The beloved physician Luke shared when Paul, Barnabas and their companions, “were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter”, and in chapter fifteen and verse seven of the book of Acts Luke wrote, “when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up”, where we read:
And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, you know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
The verse begins, “And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, ...” Luke began with the words, “and when there had been much disputing” which means “and at the time and moment there existed, happened and appeared a great and abundant number of mutual questions, discussions and disputations”, “Peter rose up” or “Peter, whose name means a little rock or stone, arose, stood up and elevated himself”, “and said unto them” which means “and uttered, declared and proclaimed” the following words. Luke shared when there was a large amount of questioning, disputations and discussions” about the Gentile believers being “circumcised” and following the “law of Moses”, the apostle “Peter” stood up and proclaimed the following words.
The verse continues, “... Men and brethren, you know how that a good while ago God made choice among us,” Luke added the words, “Men and brethren” or “male human beings and fellow believers in Jesus who were united to each other by the bond of affection”, “you know that a good while ago” which means “you, fellow believers in Jesus, are acquainted with, understand, perceive and comprehend that in the beginning, originally and at the original time” “God made choice among us” or “the Godhead and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit selected, chose and picked out among we believers in Jesus” to experience the following. Luke shared how “Peter” addressed the people assembled for the first church council and reminded them of how “God” previously chose and declared the following idea.
Finally the verse says, “ … that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.” Luke finished the verse with the words, “that the Gentiles” or “that the people who were heathen, pagan, non-Jews and from the same nature and genus” “by my mouth” which means “through the apostle Peter's orifice in his face used for speaking” “should hear the word of the gospel” or “were to be endowed with the faculty for hearing, perceiving and understanding the speech, decree and mandate belonging to the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ”, “and believe” which means “and trust in, rely upon, cling to and have confidence in Him”. Luke completed this verse by sharing how “Peter” reminded the assembly of the first church council that he was commissioned to declare the “good news” of Jesus Christ to the “Gentile” people.
When we consider Luke's words in this verse, we learn how “Peter” intervened in the discussion among the “Pharisees”, the “apostles”, “the elders” and the fellow believers who were gathered. He reminded them that God chose that he should share the “gospel” with the Gentiles (See Acts 10, 11), and now they were experiencing more “Gentiles” coming to believe in Jesus. God loves people, and His desire is to “save” every person from the penalty of sins which is death. He is willing to forgive the sins of anyone who will yield themselves to His Son Jesus, and those who are wise will surrender to Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord” regardless of whether they are “Jews” or “Gentiles” in the world.
Next time Luke shares how “Peter” says, “God, which knows the hearts, bare them witness” so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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