Bible Strands
Acts 15:8
And God, who knows the heart, showed His approval by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Peter addresses the Jerusalem council during a debate over Gentile inclusion, explaining God’s prior action in giving the Spirit to uncircumcised believers. The words — καρδιογνώστης (kardiognōstēs) translates literally as “heart-knowing,” describing God’s direct perception of inner disposition rather than external compliance. The thread — This divine witness to the Spirit’s outpouring echoes the earlier Pentecost event in Acts 2:4 and Peter’s own observation at Cornelius’s house in Acts 10:47, while recalling the council’s reliance on God’s heart-knowledge in Acts 1:24. Why it lands — The text requires readers to recognize that divine approval rests on God’s sovereign choice and inner transformation, not human metrics, demanding acceptance of His verdict without adding conditions.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Cross-references
- Acts 1:24 And they prayed, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have chosen
- Acts 10:47 “Can anyone withhold the water to baptize these people? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have!”
- Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
- Acts 14:3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who affirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.
- Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
- 1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart.”
- 1 Kings 8:39 be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive and act, and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart—for You alone know the hearts of all men—
- 1 Chronicles 28:9 As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.
- Psalms 44:21 would not God have discovered, since He knows the secrets of the heart?
- Psalms 139:1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, You have searched me and known me.