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Text -- Acts 15:18 (NET)

Strongs On/Off
Context
15:18 known from long ago.
Parallel   Cross Reference (TSK)   ITL  
Table of Contents

Word/Phrase Notes
Robertson , Vincent , Wesley , JFB , Clarke , Calvin , Defender , TSK

Word/Phrase Notes
Barnes , Poole , Haydock , Gill

Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes , Geneva Bible

Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis , Combined Bible , Maclaren , MHCC , Matthew Henry , Barclay , Constable , College , McGarvey

Other
Evidence

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: Act 15:18 - -- From the beginning of the world ( ap' aiōnos ). Or, "from of old."James adds these words, perhaps with a reminiscence of Isa 45:21. His point is th...

From the beginning of the world ( ap' aiōnos ).

Or, "from of old."James adds these words, perhaps with a reminiscence of Isa 45:21. His point is that this purpose of God, as set forth in Amos, is an old one. God has an Israel outside of and beyond the Jewish race, whom he will make his true "Israel"and so there is no occasion for surprise in the story of God’ s dealings with the Gentiles as told by Barnabas and Paul. God’ s eternal purpose of grace includes all who call upon his name in every land and people (Isa 2:1; Mic 4:1). This larger and richer purpose and plan of God was one of the mysteries which Paul will unfold in the future (Rom 16:25; Eph 3:9). James sees it clearly now. God is making it known (poiōn tauta gnōsta ), if they will only be willing to see and understand. It was a great deliverance that James had made and it exerted a profound influence on the assembly.

Vincent: Act 15:18 - -- Known unto God, etc The best texts join these words with the preceding verse, from which they omit all; rendering, The Lord, who maketh these...

Known unto God, etc

The best texts join these words with the preceding verse, from which they omit all; rendering, The Lord, who maketh these things known from the beginning of the world.

Wesley: Act 15:18 - -- Which the apostle infers from the prophecy itself, and the accomplishment of it. And this conversion of the Gentiles being known to him from eternity,...

Which the apostle infers from the prophecy itself, and the accomplishment of it. And this conversion of the Gentiles being known to him from eternity, we ought not to think a new or strange thing. It is observable, he does not speak of God's works in the natural world, (which had been nothing to his present purpose,) but of his dealing with the children of men. Now he could not know these, without knowing the characters and actions of particular persons, on a correspondence with which the wisdom and goodness of his providential dispensations is founded. For instance, he could not know how he would deal with heathen idolaters (whom he was now calling into his Church) without knowing there would be heathen idolaters: and yet this was a thing purely contingent, a thing as dependent on the freedom of the human mind, as any we can imagine. This text, therefore, among a thousand more, is an unanswerable proof, that God foreknows future contingencies, though there are difficulties relating hereto which men cannot solve.

JFB: Act 15:18-19 - -- He who announced these things so long before, and He who had now brought them to pass, were one and the same; so that they were no novelty.

He who announced these things so long before, and He who had now brought them to pass, were one and the same; so that they were no novelty.

Clarke: Act 15:18 - -- Known unto God are all his works from the beginning - As if he had said, This is not a new counsel of God: he had purposed, from the time he called ...

Known unto God are all his works from the beginning - As if he had said, This is not a new counsel of God: he had purposed, from the time he called the Israelites, to make the Gentiles partakers of the same grace and mercy; and ultimately to destroy those rites and ceremonies which separated them from each other. He therefore has sent the Gospel of his Son, proclaiming equally peace to him that is afar off, the Gentiles, and to him that is nigh, the Jews

The whole of this verse is very dubious: the principal part of it is omitted by the most ancient MSS., and Griesbach has left γνωϚα απ αιωνος doubtful, and has thrown εϚι τῳ ̀˜̀µῳ παντα τα εργα αὑτου out of the text. Of the former clause, Professor White, in his Crisews, says, " forsitan delenda ,""probably these words should be blotted out."And of the latter clause he says, " certissime delenda ,""most assuredly these should be blotted out."Supposing the whole to be genuine, critics have labored to find out the sense. Some very learned men, and particularly Schleusner, contend that the word γνωϚα, from γινωσκειν, to know, should be understood here in the same sense in which ידא yada is in many parts of the Old Testament, which not only signifies to know, but to approve, love, etc. They therefore would translate the passage thus: All the works of God are ever dear unto him. And, if so, consequently we might naturally expect him to be merciful to the Gentiles, as well as to the Jews; and the evidence now afforded of the conversion of the Gentiles is an additional proof that all God’ s works are equally dear to him.

