Acts 14:27 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Acts 14:27
And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.
to become near · verb — second aorist middle deponent participle, nominative plural masculine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
gathered
συναγαγόντεςsunagagontes
G4863
to lead together · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative plural masculine
church
ἐκκλησίανekklēsian
G1577
a calling out · noun — accusative singular feminine
together
συνάγωsynágō
G4863
to lead together
rehearsed
ἀνήγγελλονanēngellon
G312
to announce (in detail) · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person plural
that
ὅσαhosa
G3745
as (much · correlative pronoun — accusative plural neuter
God
θεὸςtheos
G2316
figuratively · noun — nominative singular masculine, a title
done
ἐποίησενepoiēsen
G4160
to make or do (in a very wide application · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
with
μετ᾽met᾽
G3326
properly · preposition
them
αὐτῶνautōn
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural masculine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
how
ὅτιhoti
G3754
demonstrative · conjunction
opened
ἤνοιξενēnoixen
G455
to open up (literally or figuratively · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
door
θύρανthuran
G2374
a portal or entrance (the opening or the closure · noun — accusative singular feminine
faith
πίστεως.pisteōs
G4102
persuasion · noun — genitive singular feminine
Gentiles
ἔθνεσινethnesin
G1484
a race (as of the same habit) · noun — dative plural neuter
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Corinthians 16:9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.
Acts 15:12 Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the G…
2 Corinthians 2:12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,
Colossians 4:3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:
1 Corinthians 5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
John 9:10 Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?
Acts 11:18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto l…
Romans 15:18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Acts 14:19–end
We have here a further account of the services and sufferings of Paul and Barnabas.
I. How Paul was stoned and left for dead, but miraculously came to himself again, Act 14:19, Act 14:20. They fell upon Paul rather than Barnabas, because Paul, being the chief speaker, galled and vexed them more than Barnabas did. Now observe here, 1. How the people were incensed against Paul; not by any injury they pretended he had done them (if they took it for an affront that he would not let them misplace divine honours upon him, when they considered themselves they would easily forgive him that wrong), but there came certain Jews from Antioch, hearing, it is likely, and vexed to hear, what respect was sh…
when they had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, &c.--As their call and mission had been solemn and formal, in the presence of and by the Church as well as the Holy Ghost, they dutifully, and no doubt with eager joy, convened the church and gave their report of "all that God had done with them," that is, by and for them.
and how--in particular.
he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles--to such even as before had not been proselytes. (See on Act 11:21; and on the language, see Co1 16:9; Co2 2:12; Col 4:3). The ascribing directly to God of such access to the Gentiles is to be noted.
Adam Clarke on Acts 14:27
Had gathered the Church together - The Church by which they had been sent on this very important and successful mission.
They rehearsed all that God had done with them - Not what they had done themselves; but what God made them the instruments of working.
And how he had opened the door of faith - How God by his providence and grace had made a way for preaching Christ crucified among the heathen; and how the heathen had received that Gospel which, through faith in Christ Jesus, was able to save their souls.
John Gill on Acts 14:27
And when they were come,.... To Antioch:
and had gathered the church together: which was in that place, and who came together at their request; for as they were sent out by them, they judged it proper to call them together; and give them an account of the issue of their work they were recommended by them to the grace of God to fulfil: and being come together at their usual place of meeting,
they rehearsed all that God had done with them; and by them, as instruments; what grace and strength he had given them to preach the Gospel; what numbers of souls were everywhere converted by it; what miracles were wrought by them for the confirmation of it; and what persecutions and sufferings they had…
The Church Fathers
"And when they were come, and had gathered the Church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how He had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. And there they abode long time with the disciples." For the city being great had need of teachers.
"And when they were come," etc. They came, teaching them that with good reason had they been ordained by the Spirit. They said not what they themselves, but "what God had done with them." It seems to me, that they mean their trials. It was not for nothing that they come here, nor to rest, but providentially guided by the Spirit, to the end that the preaching to the Gentiles might be firmly established. And mark Paul's ardor. He does not ask whether it be right to speak to Gentiles, but he straightway speaks: therefore it is that he says, "I did not refer myself to flesh and blood."
And in Cephro indeed a considerable church sojourned with us, composed partly of the brethren who followed us from the city, and partly of those who joined us from Egypt. There, too, did God open to us a door for the word. And at first we were persecuted, we were stoned, but after a period some few of the heathen forsook their idols, and turned to God. For by our means the word was then sown among them for the first time, and before that they had never received it. And as if to show that this had been the very purpose of God in conducting us to them, when we had fulfilled this ministry, He led us away again.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Access To God · Obtained through faith — Obtained through faith
Antioch · .The congregation in — .The congregation in
Gentiles · CONVERSION OF — CONVERSION OF
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Acts 14:23-28
23. And when by voices [suffrages] they had ordained them elders through all churches, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, in whom they had believed. 24. And passing over through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. 25. And when they had spoken the word at Perga, they went down to Attalia: 26. And thence they sailed to Antioch, from whence they were commended to the grace of God unto the work which they had fulfilled. 27. And when they were come, when the Church was gathered together, they showed what great things God had done by them, and that he had opened to the Gentiles the door of faith. 28. And they were there no small time with the disciples.
23. W…
As soon as Paul and Barnabas returned home to Antioch from their first missionary journey, they called the church together and gave a full report of their evangelism and discipleship. They humbly acknowledged divine guidance in opening the door of faith to the Gentiles (see 11:18; 1 Cor 16:9; 2 Cor 2:12). Similar reports (Acts 15:4, 12; 21:19) always stressed the activity of God as working through the ministries of his servants (see Rom 15:17-18; 1 Cor 3:5-9; 15:10-11).
