Acts - 15:8



8 God, who knows the heart, testified about them, giving them the Holy Spirit, just like he did to us.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Acts 15:8.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
And God, who knoweth the heart, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as he did unto us;
And God, who knoweth the hearts, gave testimony, giving unto them the Holy Ghost, as well as to us;
And the heart-knowing God bore them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit as to us also,
And God, which knoweth the heart, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
And God, who knoweth the hearts, bore them witness, giving to them the Holy Spirit, even as he did to us:
and the heart-knowing God did bare them testimony, having given to them the Holy Spirit, even as also to us,
And God, which knows the hearts, bore them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did to us;
And God, who knows all hearts, gave His testimony in their favour by bestowing the Holy Spirit on them just as He did on us;
And God, the searcher of hearts, was a witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit even as he did to us;
And God, who knows hearts, offered testimony, by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as to us.
Now God, who reads all hearts, declared his acceptance of the Gentiles, by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

And God, which knoweth the hearts - Acts 1:24. God thus knew whether they were true converts or not, and gave a demonstration that he acknowledged them as his.
Giving them the Holy Ghost - Acts 10:45-46.

And God which knoweth the hearts - Ο καρδιογνωϚης Θεος. We had this epithet of the Divine Being once before; see Acts 1:24, and the note there: it occurs no where else in the New Testament.
Bare them witness - Considered them as proper or fit to receive the Gospel of Christ. It is properly remarked by learned men, that μαρτυρειν τινι, to bear witness to any person, signifies to approve, to testify in behalf of. Here it signifies that, as God evidently sent the Gospel to the Gentiles, and, by the preaching of it, conveyed the Holy Spirit to them who believed, and as he can make no improper judgment of any who knows all hearts and their secrets, therefore what he had done was right: he saw that it was time for them to receive the Gospel; and he saw that they might be safely trusted with this heavenly deposit; and the experience of eighteen hundred years has justified the conduct of God.

And God which knoweth the hearts,.... Of all men; he being omniscient, the searcher of the hearts, and the trier of the reins of the children of men, knew with what sincerity Cornelius sent for Peter; and with what vehement desire and longing expectation he and his family and friends waited for his coming; and with what earnestness, diligence, and affection they attended to what he said:
bore them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; God bore a testimony, and showed his well pleasedness in the whole of this affair, by bestowing upon them not only the regenerating and sanctifying grace of the Spirit; but his extraordinary gifts, such as speaking with divers tongues, even in like manner as these were bestowed on the apostles themselves, on the day of Pentecost, though they were uncircumcised persons; for the drift of Peter's oration is to show, that circumcision was not necessary to salvation.

God, which knoweth the hearts--implying that the real question for admission to full standing in the visible Church is the state of the heart. Hence, though that cannot be known by men, no principle of admission to church privileges which reverses this can be sound.

God bare them witness - That he had accepted them, by giving them the Holy Ghost.

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