Introductory remarks:
Chapter two is the beginning of the Church Age. When the Holy Spirit is poured out the apostles were all filled, and they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. This outpouring of the Spirit is what they had concealed themselves for, and were waiting anxiously for Him. The Church began at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit entered the believers, and the Church will cease when the Holy Spirit is taken away, and the Church is raptured immediately. The Church had two beginnings, 1) the first phase when the Holy Spirit was poured out, and they received the supernatural gifts; this is known as the first Church, or the Pentecostal church, and 2) the second phase when the Word of God was complete, and the supernatural gifts were phased out, leaving believers not only the baptism of the Holy Spirit and union with the Lord Jesus Christ, but the completed Word of God; the age of grace is exactly that.
This chapter may be outlined as follows: the coming of the Holy Spirit vv. 1-13; Peter's speech at Pentecost vv. 14-42; life among the believers vv. 43-47.
The Coming of the Holy Spirit
Verse 1, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place."
LGT "And during the accomplishing of the day of Pentecost, they were altogether in the same place."
Pentecost was fifty days after Passover; it came on the Jewish Sabbath, which is our Saturday. They were together in one place waiting for the promise of the Holy Spirit.
McGee notes concerning the importance of Pentecost:
"When the Day of Pentecost 'was being fulfilled,' or 'was fully come,' means that this was the fulfillment of the meaning and the purpose for which it was given originally. On Pentecost there was to be a meal offering to the Lord, which was to be presented in two loaves of fine flour with leaven (Lev. 23). This was to depict the beginning and origin of the church. It spoke of the coming of the Holy Spirit in the very Particular ministry of calling a people out of this world to form the body of Christ, which is the church. Five minutes before the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost there was no church. Five minutes after the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost there was a church. In other words, what Bethlehem was to the birth of Christ, Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost was to the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit became incarnate. He began to baptize believers, which means that the Holy Spirit identified them with Christ as His body here on this earth. 'For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been made to drink into one Spirit' (1 Cor. 12:13)."
Barnes notes:
"This fact is mentioned, that the time of the Pentecost had come, or fully arrived, to account for what is related afterward, that there were so many strangers and foreigners present. The promised influences of the Spirit were withheld until the greatest possible number of Jews should be present at Jerusalem at the same time, and thus an opportunity be afforded of preaching the Gospel to vast multitudes in the very place where the Lord Jesus was crucified, and also an opportunity be afforded of sending the Gospel by them into distant parts of the earth."
Verse 2, "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting."
LGT "And suddenly a sound came out of heaven as of a rushing violent wind, and filled the whole house where they were sitting."
The appearance of the Holy Spirit came upon them as a violent, mighty rushing wind; it did not blow horizontally, as most winds blow, it came down from heaven upon them, and it filled the whole house.
Verse 3, "And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them."
LGT "And there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and sat upon each one of them."
These tongues were not fire, but like as fire. This luminous appearance sat on each one of them. The fire divided and sat on each one of them.
Barnes notes:
"These appearances to the apostles were emblematic, doubtless, (1) Of the promised Holy Spirit, as a Spirit of purity and power. The prediction of John the Baptist, 'He shall baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire (Matt. 3:11) would probably be recalled at once to their memory. (2) The peculiar appearance, that of tongues was an emblem of the diversity of languages, which they were about to be able to utter. Any form of fire would have denoted the presence and power of God; but a form was adopted expressive of what was to occur. Thus any divine appearance or manifestation at the baptism of Jesus might have denoted the presence and approbation [approval] of God; but the form chosen was that of a dove descending - expressive of the mold and gentle virtues with which He was to be imbued. The appearance here symbolized their peculiar endowments for entering on their great work - the ability to speak with the new tongues."
Verse 4, "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."
LGT "And they were all filled with [the] Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave to them to utter forth."
This is the third miracle in that house; 1) the sound of the rushing wind from heaven 2) the cloven tongues of fire, and 3) the diversity of tongues. These were literally languages, which are quite different from the temporary 'gift of tongues' in Corinth, where an interpreter was required for its performance. These tongues allowed the apostles to go out directly and preach the Gospel in the various languages of the earth, without having to take the time to learn these various languages.
Robertson notes:
"One is not to confound these miraculous signs with the Holy Spirit. They are merely proof that He has come to carry on the work of His dispensation. The gift of tongues came also on the house of Cornelius at Caesarea (Acts 10:44-47, 11:15-17), the disciples of John at Ephesus (Acts 19:6), the disciples at Corinth (1 Cor. 14:1-33). It is possible that the gift appeared also at Samaria (Acts 8:18). But it was not a general or a permanent gift. Paul explains in 1 Cor. 14:22 that 'tongues' were a sign to unbelievers and were not to be exercised unless one was present who understood them and could translate them. This restriction disposes at once of the modern so-called tongues, which are nothing but jargon and hysteria. It so happened that here on this occasion at Pentecost there were Jews from all parts of the world, so that some one would understand one tongue and some another without an interpreter such as was needed at Corinth."
McGee adds;
"Just so, friend, you cannot duplicate Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost. You don't have to beg Him to come or urge Him to come. He is here. The Spirit of god is in the world today. Jesus told us what He would do after He came: 'He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you' (John 16:14). We know He is here when He takes the things of Christ and shows them to us. And when we are talking about the things of Christ, the Spirit of God has something that He can work with."
Verse 5, "And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven."
LGT "Now were Jews dwelling in Jerusalem, pious men from every nation of those under the heaven."
Men had come from every nation to observe the Feast of Pentecost. These were religious men from among the Jews, that is, part of the Diaspora; these Jews would come from every nation to the Feasts. Some would stay in Jerusalem to be close to the temple.
Verse 6, "Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language."
LGT "And when this sound was heard, the multitude came together and were confounded, because each one hearing them speaking in his own language."
The sound of the mighty rushing, tornado like wind, caused a great multitude to gather to satisfy their curiosity as to what was taking place in this house. The multitude became confounded when they heard the apostles speaking these different languages.
McGee makes this comment:
"Now there is another aspect which I must mention. Some Bible scholars believe that what is meant here is that the apostles were not speaking in other languages at all, but were speaking in their own Galilean dialect, and the miracle was in the hearing, because it says that every man heard them speak in his own dialect. Was the miracle that broke down the language barrier in the speaking or in the hearing?"
Verse 7, "And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans?"
LGT "And all were amazed and wondered, saying to one another, Lo, are not all those who are speaking Galileans?"
The multitude was amazed at being able to understand these Galileans in their own dialect. "The Galileans were not regarded as a sect, for the name was not given to Christians until afterward; but with reference to their nationality. They used a peculiar dialect, which distinguished them from the inhabitants of Judea. Compare Mark 14:70. They were blamed for neglecting the study of their language, and charged with errors in grammar and ridiculous mispronunciations" (Vincent).
Verses 8-11, "And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Lybia about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. "
LGT "And how we hear each in his own language, in which we were born?" (Verses 9-11 are exactly the same as the KJV).
This verse seems to substantiate the theory that Aramaic was spoken, and that they heard it as if spoken in their own language or dialect. However, one cannot be dogmatic on the issue, because it could be understood either as diversity of languages, or that in was in their hearing. The thing that is certain is that in these three representative continents, the Good News of the Gospel was fully understood. A most important issue in this miracle wrought by the Holy Spirit is that these Jews of the Diaspora took the wonderful Word of God back to their respective homes on the above mentioned countries, and that the Gospel was preached abroad by them; the apostles then went out to these areas and gathered together Christians and taught them Bible Doctrine; as missionaries they established churches in Homes and wherever they could legally meet.
Barnes notes:
"The languages spoken by the apostles could not have been less than seven or eight, besides different dialects of the same languages. It is not certain that the Jews present from foreign nations spoke those languages perfectly, but they had doubtless so used them as to make them the common tongue in which they conversed. No miracle could be more decided than this. There was no way in which the apostles could impose on them, and make them suppose they spoke foreign languages, if they really did not; for these foreigners were abundantly able to determine that. It may be remarked that this miracle had most important effects besides that witnessed on the Day of Pentecost. The Gospel would be carried by those who were converted to all the places, and the way would be prepared for the labors of the apostles there (I believe their labors were establishing the churches with Bible Doctrine). Accordingly, most of these places became afterward celebrated by the establishment of Christian Churches and the conversion of great multitudes to the Christian faith. The phrase The great things of God is the great things God had done in the gift of His Son; in raising Him from the dead; in His miracles, ascension etc. (Comp. Luke 1:49; Psalms 61:19; 26:7; 66:3; 92:5; 104:24; etc.)"
Verse 12, "And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?"
LGT "And all were amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What would this wish to be?"
The Greek brings out the perplexity among the people in the phrase and were in doubt.
Verse 13, "Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine."
LGT "But others mocking said, They are full of new wine."
Others reasoned that they must be tanked up on new or sweet wine, which was very intoxicating. The first group reasoned out of curiosity, but this group out of an antagonistic spirit. There are always going to be mockers wherever the Word of God is taught.
Peter's Speech at Pentecost
Verse 14, "But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words."
LGT "But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and spoke forth to them, Men, Jews, and all ye who inhabit Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give heed to my words."
Peter stood up with the eleven, that is, Luke counted Matthias among the apostles. With all the confusion among the multitude, Peter had to speak out with a loud voice. Peter begins his discourse addressing Jews first, and then all those dwelling in Jerusalem. Peter addresses those who mocked first; he addresses them with courtesy, and not railing for railing. Peter begins by vindicating the apostles.
Verse 15, "For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day."
LGT "For these are not drunken as you take it, for it is [the] third hour of the day."
It was three o'clock Jewish time, nine in the morning Roman time; Peter answers them with logic, for drunkenness belongs to the night; For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that are [drunk] are [drunk] in the night (1 Thess. 5:7). It was customary for Jews to offer their morning sacrifices at this hour, and they would not eat or drink anything until they were finished with their sacrifices.
Verse 16, "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel."
LGT "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel,"
Peter says that what they witnessed was what had been predicted by the Prophet Joel (Chp. 2). Peter was talking to Jews who knew the OT, and the prophecy he is about to quote was begun at Pentecost and will be completed at the second coming of Christ.
Verse 17-21, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophecy: and I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: and it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
LGT "And it shall be in the last days, says God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, and your young men shall see visions, and your elders shall dream dreams: and even upon My bondmen and My bondwomen in those days will I pour out My Spirit, and they shall prophecy: and I will give wonders in the heaven above and signs in the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great Day of [the] Lord come and be manifest: and it shall be, everyone, whoever shall call upon the name of [the] Lord shall be saved."
Joel's prophecy was directed strictly to Israel; however, here in Peter's address all mankind is in view; Peter is looking forward to the Parousia, the second coming of the Lord at the end of the Great Tribulation when He will judge the nations, just before He establishes His earthly reign. For those who believe we are living in the last days, this entire section will be confusing; I believe we are living in the last days before the rapture of the Church, but not the last Day of the Lord, which will precede His setting up the Messianic Kingdom. When the Word of God was completed, the Holy Spirit continues to work in and through believers, but not with the supernatural sign gifts, but with the Living Word of God. In verse 22 the statement whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved is common to all ages. Let me give you a quote from John Calvin's commentary on the Acts of the apostles: "Therefore, forasmuch as no man is excluded from calling upon God, the gate of salvation is set open unto all men; neither is there any other thing which keeps us back from entering in, save only our own unbelief." Now does this sound like he believed that only a select number that were chosen ahead of time to salvation could be saved; I think not. The problem with most people who make conclusive statements about other people is that they have not studied the entire context of the person's writings. We have the same problem facing us when we study Bible Doctrine; we have a tendency to read a partial verse or chapter, that is, part of the context, and then go off half-cocked, and make conclusive statements about the Doctrine. The problem I have with John Calvin's writings is not pre-destination theory, but the fact that he too often interprets the Word allegorically and not literally; however, he is very good on the historical and analytical accuracy of the Scriptures; I have found when it comes to predestination he contradicts himself because he did not fully understand the doctrine.
McGee notes on Peter's introduction:
"If we could only see that all Simon Peter is saying in this introduction is, 'Now look, this is not strange or contrary. The day is coming when this will be fulfilled. And today we are seeing something similar to it.' Now after his introduction, he will move on to his text. Remember he is speaking to men who knew the Old Testament. Don't try to read nineteen hundred years of church history into this. This is just the beginning of the church on the Day of Pentecost. This is the inception of the church. Obviously he is speaking to the Jews - 'Ye men of Israel.' He doesn't say, 'Ye men of Southern California.' He is talking to Israelites. Now he is getting down to the nitty gritty. Now he is getting to his subject."
Verse 22, "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know."
LGT "Men, Israelites, hear these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a Man from the God set forth to you by works of power and wonders and signs, which God wrought by Him in your midst, as yourselves know."
Peter states unhesitatingly Christ's mission; so different is this Spirit-filled Peter than from the quivering coward before that little maid in the outer court where they were convicting Christ of treason. Jesus came down from His eternal abode with the Father, and wrought many signs and wonders; these miracles not only proved He came from God, but they also proved He was God; and that is the reason the Jews crucified Him; of course that is not the reason He was crucified; He was crucified of His Father's will in order that He might redeem mankind from sin. The last phrase as yourselves know refers to those standing there who witnessed Christ performing mighty works, signs, and miracles; these are also the men who consented unto His death, crying, Crucify, crucify!
Verse 23, "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:"
LGT "This One, given up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, by lawless hands, having crucified, you put to death."
Peter, now filled with the Spirit, courageously charges the people with the death of Christ; although he does bring to light the fact the it was God's will that Christ die, he says that Christ was delivered up unlawfully, that is, lawlessly, and nailed to the cross. Judas was the betrayer who sold Christ to the Sanhedrim for thirty pieces of silver.
Verse 24, "Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it."
LGT "Whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death, in as much as it was not possible [for] Him to be held by it."
The first subject of Peter's sermon is the resurrection of Christ, for if He were not raised from among the dead ones, we are most miserable. The church is built on the Doctrine of the Living, Resurrected, and Ascended Christ. We have no fear of death because Christ is risen. This is the reason the first church met on the first day of the week to commemorate the resurrection of our Lord.
Verse 25, "For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:"
LGT "For David says as to Him, I foresaw the Lord before me continually, because He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken."
Peter is quoting Psalm 16:8-11. David says that he set the Lord before his face continually, that is, he always looked to the Lord for guidance. David said that God was at his right hand, and for this reason he would not fear or be shaken. Just as David used God's presence as his reason for courage, Peter uses the Word of God through David as the reason for his courage. Jesus was resurrected and is now sitting at God's right hand making intercession for all believers. Peter takes these words of David and applies them to the Savior.
Verse 26, "Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:"
LGT "Therefore my heart rejoiced and my tongue gloried, yet more, also my flesh shall rest in hope:"
Peter continues that Christ says that His flesh, that is, His body would rest in the grave with the hope of the resurrection.
Verse 27, "Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption."
LGT "Because Thou will not leave My soul in Hades, neither will Thou give Thy Holy One to see corruption."
The reason Christ would not be left in the grave is that God would not allow His only-begotten Son's body corrupted. The word "Hades" means the grave; and Christ's body was not subjected to putrefaction. Thou will not leave my soul in Hades simply means that God would not Leave His Son behind among the dead, that He would raise Him from among the dead ones.
Verse 28, "Thou hast made known to me the ways of life: thou shalt make me full of Joy with thy countenance."
LGT "Thou did make known to Me paths of life, Thou will fill Me with joy with Your countenance."
Christ says that God will show Him the way back to life, and He will be restored to His eternal position at the right hand of the Father for eternity. The resurrection of Christ is complete; Peter gives this wonderful account as he is filled with the Holy Spirit.
Verse 29, "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day."
LGT "Men, brethren, it is permitted [me] to speak with freedom to you concerning the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is among us unto this day."
Peter makes a contrast here that David, the king, was left in the tomb, and his body did see corruption; however we know from our studies that his Spirit was not dead; his body will be resurrected in the last day, and he will reign in the Millennial reign under Christ. Christ was from the kingly line of David, and I am sure that is why Peter uses this as an illustration that Christ's body was not left to corruption. We must be very careful not to leave the impression that David is in the tomb now, only the dust of his body.
Verses 30, 31, "Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption."
LGT "Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God swore to him with an oath, of [the] fruit of his loins, to sit upon His throne, foreseeing he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was left in Hades, nor His flesh saw corruption. "
"This is what David was talking about in Psalm 16. He was speaking of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You may say, 'But I read Psalm 16 and it doesn't say that Jesus Christ will rise again from the dead.' My friend, here in Acts 2 we have the Holy Spirit's interpretation of this Psalm. Now we can go back and read the Psalm, knowing that it refers to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
What is Simon Peter talking about/ His sermon is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ? The first sermon ever preached in the church age was an Easter sermon. And every sermon in the early church was an Easter sermon" (McGee).
Verse 32, "This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses."
LGT "This Jesus God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses."
The fact of the resurrection was witnessed by the one hundred and twenty that had gathered at the house where Jesus met the apostles after He had talked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus.
Barnes notes on this witness:
"The apostles were appointed to bear witness of this [resurrection]. We are told by Paul (1 Cor. 15:6) that He was seen by more than five hundred brethren, that is, Christians, at one time. The hundred and twenty assembled on this occasion were doubtless part of the number, and were ready to attest this. This was the proof that Peter alleged; and the strength of this proof was, and should have been, perfectly irresistible. (1) They had seen Him themselves. They did not conjecture it or reason about it; but they had the evidence on which men act every day, and which must be regarded as satisfactory - the evidence of their own senses. (2) The number was such they could not be imposed on. If one hundred and twenty persons could not prove a plain matter of fact, nothing could be established by testimony; there could be no way of arriving at any facts. (3) The thing to be established was a plain matter. It was not that they saw Him rise. That they never pretended. Imposters would have done this. But it was that they saw Him, talked, walked, ate, and drank with Him, being alive, AFTER He had been crucified. The fact of His death was matter of Jewish record, and no one called it in question. The only fact for Christianity to make out was that He was seen alive afterward, and this was attested by many witnesses. (4) They had no interest in deceiving the world in this thing. There was no prospect of pleasure wealth, or honor in doing it. (5) They offered themselves now as ready to endure any sufferings, or to die, in attestation of the truth of this event."
Verse 33, "Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear."
LGT "Therefore, to the right hand of God, having been exalted, and the promise of the Holy Spirit, having been received from the Father, He poured out this which you also behold and hear."
All the promises of God regarding His Son have come to pass, or they have been filled full; The Lord Jesus Christ has been exalted to His eternal position at the right hand of the Father; the Holy Spirit has been given as the other Comforter; and they are witnesses of the resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Verses 34, 35, "For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool."
LGT "For David ascended not into the heavens, but he said himself, The Lord said to My Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I place Your enemies a footstool of Thy feet."
Peter says that Psalm 110:1 is the prophetic psalm that they had witnesses that day. All these events have now been confirmed, and only the critic will find difficulty believing it.
Verse 36, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ."
LGT "Assuredly, therefore, let all the house of Israel know for certain, that God made Him both Lord and Christ, This Jesus whom you crucified."
"Therefore, let all be convinced by the prophecies, by our testimony, and by the remarkable scenes exhibited on the Day of Pentecost, let all be convinced that the true Messiah has come and has been exalted to heaven." Let all the house of Israel know assuredly, refers to the family, that is, the nation, know without a doubt that this same Jesus whom ye crucified, was the promised Messiah, and that now He has shown His love through the resurrection, and God has exalted Him to His rightful place of ruling both heaven and earth. Even though they have taken their Messiah and crucified Him, there is hope for all because of His resurrection, and they need not fear Him because He loves them still.
Verse 37, "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
LGT "And having heard [these things] they were pierced in heart, and said to Peter and the other apostles, What shall we do, men and brethren?"
Peter's sermon had pierced their hearts, that is, Peter's words made them realize what a horrible thing they had done, and they were feeling the emotions of conviction. Some of these that heard were the same ones who cried Crucify! What shall we do, men and brethren? They had just sounded out mockery accusing the apostles of being drunk, and now they are using terms of deep respect. "They now ask what shall we do to avoid the wrath of this Crucified and exalted Messiah? They were apprehensive of His vengeance, and they wished to know how to avoid it. Never was a more important question asked than this. It is the question which all convicted sinners ask. It implies an apprehension of danger, a sense of guilt, and a readiness to yield to the will to the claims of God. This was the same question asked by Paul (Acts 9:6), Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" and by the jailer (Acts 16:30), He . . . came, trembling, . . . and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" (Barnes).
Verse 38, "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
LGT "And Peter said to them, Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
This verse is answering their question, What shall we do? And it is voiced by Peter in this order; 1) Repent, metanoesate, that is, change your mind about Christ: as always, there is nothing one can do except believe on the Lord Jesus Christ; They had to change their mind about Christ and accept Him as their Savior. 2) And let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. First they had to change their minds about Christ and put their trust in Him, and then they were able to be baptized in the name of Christ, that is, showing that they had repented; remember John the Baptist would not baptize the religious leaders that came to him because they would not repent. 3) For the remission of your sins; that is, because you have changed your mind, you show by being baptized that you have been saved; no man has ever been saved because they have been baptized; but they have been baptized because they are saved. No one could possibly be baptized in Jesus' name who did not already believe in Jesus; to be baptized in Jesus' name is admitting you already belong to Christ. They were baptized for the remission of sins, signaling to others that their sins were already remitted, that is, dispatched to Christ. 4) The gift of the Holy Spirit was their baptism by the Holy Spirit; this is the process where the Holy Spirit has placed them into union with Jesus Christ their Lord; every member of the human race who accepts Christ as their Savior since the Day of Pentecost is at that very moment of belief, baptized with the Holy Spirit, and therefore is in union with our Lord. Since the New Testament Scriptures have been completed and given to us by the Holy Spirit, we have no need for baptism; there is no longer any need for signs, because we have the Holy Spirit of Promise and the Word of God; today our individual mission is to sow the seed, which is the Word of God, and let the Holy Spirit work in and through us as we yield to Him, through what we learn in His Word.
Verse 39, "For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."
LGT "For to you is the promise and to your children, and to all the ones who are afar off, as many as [the] Lord your God may call."
The promise made by the prophets, was realized in the Christ; Peter is saying that it was to the Jews and their children, for that is who were represented there at Pentecost; and then the promise is extended to those who are afar off, meaning the Gentiles (Eph 2:13,17). As many as your Lord may call refers to the Jew first and then to the Greek. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). "The Lord God calls men of every nation anywhere whether Jews or Gentiles. It may be doubted how clearly Peter grasped the significance of these words for he will have trouble over this very matter on the housetop in Joppa and in Caesarea, but he will see ere long the full sweep of the great truth that he here proclaims under the impulse of the Holy Spirit. It was a great moment that Peter here reaches" (Robertson).
Verse 40, "And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation."
LGT "And with many other words he earnestly testified and exhorted them, saying, Be saved from this crooked generation."
Luke does not record all that Peter had preached to them that day; Peter tells them to get away from this crooked generation of legalists, and come to the truth of the gospel.
Verse 41, "Then they gladly received his word and were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls."
LGT "Those therefore who welcomed his word were baptized: and were added that day about three thousand souls."
We can be assured that this was an accurate count of three thousand souls; not like our modern evangelists who exaggerate in order to impress, and lift their own image. Here again we see that they gladly received Peter's words, and then were baptized. These souls were added to the one hundred and twenty disciples that had originally gathered there that day.
Verse 42, "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."
LGT "And they were steadfastly continuing in the teaching of the apostles and the partnership, with the breaking of bread and prayers."
These new converts continued in partnership with the apostles, that is, fellowshipping in the Word the Holy Spirit would reveal to them; remember the New Testament was not yet given, so it was necessary for the Holy Spirit to supernaturally reveal doctrine to them. With the breaking of bread is not necessarily referring to the Lord Supper, however, in the first church it was practiced at the end of a communal meal; this also led to the abuses Paul records in 1 Cor. 11:20.
Life among the Believers
Verse 43, "And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles."
LGT "And there came upon every soul fear, and many wonders and signs through the apostles took place."
There are two important things brought out in this verse:1) The message from Peter coupled with the signs and wonders wrought by the apostles brought great fear among all the people, and we know that this godly fear leads to repentance. 2) The apostles are the ones who were responsible for the sign gifts, and these gifts ceased with the completion of the Scriptures.
Verses 44, 45, "And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need."
LGT "And all the ones who believed were together and had all things common, and they sold their possessions and goods, and divided them to all, according as anyone had need."
The phrase all things common is that the first church stayed together, partly out of fear, and partly out of reverence for the apostles. Of course this did not last long, for Paul took up a collection for the needy ones in Jerusalem. They sold everything they had and distributed among the group, as the needs were made known. For those who want to imitate the apostolic church, they need to study this verse a while; God did not intend the church to become communal; as soon as the Word of God became assessable to everyone, not only did these signs and wonders disappear, but everyone became privileged to study on their own; for they did not have to depend on someone to teach them, and tell them what God wanted them to do; and they could govern their own houses privately.
Verses 46, 47, "And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."
LGT "And every day steadfastly, with one accord, continuing in the temple, and breaking bread in [their] houses, they continued to partake of food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all of the people. And the Lord added daily to the assembly those who were being saved."
There are several outstanding features in this verse: First they were still worshipping in the temple, because there had not been brought out that Judaism was the enemy of the church; this will come out in Paul's teaching that the wall of partition has been completely destroyed, and that there is no difference between the Jew and Greek in the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, they worshipped in houses breaking bread, that is, having their meals together, and praising God with all ease and simplicity. Thirdly, they found favor with all people, that is, they were not contentious, but they welcomed anyone who would find favor with God by believing in Christ. And Fourthly, the Lord added to the assembly daily; the seed was being sown, and the Lord was still seeking and saving that which was lost. They were not seeking membership into their fellowship, but the Lord was doing the growing for them. An assembly that grows because Bible Doctrine is being taught, will definitely be God's doing.
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