Calvin: Act 15:18 - -- 18.Known from the beginning This is a prevention, − 133 to put away the hatred which might have risen upon the novelty; for the sudden change might...

18.Known from the beginning This is a prevention, − 133 to put away the hatred which might have risen upon the novelty; for the sudden change might have been suspected, and therefore did it trouble weak minds. Therefore James preventeth, showing that this was no new thing with God, though it fell out suddenly otherwise than men thought; because God saw, before the world was created, what he would do, and the calling of the Gentiles was hidden in his secret counsel. Whereupon it followeth, that it must not be esteemed according to the sense of man. Furthermore, James hath respect unto the words of the prophet, when he affirmeth that God, who should do all these things, was also the author of the prophecy. Therefore, his meaning is, that, seeing God speaketh by his prophet, he saw then, yea, from the very beginning, − 134 that neither uncircumcision nor anything else should let him, but that he would choose the Gentiles into his family. Nevertheless, there is comprehended under this a general exhortation, that men do not take upon them to measure, with the small measure of their wit, the works of God, the reason whereof is oftentimes known to none but to himself; but rather let them cry, being astonished, − 135 that his ways are past finding out, and that his judgments are too deep a depth, ( Rom 11:33.)

Defender: Act 15:18 - -- No event on earth takes God by surprise. He is the God of all creation and, although He elected for a time to work through one chosen nation, His purp...

No event on earth takes God by surprise. He is the God of all creation and, although He elected for a time to work through one chosen nation, His purpose had always been that of "reconciling the world unto himself" (2Co 5:19)."

TSK: Act 15:18 - -- Act 17:26; Num 23:19; Isa 41:22, Isa 41:23, Isa 44:7, Isa 46:9, Isa 46:10; Mat 13:35, Mat 25:34; Eph 1:4, Eph 1:11, Eph 3:9; 2Th 2:13; 1Pe 1:20; Rev 1...

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Act 15:18 - -- Known unto God ... - See the notes on Act 1:24. The meaning of this verse, in this connection, is this. God sees everything future; he knows wh...

Known unto God ... - See the notes on Act 1:24. The meaning of this verse, in this connection, is this. God sees everything future; he knows what he will accomplish; he has a plan; all his works are so arranged in his mind that he sees everything distinctly and clearly. As he foretold these, it was a part of his plan; and as it was a part of his plan long since foretold, it should not be opposed and resisted by us.

Poole: Act 15:18 - -- This the apostle adds, that they might not be offended with the seeming novelty and surprise of the calling of the Gentiles, and abrogation of the c...

This the apostle adds, that they might not be offended with the seeming novelty and surprise of the calling of the Gentiles, and abrogation of the ceremonies; for it was no other than what God had before determined to do, and therefore they ought to rest satisfied in the wise and holy appointments of God.

Haydock: Act 15:18 - -- To the Lord was known his own work. He bringeth it to pass, as he hath decreed, though his decrees are to us unknown. (Witham)

To the Lord was known his own work. He bringeth it to pass, as he hath decreed, though his decrees are to us unknown. (Witham)

Gill: Act 15:18 - -- Known unto God are all his works,.... These are the words of James, and not of Amos; all the things which God does in the church and in the world, the...

Known unto God are all his works,.... These are the words of James, and not of Amos; all the things which God does in the church and in the world, they were all foreknown and predetermined by him: from the beginning of the world; or from eternity; even all his works of creation, providence and grace: the Alexandrian copy, and Beza's most ancient copy, and the Vulgate Latin version, read in the singular number, "his work"; the work of the conversion of the Gentiles; this was fixed and resolved on by God in eternity; he knew it would be, because he had determined it should be; and accordingly he foretold it, and spoke of it in various periods of time before it came to pass; and therefore it should not be looked upon as some new and strange thing, that was never known, spoken or heard of: and this holds true of every other work of God, and agrees with what the Jews sometimes say z, that

"every work which is renewed in the world, the holy blessed God has commanded (or ordered) it from the day the world was created.''

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Act 15:18 An allusion to Isa 45:21.

Geneva Bible: Act 15:18 ( h ) Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. ( h ) And therefore nothing comes to pass by chance, but only by God's appoin...

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Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Act 15:1-41 - --1 Great dissensions arise touching circumcision.5 The apostles consult about it,22 and send their determination by letters to the churches.36 Paul and...

Combined Bible: Act 15:18 - --notes on verse 13     

Maclaren: Act 15:12-29 - --The Charter Of Gentile Liberty Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God h...

MHCC: Act 15:7-21 - --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 G...

