to separate thoroughly · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
no
οὐθὲνouthen
G3762
not even one (man · adjective — accusative singular neuter
difference
διακρίνωdiakrínō
G1252
to separate thoroughly
between
μεταξὺmetaxu
G3342
betwixt (of place or person) · preposition
us
ἡμῶνhēmōn
G2257
of (or from) us
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
them
αὐτῶνautōn
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural neuter
purifying
καθαρίσαςkatharisas
G2511
to cleanse (literally or figuratively) · verb — aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine
their
αὐτῶν.autōn
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural neuter
hearts
καρδίαςkardias
G2588
the heart · noun — accusative plural feminine
faith
πίστειpistei
G4102
persuasion · noun — dative singular feminine
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
Ephesians 3:6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
Romans 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Galatians 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
Acts 10:28 And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation;…
Acts 11:12 And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house:
1 Corinthians 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place c…
Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Acts 15:6-21
We have here a council called, not by writ, but by consent, on this occasion (Act 15:6): The apostles and presbyters came together, to consider this matter. They did not give their judgment separately, but came together to do it, that they might hear one another's sense in this matter; for in the multitude of counsellors there is safety and satisfaction. They did not give their judgment rashly, but considered of this matter. Though they were clear concerning it in their own minds, yet they would take time to consider of it, and to hear what might be said by the adverse party. Nor did the apostles give their judgment concerning it without the elders, the inferior ministers, to whom they thus…
put no difference between us and them: purifying their hearts by faith--"Purification" here refers to "sprinkling (of the conscience by the blood of Jesus) from dead works to serve the living God." (See on Co1 6:11). How rich is this brief description of the inward revolution wrought upon the genuine disciples of the Lord Jesus!
Adam Clarke on Acts 15:9
Put no difference between us and them - Giving them the Holy Spirit, though uncircumcised, just as he had given it to us who were circumcised: an evident proof that, in the judgment of God, circumcision was no preparation to receive the Gospel of Christ. And as the purification of the heart by the Holy Spirit was the grand object of the religion of God, and that alone by which the soul could be prepared for a blessed immortality, and the Gentiles had received that without circumcision, consequently, the shadow could not be considered of any worth, now the substance was communicated.
John Gill on Acts 15:9
And put no difference between us and them,.... Neither in the extraordinary gifts, nor special grace, of the Spirit; giving them the same graces of faith, hope, and love, admitting to the same privileges and immunities of the house of God, and giving them a right and title to the same inheritance of the saints in light, though the one were circumcised, and the other were not. God puts no difference as to matters of religion under the Gospel dispensation between Jews and Gentiles, neither on account of Abraham's seed, or of circumcision, or of the ceremonial law, or of national adoption; nor would he have any made with respect to conversation, civil or religious; all which Peter knew full wel…
The Church Fathers
Purifying their hearts by faith. Therefore, it is not necessary to cleanse them with the circumcision of the flesh, whose hearts such great faith purifies, that they even deserve to receive the Holy Spirit before baptism.
"and he made no distinction," he says, "between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith," that is, having affected a cleansing of the sins coming from their hearts. And this cleansing seemed like circumcision, and instead of circumcision in the flesh is given circumcision in the Spirit, which cleanses the hidden things by faith toward Christ. That physical circumcision is not of benefit is shown from the fact that it was given to the male alone. But in Christ Jesus, by true faith, "there is neither male nor female, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither Greek nor Barbarian, but we are all one." (Gal. 3:28) [AMMONIUS]
"And put no difference between us and them, having purified their hearts by faith." From faith alone, he says, they obtained the same gifts. This is also meant as a lesson to those objectors; this is able to teach even them that faith only is needed, not works nor circumcision. For indeed they do not say all this only by way of apology for the Gentiles, but to teach the Jewish believers also to abandon the Law. When he has mentioned the testimony borne to them, then he utters that great word, the same which Paul speaks, "Neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision." "That he may make the twain one in Himself." Of all these the seeds lie in Peter's discourse. And he does not say between them of the circumcision, but "Between us," that is the Apostles, "and them." Then, that the expression, "no difference" may not seem an outrage, After faith, he says-"Having purified their hearts by faith"-He thoroughly cleansed them first.
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
Council — Spoken of counsellors who sat in public trials with the governor of a province (Acts 25:12). The Jewish councils were the Sanhedrim, or supreme council of the nation, which had subordinate to it…
Faith — Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain statement is true (Phil. 1:27; 2 Thess. 2:13). Its primary idea is trust. A thing is true, and therefore worthy of trust. It admits of…
Galatians, Epistle to — The genuineness of this epistle is not called in question. Its Pauline origin is universally acknowledged. Occasion of. The churches of Galatia were founded by Paul himself (Acts 16:6; Gal. 1:8;…
Paul — =Saul (q.v.) was born about the same time as our Lord. His circumcision-name was Saul, and probably the name Paul was also given to him in infancy “for use in the Gentile world,” as “Saul” would be…
Peter — Originally called Simon (=Simeon, i.e., “hearing”), a very common Jewish name in the New Testament. He was the son of Jona (Matt. 16:17). His mother is nowhere named in Scripture. He had a younger…
Titus — Honourable, was with Paul and Barnabas at Antioch, and accompanied them to the council at Jerusalem (Gal. 2:1-3; Acts 15:2), although his name nowhere occurs in the Acts of the Apostles. He appears…
Acts 15:6-11
6. And the apostles and elders came together, that they might look to this business. 7. And after there had been great disputing, Peter arose and said to them, Men and brethren, ye know how that of old time God did choose in us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8. And God, who is lower of the hearts, bare witness to them giving them his Holy Spirit, as to us. 9. And he put no difference between them and us, after that by faith he had purified their hearts. 10. Therefore, why do ye now tempt God to lay a yoke upon the necks of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11. But we believe that we have salvation…
Peter, no doubt remembering his own experience in the household of Cornelius (ch 10), argued that God had already confirmed his acceptance of the Gentiles without circumcision by giving them the Holy Spirit. The undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus had been made available to all.
Respect Of Persons · God does not have — God does not have
Titus · Compare — Compare
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).
