This commentary is a work in progress and may be revised as study continues. If you have a question, spot an error, or want to discuss a passage, please reach out.
1And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
6Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
7And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
12And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
13Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
14But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
15For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
16But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
17And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
19And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:
21And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
22Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
23Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
24Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
25For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
26Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
27Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
28Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
29Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
30Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
31He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
32This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
33Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
34For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
35Until I make thy foes thy footstool.
36Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
37Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
The word “repent” here does not mean being sorry for wrong doing, or stopping sin, or turning from sin as many modern dictionaries read. Rather, it simply means to “change your mind” the Greek word is Strong's G3340 - metanoeō. Although you may feel sorry at the same time, this is not the Biblical definition. Peter is telling these Jews to change their mind about Jesus and who He is.
In v. 36 he rebukes them for killing Jesus and in v. 37 they are so convicted they respond “what shall we do?” to which Peter replies, repent (change your mind), change your mind about Jesus and understand that He is your Messiah.
He just told them in v. 21 that “whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”Therefore, if they repent and do this, they are saved, and if saved, your sins are remitted and you will have the Holy Ghost. So, get baptized, publicly declaring this.
The Greek word “for” is “eis”
Some have said this is the devil’s favorite passage. Many false teachers use this verse to promote a works-based salvation, trusting in baptism to forgive them of their sins and not Jesus alone. They argue that the Greek word eis means “in order to,” but this isn’t always the case:
The Greek word eis is “at” in the following verse. Notice it contextually means “because of,” not “in order to”:
“The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” Matthew 12:41
So he is telling them to be baptized because of their sins already being forgiven.
We are told in v. 21 that salvation is received by the one who will “call on the name of the Lord”. He never stated calling and baptism for salvation. When you repent and believe the gospel (which Peter just explained), you are saved. Furthermore, in Acts 16, we see the only direct question in the Bible on what must be done in order to be saved, and the clear answer was:
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Acts 16:30-31
Followed by baptism:
“And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.” Acts 16:33
39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
40And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
This can easily be misconstrued as Peter telling people that they can save themselves. The context must be kept in mind, where Peter has already told us:
in verse 21 how we are saved, and
in verse 20 that judgment is coming.
Peter warns about the great Day of the Lord. He does not know when the Lord will come to judge this untoward generation, so he urges them to heed what he has told them. In calling on the name of the Lord, they are saving themselves, in the sense that they choose to do the calling on the Lord, from the generation they are in:
Acts 2:21 “that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
41Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
42And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
44And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
The early church sold their possessions and goods here, which raises the question: is this something we should follow and emulate today? However, the New Testament shows a broader pattern of stewardship and generosity without universal divestment:
When Paul later addresses the rich, he does not instruct them to give away everything they own. Instead, he teaches that they should not trust in their wealth, but should use it generously to help those in need, while still enjoying what God has provided. This shows stewardship and generosity, not total divestment, as the general instruction for believers:
1 Timothy 6:17-18 “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;”
Philemon owned a house:
Philemon 2 “And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:”
Believers are also told to set aside money regularly for giving, showing personal stewardship rather than the expectation of pooling all resources into a joint account:
1 Corinthians 16:1–2 “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come”
46And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
47Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
The church is the body of Christ
Ephesians 1:22–23 “...him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body”
Colossians 1:18 “And he is the head of the body, the church...”
How we enter into the church
The Bible makes it clear that we are added to the body of Christ, the church, by the Holy Spirit. This occurs after someone believes in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins:
First, we hear the gospel, choose to believe and then receive the Spirit
Ephesians 1:13 “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”
Acts 10:3-3 “ whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.”
Then, the Spirit (God) adds us to the body (the church)
1 Corinthians 12:13 “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles”
The Lord added to the church daily
First, the Lord does not add people to the body (the church) until they believe. He offers the free gift, and once a person believes, receiving it by faith, they are added to the body. The context of the chapter makes this clear: first belief, then addition to the church:
Acts 2:44 “And all that believed were together”
Acts 2:41 “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added...”
Then, once they believe, the Lord adds them to the church, the body, as He sees fit, giving them different roles, just as Paul tells us:
The most direct parallel to this
1 Corinthians 12:28 “And God hath set some in the church”
God places each member in the body according to His will
1 Corinthians 12:18 “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.”
See also: 1 Corinthians 12:24, 1 Corinthians 12:13
“as should be saved”
This phrase in the English can sound as though God is selecting certain individuals for salvation in a way that appears predetermined. However, this reading would create tension with many clear passages of Scripture that present God as desiring the repentance and salvation of all people, such as: Acts 17:30–31, 2 Peter 3:9, and 1 Timothy 2:4.
This tension is unnecessary, because Scripture consistently teaches that those who believe are the ones who are saved. Therefore, the phrase can be better understood to mean that those who should be saved are precisely those who believe. In other words, the Lord only saves those who have first exercised faith. The pattern is clear:
First — receiving and believing
John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
Second— then the new birth: God saves and adds to the church (the body)
John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
In conclusion, some modern translations, such as the NKJV or NASB reflect the Greek more transparently by rendering the phrase along the lines of: “And the Lord kept adding daily the ones being saved.” This better reflects the present passive participle in Greek.
Simply put: those who believed were the ones God was saving, and He then placed them into the church as He saw fit with different roles and gifts.