Matthew Henry: Act 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 thi...

Barclay: Act 15:13-21 - --We may well believe that the matter of the reception of the Gentiles hung in the balance; then James spoke. He was the leader of the Jerusalem churc...

Constable: Act 9:32--Rom 1:1 - --III. THE WITNESS TO THE UTTERMOST PART OF THE EARTH 9:32--28:31 Luke next recorded the church's expansion beyond...

Constable: Act 12:25--16:6 - --B. The extension of the church to Cyprus and Asia Minor 12:25-16:5 Luke recorded that Jesus came to brin...

Constable: Act 15:1-35 - --4. The Jerusalem Council 15:1-35 The increasing number of Gentiles who were becoming Christians ...

Constable: Act 15:13-21 - --James' testimony 15:13-21 15:13-14 James was Jesus' half brother, the writer of the Epistle of James, and the leading figure in the Jerusalem church (...

College: Act 15:1-41 - --ACTS 15 B. THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM (15:1-35) 1. The Visit of Judaizers to Antioch (15:1-2) 1 Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were tea...

McGarvey: Act 15:13-21 - --13-21. So far as recent indications of God's will were concerned, the argument was now complete and unanswerable; but the Jewish mind was prone to an ...

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Commentary -- Other

Evidence: Act 15:18 God doesn’t think as we do. He is omniscient—He knows all things. That means He never has an idea. If a concept suddenly came to Him, then He woul...

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Introduction / Outline

Robertson: Acts (Book Introduction) THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES By Way of Introduction But for the Acts we should know nothing of the early apostolic period save what is told in the Epi...

JFB: Acts (Book Introduction) THIS book is to the Gospels what the fruit is to the tree that bears it. In the Gospels we see the corn of wheat falling into the ground and dying: in...

JFB: Acts (Outline) INTRODUCTION--LAST DAYS OF OUR LORD UPON EARTH--HIS ASCENSION. (Act 1:1-11) RETURN OF THE ELEVEN TO JERUSALEM--PROCEEDINGS IN THE UPPER ROOM TILL PEN...

TSK: Acts (Book Introduction) The Acts of the Apostles is a most valuable portion of Divine revelation; and, independently of its universal reception in the Christian church, as an...

TSK: Acts 15 (Chapter Introduction) Overview Act 15:1, Great dissensions arise touching circumcision; Act 15:5, The apostles consult about it, Act 15:22. and send their determination...

Poole: Acts 15 (Chapter Introduction) CHAPTER 15

MHCC: Acts (Book Introduction) This book unites the Gospels to the Epistles. It contains many particulars concerning the apostles Peter and Paul, and of the Christian church from th...

MHCC: Acts 15 (Chapter Introduction) (Act 15:1-6) The dispute raised by Judaizing teachers. (Act 15:7-21) The council at Jerusalem. (Act 15:22-35) The letter from the council. (Act 15:...

Matthew Henry: Acts (Book Introduction) An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Acts of the Apostles We have with an abundant satisfaction seen the foundation of our holy religion...

Matthew Henry: Acts 15 (Chapter Introduction) Hitherto we have, with a great deal of pleasure, attended the apostles in their glorious travels for the propagating of the gospel in foreign parts...

Barclay: Acts (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES A Precious Book In one sense Acts is the most important book in the New Testament. It is the simple truth t...

Barclay: Acts 15 (Chapter Introduction) The Crucial Problem (Act_15:1-5) A Problem Becomes Acute (Act_15:1-5 Continued) Peter States The Case (Act_15:6-12) The Leadership Of James (Act...

Constable: Acts (Book Introduction) Introduction Title The title "Acts of the Apostles" is very ancient. The Anti-Marcioni...

Constable: Acts (Outline) Outline I. The witness in Jerusalem 1:1-6:7 A. The founding of the church 1:1-2:46 ...

Constable: Acts Acts Bibliography Albright, William Foxwell. The Archaeology of Palestine. 1949. Revised ed. Pelican Archaeolog...

Haydock: Acts (Book Introduction) THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. INTRODUCTION. St. Luke, who had published his gospel, wrote also a second volume, which, from the first ages, hath bee...

Gill: Acts (Book Introduction) 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 ...

College: Acts (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION As early as the second century the title "The Acts of the Apostles" was given to this document. Before that time the work probably circu...

College: Acts (Outline) OUTLINE I. THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM - 1:1-8:1a A. INTRODUCTION OF THE BOOK - 1:1-3 B. THE COMMISSIONING OF THE APOSTLES - 1:4-8 C. THE ASCENSI...

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