on all the listeners. Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter were all astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit should poured out on the pagans too, since they could hear them speaking strange languages and proclaiming the greatness of God. Peter himself then said, 'Could anyone refuse the water of baptism to these people, now they have received the Holy Spirit just as much as we have?' He then gave orders [ It was usual for the apostles to administer baptism themselves, cf. 19:5; 1 Cor. 1:14,17. See also 1 John 4:2.] for them to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterwards they begged him to stay on for some days. [ That Peter should lodge with the uncircumcised seems to the Jerusalem 'Hebrews' even more shocking and contrary to the Law than that he should authorise their baptism (11:2-3; cf. 10:28). This same question gave rise to the Antioch incident, Gal. 2:11f.] - Acts 10:44-48 -
Jerusalem: Peter justifies his conduct
The apostles and the brothers in Judaea heard that the pagans too had accepted the word of God, and when Peter came up to Jerusalem the Jew criticised him [ Western Text 'So after some time Peter determined to set out for Jerusalem. After speaking to the brothers and encouraging them, he set out, delivering many sermons throughout the countryside and instructing the people. When he reached them and told them of the favour God had granted, the circumcised brothers remonstrated with him'.] and said, 'So you have been visiting the uncircumcised and eating with them, have you?'
Peter in reply gave them the details point by point: 'One day, when I was in the town of Jaffa,' he began 'I fell into a trance as I was praying and had a vision of something like a big sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners. This sheet reached the ground quite close to me. I watched intently and saw all sorts of animals and wild beasts - everything possible that could walk, crawl or fly. Then I heard a voice that said to me, "Now, Peter; kill and eat!" But I answered: Certainly not, Lord; nothing profane of unclean has ever crossed my lips. And a second time the voice spoke from heaven, "What God has made clean, you have no right to call profane". This was repeated three times, before the whole of it was drawn up to heaven again. - Acts 11:1-10 -
'Just at that moment, three men stopped outside the house where we were staying; they had been sent from Caesarea to fetch me, and the Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going back with them. The six brothers here came with me as well, and we entered the man's house. He told us he had seen an angel standing in his house who said, "Send to Jaffa and fetch Simon known as Peter; he has a message for you that will save you and your entire household".
'I had scarcely begun to speak when the Holy Spirit came down on them in the same way as it came on us at the beginning, and I remembered that the Lord had said, "John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit". I realised then that God [ 'God' omitted by Western Text (because it is Christ who gives the Spirit).] was giving them the identical thing he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ; and who was I to stand in God's way?' [ Peter explains why he allowed a pagan to be baptised; he does not answer the objection that he had lodged with the uncircumcised, cf. v. 3, see 10:1+. According to Luke, Peter was considered to have been the first to receive pagans into the Church, in spite of the episode of the Ethiopian eunuch, 8:26-39, and the date of evangelisation of Antioch to which Luke does not refer till later, vv. 19f. Against this background the council of Jerusalem, 15:5-29, appears as a kind of sequel to, or repetition of, the discussion in 11:1-18.]
This account satisfied them, and they gave glory to God. 'God' they said 'can evidently grant even the pagans the repentance that leads to life.' - Acts 11:11-18 -
Foundation of the Church of Antioch
Those who had escaped [ V.19 takes up from 8:1 and 8:4 and then presents the episode of the Antiochene Church's foundation as an immediate sequel to Stephen's martyrdom from which it has been separated by the insertion of the Acts of Philip, 8:5-40 and of Peter, 9:31-11:18. Nevertheless, the narrative presupposes the story of Saul's vocation, 9:1-30, itself concerned with Stephen's martyrdom.] during the persecution that happened because of Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, [ Antioch on the Orontes, capital of the Roman province of Syria third city of the empire after Rome and Alexandria.] but they usually proclaimed the message only to Jews.
Some of them, however, who came from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch where they started preaching to the Greeks, [ Var. 'Hellenists', cf. 9:29. 'Greeks', as opposed to 'Jews', v.19, includes all the uncircumcised.] proclaiming the Good News of the Lord Jesus [ Not 'Christ', a title more suited to a Jewish audience with its messianic expectation; in preaching to pagans Jesus was called 'Lord', cf. 25:26+. He is 'Lord' because in virtue of his elevation to the Father's right hand, he rules over the kingdom in this fulness of time, cf. 2:21,36; 7:59-60; 10:36; 1 Thess. 4:15-17; 2 Thess. 1:7-12; Romans 10:9-13.] to them as well. The Lord helped them, and a great number believed and were converted to the Lord.
The Church in Jerusalem [Which enjoyed right of supervision over the other churches, cf. 8:14; 11:1, and see Gal. 2:2+.] heard about this and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. There he could see for himself that God had given grace, and this pleased him, and urged [ Apparently a play on the name 'Barnabas', 'son of exhortation', 4:36.] them all to remain faithful to the Lord [ Var. 'in the Lord'.] with heartfelt devotion; for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith. And a large number of people were won over to the Lord. - Acts 11:19-24 -
Barnabas then left for Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. As things turned out they were to live together in that church [ Meaning doubtful. Possibly 'they worked together', 'they were received (by the church)' that is, were guests of the church.] a whole year, instructing a large number of people. It was at Antioch that the disciples were first called 'Christians'. [ That is, supporters or followers of Christus (or Chrestus). The nickname shows that the pagans of Antioch took the title 'Christ' (anointed) for a proper name.] - Acts 11:25-26 -
Barnabas and Saul sent as deputies to Jerusalem
WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE/HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY. - Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, and the fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!
The Lord Jesus Christ, promised to us that our mission on this earth is really and utmost important for our own salvation.
"I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, wife, brothers, parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not be given repayment many times over in this present time, in the world to come, Eternal Life." - Luke 18:28-30 -
"EACH ONE OF US, HOWEVER, HAS BEEN GIVEN HIS OWN SHARE OF GRACE, GIVEN AS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ALLOTTED IT. IT WAS SAID THAT HE WOULD:
WHEN HE ASCENDED TO THE HEIGHT, HE CAPTURED PRISONERS,
HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.
WHEN IT SAYS, 'HE ASCENDED,' WHAT CAN IT MEAN IF NOT THAT HE DESCENDED RIGHT DOWN TO THE LOWER REGIONS OF THE EARTH? THE ONE WHO ROSE HIGHER THAN ALL THE HEAVENS TO FILL ALL THINGS IS NONE OTHER THAN THE ONE WHO DESCENDED.
AND TO SOME, HIS GIFT WAS THAT THEY SHOULD BE APOSTLES; TO SOME, PROPHETS; TO SOME, EVANGELISTS; TO SOME, PASTORS AND TEACHERS; SO THAT THE SAINTS TOGETHER MAKE A UNITY IN THE WORK OF SERVICE, BUILDING UP THE BODY OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
IN THIS WAY WE ARE ALL TO COME TO UNITY IN OUR FAITH AND IN OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE SON OF GOD, UNTIL WE BECOME THE PERFECT MAN, FULLY MATURE WITH THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST HIMSELF.
THEN WE SHALL NOT BE CHILDREN ANY LONGER, OR TOSSED ONE WAY AND ANOTHER AND CARRIED ALONG BY EVERY WIND OF DOCTRINE, AT THE MERCY OF ALL THE TRICKS MEN PLAY AND THEY CLEVERNESS IN PRACTISING DECEIT.
IF WE LIVE BY THE TRUTH AND IN LOVE, WE SHALL GROW IN ALL WAYS INTO CHRIST JESUS, WHO IS THE HEAD BY WHOM THE WHOLE BODY IS FITTED AND JOINED TOGETHER, EVERY JOINT ADDING ITS OWN STRENGTH, FOR EACH SEPARATE PART TO WORK ACCORDING TO IT FUNCTION. SO THE BODY GROWS UNTIL IT HAS BUILT ITSELF UP, IN LOVE." - EPHESIANS 4:7-16 -
Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless.
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
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