PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible — Acts
Gill, John, 1697-1771 · 334,323 words · 428 reading sections
Acts 1:1
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible. Acts 1:1 INTRODUCTION TO ACTS This book, in some copies, is called, "The Acts of the holy Apostles". It contains an history of the ministry and miracles of the apostles of Christ, and is a sort of a journal of their actions, from whence it takes its name. It begins at the …
747 wordsSECTION 2Acts 1:2
Acts 1:2 Ver. 2. Until the day in which he was taken up,.... That is, into heaven. The historian suggests, that his former treatise took in the main and principal things Jesus did and taught, until such time that he ascended to heaven: after that he, through the Holy Ghost, had given commandments unto the apostles, w…
405 wordsSECTION 3Acts 1:3
Acts 1:3 Ver. 3. To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion,.... That is, after his sufferings and death; for that he suffered many things, and at last death itself, is certain from the acknowledgment of the Jews themselves, who own, that they put him to death on the passover eve {d}; as well as from the a…
1,212 wordsSECTION 4Acts 1:4
Acts 1:4 Ver. 4. And being assembled together with them,.... At their last meeting at Bethany, or Mount Olivet, which was by appointment: some render the words, as the Vulgate Latin, "and eating with them"; which was one of the proofs he gave of his being alive; and so the Syriac version renders it, "and when he had a…
398 wordsSECTION 5Acts 1:5
Acts 1:5 Ver. 5. For John truly baptized with water,.... Or "in water", as he himself says, Mt 3:11 John's baptism was water baptism, an immersion of persons in water: he was the first administrator of it, and therefore is here mentioned by name; and his, and the baptism of the Spirit, are opposed; for there were othe…
170 wordsSECTION 6Ac 20:35
Ac 20:35 but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost; that is, by himself; for it is Christ's prerogative to baptize with the Spirit, as John foretold of him, and it designs such an extraordinary and plentiful donation of the gifts of the Spirit, as may be expressed by a baptism; in which the apostles, on the day of …
161 wordsSECTION 7Acts 1:6
Acts 1:6 Ver. 6. When they therefore were come together,.... That is, Christ, and his eleven apostles; for not the hundred and twenty disciples hereafter mentioned, nor the five hundred brethren Christ appeared to at once, are here intended, but the apostles, as appears from Ac 1:2 they asked of him, saying, wilt tho…
399 wordsSECTION 8Acts 1:7
Acts 1:7 Ver. 7. And he said unto them,.... To his disciples, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons; meaning, not the times that are past from Adam to Christ; as how long the world stood; when the flood came; when Sodom and Gomorrha were burned to ashes; when the children of Israel came out of Egypt, and…
414 wordsSECTION 9Acts 1:8
Acts 1:8 Ver. 8. But ye shall receive power,.... From on high, with which they were to be endured, Lu 24:49 meaning the power of the Holy Ghost, strength from him to preach the Gospel, and work miracles in confirmation of it, and courage and greatness of mind, amidst all reproaches and persecutions, to face and oppose…
450 wordsSECTION 10Acts 1:9
Acts 1:9 Ver. 9. And when he had spoken these things,.... That the times and seasons were not to be known by them, but to be kept a secret by the Father: that they should tarry at Jerusalem, and in a few days be baptized with the Holy Ghost, and receive such power, abilities, strength, and courage thereby, as to bear …
537 wordsSECTION 11Acts 1:10
Acts 1:10 Ver. 10. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven,.... For though he was taken out of their sight by the cloud, they kept looking upwards, and after him, if they could see him again, or any more of him: as he went up; they looked up to heaven after him, as he went up from the earth, before the cloud …
282 wordsSECTION 12Acts 1:11
Acts 1:11 Ver. 11. Which also said, ye men of Galilee,.... And which was said by them, not to reproach them with their country, but partly to let them know that they knew them, who they were, and from whence they came; and partly to observe the rich and distinguishing grace of God in choosing such mean and contemptibl…
503 wordsSECTION 13Acts 1:12
Acts 1:12 Ver. 12. Then returned they unto Jerusalem,.... With great joy, after the angels had told them that he should come again in like manner:from the mount called Olivet; which was on the east side of Jerusalem, a mountain Christ much frequented, and from whence he ascended to heaven. This is the hill which in 1K…
9,139 wordsSECTION 14Acts 2:1
Acts 2:1 Ver. 1. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come,.... Or "was come", was begun and entered upon; for it was not over, or ended, it being but the third hour of the day, or nine of the clock in the morning, when Peter began his sermon; see Ac 2:15. The Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions read, "when the days …
693 wordsSECTION 15Acts 2:2
Acts 2:2 Ver. 2. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven,.... Which is expressive of the original of the gifts and graces of the Spirit of God, which come from above, from heaven, from the Father of lights; and of the freeness of them, being unmerited; and so come suddenly, at an unawares, being unthought of, unde…
352 wordsSECTION 16Acts 2:3
Acts 2:3 Ver. 3. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire,.... An emblem of the various tongues and languages, in which they were to preach the Gospel; these appearances were like flames of fire parted, and these parted flames looked like tongues; so, a flame of fire is with, the Jews called, va Nwv…
577 wordsSECTION 17Acts 2:4
Acts 2:4 Ver. 4. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,.... With the gifts of the Holy Spirit; they had received the Spirit before, as a Spirit of grace, and were endowed with great gifts; but now they had great plenty of them, a large abundance; they were like vessels filled to the brim; they were as it were c…
287 wordsSECTION 18Acts 2:5
Acts 2:5 Ver. 5. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews,.... The Ethiopic version adds, "proselytes"; but they were not all such, as appears from the following account of them; many, and it seems the most of them were of Jewish extract and descent, and others were proselytes to the Jewish religion: these were not …
268 wordsSECTION 19Acts 2:6
Acts 2:6 Ver. 6. Now when this was noised abroad,.... Or "when this voice was made"; referring either to the sound, as of a mighty rushing wind, which came from heaven; and might not only be heard by those in the house, into which it came, but by the inhabitants of the city, as it came down from heaven; so the Arabic …
410 wordsSECTION 20Acts 2:7
Acts 2:7 Ver. 7. And they were all amazed, and marvelled,.... They were struck with surprise, they were as it were out of themselves, like persons in an ecstasy, not knowing what could be the cause or meaning of this: saying one to another; the phrase "one to another", is left out in the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic ve…
189 wordsSECTION 21Acts 2:8
Acts 2:8 Ver. 8. And how hear we every man in our own tongue,.... Them speaking, as the Ethiopic version reads; that is, we everyone of us hear one or another, speak in the same language, wherein we were born; our native language; for though these men were Jews by descent, yet were born and brought up in other countr…
73 wordsSECTION 22Acts 2:9
Acts 2:9 Ver. 9. Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites,.... These are the words of the men continued, and not of the historian, as appears from Ac 2:10 and so the Arabic version reads, "of us Persians, Parthians, and Medes"; that is, we hear them speak in the language of everyone of us: the order in this version is inver…
1,768 wordsSECTION 23Acts 2:10
Acts 2:10 Ver. 10. Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt,.... Phrygia was a country in Asia, and had part of Galatia on the north, Lycaonia, Pisidia, and Mygdonia on the south, and on the east Cappadocia {x}; here the Apostle Paul afterwards travelled, and strengthened the Christians; see Ac 16:6. Pamphylia, now called Set…
428 wordsSECTION 24Acts 2:11
Acts 2:11 Ver. 11. Cretes and Arabians,.... The former are either the same with the Cretians, Tit 1:12 the inhabitants of the island of Crete, Ac 27:7 now called Candia or Candy, which has on the north the Aegean sea, on the south the Libyan or African sea, on the west the Adriatic sea, and on the east the Carpathian …
462 wordsSECTION 25Acts 2:12
Acts 2:12 Ver. 12. And they were all amazed,.... That is, all these devout men, Jews and proselytes, which came from other nations before mentioned: and were in doubt; not whether the apostles spoke in various languages, nor about the sense of their words; for they not only heard them with their ears, and were assure…
140 wordsSECTION 26Acts 2:13
Acts 2:13 Ver. 13. Others mocking, said,.... These were the native inhabitants of Jerusalem, the common people; and it may be also the Scribes and Pharisees, who did not understand the languages in which the apostles spake, and therefore derided them both by words and gestures: these men are full of new wine; the Syr…
201 wordsSECTION 27Acts 2:14
Acts 2:14 Ver. 14. But Peter standing up with the eleven,.... Apostles; their number being now complete, Matthias being chosen in the room of Judas. These all at once rose up, as abhorring the fact they were charged with, and to show the falsehood of it, and to vindicate themselves; when Peter, as their mouth, stood "…
12,692 wordsSECTION 28Acts 3:1
Acts 3:1 Ver. 1. Now Peter and John went up together into the temple,.... These two disciples were intimate companions, and great lovers of each other; they were often together: they are thought, by some, to have been together in the high priest's palace at the trial of Christ; and they ran together to his sepulchre, …
578 wordsSECTION 29Acts 3:2
Acts 3:2 Ver. 2. And a certain man, lame from his mother's womb,.... He was born so; his lameness came not through any disease or fall, or any external hurt, but from a defect in nature, in one of his limbs, or more; which made the after miracle the more extraordinary: and he was so lame that he was carried; he could…
896 wordsSECTION 30Acts 3:3
Acts 3:3 Ver. 3. Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple,.... Just as they were entering through the gate at which he lay, he looked at them; and though they were strangers to him, he concluded they were Israelites by their going into the temple at that time: asked an alms; of them; prayed them to give …
69 wordsSECTION 31Acts 3:4
Acts 3:4 Ver. 4. And Peter fastening his eyes upon him,.... Or looking very wistly and intently at him, being, no doubt, under some uncommon impulse of the Spirit of God to take notice of him, and cure him of his disease: with John; who was also under a like impulse at the same time; and who was equally concerned in …
230 wordsSECTION 32Acts 3:5
Acts 3:5 Ver. 5. And he gave heed unto them,.... Or "he looked at them", as the Syriac version renders it, as they bid him: he was not only attentive to them in his mind, but he directed his eyes towards them, and looked wistly at them. This clause is left out in the Ethiopic version. Expecting to receive something o…
80 wordsSECTION 33Acts 3:6
Acts 3:6 Ver. 6. Then Peter said, silver and gold have I none,.... The Ethiopic version reads, "we have none"; and so it reads the next clause in the first person plural; that is, they had no money either of gold or silver coin; they had none about them, nor any of their own perhaps any where; none but what was brough…
376 wordsSECTION 34Acts 3:7
Acts 3:7 Ver. 7. And he took him by the right hand,.... In imitation of Christ, whom he had often seen using the same action on such occasions: and lift him up; believing he was cured, and that it might be manifest. The word him is expressed in the Alexandrian copy, and in some others, and in the Oriental versions, w…
150 wordsSECTION 35Acts 3:8
Acts 3:8 Ver. 8. And he leaping up,.... From off the bed or couch, or ground on which he lay: stood and walked; stood firm and strong upon his feet, and walked about; by which it was abundantly manifest to himself and others, that he had a perfect cure. The Ethiopic version is a very ridiculous one, "and he went with…
206 wordsSECTION 36Acts 3:9
Acts 3:9 Ver. 9. And all the people,.... That were in the temple, saw him walking; who before lay on a couch, or on the ground, and was so lame, that he was obliged to be carried; and praising God; for this miraculous cure. The Arabic version renders it, "saw him walking to praise God": that is, entering into the te…
77 wordsSECTION 37Acts 3:10
Acts 3:10 Ver. 10. And they knew it was he that sat for alms,.... The Syriac version renders it, "they knew him to be that beggar that sat daily and asked alms". As he was daily brought thither, and had, for many years, it is very likely, sat there to ask alms of the people as they went into the temple; he was well kn…
177 wordsSECTION 38Acts 3:11
Acts 3:11 Ver. 11. And as the lame man which was healed,.... This is left out in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions, and in the Alexandrian copy, which only read, and as he held Peter and John; by their clothes or arms, either through fear, lest his lameness should return on their leaving him; or rather…
194 wordsSECTION 39Acts 3:12
Acts 3:12 Ver. 12. And when Peter saw it,.... That the people ran to them, and looked wistly upon them, and wondered at what was done: he answered unto the people, ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? either at this man, who was cured of his lameness, or at the cure itself: or why look ye so earnestly on us; sug…
240 wordsSECTION 40Acts 3:13
Acts 3:13 Ver. 13. The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob,.... These titles and epithets of God, which are used in the Old Testament, Ex 3:6 the apostle chooses to retain, partly to distinguish him from the gods of the Gentiles, and partly to show his regard to the God of Israel, the one, only true, and living…
377 wordsSECTION 41Acts 3:14
Acts 3:14 Ver. 14. But ye denied the Holy One, and the just,.... Who is "holy" both in his divine and human nature, and the fountain of holiness to his people; see Ps 16:10 and who is "just" or "righteous", both in his person, and in the discharge of his office, and has wrought a righteousness for his people, which is…
204 wordsSECTION 42Acts 3:15
Acts 3:15 Ver. 15. And killed the Prince of life,.... Or author of life, natural, spiritual, and eternal; who not only is the living God, and has life in himself; and as man, had such a power over his own life, as no man ever had; but he is the author of a spiritual resurrection from the death of sin, to a life of gra…
254 wordsSECTION 43Acts 3:16
Acts 3:16 Ver. 16. And his name, through faith in his name,.... That is, the name of Christ, or the power of Christ, through the faith of the apostles in him, while they made use of his name, and said, "in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth", &c. Ac 3:6 or Christ, through the faith of the lame man in him; and when h…
3,400 wordsSECTION 44Acts 4:1
Acts 4:1 Ver. 1. And as they spake unto the people,.... For though only mention is made of Peter's preaching in the preceding chapter, yet doubtless John preached as well as he; either in turn, or to a part of the people at some distance: and this shows their diligence, faithfulness, and integrity, in the ministration…
377 wordsSECTION 45Acts 4:2
Acts 4:2 Ver. 2. Being grieved that they taught the people,.... Any doctrine, and especially that which follows, and which particularly gave uneasiness to the Sadducees, they were exceedingly distressed by it; it pained them to the very heart, and they were filled with wrath and indignation: and preached through, or …
191 wordsSECTION 46Acts 4:3
Acts 4:3 Ver. 3. And they laid hands on them,.... The Arabic version renders it, "on both"; on Peter and John; seized them by force, and drew them out of the temple: and put them in hold unto the next day; not in the common public prison, as in Ac 5:18 but they put them into the hands, and under the care and custody …
165 wordsSECTION 47Acts 4:4
Acts 4:4 Ver. 4. Howbeit, many of them which heard the word,.... The doctrine of the Gospel, preached by Peter and John: believed; the report of it, and in Christ, as risen from the dead, which was the sum and substance of it: and this they did, notwithstanding the opposition made by the priests, the captain of the t…
244 wordsSECTION 48Acts 4:5
Acts 4:5 Ver. 5. And it came to pass on the morrow,.... The disciples being kept in custody all night: that their rulers, and elders, and Scribes; that is, their ecclesiastical rulers; the chief priests, who, with the Scribes, and elders of the people, made up the great council at Jerusalem, consisting of seventy one…
65 wordsSECTION 49Acts 4:6
Acts 4:6 Ver. 6. And Annas the high priest,.... So called, either because he had been an high priest, though he was not now, but Caiaphas his son-in-law; or because he was the Sagan of the high priest, and had all the other priests under his government; and is mentioned first, because he was father-in-law to Caiaphas;…
598 wordsSECTION 50Acts 4:7
Acts 4:7 Ver. 7. And when they had set them in the midst,.... Of the assembly, as the Ethiopic version adds; in the middle of the sanhedrim, which sat in a semicircular form; or as the Jews express it, as the half of a round corn floor, or as a half moon, and not in a perfect circle; because it was necessary that the …
253 wordsSECTION 51Acts 4:8
Acts 4:8 Ver. 8. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost,.... At that very instant, having received a fresh measure of the gifts and graces of the Spirit, besides what he had poured forth upon him at the day of Pentecost; so that he had great courage and presence of mind, and freedom of speech, as Christ had promised h…
196 wordsSECTION 52Acts 4:9
Acts 4:9 Ver. 9. If we this day be examined of the good deed,.... Or "seeing" we are; for it was not a matter of doubt, but a clear case, that they were brought into court, and were passing under an examination, about the cure of the lame man; which the apostle rightly calls a good deed, it being done in faith, and t…
171 wordsSECTION 53Acts 4:10
Acts 4:10 Ver. 10. Be it known unto you all,.... The members of the sanhedrim: and to all the people of Israel; who might hear of this affair; for the apostle was not ashamed of what he had done, nor of the person in whose name he had done it: that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth; by calling, on that name, a…
347 wordsSECTION 54Acts 4:11
Acts 4:11 Ver. 11. This is the stone,.... That is, this Jesus of Nazareth, by whose name the lame man was made whole, is that stone spoken of in Ps 118:22 by whom is meant the true Messiah, comparable to a stone, for his strength and duration, and usefulness, as a foundation and corner stone, in the spiritual building…
215 wordsSECTION 55Acts 4:12
Acts 4:12 Ver. 12. Neither is there salvation in any other,.... Meaning not corporeal healing, but spiritual and eternal salvation; the Syriac version renders it, neither is there anqrwp, "redemption in any other": Christ is the only Saviour and Redeemer, who was promised and prophesied of as such; who has saved and r…
373 wordsSECTION 56Acts 4:13
Acts 4:13 Ver. 13. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John,.... With what courage and intrepidity they stood before them, the presence of mind they had, and the freedom of speech they used, as the word properly signifies: they observed their elocution, the justness of their diction, the propriety of their lan…
7,436 wordsSECTION 57Acts 5:1
Acts 5:1 Ver. 1. But a certain man named Ananias,.... A name common among the Jews, the same with Hananiah, Jer 28:1 it signifies not the humility of the Lord, or the affliction of the Lord, or the answer of the Lord, as say some, as if it was derived from hne; but the grace of the Lord, or the Lord's gracious one, co…
478 wordsSECTION 58Acts 5:2
Acts 5:2 Ver. 2. And kept back part of the price,.... At which the possession was sold; he reserved it for his own use, after he had given out that he sold it for the service of the church: his wife also being privy to it; to this private reserve: and brought a certain part; whether the greater part, or an equal par…
107 wordsSECTION 59Acts 5:3
Acts 5:3 Ver. 3. But Peter said, Ananias,.... Peter, by divine revelation, or by a spirit of discerning, such as Elisha had, who knew what his servant Gehazi had done, knowing what a reserve Ananias had made, calls him by his name, and says to him, why hath Satan filled thine heart? or emboldened thee, given thee so …
427 wordsSECTION 60Acts 5:4
Acts 5:4 Ver. 4. Whiles it remained, was it not thine own,.... Before it was sold, it was his own proper estate; he had the sole propriety in it, and could have kept it, or disposed of it as he pleased: he was not obliged to sell it, he might have kept it as his own property; for selling of possessions at this time wa…
362 wordsSource & rights
Public domain; John Gill (1697–1771). Source item is marked Public Domain on Internet Archive.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.