Acts 15:8

8 And God, who knows the heart, testified to them by giving^[a] the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us.

Acts 15:8 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 15:8

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.

Acts 15:8 In-Context

6 Then the apostles and the elders assembled to consider this matter.

7 After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them: "Brothers, you are aware that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the gospel message and believe.

8 And God, who knows the heart, testified to them by giving the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us.

9 He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

10 Why, then, are you now testing God by putting on the disciples' necks a yoke that neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear?

Footnotes

• [a]. Other mss add them