Acts 15:9

Acts 15:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
• New International Version (NIV)He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.
• New King James Version (NKJV)and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

Context of Acts 15:9

7After they had all talked about this problem for a long time, Peter stood up to speak. He said, ‘My friends, you know that, a long time ago, God chose me from among all you leaders. He wanted me to teach Gentiles the good news about Jesus. God wanted them to hear his message and to believe in Jesus. 8God knows what people truly believe. He showed clearly that he accepts Gentile believers as his people. He gave his Holy Spirit to them in the same way that he did for us. He made no difference between them and us. When they believed in Jesus, he saved them. He made them clean inside. 10So do not say that God has done a wrong thing. God has shown us that he accepts Gentiles when they believe in Jesus. If you make the Gentile believers obey the Law of Moses, that is like a heavy weight on their necks. Even we Jews and our ancestors could not carry that heavy weight. 11God saves us who are Jews when we believe in Jesus. It is not because we obey the Law of Moses. It is because the Lord Jesus is kind to us. God saves Gentiles in the same way, when they believe in Jesus.’

Acts 15:9 word by word

καὶ οὐθὲν διέκρινεν μεταξὺ ἡμῶν τε καὶ αὐτῶν τῇ πίστει καθαρίσας τὰς καρδίας αὐτῶν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• putδιακρίνωdiakrinō · to judge/doubtG1252
• noοὐδείςoudeis · noneG3762
• betweenμεταξύmetaxu · between/meanwhileG3342
• ·τεte · and/bothG5037
• usἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• purifyingκαθαρίζωkatharizō · to cleanG2511
• heartsὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• heartsκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
• by faithπίστιςpistis · faithG4102

Cross-references for Acts 15:9

• Acts 14:1When Paul and Barnabas arrived in Iconium, they did the same as they had done before. They went to the Jewish meeting place and they spoke God's message there. They spoke very clearly, so that many Jews and Gentiles believed in Jesus.
• Romans 3:9So then, what do we learn from that? We cannot say that we Jews are better than other people. No, certainly we cannot say that! I have said already that sin has power over everyone. That is true for both Jews and Gentiles.
• Romans 4:11Some time after that, God told Abraham that someone should circumcise him. That would be a mark on his body to show that God had accepted him. God had already accepted Abraham because Abraham believed in him. God did not accept Abraham because they had circumcised him as a Jewish man. This shows that Abraham is like a father to everyone that God has accepted. Like Abraham, God has accepted them because they have believed in him. It is not important that nobody has circumcised them.
• Romans 9:24We are those people! God has chosen us to be his people. It is not only Jews that he has chosen. He has also chosen Gentiles.
• Romans 10:11It says in the Bible: ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be disappointed.’
• 1 Corinthians 7:18Some of you are Jews, so people circumcised you. That happened before you believed in Christ. So do not try to change it. Some of you are not Jews. Nobody circumcised you. So continue like that. Do not ask anyone to circumcise you.
• Galatians 3:28It does not matter whether you are a Jew or a Gentile. It does not matter whether you are a slave or a free person. It does not matter whether you are a man or a woman. You all belong together because you all belong to Christ Jesus.
• Galatians 5:6We belong to Christ Jesus. So it does not matter whether anyone has circumcised us or not. The only thing that matters is that we believe in Christ. As a result we will love others in the way that we live.
• Ephesians 2:14It is Christ himself who has brought peace between Jews and Gentiles. He has brought those two groups together, to be one group. He has destroyed the things that made them separate. As a result, they are no longer enemies.
• Ephesians 3:6This is the message of God's good news: Gentiles, as well as Jews, may receive the good things that God has prepared for his children. We may all belong to the same group of God's people, like we are his body. Everyone who is united with Christ Jesus receives the good things that God has promised.
• Colossians 3:11People have this new nature only because they belong to Christ. That is the important thing. Jews are not different from Gentiles. It does not matter whether someone has circumcised you or not. It does not matter which country you come from or how clever you are. It does not matter whether you are a slave or a free person. Christ is all that matters. He lives in every believer.
• Acts 10:15Then, for the second time, the voice said to Peter, ‘God has made these animals good for people to eat. So you must not say that it is not right to eat them.’
• 1 Corinthians 1:2I am sending this letter to you, the people of God's church in Corinth. God has made you clean because you belong to Christ Jesus. He has chosen you to be his special people. So you join together with all people everywhere who worship our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is their Lord, as he is our Lord.
• Hebrews 9:13The old rules said that the priest must use the blood of goats or bulls to make people clean. Or he could burn a young cow and mix the ashes with water. He would then splash the blood or the ashes over the people who were unclean. Then those people became clean again in their bodies, and they could worship God.
• 1 Peter 1:22You have obeyed God's true message. As a result, you have become clean inside, and now you can really love other believers. So continue to love each other very well, with honest thoughts.

Commentaries on Acts 15:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Put 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…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9And put no difference … - Though they had not been circumcised, and though they did not conform to the Law of Moses. Thus, God showed that the observance of these rites was not necessary in order to the true conversion of people, and to acceptance with him. He did not give us, who are Jews, any advantage over them, but justified and purified all in the same manner. Purifying their hearts - Thus, giving the best evidence that he had renewed them, and…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-21Verses 7-21 We see from the words "purifying their hearts by faith," and the address of St. Peter, that justification by faith, and sanctification by the Holy Ghost, cannot be separated; and that both are the gift of God. We have great cause to bless God that we have heard the gospel. May we have that faith which the great Searcher of hearts approves, and attests by the seal of the Holy Spirit. Then our hearts and consciences will be purified from the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-11Peter recalled his experience in Cornelius's household (chapter 10). He argued that God had accepted the Gentiles without circumcision by giving them the Holy Spirit. The grace of the Lord Jesus was available to people from all nations.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. 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 1Co 6:11). How rich is this brief description of the inward revolution wrought upon the genuine disciples of the Lord Jesus!Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 15:9

• Antioch
• Bigotry
• Catholicity
• Church
• Circumcision
• Council
• Doctrines
• Elder
• Faith
• Gentiles
• Law
• Peter
• Regeneration
• Respect of Persons
• Salvation
• Titus

In the dictionaries

• Abstain
• Cause
• Choice
• Consider
• Conversion
• Council
• Declare
• Dissension
• Faith
• Galatians, Epistle to

Commentaries on Acts 15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings