Acts 13:48

And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. AND WHEN THE GENTILES HEARD THIS, THEY WERE GLAD - glad to perceive that their accession to Christ was matter of divine arrangement as well as apostolic effort, AND GLORIFIED THE WORD OF THE LORD (Jesus) - by a cordial reception of it, giving to it the obedience of faith. Compare John 3:33, "He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true; and 2 Thessalonians 3:1, "Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified." AND AS MANY AS WERE ORDAINED ...

48._And when the Gentiles heard. _The matter of the Gentiles’ joy was this, [viz.] when they heard that they were not called to salvation at a sudden, as if this had not been decreed before by God, but that that is now at length fulfilled which was foretold many years before. For doubtless it was small confirmation of their faith, because salvation was promised to them by the coming of Christ, whereby it did also come to pass that they did with more earnest desire and reverence embrace the gospel. To _glorify _the word of God may be expounded two manner of ways, either that they did confess that it was true which was prophesied by Isaiah, or that they embraced the doctrine which was set before them with faith. Assuredly there is a full subscription noted out, because they dispute or doubt no longer, so soon as they saw that Paul had gotten the victory. And surely we do then honor the wor...

42-52 The Jews opposed the doctrine the apostles preached; and when they could find no objection, they blasphemed Christ and his gospel. Commonly those who begin with contradicting, end with blaspheming. But when adversaries of Christ's cause are daring, its advocates should be the bolder. And while many judge themselves unworthy of eternal life, others, who appear less likely, desire to hear more of the glad tidings of salvation. This is according to what was foretold in the Old Testament. What light, what power, what a treasure does this gospel bring with it! How excellent are its truths, its precepts, its promises! Those came to Christ whom the Father drew, and to whom the Spirit made the gospel call effectual, Romans 8:30. As many as were disposed to eternal life, as many as had concern about their eternal state, and aimed to make sure of eternal life, believed in Christ, in whom Go...

Verse 48. _AS MANY AS WERE ORDAINED TO ETERNAL LIFE BELIEVED._] This text has been most pitifully misunderstood. Many suppose that it simply means that those in that assembly who were _fore-ordained_; or _predestinated_ by God's decree, to eternal life, believed under the influence of that decree. Now, we should be careful to examine _what_ a word means, before we attempt to _fix_ its meaning. Whatever τεταγμενοι may mean, which is the word we translate _ordained_, it is neither προτεταγμενοι nor προορισμενοι which the apostle uses, but simply τεταγμενοι, which includes no idea of _pre_-ordination or _pre_-destination of any kind. And if it even did, it would be rather hazardous to say that all those who believed at this time were such as actually _persevered unto the_ _end_, and _were saved unto eternal life_. But, leaving all these precarious matters, what does the word τεταγμενος mea...

WHEN THE GENTILES HEARD THIS - Heard that the gospel was to be preached to them. The doctrine of the Jews had been that salvation was confined to themselves. The Gentiles rejoiced that from the mouths of Jews themselves they now heard a different doctrine. THEY GLORIFIED THE WORD OF THE LORD - They honored it as a message from God; they recognized and received it as the Word of God. The expression conveys the idea of praise on account of it, and of reverence for the message as the Word of God. AND AS MANY AS WERE ORDAINED - ὅσοι ἦσαν τεταγμένοι hosoi ēsan tetagmenoi. Syriac, “Who were destined,” or constituted. Vulgate, “As many as were foreordained (quotquot erant praeordinati) to eternal life believed.” There has been much difference of opinion in regard to this expression. One class of commentator

EXPOSITION ACTS 13:1 _At Antioch., in the Church that was there _for _in the Church that was at Antioch, _A.V.; _prophets, _etc., for _certain prophets, _etc., A.V. and T.R.; _Barnabas, _etc., for _as Barnabas, _etc., A.V.; _Symeon _for _Simeon, _A.V.; _the foster-brother of _for _which had_ _been brought up with, _A.V. AT ANTIOCH, IN THE CHURCH, etc. Κατὰ τὴν οὖσαν ἐκκλησίαν rather means "the existing Church," just as at αἱ οὖσαι ἐξουσίαι_ _means "the existing powers," "the powers that be," in Romans 13:1, A.V. and T.R. _The then Church _seems mere the meaning than _the Church there. _Luke writes from the standpoint of

AND WHEN THE GENTILES HEARD THIS,.... That it was the will of God, and the command of Christ, that the Gospel should be preached to them; by whom are to be understood the Pisidians, the inhabitants of Antioch, who had never been proselytes to the Jewish religion: THEY WERE GLAD; not that the Jews were likely to have the Gospel taken away from them, and be utterly deprived of it, but that it was to be preached to them: AND GLORIFIED THE WORD OF THE LORD; not the Lord Jesus Christ, the essential word of the Lord, whom they might not as yet have such a distinct knowledge of; but rather God himself, for his word, particularly his word of command, Acts 13:47 as the Syriac and Ethiopic versions read; or the sense is, they spake well of the Gospel, and gave glory to God, or the Lord, who had sent it among them: Beza's most ancient copy reads, they "received the w

Acts 13:13. _Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem. But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down._ They would be noticed as strangers who had come thither. The synagogue did not generally contain a very large assembly, and the Jews of the place would be well known to one another, and they would notice that two or three men had come in whom they had not been accustomed to see in their company. Acts 13:15. And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. Then Paul stood up, and

ACTS 13:48 to.n lo,gon tou/ kuri,ou {C} The accusative is the object of evdo,xazon. Now, the expression doxa,zein to.n qeo,n occurs frequently, but doxa,zein to.n lo,gon tou/ qeou/ (or kuri,ou) is not found elsewhere. Probably for this reason codex Bezae substitutes evde,xanto (“received”). Other scribes and translators omitted to.n lo,gon and made to.n qeo,n the object of the verb, and several (including those responsible for 614 876 1799 2412 and syrh) reworded the text to produce evdo,xazon to.n qeo.n kai. evpi,steusan tw|/ lo,gw| tou/ kuri,ou (“glorified God...

PART III The Witness to the Gentiles. The Apostle to the Gentiles; his Ministry and Captivity. Chapter s 13-28 CHAPTER 13 _ 1. The Divine Choice. Barnabas and Saul separated unto the work (Acts 13:1)._ 2. The Beginning of the Journey and the events in Cyprus (Acts 13:4). 3. The Gospel in Galatia. Paul's Address (Acts 13:13). 4. The Gospel rejected by the Jews (Acts 13:42). The thirteenth chapter is the beginning of the third part of this book. The second great center of Christianity comes to the front. It is no longer Jerusalem, but the city of Antioch. The gospel which had been preached in