2
Acts 2 — Forever Word commentary
King James VersionThis commentary is a work in progress and may be revised as study continues. If you have a question, spot an error, or want to discuss a passage, please reach out.
1And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
6Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
7And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
12And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
13Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
14But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
15For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
16But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
17And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
19And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:
21And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
22Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
23Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
24Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
25For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
26Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
27Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
28Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
29Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
30Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
31He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
32This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
33Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
34For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
35Until I make thy foes thy footstool.
36Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
37Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
The word “repent” here does not mean being sorry for wrong doing, or stopping sin, or turning from sin as many modern dictionaries read. Rather, it simply means to “change your mind” the Greek word is Strong's G3340 - metanoeō. Although you may feel sorry at the same time, this is not the Biblical definition. Peter is telling these Jews to change their mind about Jesus and who He is.
In v. 36 he rebukes them for killing Jesus and in v. 37 they are so convicted they respond “what shall we do?” to which Peter replies, repent (change your mind), change your mind about Jesus and understand that He is your Messiah.
He just told them in v. 21 that “whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Therefore, if they repent and do this, they are saved, and if saved, your sins are remitted and you will have the Holy Ghost. So, get baptized, publicly declaring this.
The Greek word “for” is “eis”
Some have said this is the devil’s favorite passage. Many false teachers use this verse to promote a works-based salvation, trusting in baptism to forgive them of their sins and not Jesus alone. They argue that the Greek word eis means “in order to,” but this isn’t always the case:
The Greek word eis is “at” in the following verse. Notice it contextually means “because of,” not “in order to”:
“The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” Matthew 12:41
So he is telling them to be baptized because of their sins already being forgiven.
We are told in v. 21 that salvation is received by the one who will “call on the name of the Lord”. He never stated calling and baptism for salvation. When you repent and believe the gospel (which Peter just explained), you are saved. Furthermore, in Acts 16, we see the only direct question in the Bible on what must be done in order to be saved, and the clear answer was:
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Acts 16:30-31
Followed by baptism:
“And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.” Acts 16:33
39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
40And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
This can easily be misconstrued as Peter telling people that they can save themselves. The context must be kept in mind, where Peter has already told us:
in verse 21 how we are saved, and
in verse 20 that judgment is coming.
Peter warns about the great Day of the Lord. He does not know when the Lord will come to judge this untoward generation, so he urges them to heed what he has told them. In calling on the name of the Lord, they are saving themselves, in the sense that they choose to do the calling on the Lord, from the generation they are in:
Acts 2:21 “that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
41Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
42And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
44And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
The early church sold their possessions and goods here, which raises the question: is this something we should follow and emulate today? However, the New Testament shows a broader pattern of stewardship and generosity without universal divestment:
When Paul later addresses the rich, he does not instruct them to give away everything they own. Instead, he teaches that they should not trust in their wealth, but should use it generously to help those in need, while still enjoying what God has provided. This shows stewardship and generosity, not total divestment, as the general instruction for believers:
1 Timothy 6:17-18 “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;”
Philemon owned a house:
Philemon 2 “And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:”
Believers are also told to set aside money regularly for giving, showing personal stewardship rather than the expectation of pooling all resources into a joint account:
1 Corinthians 16:1–2 “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come”
46And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
47Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
The church is the body of Christ
Ephesians 1:22–23 “...him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body”
Colossians 1:18 “And he is the head of the body, the church...”
How we enter into the church
The Bible makes it clear that we are added to the body of Christ, the church, by the Holy Spirit. This occurs after someone believes in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins:
First, we hear the gospel, choose to believe and then receive the Spirit
Ephesians 1:13 “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”
Acts 10:3-3 “ whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.”
Then, the Spirit (God) adds us to the body (the church)
1 Corinthians 12:13 “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles”
The Lord added to the church daily
First, the Lord does not add people to the body (the church) until they believe. He offers the free gift, and once a person believes, receiving it by faith, they are added to the body. The context of the chapter makes this clear: first belief, then addition to the church:
Acts 2:44 “And all that believed were together”
Acts 2:41 “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added...”
Then, once they believe, the Lord adds them to the church, the body, as He sees fit, giving them different roles, just as Paul tells us:
The most direct parallel to this
1 Corinthians 12:28 “And God hath set some in the church”
God places each member in the body according to His will
1 Corinthians 12:18 “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.”
See also: 1 Corinthians 12:24, 1 Corinthians 12:13
“as should be saved”
This phrase in the English can sound as though God is selecting certain individuals for salvation in a way that appears predetermined. However, this reading would create tension with many clear passages of Scripture that present God as desiring the repentance and salvation of all people, such as: Acts 17:30–31, 2 Peter 3:9, and 1 Timothy 2:4.
This tension is unnecessary, because Scripture consistently teaches that those who believe are the ones who are saved. Therefore, the phrase can be better understood to mean that those who should be saved are precisely those who believe. In other words, the Lord only saves those who have first exercised faith. The pattern is clear:
First — receiving and believing
John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
Second— then the new birth: God saves and adds to the church (the body)
John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
In conclusion, some modern translations, such as the NKJV or NASB reflect the Greek more transparently by rendering the phrase along the lines of: “And the Lord kept adding daily the ones being saved.” This better reflects the present passive participle in Greek.
Simply put: those who believed were the ones God was saving, and He then placed them into the church as He saw fit with different roles and gifts.