Study Desk

Now the apostles and the believers who were throughout Judea heard [with astonishment] that the Gentiles also had received and accepted the word of God [the message concerning salvation through Christ].

"But the voice from heaven answered a second time, 'What God has cleansed and pronounced clean, no longer consider common (unholy).'

"So, if God gave Gentiles the same gift [equally] as He gave us after we accepted and believed and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ [as Savior], who was I to interfere or stand in God's way?"

When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified and praised God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance that leads to eternal life [that is, real life after earthly death]."

When he arrived and saw the grace of God [that was bestowed on them], he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with an unwavering heart to stay true and devoted to the Lord.

So Peter was kept in prison, but fervent and persistent prayer for him was being made to God by the church.

The assembled people kept shouting, "It is the voice of a god and not of a man!"

And at once an angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give God the glory [and instead permitted himself to be worshiped], and he was eaten by worms and died [five days later].

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets [who spoke a new message of God to the people] and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod [Antipas] the tetrarch, and Saul.

When Barnabas and Saul arrived at Salamis, they began to preach the word of God [proclaiming the message of eternal salvation through faith in Christ] in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John [Mark] as their assistant.

who was [closely associated] with the proconsul [of the province], Sergius Paulus, an intelligent and sensible man. He called for Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ].

So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand, he said, "Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen!

"The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great and numerous during their stay [as foreigners] in the land of Egypt, and then with an uplifted arm He led them out of there.

"Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

"From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel a Savior, [in the person of] Jesus, according to His promise.

"Brothers, sons of Abraham's family, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation [obtained through faith in Jesus Christ].

"But God raised Him from the dead;

that God has completely fulfilled this promise to our children by raising up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, 'YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN (fathered) YOU.'

"For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was buried among his fathers and experienced decay [in the grave];

but He whom God raised [to life] did not experience decay [in the grave].