Acts 22:14

14 And he said, You have been marked out by the God of our fathers to have knowledge of his purpose, and to see the Upright One and to give ear to the words of his mouth.

Acts 22:14 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 22:14

And he said, the God of our fathers hath chosen thee
From all eternity, in his everlasting purposes and decrees; or "he hath taken thee into his hand"; in order to form, and fit, and qualify him for his service; and may design both his call by grace, and to apostleship. The apostle represents Ananias as speaking of God, as the God of the Jewish fathers, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to show that the Christian doctrine was not contrary to the faith of the one God of Israel; nor did it introduce any other, or any new deity. The ends of this choice or separation were,

that thou shouldest know his will;
his revealed will, concerning the salvation of men by Jesus Christ, which is no other than the Gospel, of which the apostle had been entirely ignorant; for though he knew the will of God, as revealed in the law, or his will of command, yet not spiritually; and he was altogether a stranger, till now, to God's will, way, and method of saving sinners by Christ, of justifying them by his righteousness, and of pardoning their sins through his blood, and of giving them eternal life by him; and the knowledge of this he came at by the spirit of wisdom and revelation, in consequence of his being chosen and called:

and see that just One:
Jesus Christ the righteous, who is both as he is God, and as he is man, and also as he is Mediator, having faithfully discharged his office, and performed his engagements; him the apostle saw, both with the eyes of his body, when he met him in the way, and called unto him, and with the eyes of his understanding beholding his beauty, fulness, and suitableness as a Saviour; the former of these was what many kings, prophets, and righteous men desired: and the latter is what is inseparably connected with eternal life and salvation.

And shouldest hear the voice of his mouth;
both his human voice in articulate sounds, when he spoke to him in the Hebrew tongue, as in ( Acts 22:7 ) and the voice of his Gospel, of which he appeared to make him a minister; which is a voice of love, grace, and mercy, of peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation, and is very powerful when accompanied by the Spirit, and is soul charming, alluring, and comforting.

Acts 22:14 In-Context

12 And one Ananias, a God-fearing man, who kept the law, and of whom all the Jews in that place had a high opinion,

13 Came to my side and said, Brother Saul, let your eyes be open. And in that very hour I was able to see him.

14 And he said, You have been marked out by the God of our fathers to have knowledge of his purpose, and to see the Upright One and to give ear to the words of his mouth.

15 For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and of what has come to your ears.

16 And now, why are you waiting? get up, and have baptism, for the washing away of your sins, giving worship to his name.