Acts 15:8

8 And God, who knows the heart, testified to them [by] giving [them] 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 Both the apostles and the elders assembled to deliberate concerning this matter.

7 And [after] there was much debate, Peter stood up [and] said to them, "Men [and] brothers, you know that in the early days God chose among you through my mouth [that] the Gentiles should hear the message of the gospel and believe.

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

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

10 So now why are you putting God to the test [by] placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

Footnotes

• [a]. *Here "[by]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("giving") which is understood as means
• [b]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation