Acts 11:24

24 He was a good man that way, enthusiastic and confident in the Holy Spirit's ways. The community grew large and strong in the Master.

Acts 11:24 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 11:24

For he was a good man
He had the grace of God wrought in his soul, and did good works; he was very kind, and generous, and charitable; he sold what land he had, and gave the money to the apostles, for the use of the community, ( Acts 4:37 )

and full of the Holy Ghost, and of faith;
he was full of the several graces of the Spirit, and particularly of faith; and he was full of the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, and of the faith of miracles; he was full of the doctrine of faith, and of spiritual gifts for the preaching of it: the same character is given of Stephen, ( Acts 6:5 )

and much people was added unto the Lord;
by the means of Barnabas, through his ministry, and the exercise of those gifts he was full of; so the Arabic version, "and he drew a large multitude to the Lord".

Acts 11:24 In-Context

22 When the church in Jerusalem got wind of this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch to check on things.
23 As soon as he arrived, he saw that God was behind and in it all. He threw himself in with them, got behind them, urging them to stay with it the rest of their lives.
24 He was a good man that way, enthusiastic and confident in the Holy Spirit's ways. The community grew large and strong in the Master.
25 Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul.
26 He found him and brought him back to Antioch. They were there a whole year, meeting with the church and teaching a lot of people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were for the first time called Christians.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.