Acts 15:8-9
What is written? (ESV)
And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.
What does it say?
God, who knows all mankind’s heart, bore witness to them [Cornelius and his household] by giving them the Holy Spirit just as He did to us [apostles], making no distinction between Jew and Gentile, having cleansed their hearts by faith [as well].
What is its immediate context?
Following Paul’s first missionary journey where he established churches throughout Galatia, a controversy arises within the church, particularly among Jewish Christians concentrated in Jerusalem. The issue is whether or not these Gentiles being converted by Paul need to first become Jewish by being circumcised. Here, Peter is giving his testimony before the apostles and elders in Jerusalem (vs 6) and recalling the events surrounding the conversion of Cornelius (Acts 10) and the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2).
How Acts 15:8-9 is applied across Bible answers
What does it mean to be baptized with the Holy Spirit?
Peter relates the spectacle (demonstration of power) that was the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a "witness" to removing the "distinction" between Jew and Gentile.
